*A nationwide survey finds that gas prices have climbed across the county, even topping $4 in Long Island and Chicago.

*Sen. Charles Schumer says the four federal prisons in New York state are dangerously overcrowded and understaffed.

*The Hudson Rail Yards has a new potential leaseholder, but no tenants yet, as the MTA announced Monday an agreement to give development rights to Related Companies and financial partner Goldman Sachs for $1 billion.

*A man accused of crashing into another a car and killing the driver while trying to flee Long Island police has been indicted by a grand jury.

*Police say a drunk driver with a suspended New York driver’s license who crashed a police cruiser and injured an officer “beat the system” by obtaining a NJ State drivers license (AP).

*Today, like the rest of the week, will be damp and cool, according to the National Weather Service. But forecasters said the Memorial Day Weekend is shaping up into a beauty: sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 60s to mid 70s.

*Big waves from hurricanes have gotten bigger off the East Coast in recent decades, a study says, and that’s bad news for people who live along the oceanfront, boaters and others in the line of fire, according to a report in the Asbury Park Press.

*Fundraising event for Zeh LaZeh: Tuesday, May 20, at the home of Mr. and Mr. Zev Kops, 136-58 72nd Avenue. Guest Speaker: Rabbi Naftali Yager, Shlita, Rosh Yeshivas Shor Yoshuv, Lawrence NY.

*BREAKING NEWS – BALTIMORE, Md. — A police officer has been injured in a crash near Sinai Hospital. It happened early this morning near Sinai Hospital at the intersection of West Rogers Avenue and Cross Country Boulevard. Police say the officer was the only person injured in the crash. The officer was taken to a local hospital for treatment but her
condition is not known. The cause of the crash is still under investigation but police say the roadway is very slick due to oil.

BALTIMORE, Md. — Doctors at the world famous Johns Hopkins are again going to perform extreme life-saving radical surgery. In almost every way, Jessie Hall is a normal six-year-old. She’s perfectly healthy except there’s a disease on the right side of her brain that’s causing seizures, twitching and loss of mobility. It’s called Rasmussen’s encephalitis. Doctors are going to remove half of her brain with the hope that Jessie will be able to live a normal life. Without the surgery, Jessie’s parents say their daughter would ultimately die. The Halls have elected to travel from their home in Aledo, Texas to
Baltimore to have world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson perform the surgery.

WASHINGTON, Dc. — The U.S. Secret Service is warning law enforcement agencies about real bills that are bleached, and turned into a bill of another denomination. Special agent in charge Todd Kreisher says counterfeiters bleach $5 bills and reprint them as $100 bills.
Kreisher says the fake money looks real, and the bills aren’t detected by some machines because they are printed on real currency paper. Holding them to the light, however, reveals that the watermark has Abraham’s Lincoln’s image, not Benjamin Franklin’s. Kreisher says arrests have been made in D.C., Prince George’s County, Montgomery
County and Virginia.

TOWSON, Md. — This summer, the famous roundabout in Towson, near the Towsontown Mall and business area, will be closed briefly so crews can work to make it easier and more driver-friendly. The State Highway Administration and Baltimore County officials are restructuring the roundabout, cutting it down from two lanes to one in some areas to
eliminate confusion and make the area more pedestrian-friendly.

WASHINGTON, Dc. — Leave it to the Feds to do things, and here’s what happens. There’s a glitch in the government’s plans to pump $150 billion into the economy by sending taxpayers a rebate: The rebates aren’t arriving. Potentially, millions of taxpayers who were expecting to have their money by today will be waiting for their checks until June or July. In addition, an Internal Revenue Service spokesperson in Florida confirmed last week that some economic stimulus payments have gone to the wrong bank accounts. The stimulus snafu may touch the millions of taxpayers who take out refund anticipation loans or who allow tax preparation firms to deduct their fees from the taxpayer’s refund.

FAIRFAX, Va.– Fairfax County has voted to continue leasing property to a private Islamic school funded by the Saudi government that its critics have accused of fostering intolerance. The Islamic Saudi Academy leases its flagship campus in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County for about $2.2 million a year. The unanimous vote Monday by the county’s Board of Supervisors extends the lease by one year, through June 2009. The school has been found to have anti-Semitic and anti-American text in its official school books.

WASHINGTON — Would you pay $1.25 for a ride on a Metrobus or $4 for a gallon of regular? Take a guess? Your answer is probably the same as many others. Because of this rise in commutes, Metro is conducting an energy contingency plan, in the event there is a massive shift toward public transportation in the region.

Baltimore Weather: Showers early, clearing after noon. Highs in the 60’s, lows in the upper 40’s. Wednesday: Partly sunny, 30% chance of rain in afternoon, highs upper 60’s, lows upper 40’s.

Shkia For Baltimore Today (21215): 8:18

Baltimore Gas Prices: $3.79 Citgo at Reisterstown & Northern Pkwy
Most Expensive: $3.93 Shell at the Greenspring Shopping Center

(YW-MD03 / YWN Desk – NYC)