, baltimore. we're just one day away from the biggest party of thier as we ring in 2012 at baltimore's inner harbor. the city is work overtime so it goes off smoothly. we have more on the massive effort behind the massive celebration. >> you know massive really is the right word for this show. we spent the morning on the barge and the technicians told us this is the biggest display they have ever put together. >> it is a show that always stuns. he loves seeing his hometown in lights. >> it is very nice. it is a lot of fireworks and pretty sights and something you must see. >> a spectacular will be bigger

than ever. >> last year, it may have been going up like this. this year it will be a lot bigger. >> he is in charge of setting up the two barges where the fireworks will besets off. crews are preparing 2,000 special affects in the sky. other show is approximately 18 minutes long and it is choreo graphed to fesstive music. >> visitors spent almost $2 million in years past. downtown businesses bank on the boost. >> traditionally the winter months are not our strongest tourism month, so this shows some economic impact to our hotel community. >> people try to time their dinners so they are done with dinner, enjoy it outside and go to fireworks and then come back for coffee. >> it makes you feel good.

it makes you want to tell your family and bring them down here, you know. it is real nice. and the mayor will count down at midnight but the party starts well before that at 9:00 with live music and the band plays funk and also you know it is going to be a good time. >> coverage continues. will we see clear skies? >> hello. i guess the answer is clear enough. this very nice mild temperatures. today around 51 degrees right now. that is where we are sitting atkins at at 4:00. a tad bit warmer downtown. we'll gradually drop and by the times the ball drops, 36

degrees but not enough to hamper your view of the fireworks. the new year's eve should come in dry and pleasantly cool as you see the fireworks go off. we'll see you then. thank you very much. if you are staying in watch wjz's news spectacular. we'll bring you live coverage of the festivities tomorrow night right here on wjz 13. the latest polls from the iowa caucuses show a tight race with mitt romney barely holding the edge of ron paul. it was an emotional moment on the campaign trail. >> reporter: crowds bundled up in the iowa chill to hear a candidate with a campaign that is heating up. >> this race is not just about replacing president obama, important is that is, it is

also arrays about saving a soul of america. >> new jersey governor a star among conservatives. struggling in 5th place newt gingrich broke down at a cafe' in des moines sharing memories of his mother. >> i would say to her that i would do everything i can as a candidate to be worthy. >> themichele bachmann has fallen even further in the polls and drew a handful of supporters. >> our effort wasn't to bring crowds out. we were just dropping in. this hasn't been a typical year in the lead up to the caucuses. hand shakes are all the candidates have left before tuesday night. after a poor showing here in 2008, romney is making a final push to finish strong. >> he made a good decision to

come back and be part of the community and be a part of iowa. >> i don't know when the last time was i went out of my way to see a candidate. they have spent a lot of time on the ground here and their campaigns expect that to pay off. >> in des moines iowa, danielle nottingham, wjz news. >> rick perry is holding a number of meet and greets today. a new poll puts him in 4th place, sliding gingrich into 5th. >> here is the latest on this long-running investigation. >> last year a woman who was 21 weeks pregnant had her uterus rupture at a clinic. the two doctors drove her to a nearby hospital instead of calling 911. police searched the clinic

allegedly finding late term fetuses inside the freezer. the two doctors are charged with murder. both are waiting extradition. he would begin abortions in new jersey and have patiencings drive to maryland to take advantage of less restricttive laws. wjz will have more on this disturbing story at 5:00. >> the difference appearance of a florida toddler, could protect child laws. a maryland state delegate filed the paperwork to introduce "caylee's law". failure to report a child's death within two hours would become a felony if the bill passes. >> a prominent maryland money manager is a free man tonight after four years behind bars.

