oh my god, the building's going to fall. fall. from the japanese tsunami... to deadly tornadoes in the south. a look back at the biggest natural disasters of 2011. are you going to nurse me mommy mommyand... the incident that lead to dozens of mothers holding a ""nurse- in" at target stores across the country. 3 3 -inner harbor today is thursday, decemberr 29th.

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3 traffic cameras continue to nab drivers accoss the state everyday.if you've been caught... you knnw that bad news is coming in the mail soon.... but a new study shows theseecameras could be bad

news for cities too.joel d. smith is live downtown near one of the ameras now to explain. good morning joel d. good morning megan, this study looked at deals between municipplities and vendors of traffic cameras likeethese 3 across the country... and it found in some cases, profits are a huge motivator for vendors based on the contracts with cities. they all agree the need for safety is there, buttsome say cameras should be left to catching action like this: this: (nats of crashes) these are crashes in missouri, &pcaught by a company that make red light cameras. but the study by marypirg finds that in many places across the country, safety is not at the heart of the contracts between vendors and cities. the group foond many local governments tend to put profit over public safety - by hiring companies that get paid on a per-ticket basis. and in other situations, governments give up too much control... meaning if politicians want to change the deal, or end a contract,

they'll have to pay haadsomely. 3 3 16:35 some contractors have levied 25 million dollar fees on local governments for ending their contracts early. and so we see that as not really a good option. 44 44the group is now calling for more transparency from the private vendors that operate the traffic cameras and more government involvement. marypirg says in all new indirect incentives for vendors that aae based on the volume of tickets or fines. retain complete public control over all transportation policy decisions. retain the option early if dissatisfied with service or its effects. 3 3 3 3 live ddwnttww, joel d. smith, fox 45 morning news. the search is on for a gunman in northwest baltimore. homicide detectives were

called to the scene on garrison avenue near pimlico road... around 10 o clock last night.a man was shot in the face, inside his home there.no word on the condition of thh victim at this time or even a possible motive for the crime. 3 3 the search continues this morning... for the gunman who shot 3 people. people. surveillance video from earlier this month... shows the man walking toward several people... right before the shooting.it happened on maryland avenue in charles north.anyone with information is asked to call police. family and friends gather to say tteir final goodbyes to the young man ... killed at towson town center last week. funeral home in east baltimore, for the funeral of 19 year old rodney pridget.he was gunned down ... outside the mall near nordstrom.police says this was ánotá a random act anddthat he was targeted. pridget's family is asking the shooter to come forward.

(black) "it's very sad and i hope whoever's watching this, if you're out there you have a heart and come up and turn yourself in and it wasn't worth it." it."policc are lookinn at surveillance tape that capttred some of the action. an american flag is taken down in howard county. county.it was put up thrre years ago... by a family who wanted to sendoff tteir soldier with a little fanfare. but the flag pole... was suddenly taken down last week by state highway officials who say it was a safety concern. now, neighbors are fighting to keep the flag.. which they say, is a symbol of support for all troops. 3 < "no political, no power trip. we just want our flag back. we miss it. we miss it.> it.">state highway officials issued a statement saying the 25-foot flagpole was considered a safety concern... because it was placed ttere without prior approval by áthem.á a major democratic contributor..... convicted of tax fraud. now some top maryland democrats are giving back tens of thousands of

dollars.... after republicans made it an issue. issue. lt. governor anthony brown has returned almost five thousand dollars that richard stewart donated to his campaigg. stewart was convicted of federal charges for failing to pay four million doolars in employment taxes. representative elijah cummings says he got 15 hundred dollars from stewart, which he has now given to charity. governor martin omallly got 7 thousand dollars from stewart. he still hasn't said what he will do with the money. his spokesman says they haven't discussed it yet. there's a new form of gambling making its debut in baltimore. buttsome public officials... are questioning...whetherrit's really legal. gamblers.. pay money up front... usually around 20- dollars and then they log-on...to computers that resemble slot machines.one state lawmaker believes those gambling parlors... are illegal.but a city councilman says he see's nothing in- appropriate. (reseigner) "they are internet sweepstakes, pre-determined what i've seen and they did have a permit from the city of baltimore where they paid for their license for threeemonths and then it'ssmy understanding

