is back to where we should be this time of year. temperatures may not be as warm as yesterday but we do not have the wind today. you felt the chill yesterday. 26 at the airport. the wind is mostly calm. the wind will switch out of the south today appeared sunshine and clouds and much less wind. that 45 will feel like 45. that is the latest on the weather. >> not a bad ride. the major roadways concede to move well. they probably will be light throughout the week. for was a water main break at philadelphia road in rosedale. -- there was a water main break. 54 on the west side. 55 on southbound 95 through howard county.

we will check some of our cameras. 95, we have some major delays later in the afternoon down towards the tydings memorial bridge. that is not the case at the moment. wilkins avenue is in great shape. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. five days to go until the first in the nation presidential contest. it looks like an expected contender is moving to the pack. terror manager is live with the latest -- tara mergener. >> a new name has made it to the top tier. i will voters are still making up their minds -- iowa voters. >> another surprise. after months of placing new the

bottom of the standings, rick santorum has jumped to third place. a barrage of negative ads aimed that newt gingrich who has been surging in the polls cost him support, some of which appears to have gone to rick santorum. a new poll shows rex santorum with 16% of the vote. mitt romney still leads the pack, with ron paul close second. >> it does look like they're more cameras. >> you don't have to have a nasty consultant-driven campaign. i refuse to engage in that kind of politics. >> watch your vote. >> there has been a shake-up in michele bachmann's campaign.

a top adviser is now putting his support behind ron paul. >> it is interesting with things continuing to change. >> new gingrich placed fourth with 14% followed by rick perry, 11%. michele bachmann, 9%. jon huntsman chemical last act 1% -- came in last. >> to was so much -- thank you so much. our coverage continues on the politics page of wbaltv.com. >> more bad news for the real- estate market in maryland. new data for assessed homes have been released. jennifer franciotti joins us from the newsroom to break down

the numbers for us. >> for the third year in a row, residential property values have declined in maryland. the properties were last assessed three years ago. the biggest drop was 90% in baltimore county. realtors say the assessed value has nothing to do with the sales price of a home on the open market. homes are still selling, especially in desired neighborhoods. >> real-estate sales have been on somewhat of a decline the last couple of years. the volume and prices are starting to pick up. >> later today, the monthly report on pending home sales will be released. we will have a closer look at the numbers for baltimore city and surrounding counties. back to you. >> tragedy on the j.f.x. when a

boy is killed. it happened wednesday afternoon on interstate 83. the driver of an suv rear ended a car and caused a chain reaction involving two other vehicles. two children were rushed to hospital with serious injuries. a boy died. the girl remains in critical condition. authorities say speed was a factor in this crash. there was another crash, this one on the beltway involving a tractor-trailer. 3 people were hurt after the crash near loch raven boulevard. the officer is in stable condition. two others had non-life- threatening injuries. the cause of the crash remains under investigation. 5:05.

a sword gets by airport security. >> a deadly accident in bethesda. >> this is wilkins avenue. we will let you know if there we will let you know if there are any problems this

>> welcome back to 11 news today. 5:08. 34 degrees outside at the inner harbor. a bit colder as you step in other parts of the city. we have a chilly start today. 26 at b.w.i. marshall. 29 in ocean city. we hardly have the wind. you can see gusts are pushing offshore. win just about 5 in the inner harbor. nothing major to talk about --

wind just about five at the inner harbor. >> thank you. investigators are trying to figure what caused a deadly bus crash on a maryland highway. a bus and a pickup truck collided in bethesda. both drivers had to be extricated from their vehicles. a man passes a checkpoint with a sword. the weapon was a part of his carry-on luggage. he boarded a flight in corpus christi with the cane. it was discovered when the man re-entered the boarding area. no word if the tsa agents who led iman will face any punishment. >> people in new york city said goodbye to their bad memories. it was good riddance day.

