>> mayor stephanie rawlings-blake literally pulls the plug on the occupy baltimore protesters. >> and clear skies today, but what lies ahead for the weekend? the forecast, as 11 news today continues right now. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm jennifer franciotti in for stan stovall. thanks for joining us for 11 news today. >> going to be a quiet day in the weather department? >> i think so, maybe not as much sunshine as yesterday, but maybe the rain will catch up to us, but we'll talk about that. outside right now, not as cold ads yesterday. most spots are above freezing. 39 at the airport with relative humidity at 89%. the forecast for today, a mix of sun and clouds. a little more cloud cover than yesterday, but still nice, no rain. the high temperature, 61. when we come back, we'll check the forecast for the weekend. first let's say good morning to sarah, see what's happening on the roads.

>> good morning. we are tracking an accident on the harrisburg expressway. it's southbound just as you make your approach to the beltway. you may start to see some delays. apparently a deer was struck there, and that's a big problem right now outside. if you are traveling, watch for deer. pulaski highway near erdman avenue, an accident there in the city. that's another problem spot. some debris to watch for, southbound 895 right at 295 as you travel there. in terms of delays on the west side, still running up to speed. we're at 56 all the way down as you make your way toward i-70 and edmonson. let's give you a live view of traffic. we'll see what's going on. of course, we're looking at a delay forming just south of padonia toward the beltway with the accident just prior to the beltway. again, it's in the southbound direction. a live view of traffic right at wilkins avenue, and that southwest corner of the beltway looking pretty good, but definitely building in volume coming toward us in the outer loop. that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. over to you, mindy and jennifer. >> thank you, sarah. our big story -- he was gunned down by fellow officers outside a downtown club.

>> today an independent review board releases its findings into the death of officer william torbit. 11 news reporter kim dacey live outside the select lounge where the incident took place. good morning, kim. >> good morning, mindy and jen. the shooting happened here in january, and in february, mayor stephanie rawlings-blake commissioned the independent panel to look at the incident. officer william torbit and 22-year-old sean gamble lost their lives and three other civilians and another officer were injured in a brawl that got out of hand. the independent review board consists of four national law enforcement experts. they've been working since april, charged to review the incident and recommend changes and policies and procedures to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. the state's attorney office says torbit was shot 20 times by fellow police officers who didn't recognize him in plainclothes or see his badge. they announced in august no charges will be filed against the officers who shot for bit. torbit's senior -- torbit's sister spoke to 11 news after

that announcement. >> i feel as though they know the truth, and it's time that people stop covering up for the police officers. there's no way in the world that you stand over someone and shoot them 22 times and no one -- no justice come out of that. >> the results of the independent panel will be released today at noon at police headquarters. we, of course, will be there, and we'll bring you the very latest tonight on 11 news. reporting live downtown, kim dacey, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you, kim. baltimore city police hope surveillance video will help them track down the gunman involved in a murder in an east baltimore carryout. the footage shows the victim, 52-year-old freddie jones, getting into some kind of an argument and then a confrontation with three people inside the yau brothers carryout on greenmount avenue monday night. the tape stops just before jones is shot and killed. loved ones of the victim accuse police of dragging their heels in this investigation, saying it's taken two days for police to even canvass the neighborhood.

>> his truck was still parked there and one cop was there. there was not no tape. there was nobody searching around. you know, it need to be better security. they need to do something about this area in general. >> and police say, unlike a previous murder at the same location in april of 2010, they have evidence that will help in tracking down the suspects. meanwhile, a councilwoman says she's looking into taking action that would close the business. >> after four weeks, mayor stephanie rawlings-blake has pulled the plug on the occupy baltimore camp. the move comes amid safety concerns over the tangle of extension cords to provide power to the tent city. the mayor said the protesters are welcome to use the square within certain parameters. >> they're free to protest with their voices work music, with dance all day long. but this is about -- this isn't about inhe can quit. this isn't a conversation about injustice and greed on wall street. it's about a campout. i don't think there's any park, whether it's a city park,

