Good Morning, Baltimore: here's what you need to know on a frigid Friday:
WEATHER
The bitter cold continues today with temperatures hitting a daytime high of 16 and a low of 5 over night. Brisk winds will produce a wind chill factor of minus-19. Tonight, there is a chance of snow after midnight, with sleet and freezing rain predicted for Saturday. A heat wave arrives Sunday when temperatures reach 40. In the meantime, Florida anyone? http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/weather-blog/bal-wind-chills-of-17-20150219-story.html
TRAFFIC
Get the latest on delays for this morning's commute from baltimoresun.com
FROM LAST NIGHT
The top speed on some Maryland highways could go to 70 miles per hour under a bill passed Thursday by the state Senate. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bal-md-senate-votes-to-raise-maximum-speed-limit-to-70-mph-20150219-story.html
Sojourner-Douglass College has lost its appeal to reclaim accreditation, and state officials said Thursday they would assist the troubled Baltimore-based school in helping students transfer to other institutions. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/education/bs-md-sojourner-accreditation-20150219-story.html
Baltimore police are trying to find out where a shooting took place that led to a wounded man arriving at a city hospital Thursday morning, the department said. Northeastern District detectives are investigating. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-ci-shooting-20150219-story.html
FROM TODAY'S FRONT PAGE
Maryland is offering state workers $15,000 to leave their jobs, part of a cost-saving plan to shrink the government workforce and save millions. More than 30,000 eligible employees received a letter Thursday detailing the buyout. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-voluntary-separation-20150219-30-story.html
Despite the frigid weather, Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland volunteer drivers continue to make their deliveries to their clients. http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/blog/bs-hs-extremely-cold-20150218-story.html#page=1
State lawmakers concerned about increasingly common rail shipments of crude oil over the rail network of CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern through Maryland, are calling for the state to conduct a full assessment of the risks and for railroads to be more transparent about their operations. http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-crude-study-bill-20150219-story.html
Inside a packed courtroom in D.C. Superior Court, Rabbi Barry Freundel, 63, pleaded guilty Thursday to 52 misdemeanor counts of voyeurism --- one for each woman prosecutors say he recorded at the National Capital Mikvah between 2012 and 2014. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-rabbi-hearing-20150219-story.html
WHAT'S TRENDING?
"Parks and Recreation" co-executive producer Harris Wittels was found dead at his Los Angeles home Thursday. http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/la-me-ln-parks-and-recreation-producer-dead-20150219-story.html
The final episode of the CBS comedy "Two and a Half Men" aired last night. http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/chi-two-and-a-half-men-finale-20150219-story.html
And you know it's cold when Niagara Falls and the Chesapeake Bay freeze. Take a look at some of our photos from earlier this week here. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/photos/bal-frozen-chesapeake-photos-photogallery.html