people were urged to write down their bad memories and throw them away. the papers were then shredded. as people say gabbai to the back, others welcome the good with new year's resolutions. topping the list -- quitting smoking -- as people said goodbye to the bad, others welcomed the good with new year's resolutions. going cold turkey is nearly impossible. they may need medication. make your resolution over and over again. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. do you have a new year's resolution and, if so, what is it? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> have you made a resolution

yet? 5:10. 28 degrees on tv hill. a baby formula recall that is now expanding. >> hundreds of people in baltimore city without a job. this is traffic on 95 in perryville. looking pretty good at the moment. it's the perfect time to find great deals

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and for a limited time, get twice the data for the same low price. verizon. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> time to check your morning commute.

it has not been bad this week in terms of volume. one problem on the southwest side. some police activity to watch for. a little bit ciy in rosedale -- icy in rosedale. still looking good on the west side outer loop, 55 around baltimore national pike. 52 on 95 approaching 32. b-w parkway in good shape. this is 95 at 222. no delays down towards the tydings memorial bridge. we have the construction on going. wilkins avenue, a nice start. no problems on the southwest corner. 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. >> we are looking good on the rails with no delays on the penn, camden, and brunswick lines.

light rail and metro subway on schedule. the 36 bus is stopping at washington boulevard and lonrho because of construction. on saturday, the local boss operate on a local schedule. a holiday schedule on sunday and monday. service extended to one hour after the fireworks downtown. light rail and metro will be on holiday schedule on monday. i'm kurt kronke. now back to ava marie. >> it is a chilly start to the day. much colder than it was at this time yesterday. 26 at the airport. 25 in gaithersburg. southern pennsylvania, mid 40's right now. 34 downtown. it will feel pretty chilly as

you step outside this morning. we don't have the wind this morning. it feels much better this morning. 5 miles per hour at the inner harb. the strongest of the winds is pushing offshore and anywhere between 10 and 20 miles per hour. the latest storm system continues to push away from the area. we will see a mix of sunshine and clouds. temperatures will get into the 40's today and it will feel much better because of less wind. south wind 5 to 10 miles per hour. increasing clouds tonight. maybe some isolated showers. low to mid 30's. futurecast will show that we may have a slight chance for some rain. there are some clouds.

a new storm system is moving in from the ohio valley. there is another storm system back in the northern plains. a couple of blips and chance for showers late tonight into tomorrow morning. the second storm still passes mostly to the north. there is a chance we could see maybe some showers late friday night. there is a chance it come as a wintry mix. it will be cold enough with temperatures in the 30's to start off saturday morning. temperatures stay above the freezing mark even on saturday morning. it looks good for new year's eve night. mostly dry conditions. sunshine and 51 on new year's day. back over to the desk. >> health officials say a baby

is the third infant sickened by bacteria sometimes associated with tainted infant formula. the baby fully recovered. an illinois child also recovered after being second. health officials say the oklahoma child had not consumed the baby formula. a spokesperson said it is not clear that the three cases are connected. not sure what to do with your christmas tree? how about recycling it? you can drop off the trees through the month of january and you can bring containers to bring back mulch. the maryland department of labor

confirmed 720 people are out of work. rg steel is saying worked at the sparrows point plant is on hold. there will not restart work until the first quarter of 2012. workers can file claims online. sparrows point was purchased in march. the plant was temporarily shut down last year. >> bp may soon face some criminal charges over the gulf oil spill. jane king has the bloomberg business report. good morning to you. seeinge possibly criminal charges for bp employees. the accident killed 11 workers and cost the worst offshore oil disaster in u.s. history.

a supervisor -- the employees may have provided false information while drilling was in progress. it is not unusual for prosecutors to threaten. hot and dry bank weather has reduced production of peanuts and has sent the price of peanut butter up. a bit of a comeback for the stocks this morning. we're pretty quiet again today. we did have a down day yesterday. the five-day advance was screeching to a halt to. i'm jane king reporting for wbal-tv 11 news. back to you. >> folks were planning going to the big new year's celebration may be out of luck as far as

hotel rooms. >> either you have locked in a hotel rate or you can sleep on my floor. hotels are increasing prices. this reminds me of 2000. >> we are giving out your address. >> we will stay with you. >> i can use the money. >> maryland lawmakers looking to provide more funding for children. >> a dog was on high alert and saved a family.