natural park, anywhere in the country that allows for, you know, perpetual and unending campouts. >> the mayor says she will continue to go after other infractions to discourage the protesters from camping out. the protesters say they plan to occupy the square through the winter. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. do you think the city should take active steps like cutting the power to disband the occupy baltimore demonstrations? share your response on wbaltv.com, on our facebook page, or send an email to watercooler@wbaltv.com. meanwhile, an n oakland, california, protesters have declared victory after shutting down evening operations at one of the nation's busiest shipping ports. thousands took to the street as part of a day-long strike that forced banks and other businesses to close early. no arrests were made at the port protests. protesters did clash with police trying to disband crowds surrounding a large bonfire on

a downtown street later in the evening. police warn protesters to clear out before firing several rounds of tear gas and flash grenades to clear the area. >> new this morning -- it was hailed as a success, but serious financial questions appear to be dogging the baltimore grand prix. the "baltimore sun" reports organizers have missed a payment on a $50,000 loan, and they face $1.5 million from lawsuits from alleged unpaid bills. baltimore racing development, which organized the event, acknowledges financial missteps, including failure to pay the company that erected the grand stands downtown for the event. nevertheless, indycar officials have already announced baltimore will once again be on next year's racing schedule. >> a hartford county jury spared the life of a convicted triggerman in a murder for hire plot. jurors sentenced 29-year-old walter bishop jr. to live plus 20 years for the murder of william porter. >> he had a fair trial, so i'm happy that we had that

opportunity. i accept what they say. >> absolute relief. you know, these cases are very stressful. they go on for a long time. there's much on the line. and it's difficult to think that any jury should be put in the position of having to decide whether someone lives or dies. >> he's the fifth person convicted in the conspiracy. the alleged mastermind, karla porter, will stand trial in the spring. prosecutors say bishop will not be eligible for parole until the year 2061. >> and then there were three. it seems a third woman has come forward to level accusations of sexual harass am by republican presidential candidate, herman cain. kate amara has more on how it's affecting the g.o.p. front-runner. >> good morning, jen. the third accuser says cain's unwanted behavior included an invitation to his corporate apartment. >> excuse me. excuse me.

>> a testy herman cain wednesday, refusing to comment on the controversy growing around him. according to the a.p., a third woman is now accusing the republican presidential candidate of sexual harassment when they worked together at the national restaurant association in the 1990's. >> don't even bother asking me all of these other questions that you all are curious about, ok? don't even bother. >> the woman says she considered filing a complaint against cain for aggressive and unwanted behavior, but never did. the candidate and his campaign continued to deny the allegations. >> the third phase, they tried to destroy you. well, got a little of that this week. >> the cain campaign blames g.o.p. rival rick perry for spreading the story and demanded an apology. perry denies any involvement. >> all of this is cumulatively adding up to a very bad situation. >> crisis experts say at this point it could be tough for herman cain to salvage his run

for the white house. >> the failure to get the story straight right from the start is fatal in most cases. >> the cain campaign says it's actually seen an increase in fundraising since this news broke. in washington, i'm kate amara, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thanks, kate. 6:09, 40 degrees on tv hill. bank of america is still dealing with a p.r. nightmare. we'll explain. >> plus, he's the heartthrob of teen girls all over the world, but is justin bieber a dad? one woman says so. the latest in our entertainment headlines. >> but first, a video shows a texas judge who handles child abuse cases engaging in some abusive behavior of his own, why his daughter released this video. >> we are live this morning at the rawlings conservatory, where they have a new exhibit about mums. some of the mums so big they've been deemed the football mums. that's coming up. >> beautiful sight there. and your morning commute right now shaping up just fine. one accident of note as you

travel south on the harris bug expressway. we'll update that.

>> good morning. we're back with a view from the skycam. the skies are mostly clear. it is 47 degrees downtown at the maryland science center. it's much colder if you head out into the suburbs. fortunately, we're starting off with mostly dry conditions. i am here live right now at the rawlings conservatory located in druid hill park, where a new exhibit has opened, and it's called mums and memories. i am here with kate blum. you're the supervisor here. telling me how mum and mum

shows have really played a role in baltimore's history. >> they've been a part of baltimore's fall since the early 1900's. in conservatories all over the city, when there used to be six conservatories all over the city. here's at rawlings, no exception. we've been growing these mums either on this site or more recently, in the past couple of years, we grow them at our sister site. >> real quickly, these are called football mums. you essentially break off all the other buds so all the energy goes into that single bloom, and that's why it's so big. >> exactly. you start with these in july. from the minute you start with them, they start producing these side shoots that come out off the sides of the stem. and all of these need to be pinched off in order for all this energy to come. >> beautiful. and their purple color for the ravens, so we have ravens football mums with us. let's get a quick check of the forecast. a big powerful storm system off to the west, bringing heavy

