"good morning maryland," maryland. i'm megan pringle. jamie costello is off this morning. he'll be back tomorrow. a lot to talk about. a little tease, justin has great weather news. we could use that after a long wet weekend. a couple of things. girl scouts are here. i don't know if you can see it, i got this cool bracelet and it has a good cause behind it. more on that in the next hour. we'll also talk about cancer and nutrition. it's probably no secret that the two are very important. if you have good nutrition it can only help you. we'll hear all about that from some experts who came our way to visit us. we're also going to talk about the continuing story in the news, toyota. scott donahoo is going to give his thoughts on what is going on with the company, the sales and the newest alleged scandal that is coming from there. we'll get to that. in the meantime, our top -- hot topic. john edwards' former mistress and campaign videographer, rielle hunter didn't bare all for a photo shoot but she showed some leg and love for the former presidential candidate. >> reporter: she used to be his mistress and campaign videographer. >> very graceful, family girl. >> reporter: now the camera girl is in front of the camera for "gq." >> sit like this. drop this leg. >> reporter: rielle hunter showed some leg and midriff while holding her 2-year-old fathered by john edwards. when the photos appeared. >> beautiful. >> reporter: she told barbara walters she cried for two hours. >> she said she found them repulsive. when i asked, well, if that was the case then why did you pose the way you did? she said she trusted the photographer, who she said is brilliant and "i went with the flow." >> reporter: that's pretty much how the affair with edwards started according to rielle hunter when they bumped into one another on the street. i uttered to him you're so hot. he said why thank you and almost jumped into my arms. later at his hotel room he said i had never experienced anything like what was flowing between us. but what was flowing through commentators wasn't sympathy. >> she's with us now, like, i don't know. foot decay. [ laughter ] >> reporter: speaking of decay, rielle hunter said john edwards' relationship with his wife had been dysfunctional and toxic and awful for many years. the home was wrecked already. i was not the homewrecker. rielle hunter told "gq" she gave edwards a phone that looked like his work phone so he could call her on it but elizabeth edwards confirmed suspicions when she picked up her husband's phone and hit redial. "and i answered the phone and said hey baby and click." the first night together edwards told her falling in love with you could really mess up my plans for becoming president. she told "gq" we love each other very much and that hasn't changed and i believe that will be until death do us part. at least the new photos are an improvement over the previous tabloid ones. rielle hunter has company in one of the photos. a lot of company. in bed with her. barney and friends. >> dora and kermit. >> if you're going to involve kermit, barney and dora, put your pants on, ok! >> reporter: keep barney out of this. ♪ i love you you love me♪ >> reporter: jeanne jeanne moos, cnn, new york. we want your 2 cents. what do you think of the comments and pictures? made by john edwards' former mistress rielle hunter. log on to our web site, wmar facebook fan page. leave your comments. he wrote "this guy couldn't win an election for a dog catcher anymore so who cares? ". marla writes in how dare this woman get on tv and still confess to john edwards and still make inappropriate comments saying he loves her until death do us part. marla continues -- seems no one cares about elizabeth edwards' feelings anymore. a lot of you are talking about this. log on to our facebook fan page. search for wmar tv and leave your comments. we'll share some of them throughout the newscast. 9:04. on behalf of the staff and management i want to apologize to the girl scouts in the studio for doing that to barney. throwing him into a debate he never cared to step into. who is done with winter? symptom -- some of us like the snow after the record snow we had last night but i think it's time. this storm departs, the sun returns and looks like spring may arrive just a little bit earlier than it says on the calendar. as the clouds break today it will feel real nice in the afternoon. we really start warming up for much of the rest of the week with the warmest day of the year so far expected on saturday and by the way, hint, hint, the last time we had temperature like this were in the first half of november. we'll talk about that in a moment. shade composite highlighting the -- slayed composite -- a few breaks in western virginia and maryland, no rain. that is good news, we give doppler a break as we watch temperatures that are still rather chilly. 45 degrees from ocean city to easton. 47 in baltimore. 