this is inside a baltimore city home. dingy cages, dried blood and scored dogs show signs of an illegal blogging of -- dog breeding operation. >> a family has been accused of killing a dog inside an area dog park. >> a man was accused of shooting bear-bear. shelton has more. >> >> the judge determined that excessive force was used when the dog was shot. as a result of that guilty verdict, the man must pay a fine and faces one year probation. >> he will ultimately walk away without having a criminal conviction. >> a federal police officer did not say much as he left the district court. a judge found him guilty of animal cruelty and firing a gun near homes.

shepard shot the dog with his 9 millimeter handgun. it happened at the quell one community dog park. shepherd says that he did it because he thought that the husky was attacking his dog. prosecutors claim that they receive a 911 col. >> i am an off-duty police officer. i just discharged my walk into a dog that was attacking my dog. >> did you killed the dog? >> no, the dog is still alive. >> obviously, he was not allowed to go on a mission because of this overseas to defend our country. hopefully, things will get back to normal for him. >> a judge sentenced shepherd to a year of unsupervised probation and 80 hours of community service as well as a $500 fine to >> i am happy there was no overreaction. mr. shepherd has no prior record.

it was not a surprise that he would receive probation before judgment. the judge indicated that he never thought that this type of situation would occur again. >> of the dog's owner showed no visible reaction to the verdict. >> no comment. >> animal protesters were less than thrilled with the decision. >> a little more than what was done. i am not thinking jail, but a lot more community service for some education. he just overstepped his bounds. >> although they would like to see shepperd face different penalties, and other animal rights activists are happy that he was held accountable. >> now, to our other big story. city police and animal control have rescued nearly half a dozen dogs in a house in west baltimore. it is believed to be the home base of a dogfighting ring. officials are looking for to

people behind this case of cruelty. david collins has the latest. >> an overwhelming spent -- stench permeates the basement. some of these pictures are provided by baltimore city animal control. cages lined the walls like a jail sales. two of the cages had no binding on the bottom, leaving dog's paws vulnerable to a piercing by the metal. the floor is covered in feces, surrounded by urine stains. there is no sign of food or water. this dog is still licking his wounds after animal control rescued him. about 9:30 a.m., authorities responded to a dogfighting complaint. the house appeared vacant except for a light that was on upstairs. they entered through an open back door. authorities say that a room on

the third floor appeared to be the battering of because of the amount of blood splattered on the walls and bed mattresses on the floor. sadly, according to experts, these animals may have been there for training or used as bait. >> unfortunately, one of the ways that they trained dogs to fight is to use dogs that do not know how to fight as bait dogs and put them in an area with a dog that is aggressive and it helps that dog build confidence on their fighting skills because they can really take down the other dog. >> this football's teeth have been -- pit bull's teeth had been filed down. city police found one animal dead in a plastic bag with a good amount of blood. it appeared to have by and two marks on its hind legs. -- bite and shoot marks on its

hind legs. neighbors that declined to go on camera all said that they had no idea what was going on. there is a school run across the street. >> this is not something that the police department or animal control can do on their own. >> experts have examined the dogs and determined that they are gentle and they believe that they would make good, harmless pets. they would soon be available for adoption. david collins, wba all -- tv 11 news. >> around 4:00 p.m. today, a 16 year-old was stabbed in the back during an altercation involving other students at douglass high school. the young man is expected to be okay and the search for his attacker continues. >> a former morgan state university football player is under our rest, accused of physically assaulting a female student on campus. the incident quickly turned physical and was witnessed by a number of students who reported

to campus police. but not until 24 hours later the suspect was immediately dismissed from the football team. >> any time you have a male student involved in some sort of assault on a female student, we take that very seriously. the female student refused treatment at the scene. baltimore county police hope that the city will help them catch a man that rob a woman in a supermarket last week. at the man snatched a woman's purse while she was shopping. if you know who this man is, you are urged to call metro crime stoppers. >> in tonight's project economy report, 38 states saw their economy take a hit in 2009. one of the 12 that did not was maryland.

our gdp inched up by one 100th of a percent, but nonetheless, the gdp was two hundred 59.2 $9 billion. that was good enough to rank 15th among all 50 states. the nation's gdp was down more than 2%. the u.s. district court has temporarily shut down a mortgage released firm. -- relief firm. >> the company has been accused of standing homeowners -- of the defendants in the case practice under the umbrella of residential relief foundation.