rain into illinois. but will we even see that rain? we'll head back to tone toy get a check on that. we can cheer on the ravens with our mums. but those big mums, you can only see at this conservatory. >> these are extremely cool, and they take a lot of work. you have to nurture those things and get them right. we'll talk to you again next half-hour. lots of fun stuff there at the rawlings conservatory. weatherwise, nothing to talk about. 39 at the airport. 36 in parkton. the temperatures are above freezing, unlike yesterday when we were in the upper 20's and low 30's. we wound up with that freezing fog. it's not the case today. yesterday the skies were clear. that's what allowed the fog to form. this morning, we have a little high, thin cloud cover out there. there's no precipitation in that cloud deck, but it is keeping the temperatures warmer than they would be otherwise. remember that big storm we talked about yesterday coming across the rocky mountains? it's approaching chicago right now. it lost most of the snow, but there's still a little bit showing occupant back side of it across western missouri, but most of this is rain now. it looks pretty impressive. but the energy with this storm

is actually going to dive south of us. we'll just get clipped by the northern end tv with maybe a couple of showers during the day tomorrow. today, as it approaches, a mix of sun and clouds. high temperatures about the same as yesterday, upper 50's and low 60's t. just won't be as sunny as it was yesterday, but still call it nice. sunrise at 7:36. overnight tonight, no rain, temperatures will drop back into the upper 30's and low 40's. sun sets this evening at three isn't after 6:00. the weather map today shows a storm diving down through the carolinas. there's going to be a trailing cold front that's going to come through, so even though most of the storm is going to miss us, we're going to keep a slight chance of rain in the forecast. it's going to be on the breezy side as the wind shifts from the southwest to the north behind the front. the forecast going into the weekend, 30% chance for rain tomorrow, 58. sunshine on saturday and sunday. a little chilly on saturday, but nice, here near 55. we'll be in the mid 60's early next week. the time is 6:15.

let's see what's happening on the roads. >> good morning, everyone. a few problems to get to if you're traveling in the next few minutes. first, an accident southbound on the faceburg expressway. just prior to the beltway, it is off to the side, but it is involving a deer, so a little bit of clean-up happening there. and deer are going to be a problem, especially in the early morning hours while it's still dark outside, so keep your eye out for deer this morning. lynnwood avenue, watch for an accident. this is a pedestrian-involved crash. we have another one being cleared at pulaski highway near erdman avenue. eastbound cold spring lane is blocked. traffic alternating on the westbound side. road crews doing some imagine gas line repairs. checking drive times, 11 minutes on the outer loop northeast side. 12 minutes on the west side. 11 minutes to get you southbound 95 southwest to 32. here's a live view of the harrisburg expressway. no significant delays, but just prior to the beltway, you may see it. on the beltway, southwest corner picking up in volume quickly. that's the latest on traffic

pulse 11. >> taking a look at some of our top stories this morning -- after four weeks of testimony, closing arguments are expected to begin today in the trial of dr. conrad murray. dr. murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter and negligence in michael jackson's june 2009 death. he did not take the stand in his own defense. if convicted, murray could be sentenced to four years in prison and lose his medical license. a 22-year-old soldier from kentucky is behind bars this morning, accused of being a spy. the f.b.i. arrested specialist william malay last week following an investigation. the army won't say what exactly malay is akiesed of doing, but did say it has no connection to an earlier investigation into leaked documents to the website, wikileaks. a texas family court judge who handles child abuse cases is answering questions about an alleged abuse of his own. this is difficult to watch. this after his daughter released a videotape of a brutal beating seven years ago. the video recorded in secret shows the judge striking his 17-year-old daughter with a belt 17 times after she

downloaded pirated music online. judge adams admits it's him on the tape, but says he does not believe he will face any disciplinary action. >> the store that brought you the running of the brides is apparently running out of time. filen's basement and its parent company, syms, plan to close all 46 of their stores after filing for bankruptcy protection. two are in the baltimore area. syms acquired filene's in the spring of 2009 out of bankruptcy protection, but struggled to turn the chain around. officials say the store closing says would affect several thousand employees. looking for a job? how about getting a government scholarship to become an expert in cybersecurity. bank of america finds another way to make its customers mad. 11 news reporter jane king has those stories and more in this morning's bloomberg business report. >> good morning. bank of america may have something else to worry about, a new harris poll says its

