he was the target of a search warrant, used by the state prosecutor's office to look for evidence about the election day robocalls, to determine whether they violated election law. some critics will call this voter suppression. the calls went out on election day while the poles were still open. >> the call targeted people in baltimore city and prince george's county. it suggested that there was no need to go vote. >> our goals have been met. we are ok. everything is fine. the only thing left is to watch on tv tonight. congratulations and thank you. >> henson took responsibility

for the call. he was a paid consultant of bob ehrlich's campaign. ehrlich as continuanceconsistenh has consistently dodged questions. last friday, he stormed out of our building when we try to follow up. this afternoon, investigators also raided an office downtown, taking away a computer and fax machine. investigators will add that to the boxes they took this morning from his home, all of which will be used to answer whether anyone else was involved in the decision to create and distribute the robocall campaign. >> henson has not responded to our calls today. it is against state law to try to include someone's decision.

>> tonight, there are new details about an alleged intruder that police say attack day boy in a middle school bathroom. if the school officer had not stopped him, the situation could have been much worse. >> he is being held on $1 million bail after police say he assaulting a 12-year-old boy as he was trying to have sex with him in a bathroom. tonight, court documents are giving us more insight on to how this could have happened. >> of the school's resourced officer spotted him sitting outside of school with a backpack and a hood over his head. the officer thought that he was a student. the 21-year-old then went to the

school when the doors were open. a teacher stop him, asking him if he needed help. he said that he was looking for his little brother. he was told to sign in at the main office, but he never went there. >> somehow, he stayed in the building. he was in the wealth -- he went to the bathroom waiting to pick a victim. >> he hid in a solace three other boys went and left. -- he in it in the bathroom as three other boys went and left. he admitted, as he assaulted the board, he shoved a blue sock into the boy's mouth. he held the boy down and tried to drag him into a bathroom stall. he then confessed that he really wanted to have sex with the boy. >> the boy was able to fight and

call out of the bathroom. >> he could not believe that something like this happened to impaired his no fearful to go into the bathroom alone at school. parents want the school to improve safety. >> i do not understand how he got as far as he did. that is scary. it makes me think about having my kids go here or not. if it is too scary appeared close to the middle school is changing its security measures. if a teacher sees someone out of place, they must escort them to the office. visitors must divide the end more details as to why they are in the school. -- visitors must give id and more details as to why they are in the school. >> six members of a family were all killed early tuesday morning when their own home caught fire.

services will be held next wednesday at the empowerment temple. a weight is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.. that'll be followed by a memorial service. would you would like to donate or send your condolences, you can go to our website. >> there is another snowstorm behind us. we're keeping an eye on another one coming from the west. it could impact our weekend .ppeare >> so far so good today. there is cloud cover and temperatures day above freezing. there are no weather problems anticipated for this evening, although some snow showers will be in the mountains of western maryland and western p a. for the day tomorrow, things are pretty quiet. we're keeping a storm system -- keeping an eye storm system coming out of west texas the big

question is, what about to see or will it come up through the mid-atlantic. >> stephanie rawlings but was on hand when president obama signed his tax deal with republicans into law. it happened within the last hour. your taxes will not be going up next year. >> president obama signed the tax bill into law, walking current income-tax rates for two years. a payroll tax cut for one year. giving the mega -- a state tax break. and the unemployed gets more benefits to it. >> we can get a lot done. >> the president compromise with republicans. last night's tax vote in the

house was bipartisan. but three times as many democrats as republicans voted no. john boehner warned democrats that next year's republican house majority will get its way on more big issues. >> we need to end the job- killing spending binge. we need to cut spending significantly, including thkillg the job-killing law. >> next, we will turn to cutting spending and cutting debt. the american people are seeing change here in washington. >> democrats are not rolling over. >> we will work everyday until we've finished this legislative session. >> they're pushing ratification of the start nuclear treaty. a repeal of don't ask/don't tell. aid to 91/11 first responders.

