despite tough competition. many are reporting a surge in sales. >> retail analyst estimate stores were up 60% compared with 2010, when the day after christmas fell on a sunday. local businesses campaigned hard to win over their share of shoppers, and it paid off. >> christmas we just relaxed out the house. >> burning calories by strolling through local shops and spending cash. >> kind of going to fells point, driving around to the local boutiques. >> area merchants made a concerted effort to bring shoppers away from big box stores and online vendors, kicking off the small business saturday sale in november. >> a lot of our customers have

been committed to shopping locally. >> the store drew plenty of bargain hunters. at towson town center opened at 8:00 in the morning to accommodate returns and people buying gifts for next christmas. >> why not? things are 50%, 60% off, and it makes perfect high-end gift at high -- at half the price. >> customers did their part to make sure their favorite local stores will survive competition from retail giants. >> we help local shops and support them, keep them around, because that is what baltimore is all about. >> thank you. >> when the totals are tallied, they are expected to exceed $470 billion across the country, up 4% from last year. some retailers are calling

this very busy shopping day mega monday. this is the first time in six years that the day after christmas fell on monday. an estimated $8 billion at cash registers today alone. analysts expected to be the third busiest shopping day of the year. they expect store traffic to be as much as 50% higher this year compared with last december 26. a two alarm fire at a hotel in howard county. this is video from elkridge, or the white dealt motel has lit up in flames. first responders got the cult on washington boulevard. officials have not confirmed how the fire broke out or if it was suspicious in nature. at this hour, there are no reports of injuries. the city police intelligence section is taking over the investigation to into a bomb scare this morning.

no explosives were found with the patrol officers were called at 6:00. what they found was a food container wrapped in a t-shirt with the word "bom" on it. a chat several streets while they investigated. -- a closed several streets while they investigated. government offices were closed for the christmas holiday. the police say that the man found lying in the grass on the 27 harbach of guiles road on saturday night has died from his injuries. the man suffered from multiple gunshot wounds. he was taken to the hospital where he died. there is no word on any suspect or motive. christmas was spoiled for a west baltimore family, whose home was ransacked christmas eve. not only did the thieves get away with children skips but also their parents wedding rings. >> it should have been santa claus to visiting this west

baltimore family's home on christmas eve, but instead at they stole their christmas. >> the televisions were gone, the xbox was gone, all of the guests. >> the family left their homes saturday evening to attend a christmas eve dinner party. when they returned, they noticed something was wrong. >> our home had been broken into, the bedroom ransacked, all of our children's christmas gifts had been taken from under the tree, except one, and the televisions were gone, game systems were gone. >> baltimore police called the -- told them they may have broken the basement window to gain access to the home. the family was looking forward to celebrating their first christmas in their new home, which they moved into two months ago. >> i worked hard every day to get this stuff, but and i cannot see them open their stuff.

>> not only did the thieves take the children's presence, that also took their wedding rings, too. memo, of person would do something like this? >> heartless. >> i could not protect my family or take care of my family. i felt hurt. >> this 11-year-old is heartbroken to see his parents so upset. >> it makes me want to tell them that it is ok, don't worry about it. awe will just wait until next christmas. >> the family is not looking for handouts, they just want names. that christmas has come and gone. we will do whatever it is we need to do to make sure that we get the things that were taken from our children. they will get those things again, but i just want the

people who did this to my family to be caught. covering the nation, three children died in a christmas day fire, but the mother was released from the hospital. at the home was the smallest this morning. the homes demolished this morning after being deemed unsafe. a third survivor is in stable condition. neighbors hugged and placed flowers by the mailbox of the home that was burned down. a helicopter crash has claimed the lives of the pilot and two mayo clinic staff members. they say that the doctor and procurement technician, along with the pilot of the helicopter, crashed in a remote area near jacksonville, florida. it it were flying to gainesville to retrieve a heart that was to

be used for a transplant procedure in jacksonville. the ntsb is investigating. another holiday tragedy, after seven people found dead in a texas department, the police in grapevine found the four family members, shot dead. investigators believe the family had just exchanged gifts before the shooting. it is suspected the shooter is among the dead, and the police call this a murder-suicide. republican presidential candidates have just eight days left before the iowa caucuses, and for newt gingrich, it's crunch time setback. jennifer johnson explains why he will not be on one state's primary ballot. >> note that romney has launched a new tv spot, called a conservative agenda, focusing on the federal budget and repealing all,-care. >> experience is desperately needed in washington. them are. santorum is going for