customers are the least satisfied and most likely to defect to any major u.s. bank. they just dropped its unpopular charge to charge $60 a year for debit cards, but customers may still be angry about new fees on checking accounts. americans living in neighborhood hit by extreme povered are surging. a study by the brookings institution shows the poorest areas growing twice as fast in the suburbs and cities. the midwest and south among the hardest hit, suffering from manufacturing job losses and housing bust. as for markets, we're keeping an eye on europe still as leaders have suspended aid payments to greece. we got a reprieve yesterday thanks to the federal reserve. chairman ben bernanke said economic growth has strengthened. the maryland index gaining. if you're looking for work, how about a career in cybersecurity? the federal government is officer offer scholarship toss train in the field and then work for the c.i.a. or other security agencies. even more scholarships may be

available soon. the government is talking about increasing the budget for scholarship for service by 67% to $25 million. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. >> in this morning's entertainment news, he barely seems more than a baby himself, but justin bieber is being slapped with a paternity suit. a 20-year-old california woman claims the 17-year-old singer fathered her child after meeting him at a concert last year. a bieber spokesperson says the claims are false and they will pursue legal action to protect bieber from these allegations. a superior court judge has sentenced actress lindsay lohan to 30 days in jail for violating her probation. the judge also warned lohan she will spend more time behind bars if she violated further court orders. she must surrender by november 9 to serve her time and is still required to perform community service at the l.a. county morgue. >> time right now is 6:20, 40 degrees on tv hill. coming up, a pedestrian is

struck in baltimore city, slowing traffic down. sarah will have more on that coming up and hopefully the condition of the victim. >> a hometown star returns to baltimore and puts an eye-popping show on. keith mills has that and more on the ravens-steelers matchup. >> but first, here's a look at last night's lottery numbers.

>> good morning. sarah caldwell with a look at your morning commute. if you're heading out, some problem spots out there. let's start in the city. we have a pedestrian-involved accident right at lynnwood avenue. if you travel there, watch for police responding. no word yet on the condition of the pedestrian. definitely a busy scene there. pulaski highway near erdman avenue, another accident wrapping up. delays developing from padonia down to the beltway. an accident off to the side. another problem coming in at maryland 30 and emory road, route 30 and emory road. again, maybe lanes closed there. we do have lanes closed in the city. cold spring shut down at roland avenue over toward roland spring drive. on the webb side, emergency gas line repairs happening there. eastbound cold spring is blocked. faceburg expressway, delays at padonia down to the beltway. a live view of the southwest corner of the beltway, slow go all the way down the west side. that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. tony, over to you. >> good morning, everyone. the weather is nice and quiet

on this thursday. partly cloudy skies to kick things off. temperatures are above freezing, and that's a good thing. 34 in frederick, one of the colder spots. it's 39 at b.w.i. the forecast for today, a mix of sun and clouds, not as much sunshine as yesterday, but you'll still call it a nice day. high temperature right around 61. we'll check the forecast for the weekend when i come back. first, we're going to send it over to the man. here's keith mills. >> thank you, tony. good morning, everyone. leave it to terrell suggs to stir it up as we get closer to sunday's game with the steelers. suggs said, "we're taking 53 men to the apocalypse, and ain't bringing flowers." that might be one of the funniest things he ever said, and he said quite a bit. if they win on sunday, the ravens will sweep the steelers for the second time ever. 2006 was the last time. early september, the first ravens win this year, 35-7 over the steelers. that figures to change on sunday. the steelers are playing well,

though they are dealing with injuries as well. joe flacco won't have to deal with james harrison and maybe not lamarr woodley. he's also not expected to play. as for joe and the ravens, he knows the margin of error will be far greater on sunday and pretty much any game this year. >> we got to go in there, play the way we know how to play, and we can't go out there and make mistakes, not execute things and look like crap like we have for a little bit the last couple of weeks. we got to go in there and play the football we know thousand. >> joe got to sit on the fence a little bit more, talking about how they played in the first half. we'll have live pregame coverage on sunday night from heinz field in pittsburgh. we hope you'll join us for "ravens countdown" sunday at 6:30 just prior to "football night in america" right here on tv 11. what a good night here for some football. college basketball season is here. last night at the towson center, former towson stand outgary neal, now with the san antonio spurs, in town to help

