there were about five homes that were in jeopardy. people were asked to investigate but a caller scene as the pier was brought under -- as the fire was brought under control. we spent some time talking to people. they say the kids often go down by the water and they start bon fires. they say they saw them over the

weekend. right now firefighters are not saying if that might be what caused this fire. we do want to emphasize we've been covering several brush fires throughout the weekend. this is the biggest one in anne arundel. we saw them in harford county and in baltimore county. we want to remind you, the state is under a red flag warning. what that means is there are very dry conditions outside with the very mild temperatures and also the low humidity, so you're asked to not start a fire outside and if you're -- it's very easy to start up a fire. we're going to send it over to wyatt with the very latest. it is, in fact, a very dry condition and very windy conditions. it's a bad combination. the ground in maryland is dry, unusually dry. winds from the west steady at 25. with that very dry conditions,

the grass, the brush, the shrubs very dry. that's why we have a red flag warning and really a code orange fire watch statewide as well. so any and all outdoor burning ill advised. be very careful with outdoor sources of ignition. it could cause a significant wildfire. we're watching showers. we're optimistic they come in and bring showers but it did not look like a lot of rain. some beg changes in temperature -- big changes in temperatures coming up. if you own a ford focus, listen up. ford is recalling more than 140,000 cars. the passenger side windshield motor may be missing. the passenger side meter may not

work, reducing visibility and increasing the risk of a crash. ford will notify own ares around -- owners around may 21st. theft is five times more likely to occur in a checkout lane. some stores have ditched the lanes partly due to customer service and partly due to shoplifting. the retail federation said new tunnel scanners would allow shoppers to put everything on a conveyor belt and have price scanned automatically, even on unmarked produce. the higher gas prices, the more you will pay for a car. the car shopping site said on average buyers made nearly $2,000 more last month than in 2011, incentives are part of the

reason. overall, auto maker incentives are down and dealerships are being tougher when it comes to negotiating prices. baltimore is still feeling easter fever. the children of all ages, parents and children cam out to the 15th annual hunt. it is totally free and included arts and crafts, petting zoo and face painting. children got a clappings to see the easter bunny. it was sponsored by the department of parks and recreation. it has become a tradition in baltimore. for more than 10 years, the words an wheels showcased students. the poems are create body baltimore city schools from all

grades. the most exciting part of the ceremony was when the children actually got up and read their poems. >> i love it so much. it is so smooth, love floating. it just makes me look so beautiful. i love the ocean. it macks me think of heaven. >> the poems will be showcased on all mta vehicles. domino sugar is make sweet history. they are row ceiving the largest shipment of raw sugar ever. just think of the things you can make with that. >> rosie, there's a lot to do before we can make some cake, right? >> this is going to be a look at something you'll see every day. we're talking about the inside of the domino sugar plant.

today marked the milestone of the plant's 90th year. there are enough cups of sugar to make, well, let's just say a googob of pies. >> reporter: at 620 feet it's the largest. when they're done they will set a record for unloading the most sugar. it's going to take us approximately 16 working days to discharge this. it will be held in our raw sugar shed. we do approximately 6 1/2 pounds. so about two and a half weeks of

operating for the refinery. >> reporter: it takes so long because three do this bucket by bucket. imagine trying to fill it up spoon full by spoonful. add in the wind -- >> the scoops, day to day, we can take anywhere from 10 to 15 million pounds of sugar in a given day, especially right now where we're digging the majority of the patches. that discharge may shrink. >> reporter: and then the sugar goes into a hop permanent it runs from the ship up into the building, so the unrefined prod falls like-- product falls like snow. it's for check at bars, candy

and soda. >> it's a great activity for the refinery it. lets people know that manufacturing, in particular in baltimore is strong and that the business in the sugar industry is strong as well. >> one of the reasons why the ship came into baltimore was simple. the harbor here is deep enough to accommodate it. some of the other ports on the east coast couldn't take a ship that size. ships that size wind up in the gulf coast, so this is a big first for dominoes. roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news. here in america we typically hear the phrase "would you like fries with that? "but in japan they're asking would you like a bunny. >> and not elmo but adults on big wheels. you'll have to see it. we'll explain. [ glass clinks ] i just wanted to say a few words.

thank you for the lovely meal, jane. mom. and maybe this is just the cake talking but let's celebrate! [ male announcer ] buy any kfc 10 pc meal or larger and get a free double chocolate chip cake.

