we came to work. by the time you step out this morning, it will be in the low 50's. and then it will be in the 40's by the time you get to lunch, perhaps feeling like the 30's even this afternoon. last hour it was 56 at the airport. it's down to 51 now. northwest wind at 17, gusting up to 25 or 26. the cold air is rushing in from the northwest. it will be in the 40's for the rest of the day. 45 this afternoon on average, but it will feel like it's in the 30's because of the wind. when we come back, we'll check the forecast for the rest of the weekend. first let's say good morning to sarah, see what's happening on the roads. >> good morning, everyone. actually we have one accident of note just coming in to us. northbound 95 approaching 216 f. you're heading up into howard county, you may see delays there. take 295 as your alternate. the right lane is closed with this accident so, again, watching for delays heading up into howard county. in parkville, an accident just coming in. right now looking good on 95 coming out of the northeast. nothing major in terms of delays on the west side.

let's take a look at drive times. five minutes on southbound 95 to get you down toward the fort mchenry. eight minutes on 895 toward the harbor tunnel toll, about 11 minutes on the outer loop northeast side. we'll check some of our cameras for you. first 95 at 19 . coming toward success northbound traffic. we're watching to see if any delays form because of the accident. here's a live view of the harrisburg expressway. problem-free from the maryland line all the way down. so enjoy. pretty quiet ride in most areas this morning. that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> our big story, lawmakers reach an 11th-hour agreement to avert a government shutdown heading into the weekend. >> the focus now turns to continuing several tax extensions set to run out at the end of the year. 11 news washington bureau reporter tara mergener explains. >> with time running out, congress is making progress. there is a plan to keep the

government running, and they're getting closer to a deal to payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits. compromise? >> we're confident and optimistic we'll be able to resolve both on a bipartisan basis. >> instead of confrontation. >> there's an agreement on a bill that we keep the government open. they've worked out all the details and shook hands. >>ing in the force signed off on a $1 trillion spending agreement, narrowly averting a government shutdown. it provides full funding for the government through september of 2012. the house could ok the measure friday, sending it auto to the senate. the payroll tax issue remains the final fight of the session. >> congress should not and cannot go on vacation before they have made sure that working families aren't seeing their tacks go up by $1,000 and those who are looking for work don't see their unemployment insurance expire. >> lawmakers are now working

out a deal to renew the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits for another year much the breakthrough comes after senate democrats abandoned their demand for tax cuts be paid for with a surtax on millionaires. >> we hope we can come up with something that would get us out of here at a reasonable time, in the next few days. >> and in case the long-term deal falls through, lawmakers are working on a plan b, a shorter, two-month extension of the payroll tax holiday. in washington, i'm tara mergener, wbal-tv 11 news. >> a panel of lawmakers is giving governor martin o'malley more flexibility in how to close next year's shortfall. the committee voted to recommend the governor and the general assembly reduce the state's structural deficit by 50% in the next legislative session. but it also gave the governor the option of raising taxes instead of budget cuts alone. the recommendations are not binding on the governor, who

submits the budget in january. meanwhile, governor o'malley says additional concessions from exelon will be good for maryland's economy and bg&e customers. the governor says the billion dollar settlement includes a promise to develop more natural gas, wind, and solar power in maryland. it also satisfies public interest goals by reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gases and increases the state's renewable energy portfolio. >> their commitment to invest a billion dollars in our economy will create, we estimate, about 6,000 jobs. >> not included in the new concessions, additional credits for bg&e customers who are already getting a $100 credit on their bill should the public service commission approve the deal. aub maybe it's a sign of the time that coupon use is way up. the rise began in 2008 when the economy dipped, and it keeps going up. last year americans redeemed nearly $3 billion worth of coupons. so far this year, coupon use is

up 5% from that. experts are not sure if these shopping habits will change permanently, as they did for those who lived through the great depression. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. have you been clipping coupons more this year than in years past? share your response on wbaltv.com, our facebook page, or send an email to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> new this morning -- the army private accuse of the of the largest ever leak of classified documents will appear at a pretrial hearing later today. 23-year-old private brantley manning is accused of illegally downloading huge numbers of classified documents and then turning them over to the whistle blower website, wikileaks. manning could face a possible life sentence. the hearing is expected to last through the weekend. >> the 19-year-old who led police on a police chase is recovering at shock trauma after being shot by police. sky team 11 was over the scene

