captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning. thank you for joining us this morning. let's check the forecast with john collins. not a lot of speculation yesterday. >> i think it was related to the temperatures. for a couplecalleold of weeks. i think a lot of people took off early from work. credit the highways. everything just came together. it was not good -- crowded the highways. it was not good. this morning we're dealing with some of high temperatures. if you did not clear your sidewalk last night, it will be i see this morning. let's look it some of the temperatures. around the beltway, bwi, 21 degrees. gamestop, 22. cockeysville, 20. martin state airport, 27. rock hall, 23 degrees.

a little chilly up there. we're looking at another storm comment this weekend, or at least getting near us. how much snow, we are not sure. we'll tell that coming up. let's check on the traffic. here is kim dacey. >> the major roadways are mostly clear. leave extra time. the side streets are the areas we're seeing some crashes. one is that eastern. watch out for that. a vehicle is stopped on the median. some fluids in the road. we do have a few water main break in the city. one is at highland ave. another at north. lowell melser will have a live report. one lane in each direction is closed there. for the north, there is one at york road. the right lane is blocked at

southbound york road. route 4 924, we have police on the scene and that is an area you might want to avoid. this is greenspring. snow has been moved off of the roadway. 95 at 175 come a disabled vehicle has a clear and it looks like traffic is moving in just fine southbound. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> the affects of the skillful yesterday are still being felt on the roads this morning. lowell melser it is live in east baltimore with more. >> some good news to tell you this morning, concerning this water main break on east north avenue in east baltimore. public works tell me the line has been fixed and they are recharging right now. folks who don't have water should have it momentarily. this has been a huge headache.

the district court is just down the street. the east side district court. traffic was rerouted for several hours. they will have to patch this hole here. public works did have to shut down the blinds to do the work. those water lines are being charged. this affected hundreds of customers. in baltimore county, crews worked on a break last night. looks like this one may have been caused by contractors mistake rather than the cold weather. >> it is the cold weather. it is that time of year. we have had a number of breaks scattered throughout the city. over here in east baltimore, we have this one. >> the good news is the water main break in east baltimore has been fixed. customers who do not have what it should have it momentarily. live in east baltimore, lowell melser, wbal-tv 11 news.

>> it was enough snow to snarl traffic. it was a nightmare. this is 695. this footage taken at 6:00 p.m. last night. it was a steady stream of traffic heading south out of baltimore, well past the normal commute time. school officials want to know how grown man who was able to sneak into a middle school and attacked a student in the bathroom. a male student was attacked by an adult male who manage to sneak into a boys' bathroom at holabird middle school. the suspect told the resource officer he was looking for his little brother. parents are outraged or the security breach. >> why couldn't any adult, and show id before they could get to ask -- get past them to show they are related to somebody? >> that is disturbing.

they have had a problem at the school in a month or so ago. there was a lot down. >> police say the child was able to make enough noise to draw the attention of school police resource officers. the suspect will be identified after appearing before a bill commissioner. it looks like the new year when not bring in new taxes for millions of americans. the house voted to approve the tax package president obama negotiate with republicans. getting the measure to the president's desk was not easy. termers are has the story -- tara mergener has this story. >> the tax compromise is one signature away from becoming law. >> after the vote -- >> the motion is adopted. >> taxes will not spike. >> madam speaker, this is a bill

that is necessary to prevent our economy from getting worse. >> the deal negotiated by the white house and republicans will extend bush-era tax cuts 4 two years, regional unemployment benefits for 13 months, cut sauces pretax, and poump money into the economy. some democrats are not convinced. >> this bill represents an old experiment in supply-side economics. it has failed time and time again at. >> getting to the debate, a battle over raising the estate tax. democratic critics were hoping to tell from the provisions. it is a bonus to the wealthiest few that is not fair, not justifiable, and not fiscally responsible. >> but were defeated. >> families should not -- grieving families should not be

forced to deal with the irs in time of morning -- mourning. >> it is the end of the line for an army doctor who questioned president obama's eligibility to be commander in chief. terrence lakin was sentenced to six months. he will be dismissed from the army. when you hit the road, what will be playing on your radio decks a poll asked 3000 people what their favorite road trip songs of all time are. counting down the top-10 -- "free bird." "riders on the storm." here are your top five. "i get around."