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would you like a bunny with that. in japan, they are giving them the chance to snuggle with the rab bit. they say the animals are space

relievers for people. about a dozen rabbit cafes have popped up in the country since last year's earthquake and tsunami. step aside, kids. it's time for the grownups to take a ride on the bike. it's a big wheel tradition. adults in costume raced down one of the city's steepest most crooked streets on anythree could find that had plastic wheels. look at those crashes. we'll be right back.

this year the irs will process more than 140 million tax returns and yours will likely be one of them. where do you start?

here's t.j. winick with today's tax tip. >> reporter: it's a daunting task, but for those who are up to the challenge, opting to itemize rather than taking the standard deduction could save taxpayers lots of mony. the irs says make the choice that gives you the lower tax. there are some pointers. first, add up all the money spenten allowable expenseses such has qualifying medical care, mortgage interest, charitable giving, casualty losses and overlooked items. if you qualify they allow credits for college tuition, home offices, job searches, child care, even improvements to your home if they are energy efficient. then look at the standard deduction. there are some exception but for most taxpayers, the amounts are $5800 if you're single, $11,600

married filing jointly $5800 married but filing separately. if the total credits of those expenses is greater than the amount you can take as a standard deduction, then itemizing is the way to go. t.j. winick, abc2 news, new york. >> certain taxpayers do not qualify for the standard deduction and must itemize including nonresident aliens and dual status aliens. if you have questions, check with your local irs office. start off with a picture downtown,ed they're enjoying warm weather. it's windy. winds west 24. humidity dry. throughout the day it was a crystal clear blue sky over baltimore. look at the beach today, some

waves rolling in with the gusty winds it. will continue to be windy. temperatures will drop. chances for rain very limited. overnight we may see some. a few showers but most of that verga evaporating. in rain hitting the surface. a red flag warning for the dry windy conditions. absolutely a terrible condition and it probably will be the next several days. it's right for fire to spread quickly. we have several wildfires yesterday and again today. mid-60s the story. look at the winds, steady at 25 or higher gusting to more than 30 miles an hour. 28 in hagerstown and 23 in easton. that will usher in cooler air. the chance for brief showers but they're encountering that very dry air. very limited rain, not enough to severely affect or help get rid

of this enhanced fire rise tack we have. statewide conditions will remain dry. maybe breach conditions if area' lucky. we're optimistic or hopeful that will happen. now that chance for rain will be very brief time wise. 6 p.m. through 10:00. after midnight we'll tbleen lose that chance for rain, maybe some increased clouds later in the day. we think very limited chances for rain even on wednesday, maybe a brief shower but probably not much. overnight down to 4345 -- 45. clouds increase with a few showers. looking dry but much cooler. 58 will be it. tomorrow night 38 getting that chill again. this will be a cool snap. we struggled to get out of the 50s through thursday and as we look to the weekend a significant warmup on the way. we could be pushing 80 by sunday

into monday but, again, limited chances for rain here. kelly? >> thanks a lot, wyatt. the race for the gop nomination is in its homestretch. one candidate appears to recognize that all signs point to a mitt romney victory. what did newt gingrich have to say today? >> reporter: newt gingrich has vowed to stay in this race. at the same time this seems like he may be getting close thoamp wanting to pack it all in, so to speak. let's look at the dpeapg -- delegate county. newt gingrich is in third place a couple weeks ago, newt gingrich decided to shift his campaign strategy and focus more on courting some of the individual delegates. here's an interesting line that newt gingrich yesterday about mitt romney on fox. >> i think you have to be realistic.

given the size of his organization, the number of primaries he's won, he's the most likely nominee. if he does get to 1144 delegates, i'll support him. i'll do everything i can to help defeat obama. >> reporter: the former house speaker commented on some of the heated back and forth exchanges. >> i hit him as hard as i could. he hit me as hard as he could. he had more things to hit me w that's part of the business. all honesty, if i were to end up the republican nominee, he would work as hard for me. >> reporter: so kelly that makes you stop and think. it's a different side of newt gingrich than we've seen in the past few months. >> all right. thanks for that live report. coming up all new tonight at 6:00, a brushfire in harford county threatens homes, the fire danger we're dealing with now and what you can do to keep it from destroying your home. before you buy that prom dress at that unbelievable price

we have a warning for you, why this might cost you more than money this prime season. those stories and more coming up at 6:00. leave it right here. @ if you have copd like i do,

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we got more breaking news coming. the maryland lottery commission said the person has come forward to claim their part from the prize over a week ago. it was sold at a seven-11 in baltimore county. it was one of three winning tickets sold in the country -- one in kansas and one in illinois. late last week the kansas winner came forward but remained anonmovements maryland's winner can do the same if they choose.

the lottery will hold a press conference tomorrow morning about the claim. the winner will split that $656 million prize with the other winners. we'll have much more at 6:00 which starts right now. it has the potential for explosive fire growth. >> for the second day in a row high winds, dry brushfire forced people to evacuate in maryland. it's the last day of the general assembly but why the hang-up with the budget is keeping other bills from being passed. we'll get you started off with breaking news right at anne arundel county where a brushfire threatened several homes. is it a threat we're dealing with across the state. this fire started around echo drive and park road in rivera beach. that's where we find cheryl

conner. things have actually calmed down. >> reporter: certainly they have and it's close to home. you can see the firefighters have moved out. now the fire was brought under control about an hour ago. it has give people something to talk about. we were on the scene. there are five homes off echo drive on rivera beach that face stoney creek. the fire shot up several feet getting dangerously close to those homes. homeowners were asked to evacuate but were brought back in as the fire was brought under control. we're still under a red flag warning. the captain with the anne arundel county fire department explain was that means. >> we have very dry conditions. we haven't had rain in awhile. we have high wind conditions that exposes the ground cover and dries it