out. gerry sandusky also on hand for that. the reason the cheerleaders are posing is because they helped freshman marcus win the slam dunk competition with that one. he jumps over all three cheerleaders, rns a perfect 10 on the scoreboard. he's mobbed by his teammates. the tigers open their season next friday against kansas. now, would you guys allow someone to jump over top of you and slam dunk it? >> dunking over me is not that hard. >> small fee involved, maybe? >> just a height difference, you know? >> 6:27, 40 degrees on tv hill. the damage estimates are in on that devastating fire at the tavern. plus -- >> police officer william torbit was shot and killed on the job. now an independent panel has reviewed that incident. i'm kim dacey live with details. >> and a special song for a

special girl being treated at hopkins children's center. which disney star came to which disney star came to deliver it in person?

>> good morning. welcome back to 11 news today. i'm jennifer franciotti in for stan stovall. >> and i'm mindy basara. thanks so much for joining us. tony, seemed a little warm other the drive in this morning. >> and indeed it was. yesterday we were around 32 degrees, and we had freezing fog. that's not the case today. we're all above freezing. the temperatures are in the upper 30's to around 40 right now. not that bad. we're going to make it up to 61 this afternoon, a mix of sun and clouds expected. it's a nice day, just not as sunny as yesterday. we'll check the forecast for the weekend when i come back. for now, over to the news desk. >> we will learn the results of an independent review into the shooting death of officer william torbit. >> fellow officers gunned down torbit during a brawl outside a downtown nightclub in january. kim dacey is live outside the select lounge where it happened. hi, kim. >> hi, jen and mindy. mayor stephanie rawlings-blake commissioned that independent panel in february to review police actions that night. early morning on january 9, police officer william torbit

and 22-year-old sean gamble were shot and killed outside of select lounge in downtown baltimore. three other civilians and an officer were also injured. the state's attorney office says torbit was shot 20 times by fellow police officers who didn't recognize him in plainclothes or see his badge. they announced in august no charges would be filed against the officers who fired the fatal shots. >> it's our conclusion that all the officers acted reasonably in a highly chaotic situation in which they had a reasonable belief that they and other civilians in the area were in imminent fear of substantial bodily harm or death. >> officer torbit's sister spoke to 11 news after that announcement. >> i feel ads though they know the truth, and it's time that people stop covering up for the police officers. there's no way in the world that you stand over someone and shoot them 22 times and no one -- no justice come out of that. i feel as though they need to look further into it and

justice need to be served. >> the independent panel commissioned by the mayor did just that. the panel consisted of four experts charged with reviewing the incident, as well as policies and procedures. today they'll announce their findings and recommendations to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. that announcement will be at noon today at police headquarters. we, of course, will be there, and we'll bring you the latest on 11 news tonight. reporting live downtown, kim dacey, wbal-tv 11 news. >> baltimore county police are still piecing together the details surrounding a homicide in parkville. officials say they found a woman dead inside her home on sarah lane around 4:40 wednesday afternoon. police wouldn't release her name or tell us how she died. there are currently no suspects in this case. >> in this morning's project economy report, president obama has arrived in france for the

g-20 summit. the president left washington late last night en route to the summit in cannes. president obama and the leaders of the world's top 20 economies will have plenty to discuss over the next few days. high on the agenda will be finding a solution to the debt crisis in greece, which could have far-reaching consequences on the world's economy. meanwhile accident closer to home, baltimore city officials are wrestling with ways to solve their looming budget crisis. discussions have already begun how to shore up the city's $52 million shortfall. furloughs are once again on the table, but they're looking for more permanent solutions to their budget problems. >> i think it's been prudent to depend on this. it is a temporary gap of the budget, and we work to reduce the number of furlough days like we did in this budget year. >> i think as we're taking a look at the 10-year financial plan of the city, everything is on the table. we have costs that are out of control, medical costs, the

pension costs. we've done some work to bring those costs in, but more work needs to be done. >> the city is holding three workshops for citizens are encouraged to provide their input. the first is next wednesday at edmonson high school. >> a federal grand jury has indicted nearly two dozen alleged members of a prison gang on racketeering charges. this gang is called dead man incorporated, or d.m.a.i. police say they're behind violent activity inside and outside of maryland prisons, including baltimore county, baltimore city, and anne arundel county. 22 people are listed on the indictment, which includes four murders back in 2009. the defendants face federal racketeering, murder, drugs, and firearms charges. meanwhile, the man suspected of murdering his wife and son before fleeing to north carolina is back in maryland. 45-year-old curtis lopez was extradited back to montgomery county on wednesday. he's charged in the murder of 51-year-old jane mclean. officials also expect to charge lopez in the murder of her son,

