the five at thousand block of clifton avenue in south baltimore. right now, they are interviewing a man and a woman and at least two children living inside of that home. that is near the carey married major center where we are right now. the folks who work here, they're very relieved that the animals are safe. >> members of baltimore parks and rec say that police saved tended for exotic animals from a house in southwest baltimore. police say an iguana, several turtles, a gecko, and the madagascar hissing cockroach were taken out as well as merchandise and stolen cash from the curing marine nature center from two break-ins about one over the weekend and another one just monday night. >> the animals were unharmed.

detectives are on the scene. >> police are still trying to figure out of the suspects had from someone who worked at the nature center. >> we're still looking at the possibility that it was an inside job. a window was unlocked and there was no sign of forced entry. >> this is still a very new investigation that is going on. folks at the nature center are not commenting now because of the nature of the investigation. we will continue following this story for you tonight. vekton night, another maryland native has given his life in the war in afghanistan. lutz diedialist david ruc

thursday. he is a three-year veteran and is survived by his wife and two daughters. >> in tonight's education alert, it is back to the ballot box for thousands of baltimore city teachers who are said to vote on a new contract. it is clear some teachers still have problems with the agreement. tim tooten is live in northwest baltimore. >> many said they would not vote for the contract. even so, many are pleased with the contract. the crux mary made the rounds of one of five voting locations where teachers can cast their ballots. teachers this time will use

electronic voting machines. >> we have talked to over 3200 teachers in face-to-face conversations. i do not know what else we could have done to help people understand. >> i would like to take this opportunity to speak directly to baltimore is dedicated teachers about the upcoming vote on the contract. >> my feeling is if the school is so much more improved then why change? >> there is no evidence that the mayor or that the union would sign a contract that is not complete. that is all we ask, that we can

look at something we can judge for ourselves. >> he will always have a majority of people who are against it, no matter what. this is a contract for teachers. they are at the heart of it. >> voting takes place first thing tomorrow morning 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at about five locations around the city you can see the when and where. go to wbaltv.com and click on the alert. >> after months of research, the ame announcedutered gam it will be and renamed.

that is right, it will become notre dame of maryland university. what does that mean? everything, in this case. >> [unintelligible] >> it is the first catholic women's college to offer a four- year degree. its university status embraces its new leadership roles in liberal arts, sciences, and education. the college of notre dame is one of several to change its name recently. western maryland changed its name to make daniels college in 2002. in 2000 for mounting mary -- in

2004 announcing mary's college became st. mary's university. claxton night, the foreclosure crisis continues as the senate banking committee continues the tingling problems. flawed document recently suspended foreclosures are under scrutiny. >> allegations of flawed foreclosure pastorate -- practices and fumbled mortgage contracts have threatened to undermine the nation's economy. that is in a brief report from the congressional oversight panel created to monitor the bailout of wall street. there are widespread problems, including lenders rushing mortgage contracts without verifying proper documentation and processing and rubber

stamping for closure papers without reviewing files, these are mistakes that have cost some americans their homes. >> they should know in the very least that the process is being handled fairly and legally according to the law. >> bank leaders told the panel the problems are mostly due to technical errors and vowed to review the process. >> but some did not by the explanation from lenders. lawmakers say any problems, along with confidence in the system, need to be restored.

>> it could be very serious, especially with the economy in the shape it's in right now. >> it has been an overcast and wet day. live view from skyteam 11 with wet roadways in the region there is more on the way. it is probably good to factor in somewhat troubled times. moving from south to north across the region it is even possible that we might get into a little bit of thunder as the evening wears on. temperatures are quite warm cannot even get into the 60's. the warmer it gets, the more prone we will be to thundershowers, even overnight.

the good news is we expect the sunshine to return during the afternoon tomorrow. maybe the big feature for tomorrow, once this storm blows away, some gusty winds are on tap. >> and you can follow the forecast anywhere, anytime, 24/7. just go to wbaltv.com. there is a link on the homepage. >> are you over medicating your child? that may be the case according to researchers when it comes to your infections. the cracks and -- >> and reaction tonight to the roel engagement and what many have speculated on for months. >> in consumer alert, the service provider that will soon raining on at&t's parade.

