[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news at noon. >> good afternoon, everyone. i am sarah caldwell. the jury in the paul schurick robocall trial has reached a verdict. jane miller has the late

breaking details. >> the jury has found paul schurick his guilty on all four counts in this case involving those robocalls that were sent out to about 112,000 voters in prince george's county in november of 2010. the counts concern fraud -- the use of fraud to influence voters decision to go to the polls and a lack of an authority lying on the robocalls. all types of campaign messages are supposed to have an authority line that identify the source of the call. the call that went out did not have that authority line. the use of fraud to influence the voters' decisions -- that account has a sentence of a maximum of five years in jail. the authority line count, which

is the other part of this case, has a maximum sentence of one year in jail. sentencing is not today but it will not come today. there will be a pre-sentencing investigation. sentencing will come on february 16 for paul schurick. that is exactly the time when the other half of this case will go forward. that's the case against political consultant henson, who was hired by the campaign. madeschurick's side has strong claims about the first amendment. they claim the robocalls were protected by the first amendment. they say they will appeal this decision. we will have much more tonight. >> thank you. onto our other big story this afternoon. mayor stephanie rawlings-blake is the second youngest mayor and only the second female mayor in the city's history.

david collins was in the audience. he joins us live from city hall. >> it feels more like a coronation. rawlings-blake received 52% of the vote in a city where democrats outnumber republicans 9-to-1. she is not scheduled to speak until 12:40 p.m. in her speech, which we have not seen a copy of, she is expected to announce her intentions to l ure as many as 10,000 families into the city over the next decade. we will be listening closely to her speech to see how she plans to attract new residents and to keep those already here from leaving. her two years in office after dixon was forced to resign -- she has steered the city through budget deficits and soaring crime rate. she has also had to deal with 30,000 vacant properties and school buildings that need $2.8 billion worth of repair.

she has already laid the groundwork to address these problems. she said she intends to seek another term in office after this one. we are currently being serenaded by the baltimore city school of arts. there's a lot more on the plate here in terms of the opening with songs and dance before the mayor takes the stage at around 12:40 p.m. we'll have much more tonight on tv hill at 5:00 and 6:00. >> we look forward to that a man is in critical condition after an overnight shooting in north baltimore. shots were fired after 12:30 in the 700 block of willow avenue. officers found the 22-year-old suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. no word on a suspect or motive. a baltimore city police officer is recovering after he was shot in the arm by friendly fire. anne arundel county police say

he was part of the task force and was assisting in an arrest in odenton. a baltimore county police officer's gun discharged by mistake. the shooting is being investigated as an accident. police did recovered 27 pounds of marijuana and $900 in cash from that odenton home. >> scattered showers continue across the area, which will cause slow conditions for the afternoon commute. 61 right now. rain is being reported. winds are out of the south. we get up to 63 by 6:00 p.m.. 50's by 9:00 p.m. the rain chances decrease a little bit. the showers become a little bit more scattered in the evening. we could see more as we go into the night. we will talk about that in the seven-day forecast.

>> another deadline creeping towards capitol hill. democrats and republicans still cannot agree on how to pay for a break in peril taxes. if they do not reach a decision by the end of the month, your taxes go up 2% 3 tracy potts is in washington with more on the latest gridlock. >> my message to congress is this. keep your word to the american people and do not raise taxes on them right now. now is not the time to slam on the brakes. now is the time to step on the gas. >> we will likely hear something similar today when president obama speaks in a small town in kansas -- the same place president roosevelt delivered his popular square deal speech. president obama is pushing for congress to extend the payroll tax cuts and unemployment rate on monday, democrats unveiled their plan to pay for it. new fees on fannie mae and

freddie mac mortgages. the controversial tax on millionaires, but a smaller one. republican leaders signaled a compromise. >> that's a sign that ultimately they will be able to get majorities in both chambers to go along with what the president wants. >> some republicans still oppose the millionaire tax. >> its bad tax policy. the surtax that would fund this is something that would very much hurt small business and job creation. >> the white house has posted a countdown clock on its web site. gingrich has a 13-point lead in iowa. >> life in space, coming up on tv hill at noon. why did the new nasa discovery has scientists thinking we may not be alone. dozens killed in a coordinated attack in afghanistan. by today's bomb

>> just one day after world leaders met to discuss the future of afghanistan, dozens are killed in a coordinated attack. suicide bombers struck crowds of shiite muslims as they

celebrated the holiest day on their calendar. more on the deadliest day in that country in nearly a decade -- >> at least 58 people have been killed and nearly 200 injured in a coordinated attacks in afghanistan in different parts of the country. the first one took place in the capital placekabul, where a suicide bomber targeted shiite muslims. 54 people were killed in that attack. at least 150 people were wounded. later, in northern afghanistan, a similar attack to the one we saw in kabul. this time, it was a bicycle bomb, also targeting shia muslims. in kandahar, another attack. no one was killed in that attack. we have not seen sectarian violence in the past in afghanistan to even the taliban

sent out an e-mail condemning the attack, and said the taliban would never attack afghans on the basis of religion, tribal affiliation, or ethnicity. >> still ahead, the hit reality series "fear factor" is back. carrie is here to answer your plant and gardening questions. you can e-mail your questions. >> when we come back, in the insta-weather plus forecast, we will be tracking the rain and the possibility of snow in the seven-day. 60 at the inner ha