their influence is about to diminish. >> what politics are on the rise? speaker-to-be boehner said yesterday that it was the anniversary of the original boston tea party that many republicans say it inspires them to cut big government next year. >> tonight, a group of commercial property owners in baltimore are suing the state. they want construction of the state's center project stopped. their lawsuit alleges that public officials did not follow maryland law. >> a dozen commercial property owners filed a lawsuit that they claim that the subsidized project is illegal and will drain the business district.

property owners are in a tug-of- war with the state over the $1.5 billion state center project. they contend that it was not competitively bid and was a blatant misuse of tax dollars. it will have a devastating financial impact on baltimore's financial district. >> i am a commas. i believe in competition. i think you could argue that no competition is unfair. >> there is no paperwork on the bidding process or how the state chose the developers. when two partners dropped out, this off to the original group with other developers. court papers say there was no competitive bidding or explanation, how on why the new eight companies were awarded with this opportunity. >> without competitive bidding, people do not know if the taxpayers are getting the best benefit of the tax dollars. you do not know, you can never

tell, whether or not there might have been a better bid. >> plans for state senator at how impressed and streets include turning it into a mass transportation hub, with retail businesses, residences, and office space. 18 agencies currently lease space in the area. there have a 20% vacancy rate. the lawsuit points out that it will pay $30 per square foot. the average per square foot downtown is $20. >> when the blood moves out of the corridor downtown -- when the blight moves out of the corridor downtown, we will have empty streets and empty buildings. >> the state attorney general's office is reviewing the lawsuit and expressed confidence that the process follows state law. kellogg of the commercial property owners question why the state does -- a lot of the

commercial property owners question why the state does not another empty space in an part of that city. >> police say that a vehicle was driving sufficiently and golden ring and then realized it was stolen. that all of these suspects to the high school where the incident birgit jolie happened. -- where the incident or originally happened. they have not to -- the suspects have been apprehended. >> about one in 91 american children diagnosed with some form of autism, studies are expanding. >> 6 maryland schools just got awarded the blue merrimenribbonf excellence.

we will tell you which ones.

>> in tonight's medical alert, new research suggests that children born to mothers who live near the freeway are more likely to develop autism.

researchers in los angeles study in more than 300 autistic children and compare them with kids with normal development. they found that children living 1,000 feet from the highway at birth or two times more likely to develop autism. experts say that this doesn't mean that exposure to air pollution and vehicle exhaust causes the disease, but it does require further research. a woman was not identified in the study and researchers found that she suffers from a rare disease that destroyed an allman-shaped structure in the brain. -- an almond-shaped structure in the brain. as you may know, the cold and flu season is already here. parents can attest that many kids have come down with the

sniffles. what is the best way to treat them? years after new guidelines, parents are still confused about what they can and should not to do. >> if you're looking for a good mystery these days, skip the bookstore and head straight to the drug store. try to figure out what the rules are for kids cough and cold medicine appeared >> parents can be very confused. there are so many different options that are out there. the question is which one is really say it? >> she is a pediatrician. in 2008, the fda along with major drug companies came out with new and very straightforward guidelines, recommending that parents do not use cough and cold medicine for children under the age of four. more than two years later, many parents are still unclear about what to give more not to give a sick child. >> it is hard to give the right amount. we are not sure.

>> it is not so much confusing for me as it was for my parents to give me all that cough medicine. >> the reason why they were given these guidelines was because they found parents giving children the wrong doses. they used kitchens plans to measure out the medicine rather than the provided measuring cup and using too much. or they would get confused when trying to treat different symptoms. >> for example, they will buy the pia care cough and cold because that is what their child has and then they do not realize that there was tylenol in there and then they use the tylenol again. >> even with these new guidelines, the doctor reports still seeing those mistakes on a regular basis. two does have a few suggestions to get you through your child's illness. sailing sprays are good to use against nasal congestion. -- saline spreads are good to

use against nasal congestion. if the illness is not bad enough to require a call to the doctor, perhaps do nothing at all. >> do not give them anything. the body knows how to fight it off. >> simplicity, after all, is often the best cure for confusion. >> one reason the risk of overdoses of it with children is that there are medications that have high concentrations of the active ingredient. the reason is that it can be tough sometimes to get a job to take medication so you want an entire dose to be delivered in a single swallow or sip. an fda advisory panel concluded its findings on mercury. last year, the food and drug administration announced that fillings were safe and did not pose a threat to human health. however, groups of consumer and are meeting later this week.

