[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> good afternoon, everyone. big changes coming to the united states postal service. changes aimed at saving the service from economic failure. they say that they will hike rates and cut services are in an effort to save money. not only will it cost more to mail a letter coming next spring, it will take one day

longer for that matter to reach its destination. the changes are designed to save billions of dollars per year. >> this proposed change to service standards will allow a significant opportunity to consolidate the postal network in terms of facilities, a postal equipment, vehicles, and employee work force. and generate a projected net savings, annually, of approximately $2.1 billion. >> the u.s. ps sites developments in technology for the decline in its business. projections show an additional decline of 47% between this year and 2020. a woman is in serious condition after being struck by a dodge neon in the 8100 block of and around the old road. she was struck and transported

to shock trauma. police say the preliminary investigation showed that alcohol and pedestrian error may have contributed to the collision. the defense is calling its final two witnesses this afternoon in the robo-call trial. they do not expect the testimonies to last long and the jury could start deliberating as early as this afternoon. the former aide to the governor was accused of authorizing robo- calls during the 2010 gubernatorial election. we will have the latest tonight at 5:00. >> once again, we are seeing extremely mild weather as we go through this mild day. most of the ring right now is west of the appalachian mountains. the wind is out of the east at 3 miles per hour. ahead of this storm, temperatures morning into the upper 50's by 3:00 p.m.

temperatures will not be dropping off too much. we are expecting a very mild night as this storm system approaches. it will bring some rain. we will find out when we come back for the seven day forecast. >> one person is dead and three firefighters are injured after a blaze in kent county. the unidentified victim was found inside of the burning home on the floor of the master bedroom. it took 75 firefighters about one hour to get a fire under control. damage is estimated at $550,000. authorities are still searching for a middle river man that went missing on friday. 35-year-old charles duckett disappeared at the reservoir. he works as a maintenance worker for the washington suburban sanitary commission. crews have been searching the reservoir and surrounding watershed that he was assigned to. so far, no sign of duckett. nature to take extra cash on

the injured county -- make sure to take extra cash on the interim county connector today. it was free for the first few weeks, but told rates will now be based on peak hours and non- peak hours. and to find out more, go to our website, wbaltv.com, and click on local news. the ravens finally proved that they could beat teams with losing records on the road. after beating the cleveland browns in cleveland on sunday, the ravens boosted their record to 9-3 for the second time in history. ray weiss says that he owes his career high 204 yards to the offensive line that made it possible. they set a franchise record and led the ravens to a win over the browns. while celebrating the status of no. 1 in the afc north, the coach dedicated the game ball to wbal radio's ron smith.

>> we want to present this game ball to ron smith. as everyone knows, " has meant so much to the people of baltimore. i had -- as everyone knows, he has meant so much to the people of baltimore. i had a conversation with him on friday. he gave us a message to carry on to the field. to him and his family, this game ball is for you. thank you and congratulations. >> a moving tribute. time for your ravens text question. will they get a first-round bye and a playoff game in the post season? standard text messaging rates apply. 88509. we will reveal the results tonight at 5:00 and 6:00 on a 11 news. -- on 11 news. herman cain is out.

the rest of the gop hopefuls are scrambling to gather up their supporters. just weeks from the iowa caucus, newt gingrich has the lead. can hang onto it? >> the nbc poll shows newt gingrich a leading with 26%. the apparent beneficiary of tea party conservatives defecting from herman cain. the party chairman says that it is not over. >> it will be up to the voters in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, and florida. >> a drawing fire from rick santorum, who had one-third of the support that mitt romney has in iowa, but still thinks he can win. >> the question is the sincerity of the movement and whether he can be trusted. >> michelle bachman has also been helpful. >> many of herman cain's supporters are coming over to our side. >> but it is ron paul, almost

tied with mitt romney, who called themselves the tortoise in this race. >> we have had the flavors of the month. i would like to speak -- think of myself as the flavor of the decade. >> by what is still up in the air. -- iowa is still up in the air, with many voters undecided. herman cain will meet with the former rival came -- rival camps, later this week. >> as winter rolls in, will be occupied protesters roll out? protestersupy roll out?

