what do you think is the most important change for southwest? >> well, for us, it will be a challenge to manage the expansion. in other words, compared to our current route network this is about a 25% increase in our expansion. it adds about 8,000 employees to our work force, and we currently have about 35,000 employees at southwest airlines. so we'll need to execute well, we'll need to plan our integration strategy well. and of course we'll be adding a number of new routes, some of those will be stepping away from a sense from what we've been doing historically, we'll add a lot small markets, we'll be adding new international markets. but again i think we're very well prepared to take that on. and we believe that we can add that growth profitably. >> susie: i'm glad you brought up international, because is that the next step with airtran you get access to mexico and the caribbean. >> we're preparing ourselves for international service. so the effort to acquire airtran and then integrate it into southwest airlines will take us several years. dur

>> susie: southwest airlines kicks off a high-flying day of deals. it's buying smaller rival airtran, and landing a big foothold at america's biggest airport. >> we'll have more airplanes, we'll have more flights, we'll have more customers, we'll have more jobs. >> tom: the $1.5 billion deal, and what it could mean for the price you pay for tickets. you're watching "nightly business report" for monday, september 27. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. this program is made pose captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. another big name airline merger, this time it's southwest buying airtran. tom, today's deal comes just days before united airlines and continental close on their merger creating the world's largest airline. susie, southwest will pay $1.4 billion in cash and stock for its smaller rival. but, it's a premium of about 70% over airtran's friday stock price. >> susie: investors loved the deal, shares of both companies were up sharply today. erika miller has more on what's behind the merger,

southwest employees actually are very well paid. in general compared to employees of the other major airlines. they have a very good relationship with their labor unions and the pilot, the 234r5050 a aendants tend to be pretty well compensated compared to most other big airlines. >> so i gather, that means lower turnover. before we go and very briefly, now united and continental two of the biggest guys are merging now. it's going to be i think the world's largest airline. what will that mean for consumers? more competition, lower fares or less. >> a lot of it depends on the market where you are. if are you in a market that has very little competition there may be less service. on the other hand if are you in a big market like new york or say chicago, there will be less competition on some routes which may send fares up but it will invite new competition. especially with the bigge bigger-- bigger south west. it will help service at the international routes it might position united as a big global player. could that could finally feet

>> airtran or southwest? these to florida friends often disagree which went to choose. >> i do not like the lining up system of southwest. her friend prefers airtran. >> they may get the best or worst of both worlds. southwest plans to buy out airtran for $3.4 billion. >> i like southwest. i am excited about it. it is a good marriage. >> southwest would serve about 70% of the passengers at bwi . the next low-cost carrier competitor is jet blue. >> if you look at it, southwest and have been cheaper because you do not pay for the bags. >> interestingly enough, airtran, as we drank our competitors, we compete with them less than anybody else. >> the department of justice has to do an antitrust review before the deal is official. if approved, all of their fleet will be painted southwest colors. it will put the low-cost carrier in 37 cities. >> if the deal gets to the regulatory process, plus says that banks will still fly for free. -- southwest says that a bad will still fly for free. >> its self-proclaimed white

>> well, southwest actually, some people look at southwest as a small airline. until delta-northwest did their merger, southwest was the biggest u.s. airline. they carried more u.s. passengers than any of the legacy airlines, and with this acquisition now they'll still be the king and queen of traveling more u.s. passengers than the new continental and united or the delta-northwest. they are a force to be reckoned with, and if there's anything i think the legacy airlines did on the way to work this morning is, they emptied it their suitcase and filled them up with excedrin because they'll have a major headache dealing with this new southwest-airtran acquisition. >> do you anticipate problems from federal regulators or anybody who's going to challenge this saying that we're reducing the competition in the market? >> well, you know, when you look at southwest today, they probably compete more on routes served by the legacy than airtran. airtran is probably one of the smaller airlines they don't overlap. there is some problems like maybe in baltimore or southwest d