we're back. a family dog never barks but was on high alert when a fire broke out and may be responsible for saving three lives. ed my fire. a woman and two children were inside along with their dog. >> the dog never barks. >> but this time he did barked. he got the family out even before the smoke detector went off. the heat was so intensive. >> it was pretty intense. >> the firefighter lives nearby

and was off duty and ran over to help. he was not sure if the family was out of the house. >> you would do that for your neighbors. i love them. >> he realized the family was out save. then he went back again. in. >> i grabbed some christmas presents and gave them to somebody and got them the christmas presents. >> all out safely. they are in a hotel for now. the dog is staying with a neighbor who says so far he never barks. >> i would say they're both heroes. >> that was a good outcome. 5:25. several men attacked another, and police want your help.

>> home of values down for a third year. how that will affect your property in maryland. >> it is a chilly start for the day. the winds is calming down. >> we will check your morning commute as we view the west side. pretty empty. we will let you know if the major roads are cooperating.

>> 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 caldwell. thank you for joining us this morning. we have some colder temperatures this morning. >> it is about time.

today it would not be as bad as yesterday because we don't have the wind. my least favorite kind of weather is the wind. it makes the heat worse. 26 is the current temperature. the wind is mostly calm so feels like 26. the wind takes the heat away from the body. highs will reach into the mid 40's. a mixture of sun and clouds. dry conditions. we may have a chance for some minor precipitation in the seven-day forecast. we will see improving temperatures into the next couple of days. the new year's eve forecast is looking good. >> if you're traveling at any time soon, there are a few problems to get to. we start in glen burnie, an accident. be extra careful.

police activity at southwestern. we're dealing with icy conditions because of a water main break at philadelphia road. problem free so far on the j.f.x. this morning. we start with old court road. looking pretty good on the major roadways. no delays to report on the west side. everything moving well. the east side looks great at the key bridge. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. a shooting in west baltimore. not much information is being released. an adult was shot 8:00 p.m. wednesday night. no word on that person's condition or possible motive. bad news when it comes to home values.

>> 91% of all residential properties have dropped in value. jennifer franciotti breaks down the numbers for us. >> according to officials with the department of assessments and taxation, 750,000 residents dropped. it isn't all bad news when it comes to price its best to those who are under water because they will see a direct tax savings in their tax bill if they were a recent purchaser. >> residential property values have declined in maryland with 2010 being the highest drop. looking at the numbers by county, anne arundel dropped by 14.5%. baltimore county, 19%. carroll county, 70%. howard county, a 12%. >> assessed value does not have anything do with sales price of

a home. >> area realtors are brushing off the numbers. homes are still selling, especially in desired neighborhoods. >> real-estate sales definitely have been on somewhat of a decline the last couple of years, but i would say the volume and the prices are starting to pick up. >> the worst hit county will be a south of here, prince george's county, with 36.5% drop. the november report will be released today and that will be based on pending home sales and a signed contract for existing homes. reporting live, jennifer franciotti. >> maryland is getting $20.3 million to help provide more children with health coverage. they surpass a target and adopted procedures to improve access to medicaid.

this is the second year maryland has received the bonus funding. it helps to offset the costs that states incur. governor martin o'malley nominates frank kratovil to district court for queen anne's county. kratovil represented at maryland's first congressional district which includes all of the eastern shore from 2009 until 2011. >> police are searching for three suspects who took part in an unusual robbery. one person was approached by three men asking for drugs. the suspects allegedly pepper sprayed him and stripped him of his clothing and then robbed him. all three suspects were wearing ski masks and stole his cell phone.

