off a mild and we will move into the upper 40's into the afternoon. we will see clouds and we will be seeing heavier rain as we head into the afternoon. keep that in mind if you plan to be out on the road. >> in terms of your morning commute, it is looking pretty good. we had some major delays last snide coming down from the tydings memorial bridge. a smooth start on the north side around harford road. 50 just past 795. looking good on 97 north and southbound. and i start on 295 -- a nice start on 295. this is 95 coming down from riverside park white and we are delay-free. in terms of problems on the west side, we are in great shape so

far this morning. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. the countdown is on for the contenders looking to be the republican contender for president. the gop hopefuls have set their sights on the hawkeye state. tara mergener is live with the latest. >> good morning. a short break for christmas. now the gop hopefuls are moving full steam ahead. a week before the first nominating contests, but polls show ron paul at the top of the pact with newt gingrich and mitt romney. >> i will do something to government. i will make it simpler and smaller and smaller. >> some experts think the deal could be sealed for paul next week. >> thank you very much.

>> michele bachmann is hitting the road on the bus store. so are rick perry, gingrich, and mitt romney. rick santorum was in town. >> it was an opportunity for me to participate in a sport that is a popular one in the state of iowa. >> jon huntsman is not campaigning in iowa and is focusing his attention on new hampshire. >> thank you. let's talk more about the latest gop poll. >> it shows that mitt romney and newt gingrich are tied with president obama. in a hypothetical matchup, it shows 50% would support president obama, 48% nuking rich or mitt romney. pretty tight -- 48% newt

gingrich or mitt romney. >> two indicators of the health of the economy will be released this morning. a leading measure for the residential housing market. it tracks the changes nationally and in 20 natural areas. the consumer confidence index for december will be released today. last week the leading economic indicators increased half a percentage point. the consumer confidence in november went up after a dip in october. >> that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. what was your favorite gift given or gift received this holiday season? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. police are investigating the

vehicle bregenz after police say two -- after police say two people were using bolt cutters. thieves spoiled christmas for one baltimore family. their home was ransacked on christmas eve and the suspects also took their wedding rings. the thieves probably busted open the basement window to get access to their home. >> our hope had been broken into. our bedroom had been ransacked. all of our children's christmas gifts had been taken underneath the tree, except for one. our televisions were gone and the game systems were gone. >> i could not protect my family

or take care of my family. i just felt hurt. >> the family is not looking for any handouts. if you have any information, please call baltimore city police. 8 soldier is shot at his home -- a soldier is shot at his own welcome home party. so far looking pretty good here. will check on the rest of the major roads he

>> welcome back to 11 news today. 5:02. this is it live view of downtown. 41 degrees. that's a pretty mild start to the day for the end of december.

let's look at the temperatures across the state. 40 degrees at the airport. 38 in hagerstown. we're seeing a mild start. it will not be as warm into the afternoon. strong winds will be coming in from the south today as the storm system passes. a better chance for rain today. we will talk about the seven-day when we come back. >> a surgeon and a technician are among the dead after a helicopter crash. the chopper was heading to gainesville to harvest a heart for transplant. the patient who unscheduled to receive the heart is now waiting for a new organ again. the suspect accused of shooting a soldier turns himself into police. ruben ray jurado is accused of

opening fire at a party for christopher sullivan. the veteran earned a purple heart. he was trying to break up a fight between his brother and jurado who are arguing over nfl football. every board is being offered for information on the disappearance of a missing toddler. an attorney as for the public's help try to find the baby who was been missing for the past 10 years. an attorney offered the money for any information leading to the location and return of the missing toddler. the reward is the largest for any missing persons case in maine history. >> the tournament of roses parade is one week today. this is a labor of love.