the company is a bogus firm. >> consumers purchase their services and they think they will get their loans modified so that their payments will be reduced. >> according to court documents, the company at -- contacts consumers by mail and says that the consumer can qualify for a loan modification resulting in late payments waved an interest waived. the company charges a 4 $295 fee up front. according to the ftc, the loan modification never happened. >> we interviewed numerous consumers that report that nothing was done. if they want a loan modification, they need to do it themselves. they are not getting the assistance that was promised

from this company. >> no one came to the door of the company headquarters this afternoon. early this week, the u.s. district court of maryland halted the company's operations. there website explains that their company in sister companies have been placed under a temporary restraining order. >> a hearing is scheduled for wednesday to see if an order will be extended. and this is the 32nd case that the ftc has brought against suspected loan modification companies nationwide. >> with thanksgiving just a few days away, we want to help to save as much as you can. you will find out how to do that in a special section we have created on our web site, "how to have thanksgiving dinner for under $30." you can go to wbaltv.com and

click on consumer alert to the aaa is expecting a travel hike -- travel spite of nearly 12% this year. officials are advising people to get an early start and to expect ingestion. >> we are advising any motorists that are traveling from baltimore from maryland, heading north down towards new jersey, new york and delaware to be mindful that there will be extreme congestion at the new york toll plaza where they have been having construction. the lanes have been altered and we expect that there will be significant delays. >> gas prices have already been rising and they are set to be even higher next week, but that is showing -- and not showing much of an affect on travel plans. >> congressional people will be getting their new offices. >> plus, skyteam 11 will show us

where santa will be hanging out in our area right up until christmas. >> the incinerator is a threat. >> new concerns about mercury levels in some to be government mandated light bulbs. >> those stories and how some are paying top dollar to be space travelers. >> high temperatures on tap for saturday morning, but also a warm up in the seven day forecast. right now, we are down to 35 at the airport. the airport.

>> santa claus has officially come to town. he arrived at inner harbor. i did not know that he lived there. he will be there through christmas. nightly light shows will be seen every half hour from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.. this year, the house has gone green, using a state-of-the-art lighting system.

today, we put them on the table for many this evening. members of the nba team lined up to give the thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings. let's go to california where two turkeys were lucky enough to go to the white house. president obama will pardon at least one of the birds. the alternate will then be sent to george washington mount vernon estate where they will live out the rest of their days. >> on capitol hill, newly elected members of the house were playing the lottery today. the congressional office lottery that is. some can move up to better offices, but the freshmen have to draw a number to get the leftovers. the lower the number, the better the office spaces can get in some taken quite seriously.

>> last night, i practiced throwing out of the tissue box. >> he must have done his job, because he drew the northern 1. incoming senate freshmen will take place -- take part in an office lottery and each will have four hours to decide which office they want. in tonight's consumer alert, a growing problem with a certain type of light bulb. they are called compact fluorescent light bulbs to more than 400 million were purchased last year. while they do save energy, their mercury levels are troublesome after that are thrown out. most of them end up in landfills or have to be incinerated and that causes mercury to be released. experts are not as concerned and they say they will soon be replaced with ellie the lights anyway. >> speaking of mercury, which is a planet, that brings us to this

story. what was once thought to be a childhood dream can now be yours if the price is right. private citizens are putting down big bucks to fly into space. if you have a spare $200,000 flying around, there are some tickets you can get from some travel agencies that are offering you a trip to the stars. >> this is how your $200,000 debenture of a lifetime starts. the space capsule races above the atmosphere into space. space tourists can then unbuckle and float and look outside at planet earth. for only a few minutes, but oh what a few minutes. >> you have to tell me it is probably the coolest thing you'll ever do. >> the man making the pitch is a travel agent that has one of the first contracts to sell tickets and he has put down the $20,000 downpayment himself. >> i am going to space.

that is exciting. i am a pilot and the owner of a large travel company. you cannot get better than that. >> the iconic leader of virgin atlantic is sir richard branson. he has already completed a test flight, but has yet to climb into space for a full test flight. the risk with any space flight increases. is the perceived risk that has some hesitating. this man is going to put up his $20,000. >> in the atmosphere, the risk of any spaceflight increases. it is that perceived risk of a new venture that has some people hesitating. sam penthouses' want to pay his deposit. >> -- penthouse is going to pay his deposit. >> once you get a ticket, you are enrolled in a three day course that will teach all of you need to know about your 3 hour flight.