>> nasa says it has discovered a new planet and there's a good chance it could sustain life. the planet is called kepler-22b.

scientists say the surface temperature is 72 degrees. kepler-22b may even host liquid water, and essential for life. studies are underway to determine whether kepler-22b is solid like earth, or more gashes like neptune. those studies might be difficult. kepler-22b is about 600 light years from earth. >> back on planet earth, we are talking about the rain showers happening right now across the maryland areas. most of them are south of 95 in baltimore, but they stretch back into d.c. all this is going to add up to a bit of a slow commute for the afternoon. the roadways are already wet. more rain on the way. that will slow down traffic. shares are lifting off to the north and east as the system has our way. back to what's happening across our area right now. we have quite a bit of cloud

across the area. temperatures have been mild. started off in the 50's. we are now in the low 60's. this area of low pressure is just starting to make its way toward the western tier of maryland. the cold front is the big player in our weather pattern right now. once it passes us, the temperatures are much colder. that's when we start talking about the possibility of snow. for right now, this is a rain event. i want to mention the light at the end of the tunnel. we have a large area of high pressure stretching across the midwest. this will be building in. after we get through this, things will shape up pretty well into the weekend. check out the temperatures above the kind -- temperatures well behind the front. 52 in denver. 32 in st. louis. we're in the very mild air right now.

eventually, that very cold air will push in. currently, temperatures are unbelievably michael pitts 60 at the inner harbor. -- unbelievably cool. 60 at the inner harbor. scattered rain showers through the afternoon. we will see another rain rain around bush in overnight and into tomorrow. -- we will see another rain push overnight and into tomorrow. depending on how cold it gets in baltimore on wednesday night, there could very well be some snow in the area, especially west in baltimore in the higher terrain very we are expecting rain showers tonight with mostly cloudy skies. 40's in the suburbs. 50 downtown. rain showers are likely tomorrow with winds out of the northwest.

temperatures will be much cooler. highs in the morning will be in the 50's. seven-day forecast. rain today and tomorrow, as well. early thursday, that's when it gets tricky. if it gets close to the freezing mark, there could be a little bit of snow. friday, it looks dry, but only in the 40's. sunday, sunshine with a high of 49. >> what would you do to win $50,000? the hit reality show, "fear factor" is back and promises to answer that question. the show's host, joe rogan, joins me now. thank you very much for joining me. >> thank you for having me. >> i am totally grossed out. can we expect more of that this year? is the show going in a new

direction? >> no. it is going in the same direction, but faster. it has got the same disgusting elements. we hope most people have gotten over the trauma, but it is coming back. >> who comes up with these ta sks? where do they get the inspiration? >> a bunch of people -- that is their job. they have also done it for "wipe out" and "101 ways to leave a game show." its the same cast of people. that's their job. >> the whole show is about confronting fears. we want to know what you are afraid of. i cannot imagine there is

anything. >> i am afraid of a lot of things. water. people with bad breath. i do not like people who will not leave me alone. there are a lot of things i am afraid of. >> hopefully you will not be put to the test on those things. you never know. one of the producers of the show says you will use new camera technology to make the show more visually arresting. what does that mean? >> you can get tiny high- definition cameras now. we can have all these angles we never had before. it essentially, they only used high-definition for sports back then. that will be a big difference. it will be visually stunning to watch. the disgusting things will be more graphic. you will be able to see them more clearly pit it is bigger and better looking. a more intense version of "fear

factor." >> we appreciate your time. >> you can catch the season premiere of "fear factor" on december 12. the show airs every monday at 8:00 on wbal. >> breaking news into the tv h11 news room. jack johnson will spend seven years in prison. he pleaded guilty in may to shaking down developers with hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. his wife pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and will be sentenced later this week. we'll have more coming up at 5:00. >> carrie engel fromv is here -- from valley view farms is here to answer your questions. >> you can take plants and hang them on your tree. >> you need a strong branch to

hold that, i would imagine. >> it's not so bad. >> you can do that with the kids, too. >> first question. >> i would hold off until spring. so many plants have gotten accustomed to the nice, warm temperatures. around here, anywhere from mid april to mid may. >> what time of year is appropriate to plant an english holly tree? >> you will have to plant at least a male and female. there are some that are self pollinating. at this point, i would probably wait until spring to late march or whenever the ground is dry enough.

>> unfortunately, we are out of time. thank you very much. >> if you have a plant or gardening question, e-mail us or go to our web site. you can also mail your question. >> coming up next, your maryland lottery pick 3 and pick 4 numbers. another check of your insta- weather plus forecast.

>> and now you're maryland lottery numbers. >> ♪ the maryland lottery let yourself play ♪ >> good afternoon. here is your pick 3. 6, 6, and your final number is another 6. 6, 6, 6. those are your pick 3 numbers. bob is in the mood for a pick

four. 3, 7, 9, and we are going to wrap it up with this one -- it is a 3. 3, 7, 9, 3. let yourself play. >> ava is back to tell us about the cold air on the way. >> it is pretty mild. rain showers and scattered about through the afternoon. more rain showers tomorrow. the trick is when the cold front passes tomorrow, very cold air pushes in. wednesday night and thursday could be cold enough to snow. it is possible there could be a slippery roads on thursday morning. >> thank you. thank you for joining us for 11 news at noon. >> have a great day.

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