where the chase ended at annapolis road in baltimore county. baltimore say the chase began when officers identified the suspect's consider as one used in an arm robbery wednesday night. when police surrounded the suspect, officers say he drew a gun, pointed it at his head, and then at the officers. officers fired, striking the suspect in the leg. charges are pending as the investigation continues. authorities confirm they have recovered the body of a middle river man who went missing in montgomery county. search crews found the body of 35-year-old charles duckett in the tridelphia reservoir earlier today. crews have been searching him since he disappeared december 2. he was a maintenance worker for the washington suburban sanitary commission, who was assigned to that reservoir. >> a heartbreaking loss for a parkville family after a 15-year-old boy is struck by two cars and killed. investigators say 15-year-old ryan chase was walking on the sidewalk along the avenue with a friend when he somehow entered the roadway. residents in the area are shocked and saddened by the accident, especially this close to the holidays.

>> sad. it's right before the holidays. i can't imagine the mother of the child, what she's going to go through. >> ryan died at the scene. his friend was not injured. no word if any charges will be filed against two drivers that struck him. also in baltimore county, two people are in custody after a police chase ended in a crash. this all started when towson university police tried to stop a vehicle with stolen plates. during the pursuit, the driver lost control and collided with a taxi on york road. the four people in the taxi were treated for injuries at a hospital. no police vehicles were involved in the crash. the investigation continues. >> same-sex married couples who work for baltimore county will be getting a nice gift for the holidays. healthcare benefits for their partners. the county is extending healthcare benefits to employees who were legally married in other states. that's good news for couples like margaret and collete who

have been together for almost 20 years. in 2009, they were married in massachusetts. shortly thereafter, margaret began fighting for co-let to be covered under her health insurance plan. as a baltimore county police officer, she filed a grievance with her police union, which she says the county denied. margaret then went to the labor union, but they also denied her grievance. final it will went to an arbitrator, who ruled in her favor. >> we decided rather than appeal that position, we would let our healthcare review committee review the issue and then, of course, make it applicable to all county employees. >> under this new provision, any county employee who was legally married in another state will be able to extend healthcare benefits to their same-sex partners. >> all right. the time coming up on 6:09, 55 degrees on tv hill. coming up -- netflix customers can look for something a little extra something in their stocking this year. we'll tell you what. >> also ahead, the king of all media will join in on the

search for america's next big star. where is howard stern moving to now? more on that as we cover the entertainment headlines. >> and a virtual holiday before bring some very real saving to online shoppers. that's coming up. >> and after a mild start, the temperatures are going to be falling quickly this morning. we'll let you know how cold it's going to get. >> and we're tracking an accident on northbound 95 heading up into howard county.

>> welcome back.

it's 54 degrees downtown, but don't let that fool you. temperatures will fall off very quickly this morning, so dress for temperatures in the 40's, perhaps even the 30's, because that's what it will feel like because of the wind. we had a cold front go through a couple of hours ago. winds have shifted around to the northwest. it's 51 at the airport. winds are gusting up to 25 miles per hour, so be prepared for that, especially if you're going over to one of the bridges there. just hang on to the steering wheel. you can see how the temperatures fall off from west to east here. across the lower eastern shore counties, it's still in the 50's. 57 in annapolis. out into far western maryland, it's 41 in haguers town. the cold air is spilling over toward baltimore. most of the day today, in the 40's. no precipitation right now, but we're watching a little storm coming up from the south here through the mississippi valley. that's going to clip us to the south tonight, so there could be a little light rain or snow tonight. but during the day, it's going to stay dry, variable clouds, temperatures falling. it's going to be breezy. again, it will be in the 40's for most of the day. overnight tonight, as the storm passes south of us, there is a chance for a little bit of