breaking news from southwest washington. authorities are investigating a police involved shooting near capitol grounds. capitol police spotted the man with a gun near the 100 block of c street southwest. when officers approached, he pointed the gun and they opened fire. noel on the suspects condition. we have a clue on the scene. we will bring you more as we get more details. >>> investigators say it was an arlington man who opened fire at johns hopkins hospital in baltimore yesterday. paul pardus shot a doctor before killing his mother and himself. he was distraught on the news of his mother's condition. the doctor is expected to survive. >> a storm slammed into nyc yesterday afternoon. a woman was killed when a tree fell on her car. i've been knocked down trees and snarled traffic. >>> pope benedict xvi is in london. you'll meet with the leaders of other religions today. he spent yesterday in scotland where he held an all or mass and met with the queen elizabeth 2. >> we have some news that metro may be backtracking on pla

as southwest airline. that means less travel to los angeles, milwaukee, new orleans, and tampa. >> to have fewer competitors, the tendency is i'm going to raise prices because i can. >> reporter: economist predicts more major mergers mergers this year. >> you don't do these mergers and everybody keeps a job. you do these mergers where 2 and 2 make 5. there will be some gates given up if the acquisition goes through. >> reporter: they still need the approval of government regulate ors and stockholders. if it goes through the new would begin operations in 2012. >>> now the maryland aviation administration said it was too early to. >>> wounded in a hospital room shooting is resting in a home tonight. where he's been treated for the last 10 days. for a gunshot to the abdomen. say the son ever a patient shot koe en before taking his own life. you can read more in tomorrow's edition of the baltimore sun. >>> a -- house crumples to the ground in just seconds leaving firefighters searching for anyone who may be in

later today, more heat is expected in the southwest with plenty of sunshine. and on the east coast, there will be cool temperatures and heavy rain. >>> in sports, the bears against the packers on monday night football. with the score tied, chicago kicked a field goal, in the closing seconds and the bears came from behind to defeat green bay 20-17. >>> nfl hall of famer george blanda has died at the age of 83. blanda spent 26 seasons in the nfl as pay quarterback and kicker. he played for chicago, houston, baltimore and oakland. blanda retired in 1976 at the age of 48. >>> philadelphia wins in the national league east. roy halladay fired a two-hitter, as the phillies claimed their fourth straight division crown. the phils shut out the nationals 8-0, and then celebrated winning another playoff shot. >>> and baltimore shut out tampa bay 4-0. the rays haven't lost the playoff spot. tampa bay leads the american league eastern division by a half game over the yankees. both teams have a magic number of one. >>> when we return another look at this morning's top storie

over to the news desk. >> southwest plans to buy airtran airways. kim dacey joins us live with more on how this could affect baltimore. >> this merger would be a billion dollar deal. baltimore should expect to see some of facts as southwest already runs 140 flights out of bwi each day. this merger will mean more flights and more passengers for the airport. there will spend more money on things like parking and food. that translates into increased revenue for the airport, the city, and the state. no decisions have been made about eliminating employees. there could be more jobs coming here to baltimore. reporting live, kim dacey, wbal- tv 11 news. >> thank you. a station is being transformed into an art museum. santer shot explains. >> good morning. we are talking about -- sandra shaw explains. there are 18 different sculptures on display. a wide variety. it is all sponsored by the jlp gallery. we have some of the pieces behind this that are unique. >> if this is one of the artists showing with us. you can see this artist uses found objects, primarily

today with mergers there are four, plus southwest and other smaller airlines. air travelers are finding fewer seats and higher prices, on average about $43 higher than last year. >> they've worked hard to make flying not fun. >> reporter: not fun, but the industry is making money again. and the critical profit center? those pesky fees that airlines love to add. an average $25 for a checked bag, up to $35 for phone reservations, up to $300 to change a reservation. todd chancey flew from l.a. to orlando today. various fees hiked his ticket from $329 to $399. >> there's a certain limit i'll hit i will not pay. i'll drive. >> reporter: from april to june of this year, major airlines made $2.4 billion in profit. $1.3 billion came from a add-on fees. clearly the profit center. $745 million from checked bags alone. southwest charges no fees for changing flights or for the first two checked bags. >> keep my bag, not my money! >> reporter: and its merger with airtran may help lower ticket prices all over. >> wherever southwest goes, it's going to pressure their competit