"born to be wild." "on the road again" is number 1. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. what's your favorite song to play in the car as you hit the road? you can share your response at wbaltv.com, and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. it is 23 degrees on tv hill. coming up, the morning's financial news in the bloomberg business report. a pregnant woman is attacked on a bus. it is the end of a broadcasting era. highlights from larry king's final show. >> the snow is gone. a live report, just ahead. >> use extra caution this morning to get to your destination. major roadways are checking out ok. some problems of some of the

>> happy friday. it is a purple friday. it is cold. i'm not write off york road. i'm in timonium. -- i am right off york road. a big contrast from yesterday. we had a light snow but with cold pavement. it froze up rather quickly. people had early dismissal and try to get home from work early.

it caused quite a mess. vehicles in lansdowne were slipping and sliding to the sides of the road. it was very problematic. it is the first snowfall of the 2010-2011 season. winter does not officially begin until next week. it has been well below normal temperature-wise the entire month. we have seen our first snow. take it easy this morning. the side roads will be the issue. there is some slosh around and a little bit of black ice. aware of that. it's nice and clear at hd doppler. we'll get to the mid 30's today with more sunshine. >> we have a few scattered clouds this morning. temperatures have dropped, especially to the northwest of the city. readings have been in the teens this morning. look at frostburg, 11 degrees right now. hancock, 15.

once you get to the urban areas and east for, readings predominately in the 20's this morning. but the satellite imagery. a few classics producing some snow showers. a weather disturbance over the great lakes, new york state. it is stirring things up in the atmosphere. it might produce a few clouds here and there. yesterday's storm is now out to sea. a new storm developing in the southern plains. and not directly beat this batch of rain and snow the moves in this direction. it will be a redevelopment in the gulf coast or so. all this stuff is coming from a huge storm in the gulf of alaska, spinning around up there. bits of energy and disturbances spinning off that debt caught in the southern jet. one comes here and there is the storm we had this one. one or after another.

the contribution of the seven jet and the storm spitting out over the case of rick. all these things are interrelated -- over the pacific. scattered clouds today. unseasonably cold weather continues. 38 will be the high temperature. we should be in the 40's. the -- there will be some snow in the higher elevations today. dry weather here. we picked up some clouds on saturday. it will pass to the south and east of us. the computer models are not together. some have it further out to sea. depending on how close to the coast might control our chance for snow, whether we get any, some, or more. this model has it further offshore. enough client that we could see some cloudiness on sunday. -- enough cloudiness that we

could see some cloudiness on sunday. we have to include a chance for snow on sunday. maybe even saturday night. how much? we do not know yet. 36 on saturday. when the system passes by, only 32 for the high. another is still a chance at the middle of next week. one order after another. >> you want to leave extra time this morning so you don't have to rush to get where you're going. the major roadways are ok. there is an accident at eastern boulevard. a vehicle is stuck in the medium. police are on the scene. there is a fuel spill in the road. north, only one lane and getting by.

in harford county, route924, a bad crash there. police are on the scene at directing traffic. this is exit 24. outer loop is picking up. the roadway is clear of snow. this is 97 at 100. it is a slow go out there. use some extra time this morning. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> thank you. wikileaks founder of julian assange is a free man after being released on bail. supporters of his controversial website raised the cash necessary to post his belt. he was being detained in london. he is wanted for questioning over allegations of sex crimes. five seattle teenagers or in custody after attacking a pregnant teenager on a bus over an mp3 girl. the pregnant girl was caught

near her eye, but her baby was not hurt. three suspects were arrested. two more suspects were arrested a few days later. there is an investigation into the possibility of extra terrestrial life inside our own solar system. scientists are conjectured about what might be discovered. heat and water are two essential ingredients of life. scientists are keeping a close eye on titan. it is the magic word for many online shoppers -- "free shipping." hundreds of merchants will offer free shipping today for those last-minute on-line christmas gifts. the offer ends tonight at midnight.