he was convicted of fraud and filing false tax returns for investing money. he also spent shareholder money on his mistresses. a bogus cancer diagnosis for one woman may have all been a scam to make money. most of the cash was collected at an elementary school. bakerfield is closed for the holidays but when school opens next week one worker will face a fraud investigation. the sheriff's office said between january of 2010 and this summer the unidentified worker told other employees she has cancer. they stepped into pay for her rent, groceries and even plane tickets to treatment centers. >> they were doing things to when their co-worker who they believed was in need. >> but this month one of the coworkers turned to police and was suses suspicious. during the summer, said the

cancer progressed to stage four and spread to her lungs and she had only a 15% chance of survival. the coworkers sprung into action again with a fund-raiser collecting about $10,000. >> it was identified to the sheriff's office from the victim that these types of activities were happening to raise money for this co-worker that alleged she had cancer. >> that is not something to play with. >> angel is a former student at bake were field. >> i'm surprised but a lot of people do a lot of things to get money nowadays. >> police are still in the early stages of the investigation. as a result no charges have been filed yet. in aberdeen, i'm gigi barnett. >> police are not releasing the identity of the suspect because charges are still pending. five state toll bridges are getting an upgrade. they will install new lighting, cameras and censors to detect

stopped vehicles. the bay bridge and the key, nice tidings and to protect the project should take about 18 months to complete. and if you're waiting for someone to get home from work, here is more with traffic control. >> hi. we do have a couple of delays out there northbound 95 if you're traveling in that direction, slowing there from the howard county line up to 175. about 15 minutes to get through. the west side interloop stopped. the top side a minor slow down there as you make your way to the expressway. 895, a disabled vehicle blogging the right lane. that will hold you up a couple minutes. another accident liberty road. two more in the city. south kerry at washington boulevard. let's take a live look.

95 southbound moving pretty well over the bridge. and we'll take another live look. you can see everything moving smoothly. this traffic report is brought to you by... >> back over to you. >> thank you. a baltimore colts legend with receive a big honor. raymond berry will bring the vince lombardi to the stage before he hands it to the champion. barry won two titlings as a receiver with the colts. this year's super bowl is in individual nan his. you can see the game live on wjz 13. coverage starts at 4:00. >> still ahead for holiday tragedy, newly released audio tapes to save a connecticut

family. they discover pounds of pot on a bus packed with teens. >> one of the health trends, losing weight by only drinking juices but is it safe? >> how does the new year look? don't miss the first morning forecast. left, totino's. [ male announcer ] well done mom! less drama, more fun! totino's pizza rolls. here's a better idea... pillsbury grands! flaky layers biscuits. in just 15 minutes, the light delicate layers

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we have breaking news. the city of baltimore has terminated its contract with baltimore racing development, the group behind the grande prix. the city demands payment of debt owed which is $700,000 for city services and $500,000 for amusement taxes. without an agreement they cannot conduct the grande prix in future years. the city has the right to move

forward with other individuals and organizations interested. a deadly house fire in new jersey and a seven-year-old girl a victim. they were home when flames broke out. other children managed to escape but the seven-year-old was in the house. police bust 250 under age skiers smuggling pot on buses headed to u too. the police chief used it as a teaching moment and gave them a choice. hand over the drugs or give up a three day ski and snowboard trip for dee tension. officials are investigating the person in charge. in tonight's wjz health watch if you have eaten too much over the holidays, it may be time for an all juice detox

cleanse using organic fruits and vegetables. here is more. it is a growing trend but doctors say you have to be careful. >> reporter: chad wanted to lose weigh and feel better. so he gave up cooked food for ten days blending raw organic fruits and vegetables like kale, cucumber and pear for his meals. >> den days is not going to be any worse than ten days of fat ice-cream. >> he felt groggy and tired when he started fasting but he lost several pounds and on day 7 he felt energized. >> today i feel absolutely incredible. >> reporter: doctors recognize the nutritional benefits of a well planned juice fast. a liquid only diet can give you a much-needed rest and restore

energy. >> modern life has people eating 24/7 and therefore digesting 24/7. digestion is a process of the body that takes a lot of energy. >> but many doctors say just consumeling juice isn't enough because our bodies need to break down solid food. >> he warns juicing can throw off our die jennings and how we get our nutrients, electrolytes and sugar. >> a lot of this is beak dissolved in the wrong place. >> he said juicing gave him a fresh start. >> i feel so much better. >> he vows to make it a part of a regular balanced diet. experts say you should speak to your doctor before starting any juice fast or cleanse. a light day of trading on wall street, the final trading day in fact of 2011.