be able to fly southwest out of reagan national airport. we talked to passengers about the possibility. >> it used to be that those looking to save would have to make the drive to baltimore or dulles. >> i rarely go southwest because -- this is 20 minutes from my house. b.w.i. is an hour. >> i look for price. usually southwest is the cheapest out of all the airlines. >> now with them acquiring air tran, they are expected to move into reagan national along with 36 other destinations. it has many travelers excited since southwest doesn't charge for checked bags or snacks. >> it is an advantage over other airlines. >> they give pretzels, at least one free bag. >> but many business travelers say southwest's first come first serve seating policy leaves last-minute travelers squeezing into middle seats. >> i want my seat assigned. >> i'm hoping with the merger they get rid of this thing where they don't have reserved seating. >> what travelers like is they will have more options in major cities like boston, new york, atlanta. they hope the transa

southwest says it will drop that fee. but overall passengers fear that their wallets will take a hit. >> my first thought when i heard they would merge. losing a competitor. i'm concerned about rates. >> there's a listing web site, called airfarewatch.com. it says fares will go up but not to unreasonable levels. the deal is not finished until 2012. >>> what do you think about this story? on facebook, you can leave comments. how you think it will affect airline prices. we'll try to read the comments on the air. head to abc2news.com. click on the bottom of the home page and go to facebook. >>> maryland will become the eighth state where drivers can no longer talk on phones, without hands-free devices. the law takes effect friday. maryland transportation and law enforcement officials will ganger today to -- gather today to explain the new law. drivers could be fined $40 for first violations. $100 for subsequent ones. a secondary offense, so drivers can only be pulled over if they are committing another offense as well. such

southwest and airtran are getting hitched. it could mean lower fairs, but can anything stop those rising fees? five weeks before the midterms, the campaign ads are getting nasty. >> the taliban dan webster, hands off our bodies. >> couric: and everybody in the world has a story. but can steve hartman get him to tell it? captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> couric: good evening, each. the future of the country will soon be in their hands but america's school children are not keeping up with the competition from overseas. today president obama said one answer is more school. he wants to extend the school year by as much as a month. the president also said he knows firsthand the challenges many schools are facing, including right in the nation's capital. here's our chief white house correspondent chip reid. >> reporter: president obama's daughters, seventh grader malia, and fourth grader sasha go to an elite private school where tuition is m

this is considered a huge deal for southwest if it is approved. the airline has been trying to get in to bigger airports like ours here in washington for years. >>> here's a deal you may find hard to pass up. buy an energy star appliance in virginia and you don't have to pay the sales tax. governor mcdonnell declared an emergency star sales tax holiday. the products must cost $2,500 or less and be bought for personal use. >>> a belove independent captiol hill hardware store is celebrating 90 years in business. they plan a week long festivity gala including daily raffles and give aways special bargain prizes, live -- bargain prices and free gas. it started when a cabinet maker was laid off by the navy yard and went in to business for himself. >> hardware stores to me smell so good i don't know what it is. old wood floors an stuff. >> i think that is a topper thing. >> it is lumber, new stuff. we are looking at a respite in the immediate metro area. but don't let you guard down. flood watch until 8:00 tomorrow. show you titan. you can see there is a

southwest would no longer have to compete with airtran for low fares. >> are you concerned that southwest has a stranglehold on the market? >> i expect that low-fare phenomenon will continue. >> the next low-cost carrier competitor is jet blue. >> a could be months before this deal is approved and much longer before airtran is officially out of fear. southwest says yes, backs will still fly fleet and they will still have that open seating policy. >> will you change your airline preference? for a force of you say, no. you can vote on wbaltv.com. >> for the first time in decades, he did not have to cross maryland state lines to place slot. the first casino is open for business. >> a hollywood has come to cecil county. the hollywood casino. it is the state's first opened and it 8:00 this morning, there were plenty of people who could not wait to get in. >> i am kind of excited to see what is going on. >> she loves the casino. >> a hollywood famed casino has 34,000 square feet of floor space, two restaurants. you'll not find cable games here. the casino does have six large machines were five

you have southwest acquiring air trap, and southwest does not have bag fees or change fees so we have one airline soon to have no fees. >>shepard: that is the most anding merger for me recently. what has happened in the past air tran has followed delta's route. if you want to go from new york to miami and do not want to pay as much as delta you can go on air tran if you can deal with it. >>guest: if you connect through atlanta you can go anywhere on air tran so you have, with southwest, a strong foothold in the southeast corridor. they got slots in newark because of the united continental deal and they will get more slots at that guardia so southwest has a nice presence on the east coast. >>shepard: and air tran goes into memphis but southwest does not. air tran goes into la guardia, all over atlanta, and down in florida where southwest is not, will be use the new southwest to get all those places? >>guest: absolutely. both airlines service 70 cities and combine they will service over 100 cities. and some of the southwest customers now get cities outside the u.s., including caribbean