amal the missing for more people, but there does appear to be a sense of -- an amalgam still appears to be safe for more people. >> the way word do that was set in the icy water yesterday, we are happy to tell you tonight that it has made it back to its natural habitat. it became trapped after wandering onto a sheet of ice. the hook shot the guy so the deer could find its way back to dry land. -- they chopped the ice so the deer could find its way back to dry land. the potomac is frozen. while it has been known to freeze over, it is very rare for it to happen this early. it is an indication of how cold it has really been, as if we needed to be told that. >> there must be rare air there.

[laughter] >> we are averaging about six degrees colder than normal for the month as a whole. in the wake of yesterday's snow, it was cold again this morning. it was 19 degrees at bwi marshall. many areas dropped into the mid- and-upper-teens. thin outee the clouds and and break out 11. a clear sky -- and breakout again. clear skies downtown and holding below the freezing point. temperatures are only in the 20's and teens as you head into the western part of the state. prepare for another bundle up night. it should be 16 degrees to 23 degrees by saturday morning. it will not stay clear of their

long. the next storms coming out of west texas. this one is heading east, picking up moisture out of the gulf and the mid-atlantic. will it curved up or move out to sea? most of the computer models keep it out to sea, passing by to our south and east. our snow chances will diminish with this current forecast cycle. to the west, there's more pacific storm coming in to the california coast. this is an interesting system. it will not only produce headlines out west, but heavy snow in the mountains. it will also bring us another chance for snow next week. this one is heavy. we're talking 5 feet to 7 feet of snow up around lake tahoe, up in the sierra nevada. there will be pounded with heavy snow over the next couple of days. -- they will be pounded with heavy snow over the next couple of days. to ourselves, you see that storm starting to show up in north carolina. if you watch the computer model,

it takes the moisture out to sea instead of turning it up the coast. it will give to the carolinas and push out to the mid- atlantic. it will leave our region just under some cloud cover. we will hold on to a 20% chance of some flurry. you can see the computer models keep it to the stand curvet back toward cape cod and southern new england getting in -- keeping it to the coast and curve back toward cape cod and southern new england. mid-30's degrees tomorrow. there is a chance of a possible flurry on the coast. partly cloudy on monday. winter begins at 6:38 p.m. on tuesday.

it will be partly cloudy on thursday and a chance for some snow developing again on christmas eve with friday's high just 34 degrees. >> a white christmas? could it be? i like that. there could be paid back for some of the victims syllabi burnie madoff. >> stores are doing all they can to get your -- victims swindled by bernie madoff. >> stores are doing all they can to get your business. >>

>> you have not started your shopping yet. >> too early. >> retailers are pulling out all the stops to entice a last- minute shoppers. >> and it looks like they will get a bit more cooperation than the guy with ago. explanation is coming up. >> a big reason retailers are breaking for an onslaught of last-minute shoppers is because of what happened last weekend. >a major winter storm kept most of the country in a deep freeze, shoppers away from shopping, and now in a rush.

>> i am going on my lunch break. i am running around after work. >> i hope something is still there to get give certificates. >> even before this weekend, the national retail federation raised projections for holiday sales to grow 3.3% over last year. >> consumers look like they're willing to splurge. >> that means splurging on discretionary items, too, like jewelry. >> last year, it was a little rough. the budget was low. but this year, and seems better. >> starting tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m., toys r us stores will stay open for 88 hours straight. >> we know a lot of our customers of procrastinated. >> it is procrastination that retailers can live with. one out of three shoppers is said to be only halfway through their christmas shopping.

>> we want to remind you that wbal tv.com has the dangerous toys for kids list. >> go to toys r us at 3:00 a.m.? >> if you want to. >> we will talk about the state's unemployment situation. >> of the founder of wikileaks is blaming the u.s. for his legal trouble in sweden. >> baltimore has six new blue ribbon schools. we will tell you which ones took home the top honors.