>> the next time the markets open it will be 2012. the markets and the year are basically where they began. here is a look. the dow was down 70 points. the s&p 500 down 5. the nasdaq down about nine. here is drew levinson with the money watch update. >> reporter: the dow jones finished the year up about 6%. mcdonald's was the year's top stock up more than 30%. bank of america dropped more than 65%. investors overseas wanted to put 2011 behind them. they suffered their first year since 2008. china is down 21% for the year and japan's nikkei is at the lowest point since 1982. a good year for ford. they sold more than 2 million vehicles in the u.s. in 2011. that is the first time that happened in four years.

>> general motors is recalling more than 4,000 of the 2012 chevrolet sonic. they are looking for missing brake pads. the old-fashioned 100 watt bulb is about to disappear. new rules go into effect in the new year and only energy efficient 100 watt bulbs will be available in the stores. the old ones will only be available in lower was taj. for more business headlines go to cbs moneywatch.com. in new york, i'm drew levinson. coming up hollywood heat. another round of dangerous fires set in california. the latest, the search for an arsonist. >> this is bob. he is the chair of the police union here, but he is dressed in his street uniform. there is a reason for this and

it will benefit one lucky police officer, the details when we return. of tim says new year's eve looks good, but what about the start of the year? wjz is always on for the top stories on wjz.com. instant updates, click wjz.com. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

all right. a beautiful end to our day, tunnel. we have one day left in 2011. take a good look at the sky because that is the type we're talking about when we talk about a mostly cloudy night for new year's eve. there will be a system approaching from the west and one to the north of us, but it is only going to cast high clouds over our area and nothing that will interview with your view of the fireworks. >> pretty nice day shaping up today. we have temperatures in the 50s well above our average high of 42 degrees right now. take a look at our current conditions right now.

temperatures around we'll call it 51 i believe is the last check. now we're done to 50. we were at 51 at the top of the hour. now 50. relative humidity 54% with the winds coming in from the east southeast. a little moisture off the bay. the southerly flow will bring in milder air and seven-mile-an- hour winds. that has been falling with a passing of the front moving in. 44 right now in oakland. 40 down on the shore. and then across rock hall toward an map his 43 degrees in each location. 51 in westminster and 53 in the nation's capital. the wind from the east southeast is not hurting us, too much the sun by itself did to the really help too much to bring our temperatures up, but it has trapping into milder

temperatures. closer to 60 as you head toward the carolinas and the southern states, but we have seen those clouds ahead of the system that is just out to our west. you'll start to see the spin west of the chicago, illinois. back toward des moines iowa you'll see a bit of a rotation here. it is that swinging around of that low and all the moisture associated with it that is bringing it across our region. we didn't rule out the chance for a shower today and even early tomorrow. now as we start to get into the late-night hours, temperatures will drop. we'll see a dip as we get past new year's day but as you have seen today, around 50 degrees. tomorrow for new year's day around 50 degrees and then the coder air comes and we drop quickly into the first few days of 2012. >> our sunset at 4:53.

small craft advisory. 37 degrees tonight. mostly chilly. the average is around 25. partly sunny and breezy with 42 degrees. tomorrow up to 50 degrees. 45 degrees, partly cloudy and windy at paul brown stadium looking ahead to 4:00 sunday. it will be a chilly day. temperatures will drop through the day, but it looks like most of the precipitation will be early in the day. >> sounds good tim. thank you very much. don't forget the prime timelineup tonight. eyewitness news at 11:00. >> jeff floor has a preview. >> our mothers taught us from childhood that is vannening. steve hartman goes on the road to find it. that is next on the "cbs evening news." the government strikes back after massive protests and

fallout from the latest round of violence. >> heavy fire above your head. >> back out. back out. >> >> after a raging fire kills five, the chilling audio as firefighters entered the burning home. pilot preparation, the new cockpit rules that may be affecting safety in the skies. eyewitness news at 4:00 continues wi,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

it is 50 degrees, partly cloudy and beautiful out there. thanks for staying with eyewitness news. i'm mary bubala. here is what people are talking about terrifying tapes, oughted yo tapes from a fatal christmas fire that killed three youngers and their grandparents. here is more on the desperate fight to save lives that day.