more than 5000 companies have signed on to participate. that is double the number from last year. honda it is recalling nearly 1.4 million of its , the fit. the need to fix wiring. the recall affects 143,000 cars in the u.s. no accidents have been linked to the defect. officials are looking to promote baltimore county as a tourist destination. jane king has that and more in the bloomberg business report. >> officials are ramping up efforts to promote local attractions, hoping to mirror baltimore city's success in becoming a tourist destination. officials have worked with local businesses and hotel owners of a tourism initiative. the company has released a visitor's guide and launched a website to draw visitors to the state fair and wrote course forms.

tourism is a $2 billion industry. the bill extends the bush era tax reductions for all income levels through 2012 and continues to expand it unemployment benefits and cut its payroll taxes. we had a wedding date for stocks yesterday. claims for weekly jobless benefits fell and housing starts increased last month. the bloomberg maryland index also gained. sienna rose more than 8%. torture bank said siena will benefit from a number of factors including data growth. that is a business. i'm jane king for wbal-tv 11 news. >> hollywood and movie fans of remember the life and career of

a director behind some of the most memorable companies. the list of blake edwards film as it reads like a best of list. "10" and "the pink panther" series were all directed by the great director. he is survived by four children and his wife, julie andrews. after years in television, larry king is hanging up his suspenders. he had a final broadcast last night. he was joined by arnold schwarzenegger, donald trump, regis philbin, and a taped message from president obama. he recorded more than 6000 shows for cnn. he said he still plans to do some radio and will continue to do specials for cnn from time to time. it is 23 degrees on tv hill.

another check on weather and traffic straight ahead. if the ravens want to keep their playoff hopes alive, they have to take down the defending super bowl champs. don't forget to e-mail us your response to our water cooler question of the day. what's your favorite song to play in the car as you hit the road? you can share your response at wbaltv.com, and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. here is a look at last night's winning maryland lottery numbers. good luck. [ female announcer ] pillsbury holiday cookies. in just three ingredients.

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>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. kim dacey checking on your morning commute. lethal little extra time this morning. we are seeing some accidents on small row is. eastern boulevard near margaret drive. a vehicle is stopped in the medium. some water main breaks in this city. one in highland ave. the alternate will be clinton's trip. one lane in each direction getting by. another on southbound road, blocking the right lane. another in abington. police are directing traffic. we have the support of the disabled vehicle approaching generals highway. this is the topside of the beltway. picking up of the outer loop at

exit 24, the harrisburg expressway, and exit what hunter. more snow cover there. it looks like a vehicle is off on the shoulder. >> good morning. notice the shiny bid on the street. some could be ice. take it easy. temperatures drop in the teens and 20s this morning. we have a scattering of clouds, especially to the south. mostly sunny this afternoon. the high temperature should be just around the freezing point. this weekend, we could bring snow back into the forecast on summit. i love details on that coming up. >> thank you, john. three games left in the regular season. the first is a showdown with the defending super bowl champions. the ravens play the saints. the ravens moved practice indoors on thursday because of

the snow. they look to build but monday's bizarre win over houston. they get ready for a team who is red hot. the saints are 10-3. they are the current super bowl champions. remember last february in miami. tracy porter with this huge interception to seal the deal. joe flacco and the ravens looked to win their sixth game at home. >> we have played 13 games and our team -- with no kind of team we are now. they are an aggressive defense. that is what we are paying attention to. we know they are a good team. we feel like we are a good team. i think it will be a good matchup. i do know how much the super bowl plays into that. >> joe flacco is the eighth- ranked passer in the nfl this week. drew brees is ninth. philip rivers is one of the best.

the chargers dominated the 49ers in san francisco current vintage jackson, number 83. this route is on. jackson missed much of the year on a contract dispute. they combined for three touchdown passes. 34-7, the chargers when paired they are a half-game back of kansas city in the afc west. ravens and saints on sunday. dressed warm. that is what you want. >> we have that advantage. >> we do not need a nail biter. >> thank you. it is 23 degrees on tv hill. much more to come in the next half-hour of 11 news today. >> water main break in the city causing headaches for some. i will have the story, next. >> there are several water main break to watch out for part watch offer for road closures in the area. >> that water will freeze this morning. it is not snowing.

there is ice out there.

