>> good afternoon, everyone. our big story at noon -- more than 100 individual lawsuits filed against st. joseph's medical center and the cardiologists accused of putting unnecessary stints in the hearts of patients. the lawsuits filed yesterday claimed fraud, civil conspiracy, and medical negligence.

>> st. joseph's medical center conspired with a doctor to allow this to go on. turning a blind eye to what should have been obvious and further failing to institute any effective means of peer review. >> fraud, civil conspiracy and medical negligence -- those are the claims in 101 new lawsuits filed tuesday against st. joseph's medical center. allegations surfaced against the doctor in 2009 that he puts dance in the arteries of patients who did not need them. attorney jane miller says those patients, now his clients, have suffered as a result. st. joseph's medical center released a statement, saying in part the hospital is also open to talking with any patient who believes that he or she believes they have a claim here in this cases where st. joseph's believes it has appropriate information, it will continue

to seek fair and satisfactory solutions with patients. >> we discussed all 100 of these cases. we met for over 20 hours. st. joseph's medical center is not willing to except responsibility, and they are not willing to take care of the patients they said they would take care of. >> miller's signed a letter he sent to his patients had several other cardiologists review the files of the patients in question. he says the letter shows those cardiologists found discrepancies in this patient's medical records. the hospital responded saying the responded sayingsgmc said a letter to -- saying that sjmc sending a letter to patients was not proof of fault. miller says he just wants to its clients back to the negotiation table to work out a settlement. >> the doctor left st. joseph's medical center of the summer of

2009. over this past summer, the maryland board of physicians filed charges against him. >> still more of the same. that is the weather story and the trend for this week ever since we got that trouble hybrid storm last thursday. we have been cooler than normal and have not got much of a break. yesterday, we did get up to 60 degrees, but take a look at the spiral spin of the precipitation. that upper level load is still holding steady. the center of it is to our north. most of the precipitation as a result is to our north, but with that said, we cannot rule out a passing shower this afternoon. 59 downtown. only 56 of the airport this afternoon, and we are dealing with low 50's right now. if we are lucky, we will make it up to 60 degrees today, but i think we will see a chillier than normal day.

>> thanks. new developments. maryland's attorney general has issued a statement saying in part that state lottery officials should not be able to stop 10 national gaming from campaigning against a proposed casino in and around a county. the developer of the proposed slot parlor had argued that the owner of the recently opened hollywood casino in gary bill should not be allowed to support a campaign against them. the developer calls the anti- lots tv ads and direct mailings lies. >> you do not mix drinks, you have to be over 21, and it is a separate building -- this is a lie. >> the state lottery is expected to meet to make a final decision on the matter. former maryland governor bob ehrlich has released another at fanning the flames of an already hotly contested race. the new spot is the republican candidate's latest attack ad charging the current governor

used a state agency to deceive residence for his own political gain. of course, 11 news has checked the facts. to see the most recent reports and other fat checks, check out the politics page of wbaltv.com. additional funding for maryland has been announced aimed at keeping tobacco out of the hands of maryland. the department of health and mental hygiene join the food and drug administration to celebrate maryland's 50% drop in the adult smoking, making it the sixth lowest rate for smokers. local officials hope the grant for statewide tobacco retailer inspections and enforcement will help keep those numbers down. >> now is an active partner with the fda in the fight to prevent the sale of tobacco products to underage youth. we know that starting in early and stopping children from stopping is the most effective battle long term that we have. >> maryland is one of only three

states to receive a grant as part of president obama's smoking family prevention and tobacco control at. baltimore police are investigating an overnight shooting in south baltimore. investigators say a woman was shot in the back around midnight. no word on a suspect or motive. baltimore county officials are touting their latest crime statistics. officials say between january and june of this year, crime in the county was at a 35-year low. homicides were down 44% compared to last year, plus there were decreases in rape, robbery, burglary, arson, and that. >> it is gratifying to be able to report a continuing trend of decrease in crime, but particularly so in these challenging economic times. >> baltimore reports solving 84% of crime cases, including 90% of murders. we were over the scene in northeast baltimore after a truck got caught under a bridge.