light rain or snow, the best chance would be south of baltimore. temperatures dropping back into the 30's. take a look at insta-weather futurecast, we're going to start at 9:00 tonight. you see the storm passing south of us that we were talking about. that will zip by very quickly tonight. most of tomorrow is going to be fine, just kind of chilly. sunday, we're going to watch a little clipper storm come in from the northwest,, and look what this computer model does, produces a little bit of light snow, so there's a possibility we could see light snow or flurry toss start the day on sunday, and it will just be quiet and dry for the rest of the day. seven-day forecast looks like this going into the weekend. partly cloudy tomorrow, 44. only 39 auto sunday with that chance for a little bit of light snow or snow flurry activity in the morning. and then monday, it clears out again. the next storm is tuesday and wednesday. it looks like it will be mostly rain with temperatures in the mid to upper 40's. all right, the time is 6:13. let's see what's happening on the roads. >> good morning, everyone. tracking an accident on northbound 95 that could impact your ride as you head up into howard county, you're probably

going to be tapping the brakes just prior to 216. we have a light rain closure, to stay to the left. you can get around it, but there are delays reported in that area. also seeing some southbound delays on 295 from 100 down to 175. those are volume-related delays. in parkville, brittany lane, watch for an accident. right now, not seeing any significant delays on the north side. still moving well on 95 out of northeast. problem-free on both the j.f.x. and harrisburg expressway. west side checking in at 53 miles per hour just past 795. looking good on i-70 and 795. we'll keep you posted as volume continues to build. let's give you a live view of traffic. here's what it looks like at 95 and 198. north and southbound traffic not seeing any signs of delays here, but again, just prior to 216, the right lane is closed. 295 coming toward us is southbound traffic, and that backup is in view from 100 down to 175. again, we'll keep you posted. stan, over to you. >> sarah, thank you. two former penn state

university administrators are scheduled to appear in court. former athletic director tim curley and former vice president gary schultz are charged with lying to the grand jury investigating child sex abuse allegations against jerry sandusky. assistant football coach mike mcqueary is also expected to testify today. while no cameras are allowed in the courtroom, reporters are allowed to tweet, email, and text. also today, former big leaguer barry bonds will find out the punishment for his obstruction of justice conviction. bonds provided evasive testimony to a grand jury investigating the balco steroid scandal. government lawyers have asked a u.s. district court judge to sentence bonds to 15 months in prison. and the man accused of firing shots at the white house in an alleged assassination attempt of president barack obama is due in court. today's hearing in federal court in washington will focus on the mental health of oscar ors at the ahern dezz, who's accused of using an assault rifle to shoot at the white house last month.

>> in this mning's consumer alert, if you still have christmas shopping to do, now might be a good time to go looking online. because once again, it is free shipping day. this is the fourth year that more than 2,000 merchants are participating in the online event by providing free shipping when you shop and delivery guaranteed by christmas eve. find out which stores are taking part in free shipping day by visiting freeshippingday.com. after you finish your online shopping, if you're still in the bargain hunting mood, head down to your local car dealership. might be a good time to find bargains on a car dealer's 2011 inventory. if you're looking for used cars, definitely the time to buy. the best buy is now through january 8. experts say demand is low at holiday time, which gives you more leverage, so that gives you about three weeks to find a great deal. a mystery at kmart. someone is paying off layaways for customers, plus a goodwill gesture from netflix as their bad year comes to a close. jane king has those stories and more in the morning's bloomberg

business report. >> good morning. after enraging millions of customers, netflix is trying to get on your good side with the holiday promotion. the movie rental chain offering d.v.d. subscribers one free d.v.d. rental. the company says it's their way of saying thanks. however, it won't do you any good if you have the streaming plan or have already cancelled the service. talk about spreading holiday cheer. generous ark anonymous donors are paying off layaway accounts for people they don't know at kmart. the benefactors usually ask to help families in need. k maret see no, sir need in investigating the secret santas. and the maker of facebook games like cityville and farmville has just raised a billion dollars in an initial stock offering, and shares start trading today. after three losing sessions, stocks finally end higher, helped out by reports showing fewer americans filing for jobless claims. and the bloomberg maryland index getting a boost. it was helped out by united therapeutics. good news for joseph a. bank.

