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• FOX 45 TOP STORIES VIDEO

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon now faces only five charges after a judge dismissed two of the seven charges against her Tuesday.

The judge agreed with the defense that the evidence was insufficient to proceed with charges related to gift cards provided by Dixon's former boyfriend, developer Ronald Lipscomb.

Prosecutors rested their case without calling Lipscomb to the stand even though he was expected to be a key witness.

Without Lipscomb's testimony, defense attorney's convinced the judge to toss the charges relating to gift cards from him.

Dixon's attorneys mounted their defense Tuesday afternoon, calling two witnesses to the stand.

Wanda Watts, a member of the mayor's staff, and Karen Daniels, who works at Bethel AME Church, testified on behalf of Dixon.

The trial continues Wednesday on the remaining charges that are related to gift cards provided by another developer, Patrick Turner.
Two Charges Dropped Against Dixon - Joy Lepola

• FOX 45 LOCAL NEWS

Proposed Hopkins `science city' breeds skeptics
March 20, 2010 18:41 EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Critics are questioning the benefits of a proposed "science city" near Gaithersburg.

Montgomery County Council member Phil Andrews is among those questioning whether the Johns Hopkins proposal will generate as much revenue for the county as predicted while expressing concerns about its impact on traffic, schools and other infrastructure. A community meeting this month on the proposal drew more than 200.

Johns Hopkins University is leading efforts for the proposed $10 billion live-work community near life sciences office parks already in place. Supporters say the research center could rival North Carolina's Research Triangle or Palo Alto, Calif.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com

• VIDEO LIST

BALTIMORE WEATHER

52°

Forecast

SATURDAY: Mainly clear skies and still warm as SPRING ARRIVES at 1:32 PM. High: 72. Winds: WSW 5 mph.

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BUSINESS NEWS

WALL STREET

UNDATED (AP) -- Stock prices have edged lower at midday.

CONSUMER INFO

La. senator: Are deaths linked to Chinese drywall?

 NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- U.S. Sen. David Vitter is calling on federal officials to do a thorough probe into the deaths of several people who lived in homes built with suspect Chinese drywall. ...

SCIENCE/TECH NEWS

IN THE NEWS: SEACREST TWEETS MAY HAVE HURT "IDOL" RATINGS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Loose tweets sink ratings.

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JUST-IN'LOVE SMITH

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- When Purdue plays Siena today in the NCAA Tournament -- you may notice the name of senior guard Just-In'Love Smith.

IE6 Float Fix