>> you have heard of seeking shelter from the cold. as winter rolls in, occupy protesters are creating shelter across the nation. an idea that police are not warming up to. >> the temperature is dropping. many occupy protesters say that they are not leaving. in washington, d.c., they fought -- faced off against the police

four hours yesterday over this wooden structure. the police say that the structure was a safety concern. protesters perched on top of it to prevent crews from tearing it down. they wound up being forced off by officers on a cherry picker. in all, at least 31 people were arrested throughout the day. and this kind of confrontation has not been a problem in buffalo, new york. occupy protesters there inhabited a dome provided by a supporter. >> someone who wanted to make sure that we stayed warm. >> snow is already falling in denver. although there are fewer protesters than usual, some say that they are in for the long haul. >> the had actually created a colorado top pocket. -- but they have actually created a colorado hot pocket. >> pakistan protests. still ahead, world leaders band

together to discuss the future of afghanistan. why did pakistan decide not to show up? doctor knows best in this afternoon's medical alert. shocking new results that show that medical students may not know much about germs. >> there is a storm system out towards the west. very cold air coming in behind us. in the mid-atlantic right now, just grain. we will time it out with our insta-weather-plus forecast. right now, 56 at the inner harbor. wind is light, out of the east. stay tuned, the forecast is coming up next.

>> covering the world this afternoon, more trouble for the crippled fukushima nuclear plant. officials have confirmed that small amounts of radioactive water had leaked into the ocean,

but that the leak has now been contained. the fukushima nuclear plant went into a meltdown after being struck by a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami. a british court ruled today that the founder of wikileaks can take his battle against extradition to sweden to the uk's highest court. >> the high court has decided that any issue that arises from my own case is a general -- is of general public importance and maybe relevant to other cases, and should be heard by a supreme court. i think that that is the correct decision. i am thankful. >> he is wanted for questioning in sweden for two separate accusations of rape and assault. he denies the accusations and has been denying -- fighting his extradition from the country for one year now. world leaders are meeting today

to discuss the future of afghanistan. as the u.s. prepares to pull leaders out -- to pull military out of afghanistan, pakistan is protesting the conference. stephanie has more. >> gathered in germany today, discussing the future of afghanistan, hillary clinton told a conference that the u.s. will continue to support the war-torn country long after the troops withdraw al. the afghan security forces, helping the country to economic potential, politically the world community hopes to assist the afghanistan leaders as they try to achieve this, as well as reconciliation with the taliban. >> never again will afghanistan fall to those who would turn it into a source of threat and harm to others. we want our country to be

integrated into the region with security and peace. >> notably absent? pakistan. they boycotted after nato forces killed 24 pakistani soldiers on the border of afghanistan. nato officials have called the incident an accident. even so, delegates hope to send a unified message that a stable, strong afghanistan is in the world best interests. stephanie, nbc news, london. >> in this afternoon's medical alert, two out of three medical students do not know how often they should wash their hands. 85 medical students were interviewed and tested on whether or not hand should be washed in seven different scenarios. only one-third knew all five times when it was necessary. a study shows that teenagers are using cell phones for less

explicit content than originally thought. according to research, only 2.5% admitted to sexting. researchers also found that sexual texting only went beyond intended recipients a 10% of the time. the survey was given to 2100 kids between the ages of 10 and 17. >> once again, we are seeing temperatures above the normal market as this storm slowly approaches from the west. we have the wind coming in mostly out of the south and west, easterly, as well as the baltimore area. therefore, we will seek the warm and mild air pushing across the region, pushing the rain back into southern ohio. north and east is why it has taken time to progress east. on the back side of it, we have snow in missouri, just south of