companies all have floats entered. nbc has broadcast the parade for the past 85 years. this year's will be aired on monday morning. >> but who was playing in the rose bowl game? 38 degrees on tv hill. a ski lift in switzerland is running off of sunlight. >> the time line feature on facebook was unveiled over a week ago but we will tell you why you need to pay attention to what is being displayed. a live picture of the west side shows you know delays yet.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> time to update on your morning commute. not tracking anything delay- wise. 59 on the north side. 95 in great shape down towards the white marsh area. we had some major delays last night to and from the tydings memorial bridge. a lot of folks have reached their destination. looking pretty good on 70 and 97 to and from 100. 70 checking in eastbound approaching 29 at 57 miles per hour. this is 95. you can see it is moving well north and southbound. everything moving well at the hayden moral bridge and a nice

start at the west side at liberty road. we dissipate it will be a letter this week as many folks are off this week. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now let's get the latest on the buses and the trains. for that we go to kurt kronke of the mta system. good morning to you. >> we're looking at it smoothed commute. we have a light rail delay southbound running 10 minutes late. there is a diversion of at lawrence. brunswick 892 is cancelled. i'm kurt kronke. now back to ava marie. good morning. >> good morning. maybe you're heading back into the work week after the long holiday. the kids still have a chance to enjoy the holiday. we have a storm system approaching. hd doppler showing most of the showers right now around tennessee through kentucky and

the western part of virginia. they are moving into the mid atlantic. white sprinkles outside of western maryland. there is some snow from st. louis pushing into indiana. there could be some snow back into the midwest. this is a milder storm system. this'll be a rain event. seems to be the case so far. temperature-wise, it is very mild for a december morning. we're seeing 40 degrees at the airport. 41 at the inner harbor. 39 in gaithersburg. closer to the freezing mark as you head out into the western mountains. oakland is starting out above freezing. skies are becoming cloudy. baltimore could start to see showers this afternoon.

high temperatures will warm into the upper 40's. we're already starting near 40. we do have mild air in place. wind out of the south becoming a breezy later today. the storms is and will pass by. some showers this evening. will stay mild with lows in the 30's. we do have the clouds in place. that storm is coming in from the south and west. the center of the storm is down in the deep south. the cold air has yet to catch up. we're talking mostly about a rain event. temperatures are chilly in the midwest. no freezing temperatures behind the latest storm. maybe some light showers early on. baltimore gets hit by heavy showers. it will clear out this evening

and we will see clear skies as we head into the mid week. mostly dry weather later this week. 42 tomorrow with gusty winds. temperatures start to bounce back later in the week. mostly dry even for new year's eve. >> the first solar power ski lift opens in switzerland. it is almost 1,500 feet long and anels.ered by 82 solar power all the excess electricity goes to the grid. the panels are strong enough to hold heavy snow. it was finance body lift company itself. mother nature did not deliver a

white christmas in parts of idaho. nick scott made his own snow for k. hisl paail par friends and neighbors got to do some snowboarding on christmas day. no help at all from mother nature. >> u.s. airlines is collecting billions of dollars from on board sales. top airlines rake in nearly 12% of money by selling things like blankets and food and drinks. there will likely expand their options along with more on board entertainment choices. facebook was the top search term of the year.

they took four of the top 10 spots. ebay also made the top 10. you probably have noticed some changes to your facebook page. whether you like or hate the new time to get to one of your answers to our watercooler question of the day. format, we need to pay attention to what we of posted. >> with more than 1000 facebook friends, maria has been answering birthday greetings all day. >> i always kind of watch that. i am a teacher. i know all lot of my students are on. >> the biggest change to your facebook layout will be the timeline, an organization of everything you've posted on facebook. >> i think it is a positive experience. if used properly, you can set up

to be visual calendar of your life. >> social logic helps people manage their social media policies. it will require you to do some work. >> go through and take a look at what you have on there and think if you want that to be indexed and searched. maybe you want to delete those college party pictures. >> it will be up to users to decide if the new facebook is a good facebook. >> i think it is kind of annoying. it was fine the way it was. >> it takes a little bit of effort to get used to it. i'll see after a month if i like it. >> users will have seven days to make the transition to the new

facebook. >> you're probably thinking the presence you gave the kids for christmas will keep them happy for a while. guess again. jane king has the bloomberg business report. how was your holiday? >> it was very nice, stan. thank you for asking. mattel gearing up to release a new american girl doll. is a 10-year-old gymnast. the american girl line focuses on stories that deal with loss and relationships and helps to create an emotion of bond with children. we're looking for trading to begin over the next couple of hours.

