smart meters are supposed to keep better track of who is without power and how long. the monitor electric use in real time and consumers can do it to. >> you can go on to your computer and see in real time your energy usage. >> but consumers are concerned that smart meters compromised privacy and cause health problems. the order is temporary, and until the panel makes a final ruling, customers will have to pay a fee to keep their current analog system. harford county delegate glen glass introduced legislation. >> they can refuse the smart meter at no cost to them. >> bge says that they do not have an opt out plan. a company spokesperson says they would need to charge a fee to

manage the costs of having two systems. >> i want the elderly person to be able to refuse a smart meter. maybe they do not have any money. why should they have to pay to receive something that they do not want? >> states such as vermont, maine, and california have opt out options, but four of the. california initially charges $75, then tax on a $10 charge each month. >> why should the citizens of maryland pay to receive a smart leader if they do not want it? >> delegates glen glass is meeting with the house leader seeking guidance on how to get this bill passed. wbal tv-11 news. >> also in annapolis today, the house speaker michael bush gave don dwyer a new assignment. he is being moved from the

judiciary committee to the committee of ways and means. the republican faces voting -- boating under the influence charges for an aug. accident that injured seven people. officials say the ability to repay a rule that will help stabilize the housing market under new regulations -- lenders are required to offer only mortgages consumers can afford to pay back. critics insist the change will prevent low-income families from ever qualify for a mortgage. >> on mortgage being affordable should be subject simply to a broad, rebuttable presumption, not a nearly absolute resumption. by the way, maryland has an affordability statutes, and consumers did not have to -- borrowers did not have to relinquish the right for total unfettered access to get that

affordability requirement. >> the new rules go into effect january of next year. for more information, i had to our website -- wbaltv.com. be sure to click on i-team. >> 41 and counting. that is, many states are dealing with widespread clue activity. as you probably know, -- widespread flu activity. as you probably know, maryland is one of them. >> centers like this one -- officials tommy that the cases of the flu have -- tell me that the cases of the flu have doubled compared to last year. in howard county, they were trying to prevent people getting the flu. there was a steady stream of people coming in to get a flu shot. >> i should have had it long before now. but the increases they were talking about this morning, i

thought that i'd better get over here. >> i work with children and i have kids of my own, so, i definitely do not want to get sick and i do not want my kids to get sick. >> i will be traveling a lot for work this winter and spring. airports, public places. i keep hearing how bad it is. >> [indiscernible] and a band-aid. >> the past couple of weeks have been slow at the clinics. today, we have noticed a high increase keeping >> we did not get one last year. i held off on one -- on that. now the flu is really picking up. i decided to get one. better late than never. >> i do not want to get sick. >> the health officer for howard county says this flu strain is becoming a big problem. >> it is pretty bad, isn't it? >> yes, relative to last year, the flu season started earlier

and seems to be peaking earlier and affecting more people. it is different. >> costs, congestion, cakes and pains. >> fever? >> a little bit. it is bad, man. it is bad. >> they are seeing twice as many people with the flu as they did last year. almost all the patients have the same systems -- symptoms. >> had a, runny nose, not just ingestion, cough. >> it is a bad year for the flip. >> the vaccine, while it is helping, there are still a lot of people that have got the flu. we definitely still recommend getting the flu shot. >> once again, cannot forget it is not too late to get that flu shot. reporting live, rob roblin, wbal tv-11 news. >> keep washing your hands out there, robbie. there is still time to get your flu shots.

we have links to an interactive map on our website -- wbaltv.com. click on medical alert. >> tonight we are learning more about the woman who led police on a chase through baltimore city and baltimore county. lowell melser as more. >> police have identified the suspect as 25-year-old alicia hoffman of belair. it is striking how long her record is in terms of traffic violations and now many were never prosecuted. sky team a 11 catches the tense moments of a more than 30- minute police chase that began in baltimore city and ended in baltimore county. two northern district female officers busted a drug deal on the 5200 block opera belair road

when alicia hoffman fled in a grey vehicle. she led the police on a chase. the car was stopped on joppa road in carney. hoffman was pulled out and subdued. of baltimore county police officer was somehow injured. and an effort to learn more about hoffman, we visited the address that she it listed with the police. neighbors say that she was staying with grandparents. this man, identified as tony, was retired law-enforcement. >> just normal, tony and his wife and that is it. tony, nice guy. at one time, he was a police officer. >> a check of real-estate

records show that anthony and cecilia on the home. the car used in the chase also belonged to the couple. harford county confirmed that anthony was a sheriff's county deputy and the police car -- the car and in question had fraternal order of police tax. >> the suspect has no affiliation with the baltimore police department. >> court records indicate dozens of traffic charges, many never prosecuted. police also say she was in trouble with the law just days before the chase. >> ironically became in contact with ms. hoffman a couple days prior when she was arrested for a drug offense. >> hoffman is being held on $125,000 bond. she is facing a drug charge and two counts of secondary assault

on a police officer, so are. more charges are pending. good news tonight -- as far as the officers injured in this case, they have been released from the hospital in good condition. we're live outside the baltimore city police headquarters tonight. i am lowell melser, wbal tv-11 news. . >> of baltimore teenager will spend the rest of his life in prison after a deadly shooting. sterlin matthews was 17 years old when he killed another teenager, dequan burks. two other men survived the shooting. matthews was sentenced to 115 years behind bars. and a suspect in a howard county home invasion dead tonight. at the frederick county sheriff's department says 19- year-old daniel vale was one of three men who tried to force their way into a home in mount