>> 6 baltimore schools have been given a blue ribbon. >> half a dozen maryland schools just joined the ranks. [applause] >> faculty members from six schools got a big surprise friday. they did not know they were meeting at the department of incation afor a ceremony their honor. >> oh, my word. it deals awesome. it is just a wonderful, wonderful feeling. it is agreed validation for our students and our faculty and our

school community. >> the six schools span the state. each were selected by the state department of education on a host of criteria, including several years of high achievement. >> they also have to have an ability to outreach to the community, engagement of the community. and they have to, in a sense, the meeting and a lot of other standards in terms of advanced placement for our high school, civic activities for our middle schools and elementary schools. >> each school bus to fly the blue ribbon fly. they also get several thousand dollars in prize money and technology equipment and a school-wide pizza party. >> this will lift the spirits of the staff. they work very hard every day. with the children -- we have a tremendous parent community

support. we are getting ready to bring six, seven, and 8. >> it is not just an honor at the state level. they will go on to apply for the national blue ribbon award. >> we fully intend to apply and win that award as well. >> everyone, bigger and of applause. [applause] >> despite an increase in unemployment across the nation, maryland is holding steady at 7.4%. that is where the numbers have hovered for the last three months. the new figures show maryland added more than 2100 jobs last month and more than 31,000 for the year. the state reports a 1.2% growth rate. that is double the national rate of growth. >> here is a look at some of our other top stories thaat this ho. baltimore police have identified a man who tried to sexually assault a boy at a middle school.

21-year-old sean surelshaeighly attack the boy in a school bathroom. property owners claim that the state's center project will take away from the city's business center district and it violates state law against no-bid development contracts. they expect to include office space as well as retell, parking, and mixed income housing. state investigators spent the morning gathering evidence at the home of julius henson, who has taken responsibility for those controversial election day robocalls. they urged democrats to stay

home and claimed that o'malley have already won. hensen is already the subject of a complaint by the maryland attorney general. we will have more on this for you coming your way tonight at 11:00 p.m. >> the wikileaks founder is speaking out after his release from prison yesterday. he is currently under house arrest at an estate in england until his extradition hearing. the controversial leader is wanted in switzerland on sex crime allegations. >> 3.3 million web pages also mention the word rape. that is a serious issue and a seriously successful smear campaign. >> he says that to the allegations are a vendetta for releasing u.s. documents.

this is that what he has released so far is only a fraction of the material he intends to make public. for those who lost millions in the burnie madoff ponzi scheme -- >> $7.2 billion is the amount that the state of a florida philanthropist will pay back to the victims of party may off. >> it is the largest forfeiture -- victims of burnie madoff. >> it is the largest forfeiture. it is only fitting as an offset for the most epic fraud in his repaired >> -- at a fraud in history. >> this settlement provides a significant measure of hope for the many victims. >> the men died in 2009. his wife says that the tower was

not involved in the man of fraud -- that pikhaur was not involved in the madoff fraud, but that giving back the money was the right thing to do. >> with close to $10 billion now recovered, we have collected close to 50% of the principle that the victim's loss to the ponzi scheme. >> it is a ponzi scheme that continues to hurt those who trusted one man. >> the discovery that is giving scientists a new place to search for life is next. >> and there is a new creative way to steal cars. >> police in kentucky are looking for inmates to help

solve some of the state's cold cases. they believe a good old card game could be key. >> the government is out with a new plan for your online privacy. we