of those three hours, you will only be in space for a few minutes. >> now, your 11 instaweather + forecast with tom tasselmyer. >> temperatures were a little below normal and we will be back to normal tomorrow and we could see some 60 degree temperatures returning. do not get too full of by that. there is some arctic air and we may feel some of that before the next 70 forecast has run its course. -- 7 day forecast has run its course. the record high as 77 and the record cold is a low 21 degrees back in 1936. mostly clear conditions and you can see our satellite imagery shows a patch of clouds over north central maryland and that may hold the temperature up a couple of degrees. it is 41 in westminster.

it is getting kind of cold in areas where the skies are clear. it is almost to the freezing point in ocean city. look for temperatures to range in the 30's before dawn. generally, we will be just below the freezing point in the northern suburbs. i want to draw your attention to this arctic air in western candidates -- western canada. next friday, some of that cold air will sweep through here and that will generate some lake effect snow. in the meantime, as this drift farther south and east, we will get a warm up going into the early part of next week. clear to partly cloudy skies is the jewel forecast for the next couple of days.

sunny days and clear to partly cloudy skies during the night. 56 to 61 tomorrow. only in the low 50s tomorrow in some areas will close to 60 banks to a westerly breeze and a good deal of sunshine. there is a small craft advisory on the day for the morning hours. the winds will diminish down to 10 knots. in western maryland, it is cold out there in the early morning with 20 is likely and highs in the mid 40's. upper 50s and st. mary's county. temperatures by the shore will hit 60s in many areas by ocean city. if you're one to watch the ravens and the panthers, you will have some nice weather. sunny skies and 64 to 68 by 1:00 p.m. sunday and southwest winds

at 10 to 15 m.p.h.. there is some good stuff down that way. 54 on sunday. monday is a little warmer. tuesday will be up to 65, but that warmer air will bring a chance of showers by tuesday afternoon or evening and a chance of rain on wednesday and maybe even a round of thunderstorms on thursday, thanksgiving day. that will be a cold front coming through and we go from a 60 degree high to high temperatures only in the low 40's with gusty winds by next friday. >> getting down to the end of the high school football still some -- football season. playoffs are coming up next in sports.

the jackpot is an estimated $25 million. you must have these numbers. let's see if we can make you a millionaire tonight. our first number is 31, follow by a54, up next, though we have14, the next number is51 and the final number is 07 the metal ball number is 35. if no one matches all six numbers,

now >>, and 11 sports with pete gilbert. >> a player has a season ending. the offensive tackle bob and smith will play in the army all- american bowl, nationally televised on nbc in san antonio on january 28. your game of the week is undefeated south carroll. from 7 yards out, south carroll is trying to answer and that would have liked to have that pass back. going the other way is the punter and middletown john's out

quickly. it was 14-0. this was a nice effort and good for 26 yards. south carroll got on the board. middletown moved on with a final score of 30-6. city college at eastern set. where is the ball? seriously, where is the ball. smith took it for 48 yards. the extra point was no good. this was an extra port -- extra point of some importance. the mavericks were up seven. wilkins had a good-looking ball over the middle and had it hit.

eastern tech in its middletown next week. -- eastern tech dismal town next week. baltimore got a tough when from the winless bills. you have to keep your guard up. it is really a tough sell against the panthers. it interests all over the field for carolina and the coach has elected to go with brian saint pierre at quarterback. he was not invited to anyone's training camp. he has five career passes. that is that. even so, the ravens maintain the company line. >> you know that it is for to be and when -- be a win. if you go out and did not play

well, you will lose. >> they held their own. madison square garden saw them needing to do more than compete. 28-23 in lionize. the new york kidd slammed home a, 40-36. he landed home three of his own. the freshman point guard had a team high 17. 80-76 with your final tonight. smith put together a nice team for minnesota.

dexter stripling, rise and shine. he made all of his shots. there were five triples. 72-67 final. he is a threat at any time. 89-86 final. the freshman missed three games for the season and he will miss nine, total thanks to an involvement with a manager. that story is just in. we go first to pick things up.

this was the first of two on the night. this was a horrible angle and they somehow beat the blast. they took the opener 10-6. please stay with us, we will check y

when i saw all the jobs disappearing, i knew i needed to find a better way to support my daughter. [ male announcer ] at age forty, greg flowers went back to school.

[ greg ] i got a job as a computer applications engineer. [ male announcer ] but now, some in washington want regulations restricting access to career colleges and universities, denying opportunity to millions of people like greg, letting government decide who can go to college. it's my education, my job, it should be my choice. [ male announcer ] don't let washington get in the way.