we're starting to see the data from the holiday sales. we will get a report on metro area home prices this morning. we got a strong report on home prices on friday. if you think the economy is giving you heartburn, you're not alone. sales of drugs for high blood pressure and anti-depressant all increase when unemployment rises. i'm jane king reporting for wbal-tv 11 news. back to you. >> thank you, jane. we will see you at 6:15 for your next report. >> 5:22. 39 degrees on tv hill. >> don't forget to e-mail us your response to our water cooler question of the day. what was your favorite gift given or gift received this holiday season? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com.

>> it seems sometimes it can be a good thing that social media as such a broad reach in our family -- society. >> woman was able to get help after she and her son or held hostage. >> there were allegedly held against their will for five days. air corporation went to her computer and found a startling message from my facebook friend. >> i never met her. i don't know where. >> the message read, "hello, is anyone out there?" >> her posts were never jokes.

you have to follow through on it. >> she called her husband who knew the victim. but state lacked vital information. >> it is frustrating that nobody had a phone number or address. >> people posted facebook replies. people were typing, "are you there"? >> a friend offered up the address and someone else called police. they went to the house and found a man and his injured girlfriend. >> she had multiple bruises on her face and different stages of the took to boyfriend into custody. >> a year ago, he was arrested by a swat team in a similar kidnapping incident. his prison sentence was suspended. this time he allegedly assaulted the victim whenever she tried to

leave. >> he took her phone. she was able to sneak a computer into a closet and that's where she posted the message on facebook. >> facebook is something where i gossip or put stupid cartoons. this saved somebody's life. i'm a grinch. this was christmas eve and she was safe. >> there was a pretty amazing story. glad chateaus messages seriously. 5:27. 39 degrees on tv hill. the latest on a bomb plot that shut down city health. -- city hall. >> down to the wire in iowa. story is coming up. >> a new winter storm is on the way. we're expecting rain.

>> we will let you know if that will affect your morning commute. commute. the west

>> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. welcome back to 11 news today. i am stan stovall. >> i am sarah call. thank you for joining us this morning. are we talking a complete washout? >> i do not think it will rain the entire day. have those umbrellas handy. right now the rain is mostly off to the west as a storm system approaches. baltimore, maybe after 11:00 a.m. a better chance for the heavier rain around 1:00 p.m. we're starting around 40 degrees at the beltway.

41 at the inner harbor. upper 40's this afternoon with showers likely. those winds will be strengthening tonight. injure the mild weather while we have it -- is enjoying the mild weather. >> the afternoon commute may be tricky. let's look at the speed sensors. 57 miles per hour on the north side. no problems on the harrisburg expressway. 52 miles per hour just past 795. south on 95 in howard county, speeds around 50 miles per hour. this is traffic in the area of 95 coming to and from cecil county. problem free there thankfully. let's give the eight live view as we switched to the west side. no delays at liberty. light throughout the week as

many folks remain on vacation. breaking news. fire sparks inside a building in charles village. >> kim dacey is live on the scene to bring is the latest details. >> good morning. we're on 25th street near charles and 25th in the charles village area. we still have an active scene. firefighters are still here from this fire. you can see the latter by the window where they have to rescue a woman. the fire started around 2:45 this morning. the blaze started in the basement and spread to the first, second, and third floors. the middle floor is occupied by the big boys bail bond company. one person was transported to the hospital with minor injuries. . >> we understand the work to its

occupants inside, one woman who we rescued from the structured who suffered a mild inhalation and was transported to shock trauma. there was an occupant -- another man inside was able to escape without any injury. >> firefighters are not sure what caused the fire. they know it did start in the basement and spread upward. they have nothing to indicate there was any foul play. kim dacey, wbal-tv 11 news. >> a man is arrested after a christmas night stabbing. police say he was trying to damage a vehicle what he was approached by another man. he allegedly stabbed the man in the arm and was later arrested. he is charged with first-degree assault and malicious destruction of property.