airy. officers were serving a warrant. they opened fire when he pointed a gun at them. he was pronounced dead on the scene. >> in tonight's education alert, maryland schools continue their winning streak. they were named number one in the nation for the fifth year in our wrote. the system got a final grade of b-plus, but received no marks lower than a b. state school officials say there's still plenty of room for improvement. the top honor for a maryland scientist from the white house. >> he is one of 12 researchers been awarded this year's national medal of science. tim tooten is live in the newsroom with that story. big news for him, sam. >> he is a distinguished

professor of physics, but his resume also includes a seat on the state board of education. the national medal of science from the white house is one of the highest honors given to scientists, engineers, and inventors. dr. gates is the author of more than 200 publications. he has been a member of the state school board since 2009. he says it is a nice surprise. >> the personal meaning i take from it is in order to get this sort of recognition, some of the world's best physicists had to support the research program i had been pursuing. that kind of affirmation -- you cannot put a price on a. >> he will be honored at the white house in a ceremony later this year. dr. gates received his degrees and ph.d. from mit. he has done postgraduate work at harvard and caltech. tim tooten, wbal tv-11 news.

>> coming up, another staff choice on capitol hill. >> president obama's nomination for treasury secretary. >> different, emotional approaches to saturday's showdown. later in sports. >> rain on the horizon. perhaps as early as friday afternoon. we will see how the weekend shapes up.

>> just 11 days before his second inauguration, president obama makes another cabinet change. today the president nominated his chief of staff jack lew as the treasury secretary. president obama says that his judgment can be trusted and he can work with both parties. that is the fourth major staffing change made by the president. analysts say he may face tough criticism but is expected to be confirmed. >> now your insta-weather plus 11 forecast with chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> 12 degrees above average for this 10th day of january. it will be warmer than that this weekend. hard to believe. no records in site. at least nothing we can see. the records are well up in the 70's. of 41 average temperature feels kind of chili.

we will not see that until maybe next week. these late afternoon, early evening temperatures are more indicative of what we might be expecting for an afternoon high. temperatures well above freezing. 50 downtown. cloud cover coming in to prevent the temperatures are from falling very much. these clubs are pushing across the mountains and into baltimore. the rain is to the west. the blanket of cloudiness keeps the temperature is relatively mild. 41 is the normal high. the coolest suburbs -- gradually increasing cloudiness. look at that went. charlotte, n.c., 64 degrees. nacional, 63. that warmth will be pushing into the mid-atlantic region. tomorrow, rain showers are coming through. ones that storm slips into the

country, it will drag out warm front passed us, and the mild air to the stock will stream in for the weekend. we talk about all this warmth on the eastern seaboard. talk about this cold air. the colder makes its way through denver tomorrow. is making its way through canada. as we have been saying all week, the ravens will be playing in a dramatically different air mass then we will be watching in on the eastern side of the country. the breeze will occasionally be up to 10 miles per hour. there is a piece of the arctic air moving down the mountains on saturday. warmth along the eastern seaboard. that makes its way east throughout the day tomorrow. wednesday, thursday, that will be pushing into the mid atlantic. it will be colder, but not until a week from today. scattered showers, increasing

into tomorrow night. winds are averaging 5 to 10 knots. western maryland, this is crazy for january. it will be warm into sunday and monday. hold on the. if you like the snow in the mountains, it will get snowy next week. it is a good 60 degrees saturday, sunday. scattered showers, only a 30% chance tomorrow evening. that should clear up a little bit with highs well above normal. the seven-day forecast includes highs in the 60's. starts the clock though as we head toward the middle of next week. the frog goes through on wednesday, and thursday, high temperatures -- the front goes through on wednesday, and thursday, high temperatures only in the 30's. >> this is 11 sports. >> it looks like the ravens had to denver with a pretty short

injury list. peyton manning has won nine straight games against the ravens. the ravens did a good job against manning in week 15, but this week, ray lewis will be anchoring the defense. and louis understands more than anyone, winning the battle that occurs before each snap. >> there are two people who understand the game very well. he understands what things he wants to see and we understand what we do not want him to see. and that is where the chess match comes in at. you give him what he wants, he beats you. you give him what he doesn't want, you beat him. >> it sounds easy. it is not that easy to block. tomorrow night, we will show you amazing footage of religious in his home farewell.

that is tomorrow at 7:30. you will see ray lewis in game and in the locker room. amazing stuff. i will warn you -- this will fire you up the bank rate lewis will make you want to run through a wall and tackle someone. this time around, peyton manning does have to look across the line and see ray lewis. this matchup has the quality of ali vs. frazier. obviously it takes more than one man on each side to win at. but a future hall of famer staring across the line into the eyes of another creates the potential for memorable moments. manning has a 2-0 record in the playoffs, but he also has and 0- 3 record in games with temperatures below 40 degrees.

he has to face mother nature and father time. >> he is going to have to face that team on saturday. pollard, all those guys. as far as this game, the fact that no. 52 is in there, that is where our focus is. >> probably a good strategy. stick around. more on the forecast straight ahead.

>> here is a look at what we are working on for 11 news tonight. a local group of parents say this is critical for a child's developing a. the group that is getting national attention right now. plus, buyer and seller beware. robberies' by online

>> a quick check of the forecast. >> unusual, unseasonably mild round your. showers -- we may hold around 49 or so. look at the weekend. 64 degrees. read it and weep, ger. actually, i think i would rather be out in the cold with year. >> the denver forecast. 15. the teenage years. [captioning made possible by constellation energy group] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> thank you for joining us. >> nightly news with brian

williams's next. we will see would allow the clock.