that's compared to its previous daily average. this shows consumers growing comfort with buying stuff on cell phones and other mobile devices. at the new york stock exchange, i'm jane king, bloomberg news, for wbal-tv 11 news. >> in entertainment news -- one of the most enigmatic and acerbic pen cuts has passed away. christopher hitchens, known for his essays in "vanity fair" and the author of "god is not great" died last night after complications from pneumonia after a long battle with esophageal cancer. a frequent guest on political talk shows, hitchens held positions on both sides of the political fence and took delight in taking on his opponents with a scathing pen or acerbic remark. christopher hitchens dead at the age of 62. radio shock jock howard stern will join "america's got talent qults ads the show's new judge.

american stern, the self-proclaimed king of all media -- sorry, tony, i know you like that -- will share duties with houree mandel and sharon osborne. production the "america's got talent" will also move to new york, will stern will deny his daily radio program. auditions for the upcoming season are already underway. >> that could be very interesting. the time is 6:19, 48 degrees on tv hill. just an hour ago it was 55. the temperature is falling fast. coming up, an accident on i-95 in howard county could cause the morning commuter headaches. sarah will catch us up on that. >> also, the falcons swoop in on the wounded jacksonville jaguars. keith mills has highlights when he joins us. >> don't forget to email your answer to the water cooler question of the day. have you been clipping coupons more this year than in years past? share your response on wbaltv.com, our facebook page, or send an email to watercooler@wbaltv.com.

>> good morning once again. sarah caldwell with a look at your friday morning commute. we are tracking delays just starting to fall into place. the accident we had on

northbound 95 approaching 216 in howard county is now career, so good news to report there. no further delays in that area, but southbound 295, you're tied up from 100 down to approaching 32. delays are now stretching down to that point. if going to head out in parkville, brittany lane, an accident. delays starting to form on the west side once you get past liberty, things start to back down. 47 on southbound 95 just south of the beltway, still a smooth start at both the tinls and the rest of the area bridges look pretty good. 83 is in good shape. here's a quick look outside. we'll update on you our cameras. 95 at 198 moving better after the earlier accident was cleared. a live view of traffic on 295, we're looking at those southbound delays coming toward us, all volume-related as you make your way down toward the capital beltway. that's the latest. tony, over to you. awe change is the operative word, at least temperaturewise this morning. we started out near 60. we're dropping off already into the low 50's. it's 51 at the airport. 48 in columbia.

41 in hagerstown. that cold air is working its way to the ise. temperatures are going to continue to fall as we head through the morning. because it's breezy or windy, it will feel like it's in the 30's. that's what you want to dress for, even though right now it's relatively mild. we'll check the seven-day forecast for the rest of the weekend when i come back. first we're going to send it over to the man. here's keith mills. >> good morning, everyone. the ravens and chargers sunday will have more on that in just a few minutes, but first, last night in atlanta, the falcons took a major step in making the playoffs. they absolutely crushed the jacksonville jaguars, beat them easy. matt ryan and blaine gabbert, the quarterback matchup, and this was no contest. atlanta and ryan all the way. third quarter, already 27-0. blaine gabbert hit by john abraham, and oh, man, cory peters gets what you call a defensive lineman's dream, scoops it up for a touchdown.

31-0 atlanta t. got worse just a few minutes later. ryan to a wide-open roddy white, number 84. he ducks in, two t.d. catches for white, three touchdown passes for ryan. 41-14, atlanta wins. they are 9-5 and knocking on the door of a playoff berth. the ravens, of course, with a major challenge in san diego on sunday after losing six in a row. the chargers have won two straight and are still alive in the a.f.c. west. and philip rivers, their quarterback, playing thinks best football since early in the season when he was 4-1. then he had that big meltdown in the middle of the year where they couldn't do anything right. but he's thrown for over 3,700 yards this year, 530 the last two weeks with six t.d. passes. he's also 11-1 as a starting quarterback in december, so he knows the ravens defense is playing at a very high level. >> first thing is scoring defense, they're there at the

top of the league. they need to score enough points to win, and they obviously are very multii am in their looks and blitzes and then they got great players. the combination of all that, we definitely have our hands full. >> kickoff sunday at 8:20 here on tv doug hill. jerry -- gerry sandusky has the pregame show. >> 6:26, 48 degrees on tv hill. she's been indicted on two separate incidents. still ahead, we'll tell which you state lawmaker is running afoul of the law again. >> good news for legally married same-sex couples who are employed by baltimore county. i'm jennifer franciotti. details are next. >> who's the new tim tebow of politics? he was at last night's debate. good morning. i'm tracie potts in washington. find out that and more, fix. >> i'm sarah caldwell keeping tabs on your delays this morning.