clearing from the southwest to northeast. becoming less humid. southwest will end at 10-15. partly cloudy tomorrow, increasing collards by the evening. late-day showers cannot be ruled that tomorrow evening. debbie rain possible wednesday night into thursday -- heavy rain. >>> happy campers on 95 in and out of baltimore. no problems going south into richmond. around the beltway. let's go forward a spin. getting the green light through southeast coming into northeast. no problems on the beltway in virginia. giving you the green light, normal travel times between fredericksburg and the the lead, in and of baltimore, nothing on 270, 66 between centreville and the beltway, an undertaking you live to the beltway at university blvd., looks ok. back to you. >> thank you. >>> continuing storm watch coverage, the two-day rain is creating complications borrowed construction projects. the weather has affected beltway traffic since the construction started. vdot has built fences to try to keep the dirt from turning into a mudslide when it starts to rain. much of the problem is and lack

southwest gives us a break. >> southwest says it will eliminate air-tran baggage fees. southwest doesn't chargeor the firsttwo. that's a help. >> what color will the planes be? orange? >> after the merger, all the planes are to fly under the southwest logo. keep in mind they will continue operate as independent companies until closing the deal which is expected in the first half ofext year. so good news/bad news when you pull a carrier out of the mix, i worry about fares. >>hey are both laid back airlines. >> turning u at reagan is one of the things people like. >> great. >> thank you, liz. >> y're welcome. >>> up next on news 4 at 4:00, reluctant travelers. why more americans aren't taking advantage of all their vacation days. >> and the feminine side of football. the nfl is reaching out to a growing fan base -- women. [ music throughout ] [ male announcer ] looking for a complete picture of your money? meet pnc virtuawallet. it comes with a calendar that shows you all your finances at once. lets you know when your money's going out. and when it's coming in. it even te

we all like to fly southwest. you can't beat the customer service, no bag fees or change of flight fees and a lot of folks don't want to travel and go of yet a year, year and a half and those planes will be landing and taking off here at reagan national. and it already carries more passengers. with a $1.4 billion tentitive deal, southwest airlines will take over another low-cost airline, increasing the presence in the northeast and atlanta. >> we were surprised and this caught us off. >> reporter: this airline expert said that southwest went after airtran because of its presence in airs that are nearly impossible to acquire new gates and reagan national, new york's laguardia and boston's logan airport to name a few and now southwest can go head-to-head with delta and atlanta where airtran has the hub. >> and this is huge for them. you have them and the caribbean and southwest is getting 10 years worth of growth out of this merger. >> he's on the way back to atlanta, flies airtran often. >> i am praying the service

southwest says it will drop that fee. but overall passengers fear their wallets will take a hit. >> my first thought when i heard they were going to merge. i'm concerned about rates. >> the deal will not be final until 2012. >>> let's look for the fall getaway that won't break the bank. sands witched between -- sandwiched between summer vacations and holiday rush. karen kafa has details. >> reporter: more options, fewer crowds. airfares and hotel rates tend to fall in the autumn months, a slow season between the summer boom and holiday rush. and this fall easy to get to destinations with frequent flights top the list. >> younger couples are going to the u.s. virgin islands. it's very easy to get there. plus you don't need a passport. then for the quick weekend getaways we've seen napa popular as well as las vegas. they are easy to get to as well as they are a ton of fun. >> reporter: no matter the destination there's a common theme among travelers right now. making their dollars go the distance. so if you're one of the ma

southwest is quite a bit larger. last year southwest blew nor than 100 million passengers while airtran flew about 24 million. look at aircraft there. southwest has about 544 aircraft. airtran about 138 aircraft. the vast majority of boeing 737s making it easy to have standard maintenance. if regulators and shareholders approve this will be the third major airline consolidation in two years. united and continental are due to close their merger days from now this week becoming the largest airline in america. today that title belongs to delta, which acquired northwest in 2008. enough with the facts and figures. what about fares and fees? time to bring in my q&a partner richard quest in london. from dallas, rick seaney, the ceo of faircompare.com. richard, start with you in europe. a lot of experience with discount airlines. generally speaking the merger of two airlines means, could mean -- could mean -- higher prices. not always the case. in this case what does it mean when it's two discount airlines? >> i think the th