11-year-old william mclean. his body was recovered from a wooded area in clarksburg after a six-day search. >> this week's massive fire that destroyed the mount washington tavern comes with a massive repair bill. city fire officials say the historic building suffered $2.5 million worth of damage. two-alarm fire swept through on monday morning. snoil word what triggered the fire. >> an amazing surprise for a special patient at johns hopkins children's center. >> ♪ i know how to smile when i don't want to ♪ >> can you imagine this? disney's "high school music" star drew seley paid a visit to brooke shockley as part of the music is medicine program. after several telemeetings over skype, drew showed up in person on wednesday with a special song written just for her. it's called "fly."

>> it's just very cool when something you've done is forgot about years ago, comes full circle and brings you back around and puts new people in your life. so i'm excited to meet her and excited to play the song for her. i hope she likes it. >> so special. brooke tells us she was a fan of seeley in the movie and now brooke will also be featured in his music video, which was filmed at the hospital yesterday. how cool. >> good morning to you. sarah caldwell with a look at your morning commute. let's see what's going on out there on the roads. some problem spots to get to. we'll start in upper. watch for an accident. there may be some lanes closed there too. we'll let you know once we find out more. meantime, this one is gone, southbound 83 approaching the beltway, accident cleared. delays are still in place from padonia down to the beltway. eastbound cold spring lane shut down right at roland avenue over toward roland spring drive. traffic alternating on the

westbound side, so you can get by, but there are going to be delays there. road repairs happening and emergency gas line emergency in that area. pulaski highway, an accident is now gone. looking at drive times around 60 minutes on the outer loop west side, about five minutes south on 95 from the 895 split down toward the fort mchenry. looking at a bit of a delay southbound on the faceburg expressway from padonia down to the beltway. and also, starting to see a little bit more volume on southbound 95 coming out of white marsh. consider pulaski hoyas your alternate. that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. now we check in live with ava marie, joining us from the rawlings conservatory. what a beautiful back drop. >> so lucky to be getting to do the weather with this backdrop here. i am live in the rawlings conservatory, where we're talking about the latest exhibit, mums and memories. it's a look into baltimore's history of horticulture. there used to be a lot of conservatories here, and this is the last remaining one. it's located in druid hill park. the conservatory is open

wednesday through sunday. come each day. it's a free event, but they do suggest a donation, and they use those donations to help to refurbish the conservatory. let's get a check of the weather forecast. 61 this foofpblet you see more clouds in the sky. then the storm system heads our way, but it's most likely going to go further south. southern maryland may see showers tomorrow. baltimore, only a 30% chance this. weekend looks mostly dry. fortunately, we're under cover here, so no matter if it rains, we'll be dry. my favorite mums, this one is a spider mum, but i think it kind of looks like a golden poodle. it's called golden rain. >> it does look like a poodle. >> put it in your purse. >> gorgeous. >> really pretty, especially this time of year. i could never have the patience for something like that. >> looks good there, though. >> the time is 6:37, 40 degrees on tv hill. an amazing tradition in college sports that gets the entire crowd into the action. we'll explain.

>> two cute little critters got a lucky break last month when a fisherman in cambodia came to a rescue. these leopard cat clubs were left. they were taken to a wildleif rescue center, where they are now doing very well, being hand fed by their keepers. once they're old enough, they'll join the center's six other leopard cats. they're a small species about

the size of a house cat found in south and east asia. so cute. >> as college basketball season begins and long traditions continue, a small college in arkansas celebrates the start of their men's basketball season in a unique way. every year for the past 30 years, whenever the golden eagles of john brown university score their first points of the year at home, the students celebrate by bombarding the cart with rolls and rolls of toilet paper. >> it's an incredible sight, but when it comes to the cost of all of this, the team is charged for the technical foul, but it wasn't a problem because the eagles won by 43 points. >> i just want to know who's going to clean that up. >> right. >> not us. >> time right now is 6:41, 40 degrees on tv hill. coming up, a look at the morning's headlines and your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> and we'll also take a look at your morning commute. we'll check for closures in the city due to a gas main break repair.