>> reporter: the loss of her parents at her children has overwhelmed her. her uncle tells cbs 2news, she spent the last few days being treated for emotional trauma. >> she is suffering. i was talking to her a couple times. she is like any other mother and she was a real good mother to the children. and then, you know, i can't even get my head around what she is going through. i mean she lost her whole fam lint there is nobody left. >> they released new pictures including this one, so poignant when you realize four days after it was taken the girls were gone. grace, sarah and lilly seen with their father matthew. his girlfriend saying these were the three happiest girls the world could find. somewhere they are singing and painting the heavens, innocence lost in the inferno. >> we need water.

>> coming down. just got it. >> newly released audio tapes show how they tried to save the children and their grandparents. grandpa worked as a santa for hire. >> we got a report from one of the victims. >> we're going to need some protection up here. >> we have to get in there know. >> they searched for victims until the flames and danger overwhelmed them. >> heavy fire right above your head. back out. back out. >> all units on the interior. back out. >> the lack of success is haunting the heroes who tried to rescue the victims. >> this is going to remain with these firefighters for the rest of their career and our heart, and our prayers go out to that family, believe me we're all hurting from this.

>> and authorities say the blaze was caused by a bag of ashes left near the home. >> they demonstrate against the current regime. here is more on the rally's dubbed the crawl to freedom. kye. >> reporter: the anti- government protest went across syria today. they camped out in public squares. >> the protest coincide with reports of increased violence against dem strators. this comes as the arab league determines if they are going to end that crackdown. that agreement which syria agreed to demands that the government remove security forces and heavy weapons from cities. >> thank you. more than 5,000 people died since mid-march when protestors began calling for his ouster.

>> ra fire on board a submarine burns out of control. it erupted yesterday and injured nine people, trapped several inside. they got it under control this morning. it was docked for repairs so luckily the nuclear reactor shut down. the fire started on the scaffolding around the vessel and then spread. general motor is recalling more than 4,000 sub-compact cars to check for missing brake pads. the problem popped up during a rental vehicle customer. a missing pad could require a longer stopping distance. there have been no reports of crashes. recall letters should arrive mid january. >> you don't want to be on a plane that is about to land without its wheels down, but that is what has happened and happened three times recently

with pilots catching the mistake right at the right time. >> when you get on an airplane your best hope is the pilot's training is as good as it can be, but if you ask, you might not get the confidence you're looking for. >> we're being tossed will learning the new procedure and to effectively practice it. we're sitting in our arm chairs at home reading this. >> after having to relearn to fly some of the world's busiest rights. it is all because united merged with continental and the practices are making some pilots feel like they are back in flight school. >> there is a lot of learning and retraining and that retraining requires a very robust training program to make sure it becomes in nate. >> the new airline is relying

too much on internet based learning and not enough on time spent in simulators. >> there is no substitute for simulators and practicing time and time again. >> there have already been incidentings. i was distracted by the new technique forgetting to put the landing gear down for one. >> the procedures i see in my cockpit have been changed dramatically. the airline denies it allegation staying it is baseless and are in are there. >> nothing could be further. we had to take them away from contract negotiations and instead focus them on safety. >> and the next big step in the united continental merger will become bike the two carriers complex and incompatible reservation system.