st. louis. you can see it happening across our area. a lot of clouds right now. that is what you're seeing into the afternoon. cloud cover, temperatures above normal as the high-pressure system moves offshore. that cold front is headed our way, slowly but surely going to give us a chance for rain behind us. very cold air pushing into the midsection of the nation. temperatures are unbelievably cold. single digits in denver, colorado. compare that to the southeast, where it is currently 63 in atlanta and 69 in many parts of north carolina. that is the mild air pushing in ahead of this storm system. check out these temperatures across the region. for a december day, not bad. 55 in easton. 57 in gaithersburg. keep in mind, high temperatures are normally around 51 for

december. this is already above that. we will only get more as we head into the afternoon. as we put the futurecast in motion, lots of clouds build into the area throughout the afternoon. chances to see rain throughout the morning. there is a better chance tomorrow as the storm finally lifts. there will be a big surge of moisture throughout the day tomorrow, with heavy batch of rain possible. we may get a break from that until the second piece of the storm starts to head our way, which would be wednesday night into thursday. this might be a two-part storm system that we track over a couple of days. better chances for showers in the evening and into tomorrow morning. temperatures seem very mild. mid 50 cost downtown. tomorrow, warm again, with mostly cloudy skies and rain likely. the seven day forecast shows that we may see another chance for rain on wednesday, lingering into thursday morning.

behind the storm, those temperatures have dropped down only into the 40's throughout the week. >> thank you. it is that time of year again when the kids start to make up their wish lists for santa. one boy in pennsylvania asked for a special gift this year, and it came early. he was there for his father's surprise trip home. >> this 5-year-old has just one christmas wish. make that two. >> i really want my dad. >> chris went to see an expert about his problem. the santa at the macy's store downtown. >> what would you want for christmas? >> my daddy. >> who is he? >> he is in afghanistan. >> his father, sgt john, has been in afghanistan for nine months, on his fifth to work with the 10th mountain division. what his young son did not realize was that his father had

just arrived back in pittsburgh, pa., hours ago, and was waiting for the right moment. >> ago give your daddy a big hug and kiss. -- don't give your daddy a big hug and kiss. and -- go give your daddy a big hug and kiss. [applause] >> keeping it a secret was hard. we were already to flip out. >> they coordinated the reunion with of the macy's store, knowing how important it was for chris to see his dad, who he calls a hero, to be home for the holidays. >> he is resilient, understanding, and knows that daddy does this to help everyone out. >> it is the absolute best. >> i could what those reunions over and over again. up next, your maryland lottery duckett and -- maryland lotteryk

switching to progressive could mean hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. >> here's a look at what we are looking at -- working on for 5:00. a local food bank with empty shelves. why are they struggling during this season of giving? plus, new changes in the city's water meters. they may leave you scratching your head. how to beat it, how to find out

more, coming up -- how to read it, how to find out more, coming up. now, your maryland lottery midday pick three and pick four numbers. >> a good afternoon to you, maryland. from wbal radio, here is your pick three, straight out of the gate, it is a nine as printed on the ball. your next number is an eight. the final pick three number for today, seven. 9, 8, 7, those are your pick three numbers. get to your favorite lottery retailer and played pick three or $1 or more, you could win $5, $10, $20, or $100 instantly. here is your first number. it is -- how are you all doing? it is a five. your next pick four number is

another fight. we will move on and get to this number for you, friend, which is the ninth as printed on the ball. wrapping it up with this final pick four number, 3. 5, 5, 9, 3. let yourself play. >> we have another look at the forecast. kind of mild for this time of year. my goodness. >> we have more clout after this sunshine weekend, with a chance for rain that holds off until tonight. maybe something spotty this evening. most of the moisture comes in tonight, tomorrow, and through the next couple of days. into the 40's by the end of the week. that will be when we get into the typical weather. >> looks good. >> all right. >> thank you for joining us. be sure to watch tonight, a 11 news at 5:00. >> thank you.