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>> welcome back to 11 news today. the time is now 6:45. new in the headlines this morning -- baltimore county fire crews remain on the scene of a house fire in owings mills. crews responded just after 3:00 this morning in the lions wood neighborhood. it appears the fire may have started on the second floor. everyone was able to escape without injury. fire officials say there's no word yet on a cause. the red cross will help the displaced residents. the family of baltimore journalist matthew van dyke says he will return from libya this weekend. sharon van dyke says her son is expected to arrive at b.w.i. marshall airport saturday evening. the 32-year-old writer was captured by gaddafi loyalists after being freed by rebels in august. he took up their cause and aided in the resistance. after four weeks, mayor stephanie rawlings-blake has

pulled the plug on the occupy baltimore camp. the move comes amid safety concerns over the tangle of extension cords jerry rigged to provide power. the mayor has said the protesters are welcome to use the square, but not round the clock. protesters say they plan to stay through the winter. >> and that brings us to your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> we asked, do you think the city should take step steps like cutting the power to disband the demonstrations? >> will writes the movement had a defined mission and an actual list of grievances and demands, i could understand their protests. but they have no leadership and it's simply a campout on the city's dime. >> jim writes, why not leave them alone? without using this to overshadow others, by making this the big issue of the day, everybody focuses on it rather than those things which really matter. >> i didn't know the city was supplying power. if so, the protesters should be paying for it. we do have freedom to assemble peacefully, but we don't have the right to free electricity. we'll post more answers on the

front page of wbaltv.com. >> good morning to you. sarah caldwell with a look at your morning commute. if you travel in the next few minutes in the area of upperco, right at emory road, we have an accident causing delays there. be careful. also looking at delays in the city, eastbound cold spring lane shut down at roland avenue due to gas line repairs. traffic alternating on the westbound side. red showing occupant west side outer loop. that delay stretches back to 795. it's impacting traffic southbound on 795. 42 miles an hour on lombard through the harbor tunnel. a little bit of a delay developing there. 19 minutes, your drive time on the outer loop west side. 14 on the northeast outer loop. about a 10-minute ride southbound 95 southwest to 32. here's a live view of the harrisburg expressway, moving pretty welcoming down from parkton. once you get to padonia, that's where delays start to form. coming out of white marsh, the usual stuff happening as volume builds there.

that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. now ava has a check from the rawlings conservatory. you are surrounded by mums. it's just beautiful there. >> good morning, sarah. yes, what a beautiful place to be doing the weather this morning. i'm live in the rawlings conservatory at druid hill park, where their latest exhibit is open, and it's all about mums. it's called mums and memories. it's a look at baltimore's horse culture past, because baltimore used to have a rich history. people used to come here on their free time. this was the thing to do before television. tell us about this event. >> well, thousands of people used to come to the conservatories in the past with the mum shows, poinsettia shows, which we'll have one of those december 10. starting all over again. but back to the mums, there are just so many different flavors and so many different forms and styles to fall in love with, if you will. a wide, wide range of color. all of the ones that you're seeing right here are grown as buds, which is a pretty

labor-intensive process, taking buds off the sides of the stems so that all the energy of the plant can go into producing that one huge, beautiful flower. >> and that's how you get the big, beautiful flower. this is labor-intensive, and it's a lost art. this is the only place to see them. so come to the rawlings conservatory t. runs through november 20. they're open wednesday through sunday 10:00 to 4:00. let's get a check of the weather. dry right now with high pressure in control. a few clouds starting to come in from the west as a storm system moves into the midwest. heavy rain falling in illinois right now. will that rain reach us? we'll head back to tony in the weather center to get a check on that. before the days of television and iphones, this is how you spent your time. >> now that you're there, i'm sure it's going to be the cool place to go again. as soon as people find out that ava marie has been hanging out there, they're going to be going. >> i love plants. >> by the way, i think i fond my favorite one. find out the name of the one that looks lake a giant snowball.