that should happen in the first quarter of 2012. >> we're ready to ring in the new year so what is the weather going to be like tomorrow night? i'll look outside right now. a pretty mild december day, nice. tomorrow for the ball drop in new york city, wjz meteorologist bernadette woods is here. >> we have had crazy years, but this year isn't looking all that bad. the national picture in case you're traveling, you can see across the northeast it says dry. during the day there is a chance for showers, but that storm is not a big one and it gets out of here by tomorrow night. that will bring changes to our weather, but not tomorrow night. tomorrow night that one storm will be departing. by tomorrow night that is out of here. 36 degrees. we're looking okay out there for tomorrow. we're going to go to

christie. we have a situation on the eastern shore. let's go and take a live look. there is a chemical spill 50 eastbound at white hall road. this happened moments ago. all lanes are blocked. the delay is solid back to the boulevard but we have emergency med cal equipment on the scene right now. also making your drive along one in the westbound direction. as far as the rest of the region goes, northbound 95, an accident there. it will take you at least 15 minutes to squeeze by. northbound 95 as well slow from the 895 split passed the beltway on that northeast corner. the north side outer loops, slow traffic there to the harrisburg expressway. only about ten minutes to get through. we have an accident western run road. also some fire activity in that region as well.

>> as far as other accidents go, bellaire road at fleet wood and south of bond at east pratt. let's take another live look. that is where the chemical spill is. this traffic report is brought to you by your ball till more chevy dealers. back over to you. >> thank you so much. tomorrow night hundreds of additional police officers will be on patrol at the inner harbor as thousands ring in the new year. if you're a police officer you know new year's is one of those days you have to report for duty but as mike reports one local officer will start not wearing a uniform. >> reporter: when the fireworks fly it is all hands on deck for the police department. if you're city police you're expected to work. now meet police union president on the job for 18 years, the last four as president.

as a union officer do you ever do what most people consider normal police work? no. you're not assigned to a car. >> he deals with the members of the union active and retired but he does not have to work holidays. >> as someone who keeps your own hours, even though you're doing 50, 60 hours a week, you're not on those lists. >> no. >> he is also a full police officer. he is here dressed in a suit and a tie. once in office he realized he earned the right to be off on holidays. some officers never do. >> the public doesn't see how much a sacrifice these guys are making. >> saturday night he is volunteering to take a patrol shift. >> i'm just working for them to be able to send one of the officers home for new year's eve. >> he doesn't know the officer he is working for.

>> i'm trying to bring attention to the fact these guys to make a big sacrifice by working these days. i'm trying to remind myself and others i'm a cop first, not a union president. and be sure to watch wjz's new year's eve special. we'll bring you live coverage of the festivities and fireworks beginning at 11:00 tomorrow night right here on wjz 13. straight ahead on wjz's eyewitness news at 4:00, millions will take you to watch the ball drop. we'll take you to new york. >> mystery winner $17 million lottery prize. the questions are still swirling. >> and an absolutely beautiful sunset on the final friday afternoon of 2011. your new year's forecast is coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

and we're following some breaking news. a serious crash on u.s. 50. crazy said it was a chemical spill. here is more. >> reporter: i am not sure if it is a crash mary. what is appears to be at this time is a tractor-trailer with some type of chemical stilling out the back of it. you can see it is a fully boxed tractor trailer truck. it appears some type of material has spilled from the back of the truck. we have seen firefighters up to the scene at this time. they are trying to determine what exactly if anything that has spilled, but there is a poison sticker on the side of the truck which makes fire officials remain cautious. they have completely closed eastbound 50 between cape st.

clair and white hall road. you can expect major, major delays along route 50 back to an indianapolis affecting 50 as far back as 97 at this time. major problems here. maryland department is in route to the scene. they will assist the an arundel county hazmat units that a embellished here. this will go into the evening hours. they have not identified the material and we have no injuries at this time. back to you. >> thank you. looking a that backup, mde better get there quickly. >> a man set fire to multiple vehicles putting some special landmarks in danger. kye has details on this. kye. >> one of the fires nearly burned down a home once occupied by morrison, lead singer of the doors.