the baltimore police intelligence section is taking over the investigation over what sparked a bomb scare. no explosives were found. they defied a food container wrapped in a t-shirt with the word "bomb" written on it. there was no threat to any public or elected officials. the government was closed for the christmas holiday. >> the iowa caucuses will be held one week for today. ron paul is leading in the race. a lot can happen in seven days. brian mooar reports from washington. >> very good. >> one week before the iowa caucuses, ron paul is leading the gop presidential pack. >> use of the iowa caucuses are

not completely defined until close to the end. >> rick santorum is hunting for votes. michele bachmann is getting ready to hit all the count ies. >> let them get a job like everybody else. >> mitt romney is trying to convince iowans that he is conservative enough. newt gingrich failed to make --ginia's mary ballot primary ballot. >> i cannot imagine anyone paying much attention to it. >> right now all eyes are on an iowa where anything can happen. he has an organization that is hard to be. brian mooar, wbal-tv 11 news.

>> our coverage continues online. you can follow the candidates and track who is leading the pack on wbaltv.com. >> some servicemen and women leave a piece of them behind before the head overseas. >> almost thinks this is a special book -- elmo thinks this is a special book. >> soldiers made a final stop before boarding their planes, reading a book aloud while being recorded on dvd. the dvd is will then be mailed to their loved ones back home. >> they allow us to do this each month. i can send another book from kuwait so they can get a book in the mail as often as possible and get to hear a voice and see a video of may. e.

>> made one final spot in baltimore to record a reading. 5:36. 39 degrees on tv hill. treating a mother's damaged heart tissue during pregnancy. >> will tell you about a disorder that affects at least 5% of americans each year. we will check your morning commute. this is 95. we will let you know if any delays have developed around the area.

>> welcome back to 11 news today. almost 5:40. 41 degrees downtown.

we can see some lights going on and around the power and light. there is a light show that is running through new year's. that is that power light -- power and light. let's check the forecast. the temperatures are mild to start today. 30's out towards the west. a new storm system approaches. this is mainly a rain event. we're seeing a light mixing from santa was back into indiana. this is just a rain event -- mixing from st. louis back into indiana. >> a new study shows stem cells from a baby's placenta can repair a mother's damaged heart tissue during pregnancy. >> the movement of field stem

cells was tracked. had migrated to the damaged tissue in the mother's heart. researchers are hopeful that in the future placentas be used in other people to treat a broad range of heart diseases. this is not the happiest time of year for 5% of americans. >> symptoms include fatigue and trouble concentrating. the use a start in the early winter and buffeted by spring. light therapy treatment helps most people. there isn't any way to prevent it but experts say spending time outdoors can curb symptoms as was eating healthy and exercising. >> that always helps. 5:41. 39 degrees on tv hill.

facebook partners up to save lives and spread awareness. >> john harbaugh talks about the kick coverage that has been shaky. the playoff scenarios for sunday's game against cincinnati. >> it is a nice-looking morning but it is kind of chilly. will check the weather and will check the weather and traffic when we come

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> time to check your morning commute. a lot of people are still also of volume is lighter. 25th at charles street, where doesn't fire department activity. 59 miles per hour on the north side. moving well on the harrisburg expressway coming down from shawan road to padonia.

52 on the west side outer loop and looking good on 7795 this morning. -- looking good on 70 and 75 this morning. no delays from cecil county. -- looking good on 70 and 795 this morning. you can see the west side building just a bit near liberty. not amounting to a delay. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now let's get the latest on the buses and the trains. for that we go to kurt kronke of the mta system. good morning. >> train 892, cancellation. camden and pan trains are operating on schedule. a 10 minute delay light rail northbound. on the buses, the one bus

diverting at fort and lawrence. bus and mark real-time saving transit team reports of are available on your phone 410-500- 4444. that is 410-500-4444. i'm kurt kronke. now back to ava marie. good morning. >> good morning to everyone. a lot of laws draggy ourselves out of bed -- a lot of us dragging ourselves out of bed. heavy rain in southern ohio. this is pushing eastbound. our rain chances will increase later today. this is mostly 8 rain event. we have some snow on the backside from st. louis to indianapolis. this is mixing in. it is pretty mild with that snow is falling.