>> it is an 89-year tradition and it is the week before thanksgiving. i'm

>> it was a deadly car accident that garnered national headlines last year because it involved

charlie davidson of the -- charlie davies of the u.s. soccer team. it also included roberta. tonight we are hearing from her family for the first time. >> charlie davies is back playing in europe. but until tonight, we did not hear from the family that had lost so much more. >> it was the reason charlie davies missed the world cup, a horrific one-car crash on the george washington parkway in washington, va., in the early morning hours of october 19, 2009. it is also the reason this woman lost her only daughter. the 22-year-old victim of the mother is talking about the car crash for the first time. the driver pled guilty to -- involuntary manslaughter and drunken-driving in court on

tuesday. the night of the crash, davies was in dc with a national team preparing for a world cup qualifying match the next day. he met ashleigh and espinosa at a bar. the offer to drive him back to his hotel. espinosa's blood alcohol content was almost twice the legal limit. the impact of the crash split the vehicle in half. ashleigh died at the scene. >> i remember just screaming and screaming for hours. and i remember just calling my doctorate, saying, just need me -- to meet me at the doctor. take my heart, take my titles, anything to keep my daughter life. >> babies suffered several broken bones. today, -- davies suffered several broken bones. today he is in good enough shape to play again.

while his injuries garnered the headlines, this woman lost a daughter. >> i feel like i'm in a nightmare and i never wake up. gregg's espinosa got eight years of involuntary -- for involuntary manslaughter. and five years forging and driving. >> today marked the beginning of salvation army's red kettle campaign. the red kettle campaign, which began back in 1891 provides food and clothing to children

worldwide. i's de's would -- hund program, which began in 1988, has donated more than $18 million to the services. >> more stem cell taken from the umbilical cord blood may one day be able to help treat rheumatoid arthritis. with chinese researchers confusing umbilical cord cells with -- into mice with rheumatoid arthritis, it reduced the inflammation and overall severity of the condition.

the college a new therapy for a disease that right now, has no long-term care. and new research for something you probably heard, but parents have a hard time accepting, that child would your infections usually -- year infections usually clear up -- ear infections usually clear up on their own. >> this doctor sees her share of kids with ear infections. getting a good look inside squirmy and kesick kids years cn be difficult. most give up their prescription pads. >> if it were truly in infection, the pediatrician would prescribe an antibiotic. that is if there is a bacterial cause for the infection. >> but now, a majority of kids here infections clear up on their own without antibiotics.

>> help the kids to get acute ear infections are sometimes able to fight it on their own without antibiotics. >> one doctor says without -- one out of every 100 will recover without a prescription >> if you were to go back and treat that 100 children with antibiotics, you would expect 80 92.go to numbe >> a few children developed rashes or diary -- diarrhea from the medicine. one or two will develop a resistance to the treatment. kids should be seen by a doctor for a professional diagnosis, even if you leave the office empty-handed.

>> and doctors say there is no reason children should suffer from pain from a near infection. even if they do not have an antibiotic, over-the-counter pain relievers can help them feel better sooner. >> now your insta-weather + forecast with tom tasselmyer. >> hd doppler has looked pretty much the same all day. rain scattered across the state throughout this day with yellow tracking over the bay there. that is the heavier rain. we are not quite finished with this just yet. the actual storm is spinning over northern kentucky over ohio. it is the area of rain out there that is producing rain over ohio. it will be tracking no. 2 ohio tonight and tracking east to new england.

if we check temperatures around here today, it has not changed much, from 46 in the day to 57 in the afternoon. as the storm tracks to the northeast and hence to new england it will head back over the mid-atlantic. down around myrtle beach and south carolina with wins over the south it will start drying into the region. showers and maybe thunderstorm as it gets warm enough overnight. as the train tracks north east into new england tomorrow we will see clearing skies coming in fairly quickly the winds may

guest 45 tippen -- 35 to 40 miles per hour. it will get windy with his departing storm, even though we will see some sunshine. thursday, some cold in the northwest that might bring as a sprinkle. it is going to be kind of chili out there -- chiolly out there. tonight, 47 to 52, essentially, where we are now. tomorrow, loh 60's as the west wind gusts over 30 miles per hour. but the skies will be clearing. out on the day tomorrow, a gale warning because of the strong winds. 15 to 20 knot breeze testing -- gusting -- the winds are gusting

to 45 out in the mountains. strong wind gusts around the bay as well. the 62 with clearing skies and on the lower eastern shore, sunshine moved in after some early morning showers. a breezy day down there as well, gusting to about 40 miles per hour. the seven-day forecast, one more mild day tomorrow. the cool air returns thursday followed by a sprinkle in the evening. 52 with the sunshine friday. tap near the 60-degree mark saturday with partly sunny skies. >> still ahead, the ravens wide receiver derrick mason perform speak for what may be his toughest -- toughest crowd yet -- performs before what may need his toughest crowd yet. >> and prince william and his

new fiancee, all eyes are on them.