it was the second day of arsons in that area. two people were arrested thursday, but those men remain in custody. dozens were forced to leave their homes and power went out. one firefighter had burn wounds no other injuries were reported. >> police are still searching for suspects. >> the winning 16 1/2 million dollars lottery ticketholder finally came forward after waiting an entire year to claim prize money. it was claimed two hours before the ticket expired. 364 days, 23 hours, 10 minutes. that is how long a lucky lottery winner waited to redeem a multimillion dollars reward. >> the ticket arrived. >> just in time when you consider by 4:00 that winning ticket would have been worth less. >> it is our intention to find out that this ticket was legally purchased, legally presented today. to do that we will attempt to

follow the trail from where it was brought into us today all the way back to the person that purchased it. >> who did purchase it? >> no one knows, at least not yet. what is for certain is that on december 29th, 2010 someone walked in and bought this lucky hot lotto ticket for $16.5 million. >> we have the ticket we know was purchased one year ago today. >> and clues to crack the buyers identity are yip tick as best. the claimant is hex um investmentings trust, an entity little is known. the trusts representative a new york based attorney didn't return michaels. what is clear though, this mystery is not even close to being solved. >> in 26 years, nothing like this has ever happened. it is a mystery. lottery security officials say it is the first time in the 26

years the game existed that something like this has ever happened. >> we know preparations are well under way in new york's time care for the big new year's eve celebration. work crews put the finishing touches on the ball. drew levinson reports on the big party from the cross roads of the world. >> 3, 2, 1. happy new year! >> reporter: the new year's eve ball in times square was raised into place for a practice run friday. the six ton centerpiece was hoisted up and its 32ous lights was tested. what is a party without balloons? they are blowing up 25,000 of them here one at >> time. >> we went ten hours yesterday and we have been here all morning blowing them up. >> the pastry kitchen is

working overtime at the hotel. it overlooks times square. they are making ten thousand pastries, only part of the preparations just a stone's throw from the crowd outside. >> we start planning the day after new year's eve. >> so now just about everything is ready for saturday night. the only thing missing, the more than one million people who will fill up times square for the biggest celebration of the year. >> we're here to spend the evening in times square. >> not everybody comes out here today this. we'll be here. >> new york is definitely the place to be for new years, so i'm so excited how it is set up and all. la doesn't compare to this. >> it may be new york's party but it is a party for the whole world. and those hoping to attend the celebration will start lining up as early as 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. >> well a relatively mild end

of the afternoon. will things cool down into 2012? 2012? bernadette woods has that ,,,,,,

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welcome back.

okay, pretty quiet day out there. let's take a look. 52 degrees. this stretch will continue into the weekend. you can see we startrd out at 27. look at the record though. minus 3 degrees. at this hour 50 in baltimore. 49 degrees is what we're down to in ocean city. throughout the metro region pretty comfortable, upper 40s to 50 degrees. the wind is keeping the milder air in place and will through most of the weekend, but we have a couple of little changes coming. the first has to do with this storm right here. there is not a whole lot on this southern side of the storm, mainly on the northern side. there is a chance for a couple off showers tomorrow, but not a very big storm. so we may see a few rain showers tonight into tomorrow. then this whole thing will leave us in time for the festivities tomorrow night. temperature-wise it stays ahead

of it. then we cool down a little bit. much colder air the first part of next week. we're going to notice the difference into mainly tuesday and wednesday. it will start to transition on monday but tuesday and wednesday will be much colder around here. pretty comfortable outside now. small craft advisory because of the winds through saturday afternoon out of the south keeping the milder air around. we drop into the upper 30s. mostly cloudy skies out there. a couple showers possible tomorrow during the day. 56 degrees though. the wind up slightly, just a breeze at times. by tomorrow night that storm is gone. the wind starting to die down. we're looking good as we head to the interrer harbor so come out and join us. >> absolutely. i think everybody was shaking their heads. they couldn't believe how warm it was. we'll take it. bernadette woods, thank you. >> still to come on eyewitness

news. the countdown is on for 2012. there is a fireworks show bigger than you have ever seen before. what you can expect down here at the harbor ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

here is what people are talking about, from baltimore city, the mayor's office terminates the contract for the baltimore grand prix. more on that decision and the impact it will have. >> if this will continue, it will have to be approved by the mayor's office and also indy car and