eventually we could have some snow accumulations in the western part of maryland. mild air in place. 40 degrees at the airport. 41 at the inner harbor. 38 in hagerstown. in the western mountains, the temperatures are above freezing. we expect this to come in as rain in the mountains. the rain it builds in from the west. for baltimore, this is starting after 11:00 a.m. the have is woven from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. the ground is very wet. high temperature around 49 in baltimore. 55 in ocean city. the showers should end tonight into the early evening. we will become windy behind the latest storm. the clouds in place.

the storm system approaching. like sprinkles into the western part of the state. this entire storm system moves in to the north and east. the temperatures are mild. this is just eight rain event. the heavy stuff in the afternoon. -- this is just eight rain event. we could see accumulating snow in the western mountains. maybe one to two inches near cumberland. maybe about four inches into tomorrow morning. the seven-day forecast shows we do dry out. when the tomorrow. cold conditions. 50 by friday with a slight chance for showers. new year's eve it does look dry and maybe we'll see a new storm system moving in late on new year's day. temperatures are not too bad for

the wheek. >> two major indicators on the health of the economy will be released later today. one of the leading measures for the residential housing market. it tracks the changes of real- estate value nationally and it 20 metro areas. the conference board consumer confidence index will be released later today. it is a source of business knowledge for companies all around the world. the leading economic index increased half a percentage point. consumer confidence went up after a dip in october. >> facebook is putting users in touch with a counselor. it gives people a direct way to get help. >> it is not unusual to come

across dark thoughts posted by facebook friends on his news feed. >> they hate their life or they do not want to live anymore. >> the company launched a new tool to allow users to interact with counselors. >> i thought he was dying. >> if you spot an alarming comment, click the x next to it. like violence or harmful behavior and click on suicidal content. facebook then send it to its partner and an e-mail to the user with an invitation to start a confidential chat. >> in my maybe too personal -- it may be too personal.

it will be anonymous so i won't feel i will be a conflict of person and that life or intervening too much. >> good service to of access to. 39 degrees on tv hill. coming up, we'll look at one of your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> here is a look at last night's winning maryland lottery numbers. hope you have them. when it comes to getting my family to eat breakfast,

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like hazelnuts, skim milk, and a hint of cocoa. it's quick, easy and something everyone can agree on. ♪ nutella. breakfast never tasted this good. >> good morning. the ravens once again are having a nice season. 11 wins. the likelihood of this gets extended terribly far -- if they don't fix coverage, they will have problems. special teams are not getting the job done. the ravens allowed joshua cribbs

to go 84 yards in a touchdown. the jets did it on a kick return. the rate rents are 24th on bringing down punt returners. john harbaugh broke down one wrong against the browns. >> we can cover it. some may times sam bails us out. then the coverage has to belau punt.nail out the >> that has to get corrected or the playoffs scenarios will not amount to much. the ravens are in the number-one seed with a win and a patriots loss. a fall to a five seat with a loss and a pittsburgh victory -- a fall to the 5 seed with a

loss ended pittsburgh's victory. there will find out whether it remains a possibility because knowing the plays at 1:00 p.m. i'm pete gilbert. >> taking notes. time to get to one of your answers to our water cooler question of the day. >> this morning we asked -- what was your favorite gift given or gift received this holiday season? >> aw. >> keep sending those responses. we will read more of your responses in the next hour and post all of them on the front page of our website, wbaltv.com. >> a rietveld nightmare in minnesota -- eight retail nightmare in minnesota. >> a program is improving the quality of life for those who have overcome cancer. >> facebook is credited with a

woman and child get home safely after being held hostage. >> my favorite gift was gloves that were often iphone. a storm is on the way. we're talking about rain. >> i think the viewers need to see those gloves. a pretty nice start. we will update you on any problem spots. there is one in the city. that is next.

>> i'm kim dacey live on the scene of a fire in charles village. >> republican presidential hopefuls make a final push before next week's iowa caucuses. we'll tell you who was ahead in we'll tell you who was ahead in the polls