then i will y southwest. as long as it's free bags. >> reporter: southwest is also picking up air trance hugs which means it will serve new york, boston and destinations throughout the caribbean. we're live tonight at reagan national airport. back you in the studio. >> all right. clear skies for now where you are, chris. >>> still to come tonight it's a dangerous diagnosis and it happens with the click of a mouse. a trend that's making people sick. >> and are sports drinks as healthy as fruits and vegetables? some people think they are. >> i'm liz crenshaw. continuing our education nation coverage, school bus safety. what sdents, parents and drivers need to know is coming up. male announcer ] looking for a complete picture of your money? meet pnc virtual wallet. it comes with a money bar that shows what's scheduled to go out, what you've put aside... and how much you really have available, right now to spend on the things you want. and you can free up money with a simple slide. it's built to help make your fi

>> $15. >> reporter: if this was southwest? >> it would be zero dollars and an improvement. >> reporter: southwest will carry more passengers than ny other airline in the united states. chris gordon, news 4. >> the southwest deal comes less than two weeks after shareholders approved the merger between united airlines and continental. that merger will create the world's largest airline. how the proposed merger will affect prices remains to be seen. ho an analysis in u.s. today found some airfares went up as much as 50% since june of 2009. those added fees have brought in more than $2 billion in this year's second quarter. >> a guilty verdict today in the trial of an accused drunk driver charged with killing a major league baseball pitcher from maryland. the jury found andrew gallo guilty of murder and dui charges in the murder of nick adenheart. he's just debuted with the angels in apl when a car driven by gallo ran a red light in california and crashed into him. adenhartnd two others were killed. gallo's blood alcohol level was

the deal would move southwest into 37 new cities, southwest plans to drop airtran's bag fees when the airlines combine in 2012. >>> banking giant jp morgan apparently wants a refund. according to "the wall street journal" jp morgan told the fdic it wants to recoup the money it used from assets of washington mutual. >>> new figures from the census show the biggest gap on record between the rich and the poor in the u.s., the census found that 20% of americans with the highest income earned nearly 50% of the nation's wages. those under the poverty line earned about 3%. >>> ben & jerry's is dropping the phrase "all natural" from containers. the ice cream isn't changing but a watch dog group said some ingredients don't qualify as all natural. >>> 6:10. for all you women out there listen up. there are decisions you can make now to lower your risk for breast cancer. abc2 news linda so has five prevention tips. take a look. >> reporter: when it comes to breast cancer, interest are earn risk factors -- there are certain risk factors that women can't control like family history and age but ther

this is an opportunity for southwest and air tran to expand low fares. we have an interesting competitive matchup with air tran. they are our smallest competitor and we only overlap on 40 -- on 4 percent. >> when you have this configuration and you two low cost guys are getting together it doesn't seem like the kind of territory that is conducive to lowering air fares all over. because they have been going straight up. >>guest: it is. it is an opportunity for us to expand our network. we don't compete much at all together. by adding atlanta to our route map which is a hole in our southwest route system in the united states, we do not serve atlanta today. and air tran does not serve all of the destinations from atlanta that it could. so it is an opportunity for us to grow. we will be adding flights into atlanta. we will go into high fare marks. we will lower fares and we will stimulate traffic. it is a very pro competition and pro consumer move. >> we have you on tape saying you will lower fares and how about no checked fee for the first or second bag, wi

that is the late here in southwest. back to you. >> thank you. >>> just to update the situation, what we one of the found out as sherry was talking from capitol police, they are look nothing a man. a bulletin had been issued to capitol police to be on the lockout if i man who had a weapon and apparently he pointed that weapon at capitol police at some point and that is what led to the shooting. >>> our other big story we are following, the brother of a man who shot and wounded a doctor at johns hopkins hospital then shot and killed his mother in her bed before turning the gun on himself says his brother probably thought their mom was suffering. police found 50-year-old paul warren pardus and his mother dead inside the hospital room after a two-hour stand whereof. both lived in arlington, virginia. pardus' brother said the mother had arthritis and rheumatism and would likely lose her ability to walk. as orthopedic surgeon david cohen recovered from the shooting, hospital workers are still pretty shaken up as you can imag