it happened around 5:45 yesterday afternoon. the accident pealed part of the truck close the roof off and back up traffic for a while. there were no reports of injuries, and the bridge was not damaged. a restaurant in south pointe will remain closed today after it caught fire early yesterday morning. officials say the blaze started on the roof of the eatery but did not spread inside. crews did call the alarm to help with ventilating. because of the fire remains under investigation. former president and first lady jimmy and rosalynn carter stopped to lend a hand for habitat humanity. the couple joined volunteers in helping to make over the neighborhood and make the dream of owning a new home a reality for one baltimore resident. >> a foundation to be part of a community, a family, and stability for me and my family. >> these are people who've never

in their lives have on a home. >> we appreciate a chance to do it. >> everything they are doing. the carters have been volunteering for 27 years and have helped build homes in several countries. sunday marks 10/10/10. help us capture this momentous day. show your pictures on wbaltv.com. we will show you the best photographs next week. here is what is coming up -- florida police officer arrested and charged in a horrific crime. we are covering the nation next. and projections for holiday sales are not as good as expected.

when i melt to sleep with unisom sleep melts i get to sleep faster, stay asleep and wake refreshed. melt to sleep fast. unisom sleep melts. >> covering the nation this afternoon -- demonstrators are, the u.s. supreme court this afternoon as a controversial free-speech case gets under way. justices will be hearing arguments in a lawsuit filed by the father of a marine corps member killed in iraq who was outraged members of the westborough baptist church protest to the funeral. the older whether the marine's father can collect $5 million awarded to him by a lower court.

florida police officer was reportedly in uniform and on duty when police say he killed his former girlfriend. the officer is accused of killing his 35-year-old girlfriend last week. her family the originally reported her missing by suspected foul play after finding her missing -- after finding a blood stain in her home. he is accused of shooting and strangling his axe and dumping her body behind her house. he was arrested thursday after investigators found beach's body. meanwhile, a troubling story on the house side of florida as police investigate the death of a toddler left inside a hot car. police say a local church pastor left his 1-year-old daughter in a child seat in the car for more than three hours sunday while he attended services. police say james told them he forgot about the child. charges have yet to be filed. still ahead, it is beginning to

look a lot like christmas, especially around the stores. in this afternoon's consumer alert, the forecast for this holiday is spending. >> our forecast not looking sunny, but it actually is. at least by tomorrow it will be. we will let you know how this will break apart as we go into the rest of our work week coming up. right now, we can see a little bit of break in the cloud cover. bit of break in the cloud cover.

so who is "making stuff up"? the news media say it's bob ehrlich...

with attacks that have been called "false" and "misleading." made up attacks bob ehrlich knows aren't true. but here's what's not made up. bob ehrlich's $3 billion in taxes and fees. the $2.5 million he got paid working at a lobbying firm. or the fact ehrlich worked for the casinos to put slots at arundel mills mall. now, bob...that's all true. >> in this afternoon's consumer alert, ford wants to bring back the luxury of the lincoln with an overhaul. a new look, high-end dealers. part of the plan includes dropping about 175 lincoln dealerships. executives want to focus on the top 130 american metro areas where they think they have the best chance of marketing and selling luxury lincolns.

look for seven new or improved models in the next four years, all in an effort to attract younger buyers. the first forecast is out on how much christmas shoppers might be spending this year, believe it or not, and while the figures are not that impressive, they are still a lot better than the last two seasons. >> with retail sales christmas two years ago down a disastrous 4% and an uptick last year of only 0.4%, analysts find it easy to avoid being overly optimistic about this year. >> we know we are comparing ourselves to pretty tough years the last years, and we know that the economy in general is more stable than it was in those years. >> the national retail federation is expecting to bring up a 2.3% increase in holiday sales this year, matching the average annual increase over the last decade. it is a bright projection for retailers as well as those looking for work.