>> live, local, late-breaking,

this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning. welcome back. i mindy basara. thank you for joining us this morning. john collins has a quick look at the forecast. >> good morning. we know generally clear skies over baltimore. a few scattered clouds hero there. and the cold temperatures. what fell yesterday as snow is still there this morning. 26 degrees downtown at the science center. 63% is the humidity. the barometric pressure is still low. what a little today. temperatures will continue with below the average. we will detail the forecast coming up. >> thank you. yesterday's wintery blast created more problems than just traffic court is taking a toll on the aging water pipes. lowell melser is live in east baltimore with more on that story. >> we have good news to report. the water line out here is fixed.

folks around here who did not have water last might now have it. it happens when the weather gets cold. these pipes breaks per it affects customers in certain neighborhoods like here in east north avenue. the good news is the water is back on. water flow at tyrone's is now nothing more than a trickle. >> it is difficult for us to do business without water. that is why we had to wait around and hope that things will get better. >> tyrone's is one of several businesses along east north avenue without water. >> the area that this is impacting goes from bel air road to harford road. so there's probably 500 structures along here. >> a lot of those structures are vacant. public works had to shut off water in the area to repair a break in one of the lines. >> it's cold weather. it is that time of year. we have had a number of breaks scattered throughout the city. over here in east baltimore, we

have this one. >> traffic was rerouted for several hours as crews tried to stop water from gushing onto the road. a small inconvenience for drivers, but a huge headache for business owners like mccray. >> we cannot supply the people like we should. we have to do it slower than we used it. >> over in the county, crews worked on another water main break. officials there say that this one was originally caused by a contractor's mistake. crews fixed it over the weekend, but it broke again yesterday afternoon. about a dozen businesses in the area won't have water until it's fixed. back in the city, though, mccray and his employees are patiently waiting for their water to come back on. >> i hope that water gets better so that we can do business and make money. yeah. >> the good news again, the water main break on east north avenue, the 2400 block has been fixed. the road will remain close, down to one lane in each direction until they can get the whole prepared. i can assure the coming into

the months of jerry and february, as temperatures get colder, there will still be plenty of work as far as water main break said. live in east baltimore, lowell melser, wbal-tv 11 news. >> default that we brought you yesterday. some of our viewers saw coverage of a wayward dear tech got trapped. the deer fell through thin ice and was not able to free itself. some area firefighters and some good samaritans, the ice is broken off for the deer to get free. a happy ending to the story. our coverage continues thanks to you and your contributions to our u local page on wbaltv.com. we received dozens of voters from all over the state. this shows the aftermath of some of the slick streets. you can upload images to wbaltv.com. >> now traffic pulse 11 and

insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. kim dacey checking on your morning commute. the roads are slick out there, so be careful. we have a crash on eastern avenue. a vehicle is stopped on the medium. water main break in the city. one on highland avenue. the alternate will be clinton. another north and collington. another blocks the right lane of southbound york road. there is a crash in the abington area. it is blocking all lanes on aventine road. use route 24. northbound 97 at generals highway, the report of the disabled vehicle. picking up on the inner and outer loops. the road is free and clear of snow. use extra caution. a disabled vehicle is gone and it looks like things are moving

just fine there, as well. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now live check on how the roads are doing in baltimore county. >> it is looking just fine. no problems. . some black ice on the side roads. it is still bitterly cold. the temperature downtown is 26. it is below 20's in timonium. further west, we're dealing with teens as the actual temperature. the wind has died down. today we will see more sun. up into the mid 30's. take it easy on the roadways. the goals were sleeping and sliding around yesterday with the falling snow. -- vehicles were slipping and sliding. not a lot of assaulting going on yesterday with an inch of snow. not a lot of real response. things are just fine this morning,-those side roads. let's look of the seven-day forecast. we're going to stay well below