. >> the notion here is that southwest gets bigger at bwi. there are more flights, not fewer flights. there are more people needed to service those flights. >> while there are a lot of positives about the merger, one- could be a decrease in local ad revenue. >> some of the state's top educators are in new york city tonight. they are preparing for a date to of education nation. the state school superintendent also was among those in attendance. she believes that maryland is on the track, but more needs to be done. >> we are implementing much of what is being recommended here, and we feel good about that. however, having said that, we do not have been even as across the state of everything we are attempting to do. >> education leaders are attending, hoping to develop a plan to reform the nation's education system. >> record-breaking temperatures in california. we will tell you just how hot it got. >> record breaking rain a little closer to home. >> a gasoline powered alarm clock back energy star certification? >> that is not the only of this ap

southwest airlines is buying air tran for $1.40 million. >> you will be able to fly southwest out of lincoln national airport. -- out of reagan national airport. >> there has been a lot of mixed reaction. you have to remember here at national airport there are a lot of business travelers. they are excited about having additional flight options. many say cheaper is not always better. >> it used to be that those looking to save would have to make the drive to baltimore or dulles. >> i love southwest because it flies out of bwi. >> the first thing and look at is price. for most of the time, i can fly southwest really cheap. >> with southwest acquiring air tran, the low-cost carrier is expected to move into reagan national. many travelers are excited because southwest does not charge for checked bags or snacks. >> there are a lot of advantages for choosing them over any other airline. >> many business travelers say , first-t's first-come serve unseating leaves travelers who schedule late wheezing in middle seats. >> i hope they get reserved seating. >> what business travelers like is the

southwest said it'll drop that fee. overall passengers fear their wallets will take a hit. >> i thought it was a good idea at first and now i'm worried because it may drive up the prices. >> reporter: the deal won't be final until 2012. a spokesman said the merger may attract others to operate out of the airport especially since july marks it's doesiest month ever. cheryl connor. >> thank you. the doors opened at maryland's first casino. it officially started welcoming guests three day as head of schedule while a grand opening is planned for thursday. many folks came out today to check out cecil county's new addition. >> something to make -- bring the people into town. help lower our taxes a lit. >> it's exciting. very exciting. don't have to drive to delaware. >> reporter: the casino created 350 full time jobs, its open from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. every day. >>> aself professed white supremacist will spend 30 years in jail for an attack an a black fishermen. he was beaten with a stick and his car was stolen. he didn't

southwest plans to purchase airtrans and to drop their luggage fees. >> southwest runs 140 flights per day out of baltimore. a merger would mean more flights and more passengers. the increase passengers would spend more money on things like parking and food. that translates into more money for the airport, the city and the state. >> it is good for the convention industry in our hotels. if baltimore is a more convenient destination because more flights are coming here, it is more likely that convention planners will choose baltimore. >> there are still unanswered questions about the deal. a southwest spokesperson said no decisions have been made about eliminating employees. while there would likely be job losses on the corporate level, the merger could bring more jobs to baltimore. >> there are more flights, not fewer flights. it to me, that means no -- that means more people needed to book the flights, to work the flights, and more. >> less competition between two strong airlines would likely mean less money spent on advertising. coming up, tense moments at a texas university after a s

could have some thunderstorms in the desert southwest. if you're watching on kcar 3 in sacramento, california, give your inner artist a chance to brack out with life drawing and painting sessions featuring live posing models at the capital art center at s12. that's your pacific event of the day, veronica. >> what about sacramento? a warm day there as well? >> plenty of lied in the west. >> yikes. ouch. >>> all right. see you. >>> take a look now at this morning's headlines in entertainment -- does she finally get? the current lindsay lohan question. while lohan visited a homeless shelter last weekend, saying all the right things about addiction, some have doubts. last week reports that she spent the weekend calling photo agencies shopping pictures of herself posing for $10,000 in her alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet. >>> gloria stuart, 1930s hollywood beaut high gave up acting only to return as the oldest academy award nominee for the "titanic" movie died at the age of 100. >>> conan o'brien band leader won't be joining him on his new la

