[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news and an. >> good afternoon. i am sarah caldwell. baltimore health officials are taking swift action after three students at george washington elementary school came down with scarlet fever. it is caused by the same bacteria that causes strep throat and it is highly contagious through sneezing and th are asking parents to be on the lookout for symptoms. children usually develop a sandpaper-like rash, high fever, and swollen neck glands.

if your child has any of those symptoms, contact your doctor as soon as possible. scarlet fever can be treated with antibiotics, but if not, it can lead to rheumatic fever and kidney disease in serious cases. officials asking infected children to stay home. gov. martin o'malley is rolling out a jobs program that makes new housing affordable for low- income families. the governor wants to double the amount of funding for the rental housing program. officials say it offers a twofold approach, closing the gap affordable housing while putting 1100 people back to work. >> a lot of people make a loving, stable, and committed homes in rental properties and care about their neighborhoods and would not be able to raise their children with dignity and the love and a roof over their heads were it not for quality, affordable rental properties. >> the initiative is expected to leverage millions in private sector dollars and generate $36

million in state and local taxes over the next 15 ers. -- years. in "commitment 2012," the gop presidential candidates are dialing down there romney rhetoric. the attacks on mitt romney's business record did not appear to be helping presidential hopefuls. the establishment sent a clear message to knock it off. as brian mooar reports, and dogs are looking for new ways to change minds and votes -- votes underdogs are looking for new ways to change minds and votes. >> mitt romney is looking and sounding like he is ready to take on president obama in the fall. >> we will see the change we are looking for and it is not barack obama. i believe is going to be mitt romney. >> romney is still the prime target. >> he ran as a liberal against ted kennedy and lost. he ran and govern as a moderate. >> the romney camp has fired

back with its own ad. > don't be fooled by newt's desperate attacks. >> newt gingrich and rick perry are not apologizing, but changing the rhetoric. >> free market tackle some -- capitalism in this state of texas has created over 1 million jobs. we understand out capitalism needs to work. >> the candidates who are not mitt romney are still looking for a winning message. while the other candidates are trying to find their winning message, romney is trying to convince conservatives that he is conservative enough. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. >> testy exchanges after city tell the president jack young pulled his support for the baltimore grand prix. after a failed to live up to financial expectations and left the city holding the bag for

over $1 million, to tell the president said that resources could be better spent on commended -- the council president said that resources could be better spent on community programs. brian doherty accused him of down to a changing political climate. that did not sit well with the tells the president. >> ronald the word he does not know is run from his back. he has no -- ronald doherty does not know his front from his back. he has no credibility with me. i questioned his ethics. >> the mayor says she respects council president young's opinions. as the in this youtube video, city police are trying to take shershallan bond-brooks into custody when another man, manuel imel, suddenly attacked one of the officers. imel was arrested, but brooks

was able to escape. he is now charged with escape, assault, and resisting arrest. >> we have been kind of and is this winter with winter weather. it has been nice a lot of the time. we are getting a good shot of cold air right now. a cold front went through earlier this morning. much warmer at midnight and 8 is now. look at these winds. , gusting to 29. at the inner harbor, it is 38 degrees. sunshine out there, scattered clouds. the barometer is rising at 29. we will talk about temperatures and where they go or don't go in just a bit. >> a tractor-trailer accident tied up traffic on the beltway. it happened about baghdad o'clock 30 on the inner loop 695 -- around 9:30 on the inner loop

of 695 near the dollar exit. the driver was taken to the hospital. no one else was hurt. if you are not wearing purple today, you are probably in the minority. it is purple friday, and ravens cheerleaders are traveling the state to rally support for the big game. rob roblin joins us with one of the stops in elkridge. >> look at these bands, look at all of these sands. this place is packed with ravens fans. we will see you in town. how you doin', hon? >> great to be here. >> you guys with your school. and the kids are back at school? >> we are having provided, we are having music, fu manchus,

everything. we love the ravens and we are ready for sunday. >> look at all the fans here! ravens tattoo. are we fired up for sunday? baby >>.e so, i will see you there. >> it is a great trouble friday, and if the players are ready like -- it is a great purple friday, and if the players are ready like the fans, we will whup 'em. >> join us saturday night for a preview of the ravens and the texans. coming up, 60 years of "the today show."

we will hear from several journalists who entered the show over the years. an overnight scare for college students in brussels. joran van der sloot is in court once again. details

>> 2010 murder of a young woman he met at a casino. prosecutors have asked for a 30- year sentence for first-degree murder and theft in the killing of stephanie far as, who died five years to the day of the unsolved disappearance of natalee holloway in aruba. the dutch man remains the prime suspect in the case. he pleaded guilty on wednesday. a group of university students in minnesota escape a fire in brussels. the massive place called a full evacuation of the building but no casualties. the hospital was mainly used by foreign students and visiting the belgian capital. 50 of them had to be evacuated to a supermarket, but not all of them heard the signal to do so. >> no hot water. i was just kind of like, oh, no big deal.

one of my roommates walked outside. >> the firefighters were pumping water onto the roof to avoid the flames spreading to a nearby hospital. the flooding is what cost three american students to notice something was wrong. still to come, home depot is hiring. why the change needs 70,000 additional workers. what to keep alzheimer's at bay? tips on how you can exercise your memory. >> rain and snow pushed away, cold air coming in. it makes the present member for a 36 degrees at b.w.i. marshall a 36 degrees at b.w.i. marshall feel more like

it just got more frustrating and frustrating. a lot of times, the picture would break up. for the amount of money that i am paying, my cable company should take care of me. [ male announcer ] stop paying for second best. move up to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for our best price online -- just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years. first time we saw tv on fios was amazing! i was just in a trance watching it. i'm discovering new channels every day. [ male announcer ] and here's a special bonus: sign up now and get $300 back with a two-year contract. fios internet -- the speed, you can't compare. i'm able to take care of things much faster now. [ male announcer ] start saving now. move up to fios for our best price online -- $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years and get $300 back with a two-year contract. or ask us about the option of no annual contract.