>> and there's a new discovery on one of saturn's moons. the discovery of a volcano crater has scientists conjecturing about what might be discovered there. heat and water are two essential ingredients of life. there are no signs of volcanic activity, but scientists are keeping a close eye on it. kentucky state police are looking to play cards in the hopes of solving cold cases. they feature 52 unsolved homicides. there will be passed around in kentucky state prisons. they hope it will provide tips. the idea has already proved successful in other states. >> these are using new tactics to steal cars in st. louis,

missouri. check out this video. the person behind the camera's ford tempo is being pushed down the street by a pickup. >> it is just breeze and. >> in the past eight months, they have arrested three people for using tow trucks to steal old cars. >> we will tell you which carmaker is issuing a recall over seat belts that action could fail in a crash. >> if you are looking for jewelry this holiday, you may be in luck. the jury sills could mean good things for the economy -- jewelry sales could mean good things for the economy. >> a special place for homeless young people in baltimore city. that story is coming up. >> an area of low pressure to our south, how close will lead day and what is -- how close

will it get and what is the snow possibilities? the ravens and the saints on sunday, will they be playing in snow?

>> we are learning more details of yesterday's assault inside a baltimore county middle school. we have more details on the suspect. stay in this year's and the morning collecting boxes of potential evidence that the home of a political consultant. we will have the stories and we will have the stories and much more when y

>> around 600 people between 18 and 24 years old are homeless. for the first time, there is a facility where homeless

youth can call home. >> in this neighborhood, they took an old abandoned school and made homes for homeless young people. this is her new apartment. she left school in north carolina and move back to baltimore and basically had no place to live. >> it is so hard for me with my credit. in order to move another apartment, i would have to pay double the security deposit. so i saved my money and i was able to pay off my dad and my school and start all over again. >> she is one of 43 new residents. the old abandoned school has been turned into a -- into apartments for homeless young people who are aged 18 to 24 who need help. >> i am coming from living in my car. that is where i would be now if it were not for restoration gardens. >> this is a typical unit. it is a stepped-up dorm room.

>> residents must pay 30% of their income on rent and they are all either going to school or working. >> we wanted our young people to stop being in situations where they were being victimized by being out on the streets and having to find themselves in compromising situations. now that that is not an issue through having stable housing, they can get on to the things they need to. >> this is the first of its kind facility in the state of maryland. 25 residents have already moved in. >> it is wonderful and i love it. >> the normal high temperature keeps lowering as we get toward the heart of winter season coming up. but we're staying below that, even though the normal is slipping backwards. the high temperatures are not getting closer. we have been way below this

entire month, averaging a little more than six degrees below normal for the first 16 days. 37 degrees today was 8 degrees short of the normal 45 degrees. it is still well short of the normal. the record high was in 1984. we started this morning off with a temperature reading of 17 degrees. we're heading in that direction again tonight. we're already below freezing in many areas to the west of baltimore. in the northern areas. it is called in cambridge, too. western maryland has been locked in the arctic air for a long time. with the skies temporarily clearing out the temperatures will cool out quickly again tonight. the good news is we do not have to consider a wind chill.

stronger low pressure in the southern branch of the jet stream. we will pick up some moisture off of the atlantic. our weekend alum as what to do with the store once it reaches the carolina coast. it could move north toward us your to the east. it looks like it will favor the offshore track which will keep the threat to our south and east and even offshore saturday night and sunday. another big pacific storm will be dumping 5 feet to 6 feet in the sierra. there will be pummeled with heavy snow in the mountains. some of that moisture and energy could track across the country and bring us a couple more snow threats next week. for tomorrow, we will be in and out of the clouds. it will be a cool day. the same thing will happen on sunday. we will just see some clouds and chilling temperatures here on sunday. that will keep the temperature is below normal, even into next week. 33 degrees to 38 degrees

tomorrow, wind varying. it will be only about 35 degrees around the bay with partly-to- mostly-cloudy skies. the best chance for that will be on the eastern shore. if they look just cloudy tomorrow, maybe a flurry or a snow shower tomorrow night and sunday in ocean city. again, that is not our last through snow. it looks like another chance rolls in on tuesday afternoon or evening. that is the first day of winter with snow showers lingering into wednesday and another chance for snow coming in a perfectly timed for christmas eve day on friday with a high of 34 degrees. >> walmart is now recalling 2.2 million electric heaters due to fire and burn hazards. it involves these brands. they are sold at wal-mart stores from december 2000 to 2009.