46 york. still uniform numbers when we have an environment socked in with rather brisk winds and cloudy skies. a lot of moisture on the ground but the clouds try to break over the next few hours. we're aiming for 54 by lunchtime. on on -- on the missitily, 60 this afternoon. with sunshine to rule the roost this evening. we have 7:15 sunset. temperatures then sliding through the 50s. then we'll drop off quickly. it's a rather dry environment. even though there's moisture on the ground the clear skies and light winds will give way to quick cooldowns in the evening and overnight. quick warm-up during the day tomorrow, virtually cloud-free. same for thursday and friday. so really not much to talk about here. we're expected to have a downtown number around 60 this afternoon. though it looks like a partly cloudy setup there on the graphic it's going to be basically going from cloudy to almost clear during this afternoon. it's going to be pretty. mostly sunny skies developing on the north side from westminster's 57 to 58 degrees in parkton. we're expecting to have that temperature knock up close to 60 in columbia. because of the winds out of the north and northeast coming off of the chillier chesapeake we'll probably hold upper 50s along the bay shores and including annapolis. for tonight, instead of quick cooldown with clear skies and winds out of the north we'll drop back to 35 degrees. this is what you want to see. so let's just show you. the luck of the irish with us tomorrow, 63. overnight lows again into the 30s but how do you like the 60s -- upper part of the 60s. 67 thursday and friday. should do it with sunshine. as we'll really get a chance to dry out. a lot of the soggy soil. especially on the places that are south-facing and get that full sun exposure. if you live north-facing or had that side of the house where the snow hung on a little longer, maybe a north-facing hillside it may be just a little cooler. this is the time of year where sun does most of its work and we'll allow the sun on the first day of spring to get us close to 70 on saturday. the last time we had 70 in baltimore was on november 15th. we'll do it this weekend before rain arrives sunday. you can catch us on-line at abc2news.com. with the maryland's most powerful doppler radar. that gets a break for at least four to five days. back to you. we're helping you get back to work on "good morning maryland." it's a whole new way to market yourself. starting today we want you to send us your resumes. if you're trying to get a new job. the e-mail address [email protected]. each week we'll contact three people to come to our studios and tape a 20-second video pitch as they would be considered for a job. this will allow a potential employer to not only read your resume but get a chance to see you and hear you. so viewers will be able to log on each week and see what resumes are out there. we'll randomly select three of the best and give you the opportunity vote and check them out. that's [email protected]. the toyota company, investigators and federal government are working to find out what exactly caused a driver of a prius to lose control of his car. coming up, toyota says it's skeptical there was a problem in the first place. was this a hoax? and should you even think of buying a toyota now? plus, unemployment and down economy caused a number of people to live on the streets in baltimore county. there's a spike in homelessness there. a look at the new face of homelessness. when we come back. and we all want our children to succeed but is being a pushy parent making them fail? there's a new style of parent being that is teaching us how to go with the flow. ♪ [ male announcer ] now the best seat in the house is in your house. in fact, with the fios total ticket, it can be in every room. unlike cable, only fios gives you a multi-room dvr that lets you record shows in one room and watch them in up to six other rooms. one dvr puts you in control of all your family entertainment. now you can get a multi-room dvr plus set top box free for six months when you sign up for fios tv, internet and phone. you'll get tv with three times more very satisfied customers than comcast, america's top-rated internet, and phone. get it all together for just $99.99 a month -- a great low price -- guaranteed for two years. it adds up to savings of $419 over two years. fios total ticket with a free dvr and set top box for six months makes every seat in your house the best seat. so why sit still for cable? call now. 1.877.717.