conservative supporters. newt gingrich and that rick perry are embarking on bus tours. michele bachmann is heading the counties. ron paul has a relaxed schedule. >> if your cities that you tried to hit in the last couple days, the better you are and the polls. and that gingrich did not get the required signatures to be on virginia super tuesday ballot. now he wants to be a write-in candidate. state rules do not allow it. >> it is something wrong that needs to be fixed. >> ron paul appears to have the strongest organization in iowa. polls show that he, romney, and gingrich are likely to be the top three, but some have doubts about newt. >> he has a theory of politics that somehow he is the man for the time. he was a few weeks ago, but that is not a big enough weight to carry them forward. >> i winds are notorious for being undecided up until the

final hour. the candidates are working hard to persuade them. there are a number of undecided voters, so i wore residents can expect new tv ads and -- i will residents can expect new tv ads and phone calls. the servicemen and women may be heading overseas, but it cannot stop them from reading a bedtime story to their kids every night. the soldiers made one final stop before boarding applies, reading a book out loud while being recorded. the books and tv pause will be mailed to loved ones back home. >> they allow us to do this once the month. we do a different book next time, so i could send another book, so she will get a book in the mail as often as possible and hear my voice and see a video of me. >> she is from st. louis and is headed to kuwait. tens of thousands of first

responders from 9/11 have an important deadline looming, just one week to make in a position about their health. >> they said if you pay within 30 days, we will waive all but $900. >> yikes, a state policy on pole rates. a policy that could land you in some serious financial trouble. the rain is back in the seven-day forecast. at first, outside, mostly cloudy, 31 at the airport.

rescuers involved in the world trade center disaster have less than a week to file health claims. that have to decide whether to end their court battle and apply for benefits from a government compensation fund.

earlier this year, president obama signed into law the 9/11 compensation act for workers, but anybody with a lawsuit pending after the deadline is barred from the program. $1 million will not be enough to cover the sticky mess on the pennsylvania turnpike of the summer. the insurer of the trucking company says the money will not be enough to cover the 1000 claims of damage to cars. the stevensville company owns the tanker that dumped asphalt over 40 miles of roadway, damaging tires and in some cases the engines of cars. they're now suing another insurer for $4 million. higher toll rates are in effect in maryland, very well advertised, but the state is not telling you something else about the toll system, what happens when you get a ticket. the state calls the policy user- friendly, but what about state law?

>> jonah's dispute with the ez- pass poll system was lengthy and expensive. he's being held responsible for thousands of dollars of unpaid tolls and fees he did not know about. >> they said if you pay within 30 days, we will waive all but 900-some dollars, which i was still flabbergasted. >> if only, he thought, he could take his case to court. it is an option available when a traffic ticket for parking ticket. he wrote a letter to the agency that handles the system. >> said i really don't want to have to get a lawyer for this, and is there any other method? >> what he did not know, state law appears to be on his side. the article that governs poll violation says a person receiving a citation for the violation may pay the toll and

party directly to the maryland transportation authority or elect to stand trial. the problem, the violation notices they use makes no mention at all of the option to go to court. why did the authority not follow this statute? >> week implemented a process of notice and told do that without was more user-friendly. >> the acting secretary. you think this is more user friendly, that you don't tell people they cannot go to court? >> we are not issuing the penalty. >> agency says they are in the right because they did not call the violation civil citations, never mind the intent of the state law. >> the state cannot send you a bill setting pay it or else. it would seem as if these are the types of notices that are sent out, and it does not advise the driver of all of their rights under the law, and they

are collecting this improperly. >> the violation notices mention an appeal, but only to the agency itself, and include a harsh warning -- failure to pay with the agency decides may result in the suspension of a motorist's vehicle registration. the unify the alleged violator they have the recourse outside of your system? >> we give them an opportunity to appeal through our system. >> to? >> us. >> not to an independent? >> not to a court system. >> there is nothing friendly about telling me if i don't pay this, i am subject to further administrative fees and they will suspend my registration, i will not be able to drive. >> we learned they will change their practice and soon start telling the worst violators, the ones who did not pay and 30 days, they can go to court. but for everyone else it's a violation, there is no plan to include what is written into state law.