southwest is by alan -- is buying airtran. we are live from reagan national airport with the details. >> right now, southwest has several flights out of dulles airport. after years of trying, southwest had not made its way to break a national airport. that is about to change. >> the surprise merger of the nation's largest carriers means that southwest airlines will move into 37 new cities and loses -- including washington's way the national airport. -- reagan national airport. >> there are a lot of fun to fly within the keep you entertained. >> this expert says that the merger would benefit bargain seekers at reagan national. >southwest is buying the company for $1.7 billion. >> we have continental and united emerging as well. >> southwest carries more passengers than any other airline. this family is looking forward to a completed merger. >> they keep the prices low and then you have to pay for bags on error trend. -- on airtran. airtran stockholders still have to sign off on the deal. bargain seekers may not fare as well. so

. >> smart move on the part of southwest and i think you're going to see some southwest come out of this that's just incredible. >> reporter: matt ackland, fox 5 news. >>> time to go hands free or hang up. why some say maryland's new cell phone law won't make much difference on the roads. >>> plus a frantic search in maryland after a house comes tumbling down. and government watchdogs sounding the alarm. the government could soon be spying on your private e-mails, even your facebook messages.  right here in this neighborhood, i grew up learning strong families and hard work means opportunity. and that starts with good schools. it's a tradition here in maryland-- and why in these tough times i've put education first. we've made record investments in our classrooms... doubled the number of charter schools... and we've frozen college tuition for four years in a row. and it's working. experts say we now have the number one schools in the nation. when it comes to expanding opportunity in every neighborhood, i know that we must do even better. >>> a building collapsed in baltimore caused te

. >> southwest is the largest air carrier in baltimore. one economist says the announcement will mean good things for baltimore and bwi southwest airlines is the largest carrier for bwi, running 140 flights out of baltimore. a merger between southwest and airtran will mean more flights and more passengers. passengers will spend more money on things like parking and a food. that translates into more money for the city and state. >> there could be benefits for hotels if baltimore is a more convenient destination. convention planners will choose hotels here. that is good news. >> there are still some unanswered questions about the deal. no decisions have been made about eliminating employees. there will likely be job losses on the corporate level. more jobs could come to baltimore. >> southwest gets bigger at bwi. there are more flights. more flights mean more people needed to book the flights, to help passengers, including screening them through security. >> there are positives about the merger, there could be revenue. revend kim dacey, wbal

>>> the southwest airlines buy out of air tran. i'm adam may at vwi, the real story blind potential air fare increases. >>> a stormy thursday headed our way. i'll have your complete warning forecast coming up next. just drive, we'll get there! adventure runs on dunkin', with our lineup of oven-toasted breakfast sandwiches. grab your favorite, just the way you like it. bob ehrlich pretends to be for the working guy... but he's not on our side. i thought i knew bob ehrlich, but then i found out... he raised property taxes on every maryland family... and business. he increased college tuition... by 40%. 40%. and i thought i knew bob ehrlich. he was against raising the minimum wage. made $2.5 million... working for a lobbying firm. $2.5 million? he's not really on my side. with this tough economy, we really need a governor on our side. >>> it is 66 degrees, partly cloudy in central maryland right now. the complete first warning forecast is coming up. but first, in southern mexico hundreds of people were evacuated. at least three people

southwest airlines is buying airtran. the cost $1.4 billion. that will give southwest a larger hold of the market by expanding its service in to 37 stu cities including atlanta. >> it has the potential to add more than 20% to our annual revenues or $2 billion a year. >> reporter: southwest is expected to take over airtran's slots at reagan national offering at least 11 flights in and out of the airport. of course none of that may happen for months because the deal has to be approved by the regulator and stockholders. >>> work to extend metro to dulles means a commuter alert this week. in two hours the eastbound lanes of the dulles toll road will close just east of the beltway. that means drivers will have to take the beltway to route 123 and then back to the toll road as a detour. the work will go on every night this week between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. come friday you will need one of those hands free devices if you want to make a call while you are driving in the state of maryland that's when the cell phone ban gets started and one of the sto