for the new year they'll apply for the license." license."one state lawmaker saysshe plans to introduce a bill that would "outlaw" those "gaming" parlors. retail giant target becomes a parget itself... of mothers angered that someone was apparently told to go elsewhere to breastfeed. ninette sosa has this report on the attention-grabbing protests held inside stores. 3 not every woman visiting a target store on wednesday was there to shop!on the heels of an alleged incident in texas -- women around the country took to the retail giant's locations to breast-feed in dubbed "nurse-ins".are you going to nurse me mommylast month mmchelle hickman says she was nursing her five month old at a target outside hhuston.she said she was in a remote area and using a blankettfor cover, but employees told hee to move to a fitting room.weeks later --

she was mong the mothers protesting.it's about women everywhere all over the world that this is aving an effect upon on a daily basis. displeased by what they heard -- women showed solidarity wwth the 35-year-old by holding nurse-ins in other target in chicago --it's not about my convenience it's about his health and his comfortresponding to the incident target spokespeople say patrons are welcome to breast-feed in public areas target is aafamily oriented 3 company so if a guest chooses to breastfeed in our store target supportt it one-hundred percentthe minneapolis-based chain also apologized over the incident in texas -- and says they have spoken with hickman. i'm ninette sosa reporting from atlanta. shoppers in minnesota's mall of america can expect to find securrty at every turn today.that's because the mall is stepping up measures... after almost a dozen fights broke out monday.at least 9 people were arrested... for

throwing chairs and punching limit... to require that age anyone under the age of 16... must have an adult with them at all times. the phrase ..."it's all in the family" isn't always a good thi. thing.a family of thieves pull off a heist at a store in new mexiio... and it's all caught on tape.you can see a man and a group of young boys distract the staff at an audio store... while a mom and her daughters make off with a 650 dollar alarm system.but then.. a day later... it seems one of the crooks had a change offheart... and returned the stolen item. "went ver o the door, and an employee told me, 'i think he has got our alarm.""if they wouldn't have had kids with them, it wouldn't have been such a big deal." ssolen alarm... then split around the corner.police have an idea who the suspects are. so far, no charges have been filed.

for some... he's the most desired football player.but for others... he's the most desired person... to have living next door to you. according to the real estate company "zillow"... tim tebow is the most desirable celebrity neighbor for 2012. the denver broncos quarterback... who doesn't shy away from talking about his faith in god... is followed by angelina jolie and brad pitt... jennifer aniston andd justin theroux. coming up on the early edition... it's getting down right nasty in iowa... serial ypocrites and flip- floppers can't clean up the mes. mess.candidates face off over the g-o-p presidential nomination...we take aalook at some of the negative ads.. before the iowa caucuses... 3 ((break 1)) ((bump in)) 3

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we're giviig the gift pf a shopping spree... all this week on fox45 morning news... we will give away 1-hundred dollar wal-mart gift cards. entering is easy... go to our facebook page... facebook dot com slash fox baltimore. click on the inside fox45 tab and fill out the entry form.we'll draw today's winner later on this morning. still to come... business was booming for the holidays..retailers cashed in...find out what experts believe this means for next year's economic outlook. outlook.if washington's the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it? it?but first..the gloves are off... and the fight is gettinn dirty.the jabs

republican nominees are taking at each other...less than a week before the iowa caucuses... next. 3&((bump out)) ((break 2)) 3 ú there's not much snow in iowa,

with the caucuses less than a week away... but things are turning frosty as candidates and their ads get negative.