>> we were trying to implement a user-friendly system. it was less onerous than a civil citation. >> if that is their idea of a friendly, i think we have to work on diplomatic skills. >> the lawyer believes the number of people who have been wrong this huge. the state issued more than 1 million told violation notices last year alone. >> ultimately, it will take a major action, probably against the state, to collect a lot of polls that were collected in violation of the statute. >> jonah wishes he had known the language of the law. am i think any judge would understand my situation, i have a timeline of everything that happened and how things accumulated. >> with no such recourse, he paid the bills that was demanded. he thought it was his only choice because of the suspension of the registration and imposition of more fees.

now the weather forecast with tony. >> most of the day we had sunshine. the past couple of hours, the clouds are getting thicker. earlier this evening, the skies were clear, the temperatures dropped. the clouds at night tend to keep the temperatures warmer than it would be otherwise. this is about as cold as it will get, dropping a couple decreased. at 38 annapolis, 28 degrees frederick. as the clouds the can, the temperatures go up a little bit as we had to the morning. the clouds on the satellite imagery, thickening, getting lower, but the rain is still a good distance away. the snow is still on track to come through tomorrow, but looks like the timing will give us at least a dry time in the morning if you were going to work, and rain will come in the mid to late morning. that is sooner than i thought

earlier, but we should still get through the morning commute dry. there is a little snow on the backside, but with the ground saturated, would have flooding problems. we could have about an inch of precipitation. mostly cloudy tonight and heading into tomorrow morning, should stay dry, 20-30. during the day tomorrow, not the snow gets organized, moving towards the mid-atlantic, and it will be quick. once the rain begins late in the morning, it will taper off in the evening, 8:00, and the cold air tries to catch up to the storm, but it will not be moving in fast enough to change over to snow. this will be another storm with no cold air. the rain showers likely during the day tomorrow, late in the morning, high temperature between 45-50. this is a big travel week, so let's look at the weather.

most of the trouble will be in the east, 53 atlanta, a good chance of rain, should be dry in the midwest. denver, sunshine, 45, showers and the pacific northwest, high of 47 seattle. the seven-day forecast, cold wednesday behind the storm, but dry, 42. 45 thursday, another storm friday with rain showers. at this point, i think new year's eve will be dry, but new york state, the first day of 2012. but new year's day, first of 2012, chance of rain. coming up in sports, we will look at playoff scenarios for the ravens, and why this keeps happening to the special teams.

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the ravens reached 11 wins for the first -- for the fifth

time in their history, making the playoffs for their fifth time in history. frostburg needs to find it somewhat remover for the coverage team or the season will come up short again. 84 guards on the part return was allowed. peterson also went the distance. the ravens are 31st and kick coverage, 24 than bringing down punt returners. john harbaugh broke down what went wrong saturday. >> so many times, he bails us out with points out of bounds. that was not one of them. the coverage has to bail out the pot. we did not do with their. it's blitzed down the middle of the coverage. at stake sunday afternoon in cincinnati, the ravens are the nfc's number 1 seed with a win,

the no. 2 seed with the patriots lost. the bengals are 6 with a win, or make the playoffs with a jets lost + raiders loss or broncos lost. the ravens will know at kickoff if the no. 1 seed remains possibility. the wizards open up their season, posting the nets, with new uniforms and a tremendous owed to the past, which seems appropriate. john wall remains the main attraction, know whether starr's rocking the red. incredible start to the game. the wingspan of a condor, and the captain played well early, too, out but the wizards with the 20-point lead. then it all gets away. tied at 55-55.

but the nets get the lead for good in the third quarter. the other team that uses the verizon center had a rough night, too, the capitals having a rough night in buffalo, where the continued their season long trend of starting slow. dale hunter not able to get any more out of the capital's then bruce boudreau. all over the world, 3-0 buffalo. they change the goalie, power play, no difference. 4-0, buffalo hold on, 4-2. the independence bowl, nice match up on paper in shreveport, with north carolina and missouri. pass, let it fly.

he sold that wonderfully. tied at 7-7. in the second quarter, franklin, with time, over the middle, 8 yards and the touchdown. all games are funny. franklin, right up the middle, missouri destroys the tar heels, 41-24.

what is a ski resort without snow? normally the day after christmas, officials said, the slopes are packed, but the resort has been closed because of the mild temperatures and not enough snow. back in 2007, the resort to not open until january 12, but officials are hoping this weekend of cold weather will change that. i am not the only one cheering for snow. there is no snow in this forecast, the next seven days, but there will be a cold rain tomorrow, temperatures in the 40's, rain likely. end sometimen will

tomorrow evening, the advertised to the chart 43. back into the upper 40's the rest of the week. right now, looks like new year's eve will be dry, and new year's day will have rain late in the afternoon. >> last year we had snow in october, now here we are in december with no snow. >> isn't that crazy? thank you, that is all we have time for. "the tonight show" is next with jay leno. we will see you back here tomorrow morning. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

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