>> this is wjz tv, wjz hd, and wjz.com. baltimore. >> from the city to the county's to your neighborhood. now it's complete coverage. it's wjz, maryland's new station. >> academy assault on the rise, sex crimes played america's military schools. tonight the naval academy response to an explosive 7-center-dot report. >> here's what people are talking about tonight. alarming new number so more sex assaults in military academies than ever before. at the naval academy in annapolis, it's been a controversial issue for years. the other closer look at what is fueling the increase. >> on the surface, news that the reporting of sexual assault cases is up. it's encouraging to victims. however, victims advocates say reporting alone is not enough.

>> reporter: the number of reported sexual assaults at the top three military academies is up. that company 121 page pentagon report. it includes the naval academy in annapolis, the military academy at west point, in the air force academy in colorado springs, colorado. they reported a total of 25 sexual assaults in 2009, 41 in 2010, and 65 in 2011. >> overtime, we've allowed more and more participation by militant terry servicewomen. he should be free from sexual harassment of any kind. >> the service women's action network devoted to stopping sexual assault be used for this report is shocking, but the group says what is worse is that the military has failed to stop the problem. maybe it's all-star cornerback lamar olin's was accused of raping in 2006. he was cleared, but he was still kicked out of the academy for what

the academy called conduct unbecoming an officer. military leaders say that high-profile case coupled with the defense department mandate to stop sexual assault and harassment may be the reasoning that the reporting of cases is up. a spokesperson told eyewitness news, the naval academy take seriously incidence of sexual harassment. we have zero tolerance for this behavior. >> the defense department says to the policies put in place should also help victims in the future. one is an expedited transfer from their unit providing that certain requirements are met. the others is that records of assaults will be kept for periods of at least 50 years. >> defense secretary leon panetta says while he believes the steps are the right ones, he says and proven it can still be me. a cause is named in the christmas morning fire that killed five family members in connecticut. smoldering ashes from a fireplace sparked the blaze. >> reporter: it was a tragic

set of circumstances that caused the christmas morning inferno. the five victims were sleeping upstairs in the beautiful victorian on the long island sound while the girl's mother and her friend stayed up late into the night. forcing it to a fireplace ashes outside, but he apparently wasn't too close to the house and that sparked a fire. fire officials say he tried to leave the girl to safety as smoke and flames spread. >> the male occupant told him that he had delivered the girls don't do the second floor and was leading them out but the girls panicked. >> the fire spread rapidly as described by neighbors who called 911. >> there is a huge fire at the house next-door to us. >> what is the address, ma'am. >> 2241 japan avenue. if the house next door. there is three kids and a woman. >> within minutes, more than 100

firefighters were there holding back madonna badger from going back inside. she was on part of the roof and try to direct rescuers. firefighters raped raging flames to search for her and her children. >> we are used to pulling people out. they could not get into help. they tried. heroically, they try. >> the acting fire chief says those who were there will never forget the horror of that christmas morning. >> fire officials say it's not clear for home networking smoke detectors. one person is injured in the fire in northeast baltimore. flames broke out in a row house on east 25th street also home to the big boys bail bond office. firefighters pulled one person out of the building who is being treated for smoke inhalation. another person escaped unharmed. pair of garage fires under investigation. they broke out just blocks apart. together the fire's cause more than $100,000 in damage.

investigators believe these fires could be related to other vandalism reports. >> a valuable historical quilt is stolen from a baltimore county museum. no police need your help to track it down. more on the investigation and why this piece is so important. >> at the benjamin becker museum, smashed monitor is one of the only visible sign of the burglary here on december 19th. what you cannot see is a valuable piece of art those burglars stole. a quilt on loan hanging with an exhibit from the u.s. capitol historical society. >> it documents the early maryland law of maryland as a free state. >> on one side, an eagle carrying a chain with arms outstretched. on the other side, the state 1860:of law fully stitched. >> it's a great loss not just for the museum but just for maryland, a loss for the national collection of art and history. >> investigators say the

burglars were able to get inside breaking of glass pane in them back of the museum. although there were surveillance cameras, police are asking for your help to find a quilt. >> our detectives are currently investigating, however, this is such a unique item. we believe anyone who may have seen it would recognize it instantly. >> new museum officials hope anyone who has seen it would do the right thing. >> i hope in the true spirit of the holidays they will return this for the public good. >> the quilt is said to be quite valuable though museum officials and police would not say how much it's worth. wjz, eyewitness news. >> anyone with information on the quote is urged to call baltimore county police or you can become eligible for reward money by calling metro crimestoppers at 8667-lockup. the sears company will shut down dozens of sears and kmart stores nationwide. some of those could be right here in maryland are you between 100