>> good morning, everybody. welcome back to 11 news today. i'm stan stovall. >> and i'm mindy basara. thanks so much for joining us. meteorologist tony pann has a look at the forecast. the temperatures are falling fast, tony. >> that's the big story this

morning. we started out near 6 he a couple of hours ago. now it's in the upper 40's and low 50's, and it will continue to drop heading into the afternoon. probably low to mid 40's by the middle of the afternoon, so be prepared for that. it may be mild right now. take a heavier jacket with you. winds are close to 25 miles per hour, so that's going to make it feel even cooler. when we come back, we'll check the forecast for the rest of the weekend. for now, to the news desk. >> in this morning's commitment 2012 report, the last debate before the iowa caucus us is in the history books. >> newt gingrich fended off critics, but as tracie potts tells us, his sharpest attacks didn't come from his closest challenger. >> anybody up here could probably beat obama. >> but right now, they're trying to beat each sandore michele bachmann is accusing newt gingrich as lobbying as a mortgage consultant. >> we know he cashed paychecks from freddie mac. that's the best evidence you

can have. >> i want to state unequivocally -- i have never once changed my positions because of any kind of payment. >> mitt romney, who gets a key endorsement from south carolina's governor, found himself explaining why he switched positions on abortion. >> my experience in life, over, what, 17, 18, 19 years, has told me that sometimes i was wrong. where i was wrong, i've tried to correct myself. >> in a debate that ranged from immigration to foreign policy, the candidates agreed on limiting the power of so-called activist judges, but disagreed on how to do it. gingrich promised to stop prosecuting states like arizona with tough immigration laws. he's under fire for not being conservative enough. >> we are getting screwed as americans. >> polling in single digits, rick perry and rick santorum took this last chance to appeal to iowans. >> well, i'm counting on the people of iowa to catch fire for me. i hoe i am the tim tebow of the iowa caucus us. >> governor per a voided any

major slip-ups last night, and he blame his earlier poor debate performance on fatigue after back surgery. from washington, i'm tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> new criminal charges have been filed against a state legislator who was already accused of using campaign funds to pay for her wedding dress. the latest charge against delegate tiffany accused the prince george's county democrat of using taxpayer dollars to help pay the salary of an employee of her law firm. state prosecutors say the employee was paid $800 by the general assembly, but did not work for the state. >> starting next year, baltimore county will extend healthcare benefits to same-sex couples legally married in other states. jennifer franciotti joins us live to splan how the change in policies come about. good morning, jen. >> good morning. this will take effect in january of 2012, and it's welcome news for couples who have been paying for separate healthcare plans.

margaret and collete have been together for almost 20 years, but have always had to have separate healthcare plans. >> collete has had to insure herself with catastrophic health insurance, which is very expensive every year for her. and the money that she could have -- we could have been saving probably could have helped our family out quite a bit. you know, raising two kids is not cheap. >> in 2009, surrounded by family and friends, the couple married in massachusetts, and shortly after that, margaret began fighting for collete to be covered under her health insurance plan. as a baltimore county police officer, she filed a grievance with her police union, which she says the county denied. margaret then went to the labor union, but they also denied her grievance. finally it went to an arbitrator, who ruled in her favor. >> we decided we would let our healthcare review committee review the issue and then make it applicable to all county employees. >> county executive kevin says

the decision is the right thing to do. under the new provision, any county employee who was legally married in another state will be able to extend healthcare benefits to their same-sex partner. >> this is an executive branch decision, although i will tell you that it was vetted through this healthcare review committee, which is comprised of all the different employee groups. >> and the new provision will take effect in less than two weeks. reporting live here in towson, jennifer franciotti, wbal-tv 11 news. >> in this morning's education alert, a new principal-teacher evaluation is in the works. the new system will grade principals and teachers based on students' performance. nine school systems, including baltimore county city, have already given it a new trial run. the editor effectiveness council made of teachers, union, state law makers and school officials all agree the plan is a work in progress.