>> wide receiver derrick mason showed off his seen chops today

as he's irritated some of his -- his singing chops as he serenade some of his fans today. he kicked off at the third season of his karaoke tour. >> he had a pretty nice voice there, too. i'm surprised. if you have not already heard, it is official. prince william is getting married. he is in gates two longtime girlfriend, kate middleton. -- he is engaged to longtime girlfriend, kate middleton. >> after months of speculation about an imminent engagement between prince william and kate middleton, when it happened if it took everybody by surprise. a very short and distinct

statement in which it said that the prince of wales is delighted to announce an engagement. it will be taking place in the spring or summer of 2011. it will take place in london, but nothing more specific than that. the news coming out of the statement is that william and kate actually became engaged not today, but he popped the question apparently in kenya on a private holiday. it was a 10-day samari -- a safari. and now he has informed the queen and other family members. >> we're absolutely delighted and thrilled of the possibility of a wedding sometime next year. >> this was the last paragraph in a four or five paragraphs statement, "the couple will be living in north wales. they already have a cottage up there because that is where william is based.

there, the princess katherine will eventually become queen catherine." >> if you need more coverage, and we know lots of you do, our coverage continues on our website. for reaction from the british prime minister and to see how the world romance blossomed, go to our website wbaltv.com, click on entertainment. >> still ahead, today's top stories, including the new college of notre dame of maryland. >> and congressman charlie rangel is found guilty of ethics violation. what that means for him. >> and a call for a ban on pet projects known as earmarks. the at least one democratic senator says she is all for

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♪[ male announcer ]... with new breakfast melts. try the sunrise subway melt®, or the melt-tastic breakfast b.m.t. on flatbread. they're melted goodness made irresistibly delicious, get yours starting at 7am. subway. build your better breakfast. >> live, local, late breaking, you're watching wbal tv 11 news in hd. 11 news at 5:00 p.m. in hd continues now. >> new tonight at 5:30 p.m., when senators calling for her colleagues to go on record for or against your marks, those pork barrel projects that lawmakers commandeer for their districts. it is clear mccaskill, a longtime proponent of the earmarks for her district.

>> it is putting pressure on democrats and republicans. sally kidd has the latest from the washington bureau. >> the debate over your marks, -- over earmarks really intensified. the question government watchers are asking is, is the port gravy train finally gripingrinding toa stop? market republicans -- earmark -- anti- earmark republicans are calling for more cutting of spending. >> cut the spending, cut the dead and get more private sector job creation going again. >> now claire mccaskill has said she will seek a senate-wide ban on pet projects and for others

to go on the record. other democratic leaders say they will not go along with it. >> it just gives more power to the executive. i'm not one that believes in that. >> and others say that any crackdown on your marks is misdirected. -- earmarks is misdirected. >> we are talking about one-half of 1 percent of the budget. >> on the house side, speaker to putjohn boehner has pushe republicans on notice that there will be no spending. presque and charlie rangel has been found guilty of ethics violations in the short trial. he walked out early yesterday, saying he could not afford an attorney. but the ethics committee found

him guilty of ethics violations. >> sitting in judgment of a fellow colleague is a difficult task, but i believe that you, madam chair, and all members of this subcommittee has held yourselves in a very non- partisan and professional manner and a dignified manner, which i hope will restore credibility to the house of representatives. >> his management has yet to be decided and could range from a boat -- a vote that deplores his conduct to a denial of privileges. >> a frost bird native is the latest casualty in the war in afghanistan. 28-year-old army specialist david lutz died last thursday, just three weeks -- three days after he was wounded by an ied.

he is survived by his wife and two daughters. some animals at the corrine marean nature center have been recovered. this is the second break-in at the center. the first one happened this past weekend when 10 exotic animals were taken. investigators say the alarm system was not working and someone who works at the facility may be partly to blame. noted gamename of notre do will change -- the name of notre dame university will change to notre dame university of maryland. >> 11 news reporter jennifer franciotti has a story.