and 120 stores will close after terrible holiday sales brought a 5 percent drop in revenue. sears holding corporation's says shedding of stores will generate up to $170 million. a list of which stores will not yet released. christmas is stolen from a west baltimore family when burglars ransacked their home and stole the presents from right under their tree. wjz is why that city police headquarters at the latest on the incentive -- on the insensitive crime. >> family was at a christmas eve dinner where burglars broke into their home stealing something that really cannot be replaced. >> reporter: smiley faces, something they have not seen on the three children in these. christmas eve night their house broken into, the gifts under the tree all gone. >> i was upset. i was mad. student it's just terrible that

i couldn't see my kids christmas morning. >> the burglars broke into this tiny window in the basement and then came in the back door. they sell gifts, electronics, even to make us a wedding ring. >> i am just angry at how someone could be so heartless as to come in on a daily christmas eve and completely terephthalate apart. >> police lifted fingerprints from the home, but still no arrests. the family says someone in a neighborhood must've seen people walking out of their home with televisions and christmas presents. they just want someone to come forward with information. >> i want them to be caught, because i don't want another family to go through what my family is going through. >> since word got out some of the community has come together. >> we've gotten a lot of calls from different people that want to

help us. >> hundreds of workers without a job until march. they did not get any against notice from the plant owner. according to our media partner, the baltimore sun, rg steel didn't give the required 60 day notice to workers when they furloughed 720 workers last week. and this may not be the end. the state department of labor says more than 2000 workers may be furloughed. tonight on wjz, some of hollywood's biggest stars got the ultimate honor. kennedy center recognized its

2011 honorees for lifetime achievement including neil diamon, meryl streep, and other stars from broadway to the jazz scene. the kennedy center has been honoring those who have contributed to our culture since 1977. some great motion performances tonight. coming up, mall brawls of the nation's biggest shopping mall. multiple flights go heartache. what may have cost them coming up. a marching band drum majors -- brings pays into the forefront. how one mall is trying to make sure it doesn't happen anywhere else. >> selling the lottery online. why maryland is another step closer to that happen and what it could be for the state's budget. >> i meteorologist bernadette woods. the rain is leading to the winds are on the increase. your complete morning forecast coming up with an eyewitness news returns. >> complete coverage continues with timmy's call, and it harder,

kai jackson, and first morning whether with bob turk and sports with mark vi,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

and. >> it is 45 degrees and mostly cloudy right now. the complete weather forecast coming up. >> slick roads make for a tough commute in southern missouri. at least half a dozen accidents reported during rush hour today. one driver even flipped his truck as emergency crews work to get him out. another truck slammed into the entrance at a nearby fire truck area no word yet on the conditions of anyone involved in today's

accident. policemen to website to four murders in detroit. investigators say three of the four victims advertise themselves as escort on the site that page.com. leslie police found two women dead inside the trunk of a car. they turned up two more on christmas day inside the trunk of a burning car. police fear the killer may be using that page to find more victims. a tragic and to the search for missing child in indiana. 39-year-old michael pluto or has reportedly confessed to beating nine-year-old elian lemmons to death with a brick and dismembered her body. she was it -- she was a trusted family friend who was babysitting. neighbors say they can't believe it. >> how could you sit in that trailer knowing what you did and what is in your household when everybody is out here walking and calling her name, praying to god that she comes home alive.

>> he's being held without bail. a motive is still not clear. a frantic scene at the mall of america. here's a video one shopper posted. you see some people throwing chairs at each other. a fistfight breaks out in the court followed by a series of scuffles all are on the mall. police think the fights may have been fueled by rumors that reference little wayne and drake were at the mall. a florida congresswoman hopes to pass a new anti-hazing bill in the wake of a multistate scandal. the proposal was put in the end to hazing rituals like the one that led to robert champion's death last month. champion was a drum major at florida a&m university. maryland is one step closer to making lottery tickets available online. that means you could dare to dream of millions from the comfort of