>> and so this is early-stage pilot work that each of the districts is very much involved with. they are focused on what measures to use and how to use them. >> the state expects to have a new evaluaon system in place in the next two years. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> all right, time to get you up to date on your morning commute. here's what to expect. delays on southbound 295 from 100 down toward 32. all of that is volume-related down toward the capital beltway. we have an accident just in in the city. hilton street, another one, actual medical debris reported. be careful there. in parkville, this one still wrapping up at brittany lane. here's a look at speed sensors. close spots, but really not all that bad this morning delay-wise. we'll see what's going on.

95 at white marsh going away from us. southbound traffic just starting to see brake lights in the white marsh area. definitely delayed on southbound 295 coming toward us from 100 down to 32. may want to consider 9 as your alternate. that's the latest on traffic pulse 11. now tony has a check on your forecast. >> things are changing this morning. hour by hour, we started near 60 a couple of hours ago, it's down to 51 at the airport. the winds have shifted northwest, and they're gusting up to 25 miles per hour, so it's a breezy start for us. temperatures going to fall into the 40's for most of the day. it will feel like it's in the 30's, maybe rain or snow coming in tonight, but it should be dry during the day. partly cloudy saturday, 44. and there could be light snow showers on sunday morning. a little clipper storm goes by to the north. next chance for precip after that on tuesday and wednesday. big changes coming up here today, and it's going to be a relatively chilly upcoming weekend. back to you. >> tony, thank you.

6:35, 48 degrees. police are called to rescue a man who's stuck in a chimney, and no, it's not santa trying to make an early arrival. what exactly was he doing and what was he thinking? we'll tell you when we come back. >> and we're still taking your answer toss our water cooler question of the day. have you been clipping coupons more this year than in years past? share your response on wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send an email to watercooler@wbaltv.com.

>> a young man in stockton, california, found himself in a sticky and sooty situation. firefighters were called to the home to rescue a 21-year-old man from the chimney. no, he didn't get stuck while playing santa. it seems he missed his curfew the night before, thought he could get around the front door by sliding down the chimney, st. nick style. instead, he found himself trapped for several hours and having to explain not just why he was late, but how he will replace the demolished chimney. oh, niece big trouble now. >> mom must be tough. 20-year-old guy and he's got a curfew. well, you could say the fashions at a particular show in china were in very good taste. that's because all the clothing making their way down the runway that you're about to see here are made out of chocolate. there it is. i don't know how they get it to flow like that.

this show was held to call attention to the opening of a chocolate dream park in shanghai today. designers said yes, they did have some problems with the sweet stuff because chocolate is easy to break and crumble. but with special treatments, designers got the chocolate to form the way they wanted. that's just incredible. >> but is it still edible? >> well, i'm not sure. meteorologies say they couldn't tell the difference between real fabric. >> i'd rather have a hershey bar. >> the time is 6 clock 40, 48 degrees on tv hill. still ahead, your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> as oscar season heats up, we'll look at some of hollywood's most award-worthy entries as the golden globe nominees are announced. >> and we'll check on the morning commute. delays on 295. we'll let you know where else we're seeing delays. that's next. >> and temperatures are falling quickly this morning. it's going to turn out it be a chilly day today and get even colder over the weekend. hey guys, what can i get for you?

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♪ with your help, we can reach 20 million dollars by the end of this, our fourth year. [ female announcer ] get 0 percent apr financing on select models for thirty-six months and we'll donate two-hundred and fifty dollars to your choice of five charities. now through january 3rd. awe welcome back. in the headlines this morning -- one man is in critical condition, another listed in good condition after a double shooting in southwest baltimore. police arrived at the scene in the 3000 block of belmont avenue just before 9:00 last night. no word on their identities or a possible motive or suspect. a car roll county pawnshop owner is facing 106 criminal charges after state police found tens of thousands of dollars in stolen jewels in&more than a dozen illegal firearms. richard rivkin is the owner of the carroll county jewelry on bond street in westminster. police arrested him after investigating the theft of $70,000 in jewels from a home