police say they are not sure if this was a random act or if the victim was targeted. authorities in carroll county are asking for some help after an attack in westminster. a male victim said he was attacked by five males along west green and bond streets. one of the people cut th victim in his stomach. anyone with ever measure is asked to call westminster police department. you can see the number of your screen. there is a five was a dollar reward for information -- there is a $500 reward. >> this man may have important information. the shooting happened on maryland avenue where a man was found suffering from multiple

gunshot wounds. two other victims later walked into a hospital for treatment. >> communities gathered to celebrate the memory of phylicia barnes last night. she was an honors school -- high school honors student that was last seen last december 28 in northwest baltimore. her body was discovered in april. her death has been classified a murder. no arrests have been made. >> we have to work on that caharder. hope and pray that it will come soon. >> or former classmates have planted a memorial garden in her memory. 27 degrees on tv hill. a drug is ruled safe. >> contagious yawning.

>> we are still taking your answers to our water cooler question of the day. do you have a new year's resolution and, if so, what is it? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> this is the northwest corner of the beltway. we will let you know how the commute is shaping up.

>> welcome back to 11 news today. 5:38. 34 degrees downtown at the maryland science center that is

one of the warmer spots. we're talking 20's across the suburbs and at b.w.i. marshall. 26 for late december. an improvement will be moving in. 35 right now in chicago. 36 in kansas city. that milder air will be pushing our way. the wind is not as bad today. that cold air is pushing offshore. milder air will be moving in from the west. that storm in the northern plains is our next best shot at precipitation. stay tuned. you'll like what you see for the new year's eve forecast. >> the popular blood thinner plavix is a safe and effective medication for patients.

>> that is according to an analysis by the american medical association. the findings contradict the 2010 box warning mandated. they say it may lead to an increase in cardiovascular events like heart disease or bleeding. in the analysis, researchers found no significant increase in cardiovascular events with patients who took plavix. it is all in the family. you're more likely to yawn after you see family member yawn. >> researchers do not know the reason behind it. ou're more likely to yawn compared to seeing a family member yawn.

i say to take a lack of sleep. are you resolvent to lose some weight in 2012? we'll show you how in folders on our website, wbaltv.com. click on a medical alert. >> 28 degrees on tv hill. an incident during national breast-feeding at target. >> check out this icy church. >> a nice start in terms of the weather. when it comes to getting my family to eat breakfast,

i could use all the help i can get. like nutella, a delicious hazelnut spread that's perfect on multigrain toast, even whole-wheat waffles, for a breakfast that my kids love and i feel good about serving. and nutella is made with simple, quality ingredients, 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.

>> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> right now the commute is shaping up pretty well on the major roads. we have an incident at william

chambers drive in glen burnie. police activity at leeds avenue. a water main break at philadelphia road. things are looking good on the north side. nothing happening elsewhere on the beltway. a smooth start on the 83's this morning. this is 95 were meets the beltway. southbound traffic looks a little busy on the northeast side. this is the key bridge. so for the east side of the beltway is in great shape. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now we have a look at the buses and trains. >> we're moving along nicely on the buses and trains. we have a delay on the 33 bus. light rail and metro subway both on schedule. on time service on the penn, camden, and brunswick lines. on saturday, new year's eve,

local buses operate on it local schedule but unlike holiday service schedule on sunday and monday. like real will be on regular schedules in the years eve with serves extended to one hour after the downtown fireworks display. mobility will operate on it holiday schedule. customers must call to reschedule january 1 rides. now back to ava marie. >> good morning. all the bus routes for the new year's holidays. the forecast is looking pretty good. let's talk about the forecast today appeared to take a chilly start. we are about 20 degrees colder this time yesterday. 34 at the inner harbor. 29 in ocean city.