your own home. it could also mean good things for the state's troubled budget. >> you could soon feel to play the maryland lottery online. the justice department cleared away changing an interpretation of federal law dating back 50 years. now web ticket sales are considered legal. >> if you want to sell them online, i don't think that's encroaching on anything. >> the state has been exploring online sales to fill the budget shortfall projected at $1.1 billion. online lottery revenues, if they existed, could top $250 million. >> we are the fourth highest source of revenue. >> last year the lottery brought in more than $500 million for the state's general operating fund. that money went to everything from public safety to roads to

education. >> we don't believe that looking at this option would hurt our traditional lottery retailers. in fact, it would probably help them by introducing new players to the lottery. >> well no u.s. state sells on the web yet, there's been interest in alimony, new york, virginia, and washington dc hoping to capture new consumers. >> just the thrill of possibly winning were checking the numbers on tv. >> in cash and as states try to help a struggling bottom line. this would all need to be approved by the general assembly. state lottery officials are collecting public comments and hope to make a decision on whether to move forward in the next few weeks. wjz, eyewitness news. >> the lottery says it would consider spending limits as a safeguard for responsible gambling online. ring in the holidays with a new laser light show at the powerplant. the lasers are fueled by 6 of the most powerful protectors in the world, but none of it would be

possible without the technicians at image engineering, a local company that's really taking off. you can see new light shows on the hour starting at 6:00 on new year's eve. join us on a lot of talk for fireworks at the ann arbor. and we hear that the weather is going to be okay for new year's. >> a chance for showers, but it doesn't look like the kind of rain we had today, which is really good news. >> that's great because it was drenching today. >> we've had some really cold years. so we will get to that in a moment. first, today. got rather heavy rain. just a couple lingering showers out there, that's about it. that is slowly going to love to the east. as we head through the overnight, all of that will die down. let's show you what was going -- what we've got going on. just when the clouds came in and they became heavy at times, we saw a line of thunderstorms passed through. the skies are starting to

clear. it noticed out with some of the changing colors. this is going to become snow showers and even a little bit of accumulating snow. here is what we've got going on. it's going to be the second part of this story. the winds are really out of the south and they were high at times turning around to the northwest. that will be a drier win for us and a cooler wind. these are incredibly gusty. we could maybe see an advisory with that. coastal advisory still in effect. running about one to 2 feet above average performance fully change to the northwest. and we have a winter weather advisory in effect. at the temperatures are 45 degrees in baltimore, 39 hagerstown. so here is that's lapping up and

pulling out here. the cold air will come behind those gusty winds. the function returns tomorrow. closed to 40 miles per hour for us. further to the north, this is where the worst of the storms are going to be. it will intensify as it moves away creating more energy. for us that will translate into wind and a cooler dryer lint. take you through the next couple days. tonight we are down to 37 degrees. tomorrow we are going up to 43, sunshine returning. a cooler day but more seasonable out there. we hang onto the more seasonable whether through thursday. the chance for a few showers friday into saturday and use the temperatures go up again ahead of it. as we head into sunday, 50 degrees for highs. >> check in with jessica tomorrow morning on eyewitness news. they start at 4:55 a.m.. and coming up, the ravens are one step closer to a regular-

season and a showdown in cincinnati. sam has the figures next in ,,,,

>> good, good news for ravens fans and the fans that are going to marry seven. seven baltimore ravens have made the pro bowl. that's the 2011th hole football version of the all-star team. it represents seven purple birds at the annual game in hawaii coming up after this season. here they are. ray lewis, to revel songs, and for the eighth year at there is read at safety. also for the second time, ray rice and the man who blocked for me.

they've got to win in order to bring the last wild-card spot. >> i mean people who haven't seen us play would have a good time. we will do some internal things. we will do some things we didn't quite do that way. >> we have to be better next week. >> don't get to watch the baltimore ravens, cincinnati bengals game at 4:00 sunday night here on wjz- 13. college football bowl action tonight.

snaking the rock off the hand of the western michigan university defender. that is true of the system. second-quarter, finds the scene and he outruns special team are very handily. putting the 99 yards. and being tonight, finally, lebron james and his teammates hosting costs and minus paul pierce in miami. first-quarter oberon is a pickpocket. and he takes it coast-to-coast. i am even that went 15-107. >> shortened season. 66 games. so i heard report how some teams are playing like five games in a

row. >> i know. these guys get paid a lot of money. thank you. still to come, it's a race against time. went to look at the final prep,,

>> the rose bowl parade right around the corner. long hours to put final touches on some of the votes. take a look. this elephant is part of a traveling circus. and here is a giant caterpillar. it's called everybody walk. this is the ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,