in mount airy that ended up in his shop t. may be a sign of the times, but coupon use by americans is way up. the rise began in 2008 when the economy dipped and it keeps going up. last year americans redeemed nearly $3 billion worth of coupons. so far this year, coupon use is up 5% from that. experts aren't sure if these shopping habits will change permanently as they did for those who lived through the great depression. >> and that brings to us your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> have you been clipping coupons more this year than in years past? >> greg writes, yes, we've been cliping coupons. we have been frustrated, however, because where we buy a sunday paper for the coupons, we find that someone else has already taken all of them. come on, people! buy the paper or leave it alone! we want to save money too. >> yes, you must. prices have been inflated to absorb the coupons, as those who pay full price are overpaying. >> joanne writes, i spent a few months clipping and trying to

save. as a single person short on space, i couldn't buy in the bulk quantities required to really save and ended up spending more money. so now i clip sparingly. we'll post more answers on the front page of our website, wbaltv.com. well, tis the season forgiving in hollywood as well, especially when it comes in the form of award programs. and thursday, one of hollywood's most prestigious film and tv award nominees were announced. we run down the list of the 2012 golden globe nominees. >> silence is apparently gold front hollywood foreign press association. at this morning's no, ma'am nation event, the throwback plaque and white film "the atist" had six nods, including best film in the comedy or musical category. >> it's a very unique kind of film, because it's a black and white, silent film without that many well known people in it. >> rounding out the category is "bridesmaids," "50-50," and michelle williams in "my week with marilyn."

the best drama division features two films with five nominations each. "the descendants" and "the help." three castmates received nominations. also nominated, "hugo," "moneyball," and "the ides of march." >> george clooney was the biggest winning because he was nominated for writing, directioning, and starring. awe ryan gosling is also in the best actor category, along with brad pitt in "moneyball" and michael fassbender" for the movie "shame." best actress went to glen close and viola davis, rooney mara, meryl streep as the iron lady, and tilda win ton in "we need to talk about kevin." in the best supporting actress, there was a nomination for her slept film. she's up against "the help"

stars jessica and octave i can't, janet, and although he ruffled a few feathers last year, british bad boy ricky gervais will return for a third stint as host in 2012. the awards will be handed out january 15 on nbc. >> good morning. sarah caldwell with another look at your morning commute. things are getting busier out there as volume continues to build around the area. southbound 295 running slow from 100 down to 32. no delays through howard county, so that may be the better bet. we also have some debris to watch for, southbound 95 just approaching eastern avenue. so far, so good on 895. the key bridge looks pretty good, as well as the rest of the major area bridges. and you can see we're in good shape out there on the north side. a little bit of a delay forming on the west side, but nothing really significant.

let's give you a live look at traffic. going away from us, southbound traffic, just tapping the brakes at white marsh down toward the beltway. we'll switch over to a live view of traffic in the area of 295. very heavy there heading toward the capital. southbound traffic coming toward us. you do open up right around 32. now tony has a check on your forecast. >> good morning, everyone. big changes on tap for us through the day today. we had a cold front go through about two hours ago. ahead of that, temperatures still in the 60's overnight. it's 51 at the airport, winds have shifted to the northwest, 17, gusting to 26. so it's a breezy start as well. you can see the temperatures drop off west of baltimore. on the other side of the bay, the temperatures are still in the 50's and even near 60 across the lower eastern shore counties. the cold air is going to work its way west to east across the day today. it will be in the 40's by the afternoon you get into the afternoon. no rain at the rent time, but there's a storm here in the mississippi valley that will

pass south of us overnight tonight, so there could be light rain or snow during the sunset. but dry, variable clouds, temperatures in the 40's. because of the wind, it will feel like it's in the 30's. don't let the mild temperatures fool you. dress for much colder conditions, because that's what will be on tap this afternoon. mostly cloudy tonight, a chance for a little bit of light rain or snow as the storm passes south of us. temperatures will drop into the 30's. sun september at 4:45. we'll start the time frame at 9:00 tonight. you can see the storm passing south of us, so that will dip on by overnight. tomorrow, there's nothing going on, just a quiet and chilly day on saturday. but sunday morning, we'll take the time frame into 9:00, and look what this computer model does here. a little bit of light snow to start the day on sunday. there's a clipper storm that will go by to our north, so it could produce light snow showers or flurries. it will clear up in the afternoon. so the seven-day forecast looks like this -- temperatures fall today. a mechanics tour of clouds and sun ivan.