normal for the duration. we may be dealing with another storm that john has been telling you about. it looks like it will be further off shore. which gets some snow activity on sunday. partly cloudy to mostly cloudy with a high of 35 to 38 degrees. that is it for now. >> it is 23 degrees on tv hill. it is beginning to look a lot like christmas, especially in a rhode island town. holiday tradition lives on. we'll show it

>> if you think he spent a lot on holiday decoration, it was

nothing compared to the christmas tree we are about to show you. the decorations on the street in abu dhabi is a dark with but 11 million -- is adorned with $11 million worth of gold and sapphires. they want to see if it beats the current record-holder that a point -- templeton million dollars worth of decoration. a retired police officer in rhode island has a dusting off his old uniform to give his down a bit of holiday cheer. every holiday season, he becomes the dancing cop. looks like this year he has busted out some new moves. on christmas eve -- that is my favorite one, the spitting blood. he illustrated the blue suit for everyone. he dresses up as santa claus and passes out candy canes to the travers. we need a guy like this in it is

not christmas without the dancing cop. coming up, we'll take a look at the morning headlines. >> it is cold out there this morning. lots of sunshine, a few scattered clouds and highs in the 30's.

>> welcome back. in the headlines, baltimore county police have arrested a man of trying to assault a boy inside a bathroom in holabird middle school. a staff member heard the boy yelling thursday morning and was the attack.rt it took weeks of debate, but a

tax compromise is one signature away from becoming law. the house voted to cut social security taxes. that means the bill goes to president obama for his signature. when you with the road for the holiday, what we play on a radio? a poll asked 3000 people what their favorite road trip songs of all time are. the top-10 ranges from "free bird," "born to be wild." the number one song on the survey was "on the road again." that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. this morning we asked -- what's your favorite song to play in the car as you hit the road?

we will post more of your answers on the front page of our website, wbaltv.com. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. kim dacey checking on your morning commute. would have a crash to deal with in essex. it is a bad situation. it is on eastern boulevard.

a vehicle is stuck in the medium. take dorsey avenue to get around that. there are several water main breaks in the city. there is one of north avenue. down to one lane in each direction. another one in the timonium area. southbound york roadblock to the right lane of york. found 97, the report of the disabled vehicle. this is the west side of the beltway at liberty road. delays are forming on the outer loop. a delay from 75 to edmundson. all lanes are open. this is 97 at 100. the roads are slick out there. use extra time and caution this morning. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now we head back out to sandra for a live look at the roads in the timonium. >> it is a frigid out here.

that is part of the problem. the pavement is so cold that it iced up rather quickly when the snow began around noon. the tapered off around 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. not a major accumulation. the first of this winter season. the official winter solstice is next week. it has not begun officially. we have been below normal all month long. wrote was, no problems in this area of york road. wise, no problems in this area of york road. there is some slush and snow and embedded ice. give yourself extra time. take it easy out there. things are somewhat treacherous. today, we're going to be above freezing, which we've not been for the last two days. mid-30s in the forecast and perhaps some upper 30's in the

downtown metropolitan area. tetris help with the snow would have seen. the issue is we will be clear today. nothing happening. nice normal high pressure. we're between systems. another system will approach on saturday and bring us more clouds. we have the potential for more snow on sunday. hopefully it will remain or sure. that is it for now. >> you look cold this morning. and those temperatures are, especially from baltimore north and to the west, where readings tend to be around 20's or into the teens. 11 at frostburg right now. once you get around the city, we are in the low to mid-20s. 20's persist all the way into southern maryland. more snow to the selfless. closer to two inches south of baltimore and annapolis. snow totals were more like half- inch to winds to an inch and

a half or so. snow showing, of the great lakes related to this disturbance in new york state. a cold front feeds into the gulf coast region. the next storm is redeveloping in the gulf coast region and will come off the coast. the key is how close to the coast it will be would pass the mid atlantic region. we expect that to be on sunday. one model has a close to the coast and 12 hours later it brings it back. there's not a consensus as to how this developing storm in the southern plains will behave when it gets to the eastern seaboard. we will yield to caution and allow for a chance for snow on sunday. right now there's a lot of unknowns as to how be hayes. there is a huge push of cold air. that has died change. will be in our forecast today.