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. this is beyond cable. this is fios. good news about that toyota prius and the driver who said it suddenly sped out of control on a california highway a week ago. abc news david muir heard from investigators, the government and toyota yesterday that say they couldn't replicate the incident. >> reporter: a case of who you believe. late today toyota says there are significant inconsistencies between the driver's story of what happened and what toyota found in their own investigation. >> the data from the diagnostic system indicated that the accelerator and brake had been rapidly and repeatedly pressed alternatively back and forth on and off, both of them, 250 times, which is the maximum recording capability of that system. >> reporter: was the driver trying to pull off a hoax? deliberately going back and forth from the gas to the brake? today toyota would not go that far but they said their data does explain the burned-out brakes and late today abc news obtained images of them from federal inspectors also investigating the same prius. something else, toyota said the brakes were being pressed lightly because toyota contends had they been pushed heavily the car would have stopped. >> if he would have pushed the brake heavily the brake override system would cut fuel to the engine and the enjoy would have shut off. the vehicle would have been easily slowed down. >> reporter: but what about the driver? who said he was standing on the brakes at one point and the california highway patrol officer who indicated it sure looked that way. today toyota said they couldn't verify that. so was the driver faking it? no comment today from the driver but his attorney was emphatic with abc news over the weekend. >> right from the beginning he came to me, he said, look, we do not want to file a lawsuit. we do not want to make money from this. i do not want to see toyota. >> reporter: toyota said they tried to re-create the incident but were able to get the car to stop. federal engineers on the scene said they too could get the car to stop. but the national highway traffic safety administration said there were continues, that re-creating these cases of sudden acceleration is "rare." david muir, abc news, new york. >> while the prius situation may have been staged, we don't know that yet, there's no doubt there is a serious problem with toyota, at least there has been. they've recalled over 8.5 million cars because of acceleration or accelerator problems. but sales from toyota vehicles this month are actually up. auto industry tracker edmonds.com predicts when march comes to a close toyota will see sales up to 30% compared to last march. in the first eight days of the year sales were up 47% so you might be wondering how is that possible? our auto expert scott donahoo is here. >> good morning. >> thank you for coming in. >> thank you for having me. >> how is this possible? >> it's a big curveball, right? how could toyota sales be up when they've just recalled 8.5 million vehicles for unintended acceleration. well, toyota is being aggressive. they don't want to become audi. audi had this problem in the 1980s, it took them two decades to come back and get sales just back to where they were. toyota has come out with zero percent for 60 months, that costs an average of $5,000 to $6,000 a car. unheard of toyota incentive. toyota loyalists are jumping on it. they've had one or two toyotas, they've not had problems. they say you know what? we're not going to see this deal. we're going to take advantage of it now. as you pointed out, toyota sales were up almost 50% in the first eight, 10 days of march. they anticipate a 30% increase. however, however, when you put this type of money on the hood as an incentive, you are going to drive down the value of all the toyotas, the existing toyota owners out there, someone who bought a toyota six months ago who is going to lose several thousand dollars in value now. >> is it the recall itself though? causing the value to go down? >> the recall has certainly put pressure on the brand's identity. think of how toyota advertised themselves for years. quality and value. well, the recall says something about quality. now, with huge incentives on this car, this is going to drive the value south. so if you own a toyota it is going to experience, in my opinion, accelerated depreciation at this point. general motors did this, chrysler did this. they put huge incentives on cars and they found it was very difficult to get off of them. >> but it's so surprising to me their sales are up considering it's such a big safety issue. >> actually, what i find more surprising is the stock value has hemmed up. it's an -- held up. as an investor i was looking at the stock value and saying am i going to short this company? am i going to make money on the short sale? the stock prices held. toyota sales are up. but one thing that needs to be pointed out, they are up on a year over year against last march. last march the stock market was 6,500. last march we thought the end of the world and the banks were going to collapse. some years ago i bought a dealership and -- from another dealer. i can't mention. but after the first month the manufacturer called me and said congratulations, your sales were up 400% compared to the previous month. i said four times nothing is still nothing. 