>> fifth graders at friendship valley elementary in westminster are practicing in musical that they will perform for their families and the rest of the school as part of american education week. the theme is green. >> it is about things that we can do to go green, the tips and things that would make our earth cleaner. >> it is really fun because we get to sing all the songs and it is so much fun. >> it really is a good message to show parents and the community as well what we're doing in school. >> and opening the school to families is the point of american education week. an 89-year tradition, it celebrates schools across the country. families are invited into classrooms, like this kindergarten class. >> everyone can come into my grandparents, -- somebody just

brought her sister and her husband in. >> to see what the classroom environment is like. to hear exactly what the students are learning, and to hear the with the teachers actually present the information to the students. it also gives them a sneak preview of the child's behavior in the classroom. >> it is wonderful to have the time to come into school. >> to find out more about the activities, contact the school district. >> we have been talking about the alcoholic energy drink, four loco. it is back in the news. >> it is banned in several states and now could be banned

federally. >> and what happened in ohio that has officials investigating the source of a scare. >> i'm jayne miller. maryland's new congressman has put himself on the map. put himself on the map. boy we wish edmunds.com hadn't told you to start looking over your shoulder. ♪ we were gonna sneak up on ya. ya know, with our 1.4 liter turbo charged engine and our six speed automatic transmission. shhhh...

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? a bomb threat emailed to the fbi forced ohio state university to evacuate four campus buildings. more than 32,000 text messages were sent to students, notifying them to stay out of the area. so far from a search of the building has not found anything in the source of the threat is unknown. the george w. bush presidential center in dallas, the former president and his wife, laura, were joined for an event, including vice president dick cheney and condoleezza rice. the center will house a policy institute. >> today's groundbreaking marks the beginning of a journey. we take the first step toward construction of this

presidential center, which will hub of ideas and actions based upon timeless principles. >> it will also display artifacts from bush's presidency. it is expected to open sometime in 2013. >> and just after new york state banned the alcoholic energy drink four local, bees -- four loco, they could be banned altogether. alcohol and caffeine aren't unsafe makes -- are an unsafe mix. >> it is almost a death wish disguised as an energy drink. by adding caffeine to the dead chocoholic drinks, the effects of alcohol -- to potential alcoholic drinks, the effects of the alcohol are masked.

>> the drink is being blamed for several hospitalizations. federal officials would not confirm that a ban is imminent. there is word tonight one of the most popular itunes holdouts has finally relented. you can finally get beatles' music from itunes. >> we will meet an amazing young man honored at the white house. >> and area of low pressure moving north on the west side of the mountains. we do expect to see some sign tomorrow.

>> for the second time in less than a week, police are investigating a break-in at a west baltimore nature center. now the investigation focuses on

a home a short distance away. and a congressman to except controversy which remarks about health care on viral. health care on viral. to where to get the car fixed. auto service plus is the one auto repair shop that's out to earn women's respect and trust. >> auto service plus. service you can trust. go to autoserviceplus.biz for a location near you. roll it! >> announcing our fall and winter maintenance specials.

you could save up to $65 dollars in additional rebates. only from auto service plus. service you can trust. go to autoserviceplus.biz for a location near you. >> tonight, president obama presented the medal of honor to the first army recipients since the vietnam war. >> it was for thwarting the capture of a fellow soldier in afghanistan. >> even with the medal of honor around his neck, army staff sgt salvatore junta is humble, insisting that he did not earn the award alone. but on that day in afghanistan in 2007, there was nothing

mediocre about his bravery. as a group of paratroopers came under intense fire -- >> it was an ambush so close that the guns and bullets were instantaneous. >> he ran on the incident and was dragging a wooded staff sgt away. -- he ran on instinct and was dragging a wounded staff sgt away. >> he took aim and took out one of the insurgents and wounded another, who ran off. >> both of them gave everything. every single tomorrow they will ever have they gave for their country that night. >> the other soldier perished and in a ceremony at the white house -- but i'm going to go off script here for a second and -- >> i'm going to go off script here for a second and say, i really like this guy.

>> i would get this back in the second to have my friends with me right now. >> there has been a call for more medal of honor recipients from today's wars. while only eight have been given out for iraq and afghanistan, almost 250 were awarded during the vietnam war. >> and now, your 11 insta- weather plus forecast with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> wet weather has been with us throughout the day. we have a few more showers coming through our region. so far, rainfall totals have been manageable. one-quarter to one-half of an inch in most locations. to the south and east you see some yellow and orange popping up and there's the chance that a thunderstorm or two could crawl

up the coast out of, say, the carolinas, and move on in here. this system is expected to track to the northeast and into new england overnight. temperatures around here in red 50's right now. -- are in the upper 50's right now. i do not think the temperatures will fall much at all. bever 50's to near 60. salzburg in the low 60's right now. wind advisories out for tomorrow. if we get the warm and wet part of the storm tonight. when it leaves, the gusty winds will follow. gusts over 40 miles per hour potentially in some of those higher elevations tomorrow afternoon. all of this wet weather will