i like that one. >> we'll preview that one next. >> thank you, ava. cool stuff down there at the conservatory. just a couple of clouds hanging out this morning. the temperatures are warmer than they were yesterday. it's 39 at the airport. 36 in parkton. 34 in frederick. it's still chilly out there, but yesterday we were below freezing. we can thank this little high, thin cloud deck. whenever you have clouds come in, it keeps the temperatures warmer than they would be otherwise. we didn't dip down close to the freezing point this morning. watching this big storm coming across the midwest, the same one that dumped the snow in colorado yesterday. it still has a little bit of snow on the back side of it this morning coming across the western part of missouri. but most of it is rain. southern illinois moving into southern indiana. fortunately, i think most of that is going to miss us to the south. most of the energy is going to dive down into the carolinas, and we'll weaned one just a slight chance for a few showers tomorrow. today, a mix of sun and clouds. it's not as sunny as yesterday. high temperatures between 58 and -- tonight, becoming mostly

cloudy, a little bit on the cool side. temperatures will drop back into the upper 30's and low 40's. well, say hi. now that you walked on camera, say hello. come on back. come on! microphone went out, so carlotta's job is to hand me the microphone. you're already famous, you might as well come back on. all right, let's do the seven-day forecast now that you can hear me. thickening clouds overnight tonight, just a slight chance for rain. tomorrow, as the storm passes south of us, the high temperature, 58. all in all, a pretty decent forecast going into the weekend. saturday and sunday look good, a little cool on saturday, 55. but make it back up to 63 on sunday. don't forget, before you go to bed saturday night, set your clocks back one hour, daylight-saving time comes to an end. over to the news desk. >> time for a last look at our big story. the anticipated release of a report in the investigation of a shooting that took the life of a city police officer and a civilian outside a downtown nightclub. 11 news reporter kim dacey

joins us live from the select lounge where the shooting took place. hi, kim. >> h.i.v., jen. the shooting happened here in january. in february, mayor stephanie rawlings-blake commissioned an independent panel to review the incident. officer william torbit and 22-year-old sean gamble lost their lives and three other civilians and another police officer were injured in a brawl that got out of hand. the independent review board consists of four national law enforcement experts. they've been working since april, charged to review the incident and recommend changes to policies and procedures to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. the state's attorney office says torbit was shot 20 times by fellow police officers who didn't recognize him in plainclothes or see his badge. they announced in august no charges will be filed against the officers who shot torbit. the results of that independent panel are expected to be announced today at noon at police headquarters. we, of course, will be there, and we will bring you the very latest tonight on 11 news. reporting live downtown, kim

dacey, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thanks, kim. we'll be right back. these sweet honey clustery things have fiber?

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i've never heard of that. [ wife ] it's great. it's a sweet honey cereal, you'll love it. yeah, this is pretty good. are you guys alright? yeah. [ male announcer ] half a days worth of fiber. not that anyone has to know. fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. >> going to talk fast, so pay attention f. you're traveling in upperco, an accident clearing right at route 30 and emory road. delays forming both on the north and west side. on southbound 795, along with 83 south, eastbound cold spring lane closed due to gas main break repairs. so westbound side, you are getting by. 95 coming out of white marsh, delays in place there. >> nice day today? >> do i have to talk that fast too? i don't think i can do it. all right, a mix of sun and

clouds today, high near 61. there you go, i'm done. slight chance of rain tomorrow. going to be a nice weekend. sunshine, cool on saturday. >> now you have to stretch. >> not as warm today as yesterday. i paid attention. >> still a nice day today. >> it's just not as much sunshine. >> that's all the time we have. thanks so much for joining us. >> back with a live update at 7:25. >> have a good one. >> should school board members be elected or appointed? that is the question.

proponents say they are more accountable because they can be voted out. supporters of appointed boards say those members are more likely to be better qualified to deal with complex issues and make tough decisions because they do not have to worry about winning an election. well, there has been lots of research, studies and commissions. there's no data that proves one is better than the other based on student achievement. maryland has 24 school boards, of which 18 are fully elected. debates about how school boards are selected come up often. in baltimore county, a panel set up to study the issue could only agree on the facts that they could not make a determination. a similar exercise in howard county ended in a proposed change being withdrawn. some argue appointed leadership is less responsive to the public, while others contend elected boards depend too much on political connections. there appears to be no perfect system. even after hours of passionate debate. like any responsibility, the effectiveness of the board will depend on the people who serve and their willingness to work

together to do what is best for students and their system. it is not about strurkt or process, but about providing the best educations possible the best educations possible for all maryland students.