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>> in the "consumer alert," home depot says it is hiring more than 70,000 seasonal positions for spring. it has already begun recruiting. spring is on the po box two biggest selling and hiring season -- is a home depot's biggest selling and hiring season. target is working to create limited edition and a portable products for sale online and in stores. it is to end up with owners of the specialty shops. it will start featuring products from five shops that will be open for six weeks, then replaced by an ad a group shops in the fall. target also plans to test mini- apple shops. >> blustery day.

lake effect snow machine is in full gear. lots of snow in the mountains of pennsylvania, west virginia, western maryland. the wind shifts here and there could change the trajectory of these. we have picked up a few clouds here and there, mixed with the sunshine. it would not be out of the question to see a flurry or two this afternoon. the storm is spending to our north. let's take a look at the most notable effect of all of this, the temperature is. we had a spell early in the week, quite war, 60 degrees. now we are on the down side, falling the next few days. as we get into next week, a little spike, but not as dramatic as this one. maybe we are kind of leveling out here and we will see a period where temperatures will be much closer to the average for the season. temperatures at noontime, 40 in annapolis, 41 cambridge. salisbury, 48.

parkton is only 32. westminster is stuck in the upper 20s. in the teens and the oakland, 12 degrees. frostburg is 20 degrees right now. when you factor in the wind, it feels more like 15 in westminster, 19 in for it, -- 19 in frederick, 12 in hagerstown. the wind is having a definite effect on how you respond, how your body responds to this weather. bundle up this afternoon. you will be quite uncomfortable. you can see all the clouds associated with lake effect snow is. strong cold winds. the cold air, warm water. you get all of this snow out there. there will be snow collecting in the mountains, and a snow advisory out to the west as well. the front itself that went through earlier today is out over the atlantic ocean.

the low pressure center is off to our north. we are going to continue this trend of preconditions into the weekend and very cold air out of central canada. snow advisories from western maryland, pennsylvania, into the midwest. if your drunk driving plans, he might run into a decent snow shower. -- if you have driving plans, you might buy into a decent snow shower. 36 to 42 is the temperature range. oftentimes this will feel more like 10, 15 degrees, depending on the wind gusts. blue areas on the map, northern and western maryland, wind advisories until about 6:00 this evening. here is the stormy weather but there will be several impulses coming our way. here is a clipper in iowa saturday evening.

this will just pass to our south over the weekend. the forecast for sunday, during the game, at or if larry perhaps. -- chance for a flurry perhaps. high today is 47. that was earlier. much chillier now. 20s for the lows. generally dry, maybe a flurry. many folks have off because it is martin luther king de. -- martin luther king day. >> do you have middle-aged pauses or senior moments where your brain does not work as quickly as it used to? uh, yeah. one of the countries top member experts has tips to stay sharp and keep alzheimer's at nbay. >> people have more control than

they think. >> so says this doctor, who has written "the alzheimer's prevention program," which includes a memory-approving a technique called look, snap, and connect. >> look is to pay attention. snap is to take a mental snapshot. connect is a way of linking up the mental snapshots. >> this 96-year-old and his 89- year-old friend share their aging advice. >> i played bridge regularly, and i'm very active. >> stay active, mentally and physically. you will avoid problems many people have. >> daily physical exercise is the most important thing you can do for your brain. >> it gets your heart pumping

nutrients and oxygen to your brain. when it comes to nutrients, omega-3's from fruits and nuts are crucial. >> we find that this is a potent anti-inflammatory agent. it protects the brain. we are studying it some more. >> a milestone for one of the staples of american television. today marks the 60th anniversary of "the today show." >> marking a milestone -- >> it is historic, it really is. 60 years of a television show is not accomplished very often. these are the people who worked so hard to create that legacy. >> "today" celebrated its 60th anniversary in style, and with a little help from well-known friends. >> "the today show" is still

magic. >> nbc was my first home. >> this is really cool. everybody is here. >> it is like a family reunion, really. >> there is only one "today show." it is america. >> celebrities. >> going very, very strong. it has been an amazing run. >> and music. since "today" in 1952 -- >> it is the first of the great many mornings between you and i -- >> americans have tuned in in to learn about their world and around world. the technology has changed, but the courre is the same. >> it is a combination of

entertainment and news and information and letting people know what they need to know since they went to bed and sending them off with a just a bit of a smile on their face. >> the team has changed from kaw toauley and tom brought bryant gumbel and katie couric. >> i am looking forward to talking to those who came before me and hearing about their "today show" experience. >> so many years a great television. coming up next, your maryland lottery numbers, and another check of the insta-weather-plus forecast.

>> time for your maryland lottery numbers. >> the maryland lottery celebrates purple friday all season long with purple drawings and ravens cash fantasy scratch- offs. >> happy purple friday, playoffs edition. go ravens. your pick 3 numbers -- in a moment, pick four, but first, the new powerball walz

into maryland january 15 with bigger jackpots and more millionaires. powerball is more powerful than ever. we are moving right along to the pick four games with drawing official bob diamond. the maryland lottery -- let yourself play. >> all eyes on the ravens game day forecast. >> snow is gone, stuck in the 30's for highs right through the weekend. 40 by monday. sunday game, 35, won't be as windy did cold weather bank for football. >> go ravens. thanks for joining us.

>> join us tonight at 5:00. >> follow breaking news and weather any time at wbaltv.com, and stay connected with us on facebook and twitter.