>> last year in 2009, the retail industry created about 500,000 temporary jobs, and every indication we have gotten this far is that we are going to do that were even better than that this year. >> retail sales have been up and down all year, so finishing stronger, if only slightly stronger, is still better than the alternative. >> the good news is all of this mess we have been contending with all week will be out of here by tomorrow and certainly in full force by friday when the sun will make a nice comeback, but in the meantime, it is pretty dismal today. we still see the spiral counterclockwise motion. that is where most of the showers are. a little bit of light rain rolled through today. a little bit of drizzle, but this is a similar weather pattern to what we have been

looking at all week long, so plenty of crowds out there. a couple of sunbreaks may allow us to get up closer to it. 55 is the high on monday. topped out at 60 yesterday with a few crowd breaks, and today, it looks like we are on a similar pattern. the coolest location, only 52 right now. we are splitting the difference on the eastern shore. out in the mountains of western maryland, it feels like late fall. 46 degrees. mostly cloudy and intermittent showers throughout. hit or miss. mostly cloudy, 58 degrees, and we cannot rule out a passing light rain developing as the afternoon progresses. not a great day with the showers hanging around. 95 is the record high, set back in 1941. 33 is the record low. we are not threatening a record with all of this monster, but we are well below normal, which is

71 degrees, but the good news is we will be at least near that benchmark by tomorrow. 40's again tonight. 50 about downtown. mostly cloudy. slight chance for a passing shower. this upper level low needs to go on and move up to the north out of our area. low pressure close to the jersey shore yesterday is now offshore, so that is good news. it is going to take a little push. not going to happen until late tonight and into early tomorrow. we will build in a stabilized our weather pattern, and we will see a good dose of sun as well. we also have this tropical depression, and it is a sub- tropical depression, the 17th one of the year, but the good news is it is not expected to affect land. computer models have a going often to the atlantic, but it is the kind of year -- the time of year where we could see some activity.

dramatic improvement. it is going to be breezy as the low pressure moves to the north and high pressure builds behind it. sunny but 70, and when will be around tomorrow. friday mild, 75 degrees. saturday and sunday looking good. perfect weather for the ravens taking on the broncos'. temperatures in the upper 60's net 70. slight chance of some showers. >> in this afternoon's medical alert, a british study shows children born to women who drank lightly during pregnancy appear to suffer no behavioral problems. researchers say women who indulge in one or two alcoholic beverages a week had children with no more social difficulties than those who abstain from drinking during pregnancy. because it is not clear what amount of alcohol is safe, pregnant women are strongly advised not to drink at all. about 65,000 cases of

parkinson's disease will be diagnosed in the u.s. this year. it disables the movements of people that it inflicts, but you would never know that by looking at the participants in a special dance class. >> size, center. >> the movements in this dance class are designed to liberate. >> i was pretty stiff, and i could not do much. i was confined to a wheelchair. >> now, she is on her feet. she and the other participants in this class suffer from parkinson's disease. >> exercise keeps us mobile, just like anyone else. like a machine, if you do not run it, you get rusty. that is the consensus. >> each person in the class is at a different stage of the disease. some come with caretakers. others are arrive alone. they all agree, though -- moving to the music is powerful medicine. >> something magic happens when

you do this to music. people do things you cannot just do standing up, in a house, or in an exercise class. >> people get a sense of where their body is meant to be sitting, and they put their body there. >> stan heads the parkinson's working group. he heads the class. >> when you have pd, you live very much in the present, so when you feel better for an hour, that as an hour of your life that you feel good. it is a real bonus. >> even if it is just an hour at a time, this program is producing results and offering rewards. >> you move and you do not think about where it hurts. you can move to the music where i could not move if the music were not there and the rhythm or not there. >> step, together. step, together. >> that was a very inspiring story.

next, your maryland lottery pick 3 and pick 4 numbers, but first, a look at how wall street is performing this hour. stay with us.

>> welcome back. time now for your maryland lottery midday pick 3 and pick 4 numbers. >> your pick 3 game, here we go. we have six, as printed on the ball. next number is -- that is a nine as printed on the ball. your final number is 87, making your picked three numbers 6, 9, and 7. visit your favorite retailer for details. now, your pick 4 details. we have a 5, followed by -- all

right, that is an 8. the next number is of five. your last number for your pick 4 game is an aide. recapping your pick 4 numbers today -- 58, -- 5, 8, 5, 8. maryland lottery, let yourself play. >> finally going to say goodbye to the rain? >> not until tomorrow. in the meantime, we are stuck in the near-60-degree weather. we did see some passing showers early this morning. tomorrow, breezy, partly cloudy, gorgeous on friday. then, we are 73 on saturday. 70 on sunday. partly cloudy to mostly sunny all over the weekend, so it is all good. >> cannot complain. thank you, and be sure to tune in tonight at 5:00. have a great day. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute

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