it will be in the 40's. tomorrow, only 44 for a high. 39 on sunday. it's going to be a chilly weekend. a chance for light rain or snow to start the day on sunday. the next chance for precip after that looks to be rain, i think, on tuesday and wednesday next week with temperatures in the 40's. >> time for a last look at our big story. baltimore county employees who have married their same-sex partners will get a nice gift in the new year, healthcare benefits for their partners. jennifer franciotti joins us live from towson with the story. good morning, jen. >> good morning. that's right, healthcare benefits will be extended to same-sex couples who are legally married in other states as early as january 1 of 2012. this is for baltimore county employees. this is welcome news for couples like margaret and collete. they have been married since 2009. they were married in massachusetts. but as a baltimore county police officer, margaret was trying to make sure that collete was covered by her health insurance plan, and it

was not. after repeated attempts to get that done, it was repeatedly denied. now county executive is saying that this decision is the right thing to do. he says it's an executive decision. under this new provision, any county employee who was legally married in another state will be able to extend those benefits, and that will begin on january 1 of 2012. reporting live here in towson, jennifer franciotti. now back to you. >> thank you very much. time for a look at what's coming up next on the "today" show. here's matt lauer. >> good morning. coming up on a friday here on "today," the g.o.p. presidential field squares off in the final debate before the iowa caucuses. some political watchers are saying it was a good night for mitt romney. we'll have details. also, an important milestone for one of the smallest babies ever born. she weighed less than 10 ounces at birth. now she's preparing to go home. we'll hear from her parents. plus, natalie takes a trip to havana to check out some of the signs of change taking place in

cuba. and what a year it's been. we'll look back at the good times that we've had in 2011 as we get started on a friday morning right here on "today." >> 6:52, 48 degrees on tv hill. >> still ahead, a last check on weather and traffic before you head out.

wait till you hear this. julie is giving birthright now to their first child, and alex, amazingly, had time to check in on facebook. he's giving us an update, and hopefully everything's going well. we want to give our

congratulations to julie. >> the guy's got nothing to do, all right? awe all right, let's check your traffic situation. we'll see what's going on out there. a couple of things to talk about. mount zion road at blackrock road, we have an accident. other than that, minor delays around the area. thankfully, that is good news. a little slow spot on the west side right around baltimore narcotic pike. 295 coming toward us, southbound traffic backed up from 100 down towards 32. >> the next 18 years, alex will be doing that. >> that's right. big changes coming up tnt wise. we're in the 50's right now. we're going to drop into the 40's in the afternoon. it will feel like it's in the 30's later on today, so that's what up to the dress for, not mild temperatures this morning. maybe a little rain or snow tonight, but dry on saturday. there could be snow showers or flurries on sunday morning as a clipper goes by with a high of only 59. a chilly weekend, but nothing to slow you down from doing the shopping. >> thai, thanks for joining us this morning. awe we're back with a live

update at 7:25. >> have a good one.

>> given all the standouts we have seen in washington recently, it is will he freshing to see a democrat and republican do what's best for their constituents. maryland democratic governor martin o'malley and virginia republican governor robert certainly do not share the same philosophy, but they have found a way to work together in the best interests of their states. the governors have managed to maintain a working relationship to address regional issues, such as the chesapeake bay restoration, transportation, and homeland security. now they each had their governors association with the presidential election on the horizon. having a different vision for america is one thing, but doing what's best for the people of their respective states is another. their willingness to work together for the common good is a stellar example for the house and senate, who cannot seem to get something done, even if by chance they agree. now that the real test is at hand in 2012 and they're both wearing two hats, it will be

refreshing to see them continue to share the olive branch and do what's best at home while they go head to head on they go head to head on national television.

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