emily schmidt has a look at what's being said, and what's at stake. stake. --reporter pkg-as follows -- flattery and friendliness in iowa goes a long a way--- it's an absolutely gorgeous, brilliant, sparking day here in creston iowa.it's politics sunny ide up.people like us, we've got a good plan. i hear we really like you. but less than a week until the caucuses, with polls showing three frontunners, the tone's turning dark. newt giigrich--who says this about campaigning: we ought to have a campaign of positive ideas and positive solutions. said this about ron paul: i think ron paul's views are totally outside the mainstream of virtually every decent american. and this about mitt romney.mitt romney's thee guy running he most ads attacking me.romney is taking jabs at ron paul.one of the people running for president thinks it's ok for iran to have a nuclear weapon. i don't.paul hits romney and gingrich in his new ad.serial hypocrites and flip-flopperr can't clean up the mess.the criticism plays out through 8 million dollars of tv ads campaigns and superpacs spent

in the state this month alone. if washington's the problem, why trust a congressman to fix it?going negative makes it tough for responding candidates to stay positive. there aren't veey many politicians who spent more time paying off political donors than governor rick perry has. many iowa voters say they're still undecided, and growing weary of campaigns that feature negativeeattacks alongside the political promises. in washington, i'm emill schmidt. -----end----- cnn.script----- straight ahead... econommsts are feeling a bit more optimistic about the u-s economy as 2011 comes to an end.but... will the feeling continue into 2012? 2012?and a cop crashes into a busy restaurant...the chain of events leading up to the collision... and if anyone was hurt. ((break 3)) 3

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3concern over ow the state is spending proceeds from the new alcohol tax ..one state lawmaker is concerned about money ... set aside for the reports... this after two audits found revenue to address the problem... went unspent. 04:43:14"all you have to do is meet a family with this issue and it tears at your heart" whee state leaders cut a deal to raise the alcohol tax, this year, advocates for the disabled expected a big piece of the pie04:39:13"26 million dollars is supposed to go to reducing the waiting list" money to reduce a list of more than 6000 developmentally disbaled state residents waiting or help.but now just six months after the tax has started generating revenue. 04:34:19"we've accomplished virtually nothing"state delegate wade kach is concerned funds intended to hell disabaled mayrlanders are

not being spent04:38:32"there haven't been real significant gains in reducing the list despite the fact that resources are therethis isn't the first time advocates for the disabled have spoken out. 13:24:03"over half the people on this list are in crisis."in 2008 controversy over cuts to the programs which help mentally disabaled residents train for jobs.13:24:15"we're people,. we have feelings"but kach says that same list hasn't been reduced quickly enough.04:36:30"i have my 60 year old son here, i'm 81, what'' goinn to happen to him?" next month kach plans to bring up his conerns in annaaolis. 04:42;24"we're goiig to ask the question what happened? state officials say.. 15 million dollars has already been allocated for the program... from the alcohol tax. the hooiday shoppinn season ends on a positive note for many retailers, but as edgar treiguts explains... netflix pontest with its customers. customers. --reporter pkg-as follows --

stocks closeddsharply lower wednesday, and the s-and-p 500 fell back into negative lost nearly 140 points to dow close at 12,151.the nasdaq and s and p 500 also ended lower. they may have waited 'til the last minute, but shopperr made this a successful holiday season for many retailers. comscore says online sales the final week before christmas hit two-point-eight billion dollars, an increase of 16- percent over last year.another report shows retail sales at brick and mortar stores during the crunch week rose 4-and-a- half percent.netflix is ending the year with ffwer satisfied subscribers.an annual online customer satisfaction survey finds the video service has plunged in the rankings.this year nntflix hiked prices, and failed in an attempt to spin off its d-v-d-by-mail service. meanwhile amazon remained atop the list, scoring the highest ranking in the history of the survey.economists are feeling

a bit more optimistic about the u-s economy as 2011 comes to an end.most economists surveyed by cnnmoney are less concerned then they were three months ago about the economy falling into a new recession. however, they're not overly optimistic about the outlook for growth in 2012.for business brief, i'm edgar treiguts----end----- cnn.script----- coming up... the hunt is on ... for a robbery suspect who threatened a store clerk... with a yringe. syringe.i mean, how low can you be? that is just awful." what is believed to be in that needle and what police are offering for the suspects captu. capture. 3