30% off of the lowest ever is really not a huge number. but they are being aggressive. they are fighting this, and taking a serious attempt to protect their image. >> they had these ad campaigns, thank you for believing in us. do you think it's a smart idea? >> i do. i think they've hired the smartest pr people they could. there's no price tag. they will spend whatever it takes. analysts say it will cost them $3 billion to $4 billion to address this problem. >> wow. >> so certainly, toyota profits will be hurt for some time. >> scott donahoo, i love getting your opinion on everything. happy st. patrick's day. >> thank you. >> thank you for the hats. what are these? >> these are from the friendly sons of st. patrick for you and jamie. >> thank you. >> we'll wear them with irish pride. >> exactly. brings you the luck of the irish. >> we need it. thank you so much. >> thank you. stay with us. up next, tough financial times are landing many people on the streets. there's a new generation of the homeless. okay, let's do this... it's a new year people, we have to hit the ground running. so, we're upgrading to verizon. they have the speed we need, plus rock solid tools like online storage and ironclad internet security. it was built for businesses like ours... now, nothing will stand... [ music fading ] stand in... [ sighs ] sit tight, i'll run and get some batteries. [ male announcer ] no matter what the day brings, be ready with verizon high speed internet and phone for your small business. call 877-network today and for just $84.99 a month for 12 months with a 3 year agreement, you'll get a best-in-class package: high speed internet with up to 7 meg speeds, unlimited nationwide calling, 25 gigs of online storage plus our internet security suite and free wi-fi access from thousands of hot spots nationwide. all backed by the reliability of the verizon network. it's a total business solution that you can't get from cable. call 877-network today and see how verizon call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800-974-6006 tty/v. offers so much more for less. 2010 census forms could be in your mailbox waiting to be filled out right now. officials stress it's very important you fill out the form and return it. the once a decade population count will be used to dole out congressional seats and federal aid to states. the census forms have 10 questions. if you don't fill it out a census worker will end up knocking on your door. by the way, it costs taxpayers $57 for each household that is visited. a one-day census of sorts in baltimore county. this is a different one. it's revealed a pretty disturbing number. nearly 900 people on the streets, many in camps in the eastern part of baltimore county. abc2 news kelly swoope tells us faith-based groups hope that the number will turn into more help for those who need it. >> reporter: when you see them on the streets you may be tempted to look the other way but with the numbers of homeless growing in baltimore county it's a population that is getting harder to ignore. >> what t-shirts do you have left? >> reporter: these are the faces of men, women and families in need of help. >> i've used a lot of county services. it's enough to give you a hand up out -- a handup. >> reporter: sadly eric becker's story is not unique, homeless in towson for two years. he quit his teaching job to care for his ailing wife and elderly parents. >> i had to become a full caregiver for them. eating away at the savings, eventually i lost my home and my family died eventually. i found myself on the streets. >> reporter: last year there were 7,000 calls for shelter. that is more than double from 10 years ago. the county averages 25 to 30 calls a day for people looking for shelter and more than 90% are single women with children. people like robinson and her 6-year-old elena. >> they have a lot of help -- for men, drug-addicted parents or someone in drug rehab. a young mother who is really try to do something for herself? >> reporter: gina can't find a full time job. >> i had lost my job. and that's how i became homeless. before the shelter i was living in my car for like six months. >> reporter: advocates for the homeless hope attention to the plight will result in increased shelter space and funding. >> my hope is that we can find through the faith communities more volunteers, perhaps more partnering with churches. >> reporter: providing hope and healthy families who really want to help themselves. >> yeah. i love my mommy. >> the nearly 900 people they found living on the streets is just the tip of the iceberg they say. homeless advocates say that number does not include people living in shelters. school, homework, basketball practice. summer camp. these days kids are pretty busy, schedules jammed with some activities. maybe almost compared to an executive? some health professionals say though their parents want their children to succeed pushing your child into too many activities could act