follow this system and feed into our region. some of the warm air is beating up into our region and could trigger -- feeding up into our region and could trigger more rain by tomorrow morning. we will see some sunshine tomorrow, but it is going to be windy. on thursday, a surge of cold air crosses the mountains and triggers no -- triggers snow in the higher elevations. it will be guest the continuing into thursday and friday. -- gusty winds continuing into thursday and friday. heights tomorrow, 60 to 65. winds gusting over 30 miles per hour tomorrow afternoon. son up at 6:52 a.m. it will be a gale warning on the bay, up to 3 feet. 49 for the high which hours in

amounts to more. the rain changes over to snow in the maryland mountains tomorrow night. strong wind gusts expected on the lower eastern shore as the rain moves out to see tomorrow morning. the seven-day forecast, highs only around 50. 35, friday morning, sunday during the day. upper 50's for saturday and sunday. there's a chance for rain again next tuesday. >> and other major met -- a major announcement from apple. mariann bannister has the details in tonight's consumer alert. >> you can now book travel dates to a note -- a whole new slew of cities. it offers service to boston, and richmond va as well as toronto. it departs from the white marsh parking lot. nagma bus already offers trips to philadelphia and washington

-- mega bus already offers trips to philadelphia and washington. there is a link at our website wbaltv.com for more information. apple's itunes will now be selling the legendary beatles' music. beatlemaniat wave of be romani swept through in 1964. now apple is counting on a whole new form of media. >> they were the digital holdouts. >> but that ended when they agreed to put some of the studio albums and concert albums on apple's itunes. >> they will see this joint splash of beetles attention being paid and it will probably bring some new fans to the

beatles catalog. >> it could not only boosts zabul's music business, but also spur on its hard will -- boost apple's music business, but spurr on its hardware business as well. until now, legal wrangling and concerns over the beatles legacy has kept them out of the digital realm. nevertheless, the group's popularity has endured. >> the decade that ended it as eminem outsoldly m the beatles in popularity. >> there are still a few others who have not made that music available digitally. that includes garth brooks, kid rock, and the cdc. in the meantime, apple is

reportedly working on a new iphone that will run solely on verizon's network. at&t has already begun to diversify its own offerings to compete. the phone will reportedly hit store shelves by the end of the first quarter next year. >> maryland posing a congressman is in the center of a new controversy tonight. >> he is getting backlash over remarks he made about health benefits of a u.s. congressman. benefits of a u.s. congressman. >> joe flacco needs some

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>> you may remember a story we did on blizzard babies a week ago. tonight, we want to introduce you to one of them, little fletcher. he was born on november 8. it is part of a blizzard baby phenomenon that has given rise to an unusual number of babies born last february in a blizzard. you can see it on our website at wbaltv.com to find a link on our homepage. some special athletes got to play flag football at the ravens facility and they were welcomed by none other than quarterback joe flacco. >> for some special olympic athletes, what a thrill. they get to play right where the ravens play.

they came to play, and play they did. four special olympics flag football teams got to play at the the ravens football facility. >> we so rarely have people at the facility, so we wanted to open it up to one of the nonprofits that we work with. we have a great relationship with them. >> coach warren coaches the howard county hawks. he said his players have talked about coming here for over a month. >> these guys were so excited to be here. when they got up here, they were just buzzing like a light bulb with 200 watts. >> there was lots of action, lots of good plays, and a special treat for the players. rated quarterback joe flacco was here to stay high. -- raven's quarterback joe

flacco was here to say hi. >> [unintelligible] >> for the special olympics athletes, this is quite a day. >> [unintelligible] >> it is just a really cool moment for these kids and families. we are proud to be as a seated with the baltimore ravens at this moment. >> very nice. that is all for us at 5:00 p.m. here is what is coming up new at 6:00 p.m. >> almost a dozen exotic animals that were missing from the mariann nature center have been found unharmed. we have the -- from a maryland nature center have been found unharmed. we have the details, coming up. >> and a brand new contract. that story, coming up. but critics jump on remarks by marilyn's new congressman.

here is his explanation, -- >> critic's job on remarks by maryland's new congressman. here is his explanation. >> marilyn's new congressman takes up controversy with remarks about -- maryland's new congressman takes up a controversy which remarks about health care. >> jane miller is live in the newsroom tonight. >> andy harris tried to explain his remarks today, remarks his critics jump on as pure hypocrisy. >> the remarks by andy harris came monday during freshman orientation in washington. the session is intended to acquaint the new members of congress with their new jobs. arris is maryland's uconn -- new congressman in the first district. as reported by the