there are 17 instances of property damage and four reports of injuries from those heaters. consumers should return those items to any walmart and they will give you a full refund. general motors is recalling 100,000 crossover vehicles to fix seat belts that could fail in a crash. it includes the 2011 model srs. the seat belt buckle anchor for the driver and the front passenger seats could actually break apart in a crash. they will modify the seat belt buckles for you free of charge. online privacy is a big issue. now the government wants to make sure that you are protected. the commerce department as a new proposal for an online privacy bill of lightrights. >> this holiday, it is not just sent a who is watching you. with every click comes a

potential that somebody is making a list of your internet activity. the commerce department released its proposal for an on-line bill of rights. >> there are a said average for consumers to make sure that we are able to know how information is used, who has of, what purpose it is collected for, etc. >> consumers should be allowed to opt out of sharing information. microsoft recently announced its next version of explore would have paid do not track feature. critics say that allowing the industry to self regulate is not enough and regulation may have another costly downside. >> it could be killing the goose that lays the internet's golden advertising and information sharing. >> if we have rules to protect consumer privacy and encourage innovation, that allows the

economy to continue to grow -- >> online privacy is a fine line that the government does not try to walk. there is a public commentary on this until the end of january. congress is likely to introduce some type of legislation in the new year. >> are you hoping to find a little bit of playing under the tree this holiday season? you may be in luck. jewelry sales are actually up from last year. analysts say that jewelry sales could increase on the average between 6% and 9%. whether shoppers are buying at a discount stores or at luxury landmarks like tiffany and company. >> consumers look like they're willing to splurge. they like the selection. they're like the uniqueness. they like the price points. more importantly, they have the spending power. >> experts say that the sales uptick is a good sign since jewelry sales are the last to

rebound in a down economy. on black friday, nearly 20% of jewelry.ppers bought >> the winter season does not officially start until tuesday. after yesterday's strong, see how officials are preparing for the next possibility of snow. >> if the ravens take their greatest fans

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>> the ravens female fan club took new york city by storm wednesday with football-themed events. >> it takes about 20 minutes to walk to broadway. there is so much to see in new york city along the way, especially at christmastime. >> everything. >> the ravens took 80 members of their female fan club to new york, something that the nfl help coordinate. the ravens are the only team in the nfl with a female fan club. >> these ladies are with us and want to be a part of us. opening the door to the league and allowing them to see a place that no one can access to really sets us apart. >> purple filled the lobby to

see "lombardi." it was a spectacular day that this mother and daughter could not miss. >> i told my mom. she said, we're going. >> we thought this was a great way to spend the day together that we do not often get to do because of our busy schedules. we are having a nice time together. this is a great trip. this is really fun. >> "lombardi" is a six-member cast. judith light is ended. it gives an audience an intimate look into their lives. >> it helps to understand what it takes to be successful in any walk of life. >> it has been very well received. we are very pleased by everyone who comes in, football fans and

theatre fans alike. >> it is off some. >> it was very well done. it give me the female perspective as well as the coach's perspective. i thought the gentleman who played the reporter was really good, to. >> after the show, the group that a private meet and greet with judith light. the day began with a bus ride up, a tour of the headquarters, and a broadway play, enough to impress anyone, especially those who go to the big city for the first time. >> i love it. it is gorgeous here. i had such a great time. >> is getting dark and we're getting ready to leave new york. but we cannot leave without eating real new york city piece of. >> beer and wine for the ride home. life is good. [cheers] >> i think she enjoyed that. what do you think? >> the jury is still out. >> that is it for us. >> here's a look at what is coming up at 6:00 p.m.

>> we are tracking the storm more south. >> we have new details on a terrifying ordeal for a 12-year- old boy inside his medical bathroom. >> investigators served search warrants in pursuit of evidence on the election day robocalls. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> a man was arrested for attacking a student inside this baltimore county middle school. he is now charged with assault. it is their big story tonight. the 21-year-old man was arrested at hollen byrd middle school. he hid inside a bathroom stall before approaching the 12 year- old victim -- the 12-year-old victim. >> sean