33 to 38 will be the high. west and northwest wind about 7 to 12 miles per hour. snow shower activity off to the north. a few scattered clouds around here. we're relatively dry. we begin to see a few scattered clouds. saturday looks ok. we begin to cloud up, especially to the south. at the moment, that storm is a good distance off shore. it is throwing some clouds back in our direction. clouds could produce a snow shower or two. with his computer model, others have the precipitation closer to the coast. a little higher chance for snow on sunday to the bay and eastward. that is how we have to play it. for the football game on sunday, the ravens-saints game, clouds and a chance for snow. the could be some sun breaks, as

well. 29 to 34 is the temperature range. if we get more sun in the picture, the temperature increases. seven-day forecast -- after the weekend, we also have another weather system on tap for the middle of next week. the next seven days. highs will be in the 30's. we off the mark temperature- wise. >> thank you patrick the winter weather is impacting water pipes. lowell melser joins us live with that story. >> cold weather equals water main break spirit is kind of a rule of thumb. this water main break on east north avenue, crews were working on it last night. they have since repair it. folks out here once again have water. we have video from last night. it was a big mess out here coupled with the cold

conditions and the snow. traffic was rerouted for several hours and remains reported back to one lane in each direction. officials had to shut off the water. that has since been restored. county crews had to work in the water main break out there. that was caused by a contractor mistake rather than the cold weather. once again, service has been restored concerning this particular break. we understand there are several other breaks in the city and also in the county, causing traffic problems, as well at this hour. live in east baltimore, lowell melser, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. it is one of the most anticipated shows of the year. oprah pulls out all the stops. now was a chance to see her final favored the things. that is to get 4:00 p.m. here's matt lauer with a look at what's coming up next on the "today" show. >> good morning.

the sweeping tax-cut deal now heads to president obama's desk after being approved by the house. we'll have the latest on what that means. we'll talk to the security court involved in that shootout at a school board meeting in florida. agent attack survivor -- will have the emotional reunion. it look back all the good times we had on the show over the past 12 months. that is what we get started on a friday morning or hear a lot the "today" show. >> that is always fun. it is 23 degrees on tv hill. we will come back and check the weather and traffic together before you head out to start your day. stay with us.

>> we have a lot going on in the roads. highland avenue is closed because of a water main break pre clinton is your ultimate. there is another water main break at number. a vehicle is stock on the medium.

a water main break on southbound york road blocking the right lane. an accident and northbound 95 approaching mountain road. a crash in the city at lexington and greene streets. the report of an accident on northbound 95 right at 100. we are seeing delays on the envelope from 752 edmundson. >> and no snow today. >> but we'll have to wait and see what happens on sunday with a storm coming close. how close? give us time to work on this. the seven day forecast is good until we get into sunday. 36 today and tomorrow. by saturday night, a potential for snow. not a guarantee. we will stay in the 30's into next week. tune to am 1090 to hear traffic and weather together on the fives. >> thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> we will be backith a live update at 7:25. have a great weekend.

>> just this past week, eight people lost their lives. others more have been injured by carbon monoxide and fire. these stories are heartbreaking. three generations of one family living under one roof. we're reminded of how important carbon monoxide and smoke detectors are, how they save lives. each spring and fall, we're reminded to change batteries in

these detectors. fire chiefs urge people to make sure their detectors work. this remains on the priority list for renters and homeowners. this time of year, we're quick to buy toys that may be left under the trees. when you're standing in line to make those purchases, take a moment to grab a few batteries for yourself and a few for the people you love.

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