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police attack. a city officer pushed down in the street. the chaotic video that's gone viral and the outrage from the police department tonight. hello, everybody. here's what people are talking about. a vicious attack in east baltimore, the man caught on camera lungeing at a police officer is behind bars tonight. we show you what led up to the violent confrontation. >> reporter: watch the man highlighted in the olive colored jacket heading toward police as they make an arrest. he lunges at an officer knocking him to the ground in front of a crowd of people.

officers rush in and get the man under control. >> i can't describe this act as anything less than an act of cowardess. >> reporter: the video has already gotten thousands of hits online. it happened new year's eve around 2:30 in the afternoon. it started when manuel banged his car door into a police cruiser. the officer inside got out to confront him, noticing he was drunk. the man who police are trying to arrest on the video, he got in the officer's face angry he was questioning amel. amel left and came back. and the confrontation unfolded. >> we live in a day and age where anyone with a cell phone has a videocamera and photographic capabilities. we respect that. >> reporter: amel faces several

new charges including assaulting law enforcement, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. the man who police were trying to get into custody originally fled the scene. there is a warrant out for his arrest. it's unclear whether he and amel had any connection before this. at city police headquarters for wjz eyewitness news. if you were late getting home tonight, this may be why -- a fender bender on the jfx shut down the highway for people trying to leave downtown. at one point, traffic was stopped all the way back up to president's street. but the jfx is back open tonight. a horrifying hate crime as a home is torched. investigators find outside the home that's really disturbing. the people responsible for this crime are still on the loose. >> reporter: spray painted right on the side of that home,

both racial and sexual slurs and that's changed the entire scope of the investigation. in cell phone video shot by a neighbor, you can see flames shooting out the windows of this church street home. >> i think there were people banging on the door. >> reporter: he woke as other neighbors tried to help the two elderly women and male caretaker who live here. no one was home, but as the flames were doused, investigators saw something more disturbing. >> our firefighters discovered graffiti or slanderous paintings of racial and sexual slurs on the home. >> reporter: from sky high chopper 13, you can see the phrase white power spray painted on the back deck. the other words so offensive we can't even show them to you. because of the words sprayed on the side of the home, police are now investigating this as a hate crime.

>> fire investigators were called to the scene. >> reporter: investigators brought in an arson dog that found traces of axel rant inside the home. now this neighborhood is on edge wondering who set fire to this house. >> it easterrable. it's very surprising. >> a hate crime, an arson, that's surprising. to think there's a crazy person out here committing these crimes. >> reporter: a person investigators want off the streets. anyone with information is asked to call metro crime stoppers or the tip line. >> thank you very much. the fire caused $150,000 in damage to that home. and also, police need your help finding out who has been terrorizing women. these are pictures of a man police say is exposing himself to women in stores. it's happened twice -- once at the cvs on cherry grove avenue, the next time at the safeway on forrest drive.

police are not sure if the two cases are related. the republican field for president narrowed after last night's vote in iowa. michelle bockman dropped out of the race today. front runners romney and santorum are busy campaigning in new hampshire. cracking down on lead paint. lead poisoning can cause permanent brain damage in children or even kill them. in baltimore, hundreds of homes still contain the dangerous substance. there's a new federal push to protect children from lead. >> reporter: the cdc advisory committee made that recommendation and a baltimore group that's been working to eradicate lead poisoning is optimistic. today an advisory committee with the centers for disease control based in atlanta

recommended a change in the definition of lead poisoning. >> it's a decision that's long overdue. even at lower levels, lead exposure and lead poisoning can be harmful. >> reporter: the current definition is 10 micrograms for liter in the blood. the group of scientists and experts want that lowered to 5 micrograms. >> for the united states, that means over 450,000 kids even today are still going to be considered lead poisoning. >> reporter: for decades, baltimore and other cities across the country have fought to eradicate lead, much of it coming from the paint in older homes. children 0-6 years of age is the group used to define lead poisoning, a group most at risk for developmental disabilities and other problems from lead. >> it increases the rate of early mortality by 36%.