oakland airport southwest, concord buchanan south at 13, fairfield west-southwest, vacaville west-southwest at 7. when the sea breeze makes it to vacaville it is a slam dunk cooler today. a low spinning right here. it will send in higher clouds. you can feel it. there is a noticeable drop in temperatures compared to yesterday. today and tomorrow much muff cooler. santa rosa #kwráed not only downtown but the airport both 82. kind of rare. usually the airport is warmer. today 74. the city 68 warm mild degrees. 62 today. walnut creek from 80 to 75. downtown oakland 75, dropping to 67, already low clouds in place and san jose from 80 to 75 today. look at some of these lows st. helena and kenwood both 44. north napa oak noel district 48, petalooma 48 -- [ inaudible ] >> -- clayton and gilroy both checking in at 49 so a little chill there. 30 tahoe, 40s up in eureka and also ukia so a little cool there and a lot of low clouds and fog starting to fill in along the central and southern california coast. all courtesy of that low right there. it is going to settle in and drop our temperatures over t

mayor daly isn't running again. >>> southwest says it is buying airtran. while the fees may disappear, they say it will cost more to travel in the northeast. >>> howard bernstein is here. what is the price we will pay for traveling around today. >> we have a problem with heavy showers out there. all the thunder seem to be off shower but some torrential downpours like yesterday and this morning we are looking at them. start with live doppler 9000 hd. it happened toward culpeper, rappahanock and culpeper an you can see the heavy rains through bealeton approaching warrenton and it is moving to 86. on the we computer, we will talk about the fact we have a lot of showers and thunderstorms out there. but they are not everywhere. so over the next several hours it will be the worst of it. past 8:00 the flood watch will have expired. it covers the metro reonuntil 8 a.m. we start at 72. upper 60s out there. a warm day today. i'm expecting high temperatures to make it to the upper 70 if not low to mid-80s with sunshine. more rain by thursday. >> talking about wanting

. >> smart move on the part of southwest and i think you will see some southwest come out of this that is just up credible. >> reporter: matt ackland, fox 5 news. >>> we have much more ahead. are u.s. nuclear sites at risk of being attacked by ufos. >> sounds string but some say they have the evidence to prove it and we'll hear from them. coming up next. right here in this neighborhood, i grew up learning strong families and hard work means opportunity. and that starts with good schools. it's a tradition here in maryland-- and why in these tough times i've put education first. we've made record investments in our classrooms... doubled the number of charter schools... and we've frozen college tuition for four years in a row. and it's working. experts say we now have the number one schools in the nation. when it comes to expanding opportunity in every neighborhood, i know that we must do even better. >>> are aliens from outer space visiting u.s. nuclear missile sites? it sounds like such a farfetched idea. to a group of former air force veterans, it is no laughing matter. >> they are com

>> i love that really bertrair n the love southwest, most beloved southwest. you do not have to pay for baggage, or your not going to be nickled and dimed can, and they're usually on time. i would not invest in their stock. >> you would not? >> no! >> and warren buffett said that he would never invest in a airline. and if it is good enough warren buffett? it is good enough for me. and if they had issues with compensation, pilots, compensation? mechanics? >> the fuecost of fuel? >> exactly. and if you and i want to the caribbean, and perhaps not together a lot however, with southwest airlines. pamela okay.. >> and now, with campaign ads. and with media companies. >> yes, but an all-time high. as far as ad spending. that trounce the presidential. to tfifth2202 daugh 20 million. for 220 million. to order 20 million. and it is good for companies like a cvscbs. and wih political spending. not to change the channel pala bu [laughter] >> and how was the upcoming election affecting the market, the industry right now? with industries not spending in the big industries

southwest airlines may be coming to reagan national airport. the airline announced it is trying to buy airtran airline. if approved the deal is valued to be $1.4 billion. southwest says it would drop airtran's baggage fees and let bags buy free as it does on its current airline. but faresn the northeast will go up as fare wars disappear. >>> a local poison control center reported calls regarding synthetic marijuana have more than tripled in the last month. store is selling the new product called k2. >> the convenience store is just a few hundred feet from the main gates. the flyer advertising a new product called k2, synthetic mayor fwhan that sells for $35 to 5 a gram. we went in to talk. >> don't touch me. >> reporter: this what happened. >> i told you to get out. >> and we are. 'am, i wouldn't do that. ma'am. while no student would speak specifically on cera, a few did say they did not see a problem with it being sold so close to campus. >> we're all adults making our own decisions. if it's gal, don't see any problem with it. >> it's probabl