this feels cold but it will feel better today because we don't have the wind. we had gusts up to 40 miles per hour yesterday. we hardly have any wind around baltimore. some stronger gusts on the eastern shore. nine to 20 miles per hour wind gusts. the temperatures where they are is how it will feel today with a high of 45 in baltimore. 46 in ocean city. we will see clouds increasing from the west. the mountains may get some flurries as a new storm out pushes in. we are expecting a variable clouds tonight and a few sprinkles late in the night. temperatures will drop into the mid 30's. we see a few clouds and we had

mostly clear skies overnight. the temperatures dropped down. a brief area of high pressure pushes in the and we start to talk about our next storm system. there is some energy pushing into west virginia. that will push into western maryland tonight. there could be a couple of flurries and maybe some light sprinkles along the mason dixon line. the next storm system will be coming out of the plains. it brings a slight chance for precipitation. dry conditions in the southern half of the nation. a wintry mix in chicago. we will stay dry for the next 24 hours. the next storm goes to the north and does not have the moisture from the south as we head into

friday night and saturday morning. things are looking good for the new year's eve holiday. temperatures will be in the 30's and will start new year's day with sunny weather. >> an update on wednesdays water cooler question. mother's breast fed their babies at target. one woman said she was treated rudely when she tried to breast feed her child at target last month. target said that guests are welcome to breast feed in private areas of the store and they can use a fitting rooms to nurse their children. >> one girl said she wanted shoes to deliver to the needy for christmas. she asked for 100 pairs of shoes to donate. santa made his first delivery a

week before christmas for her to deliver. on christmas morning, there was a big gift on the porch. it feels like the right thing to do. >> i thought i was going to get a little to deliver but not like 100 pairs to deliver and to give everyone. i was very surprised. it makes me feel good inside, like i have done something right. >> 100 pairs of shoes to donate. >> a german ski report has a new addition. a church is built entirely of ice and snow. it has a tower of more of 60 feet high. the opening of the church was slightly delayed because there was not enough snow until now.

now folks can worship in the cold. >> 28 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.

man: i propose 3 cheers for those we leave behind. hip hip hooray! [cheering] father: congratulations. it's in paper now. [laughs] great job. congratulations. i'm proud of you. all right. oh, fine. ensign elliot. who's gonna salute him? guys, who gets to salute him first?

>> some people are welcoming new year's resolution. topping the list is quitting smoking. the key to succeed me be in accepting the fact that you are likely going to fail. figures can become learning experiences -- failures can become learning experiences. people may need counseling or medication or nicotine replacement products. the main message is to make your resolution over and over again and keep trying. keep trying. that brings us to one of your answers to our water cooler question of the day.

>> this morning we asked -- do you have a new year's resolution and, if so, what is it? >> keep sending us 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. >> good morning. we begin with some college basketball. the maryland men's team at home to play albany university of new york. the first game with alex len in the lineup. he sat out until last night and made an immediate impact. the slam dunk on a pass from john mosley. maryland in control. here's the lob to nick faust and

the terps in control. drive. suero wtih thith the alex len, 14 points. maryland wins. loyola beat bucknell. the ravens are 11-4. if they get win number 12, they get a first-round bye. they have not locked up the division championship. the ravens and cincinnati on sunday. the ravens beat the browns last sunday. there were some sloppy play in the second half which helped keep the game close. joe flacco lofted the media for some help in not turning his offense conservative.

>> we did not come out and play the way we wanted in the second half. there have been games where we of been throwing the ball because we have been down a lot in the guise of been complaining about. we came out and we played conservative and when we did, we missed a couple of plays. so i wish you guys were helping me out to start complaining that we played too conservative. that would put pressure on our coach. if you give you a hand shave. you have to love joe. >> thank you. the tax on paper and plastic back becketts to be implemented in montgomery county. >> a service dog returned to its owner. why he was taken away. >> the pony express in kansas.

>> i used to live in kansas. colder temperatures and lighter wind. >> 50 at sandy point shows the bay bridge toll plaza not bad. we will let you know how the major roads are doing.

>> if you own a home in maryland, chances are your property values are down. >> less than a week to go before the iowa caucuses, and a new contender has caught the eye of voters. >> a boy dies after a crash on the j.f.x. the j.f.x.