>> reporter: congress has cut the budget for the lead program for the cdc. >> they have never rejected a recommendation from an advisory committee of this type. the ravens make their play off push. we found city hall and several other buildings bathed in purple light tonight. encouraging people to light the city purple to support the ravens. we have another way you can show your purple pride. >> reporter: your neighborhood giants store has now become a ravens post office. >> it's very exciting. the kids come in, they write their letters, they're very excited. >> reporter: kids of all ages have the opportunity to wish ravens luck on their home play off game. >> you can submit your own letter. you can write your letter to the ravens on this form. you fill out the information, they'll send you a letter back. it also puts you in the running for cool things like tickets to sunday's game or the ravens

cheer leaders and visiting your school. >> reporter: they're then brought here to the practice facility where they're posted for the ravens to read. >> the whole atmosphere is fantastic. the fact that they get to see support coming from the fans directly, they stop, they read, they see the artwork, it's fantastic. >> reporter: the letters can be dropped off at any giants store where they will be collected and delivered. the goal is to completely cover the walls of the ravens cafeteria. >> they had dreams of being football players and now it's coming back full circle. >> reporter: now mark's going to model the afc division champion gear that officially hits stores on thursday. you can also log ton to baltimoreravensstore.com and get your hands on this lovely shirt. in baltimore county, wjz eyewitness news. >> and the ravens are getting

ready to host either houston, denver, or pittsburgh on sunday, january 15th at 1:00 p.m. and you can only watch that game live right here on wjz 13 unless you have a ticket. speaking of the steelers, pittsburgh battles the broncos in denver sunday at 4:30. that game here live on wjz. coming up, a bizarre accident. how this car ended up parked on the roof of a building. and the more i know about him, the more i know how beautiful a person he is. >> an unlikely ally for one of the world's most well-known murder suspects. why she says sloat is a victim. how some folks want to put a proposed tax hike out.

i'll give you your complete forecast coming up next. ,,,,,,,

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a car ends up on the roof of an apartment complex. the driver was speeding in foggy conditions and went airborne after hitting large rocks and a tree stump. they say after the crash, he ran away but was later arrested. no one in the apartment was injured. tragedy at a middle school in texas. police shoot and kill an 8th grader who they thought was brandishing a gun. they were called to the school when administrators spotted the student with what looked like a handgun. they ordered him to drop the weapon, but instead he pointed it at them. the weapon turned out to be a pellet gun. he punched a student before pulling out the weapon. days before going on trial for murder in peru, vandersloat gains an unlikely supporter. claims to have a spiritual connection and is helping to pay his legal fees. he was arrested in 2010 for

beating a woman to death in a hotel room. she believes he's the victim of an international conspiracy. >> i know when i die that i stood up for justice and truth, and i fought for a human being's freedom. >> plans to be in peru for the start of the trial on friday. a suspect caught on tape stealing christmas presents in new york at the surprising twist. a home security camera captured the man walking up the steps and taking several packages off the porch. that same camera recorded him coming back on new year's day to return the gifts. he said he was sorry and he wanted to do the right thing for the new year. a hike in maryland's gas tax the governor says is

unavailable. there's a new grass roots effort to stop it. >> ask most drivers about raising the gas tax, and the answers come quick. >> terrible idea. >> reporter: the governor macon saider raising that tax by as much as 15-cents. >> we have to figure out whether we're willing to pay another penny in order to bring those things about or another nickel or another dime. >> we shouldn't be raising taxes, period. >> reporter: with americans for prosperity, a group hoping to put the brakes on a gas tax increase, they're calling it occupy the gas tax rally. >> it's a double tax. you're hit once at the pump and when ever you have to pay for something that's dependent on gasoline, that cost will be passed on to you. >> reporter: those who support the gas tax hike say it's about time. they say it's been 20 years. back in 1992 when the state last raised the taxes we pay for gallon. >> i think they should be

higher. i think we consume fossil fuels wrecklessly. i think it should be much more expensive. i support it. >> reporter: right thousand for each gallon you're pumping, you're pumping out 23.5-cents in state taxes. the hike would equal about $2.50 a fill up. >> i understand the motivation behind it, but it's scary. i already pay a lot for gas. >> reporter: opposition appears to cross political lines. both democratic and republican voters oppose any significant increases in the gas tax. >> occupy the gas tax rallies will be held saturday from 11- 1:00. for more details, log on to wjz.com and click on the news tab. a former member of the boy band n sync is being called a

hero. jc chavez was on a beach when he rescued a one-year-old girl from a freak accident. a helicopter caused several umbrellas to get loose. he grabbed one just before it crushed the child who was in her stroller at the time. ice covered the groves and low-lying areas, but the florida farm association says it doesn't look like there's significant damage. strawberry growers used sprinklers to ward off the freezing temperatures. the last three seasons have been adversely affected by weather. >> naples was down to 36. hasn't been that cold there in

quite some time. i got some big tomatoes there that were unbelievable. >> you poor thing. >> it was quite nice. >> i'll bet. >> came back to 9 degrees this morning. let's look at the conditions right now. right now it's 30. hasn't been that warm for the last day and a half. it's not going to drop much tonight. no wind at all, the barometer sitting there exactly at 30 inches of mercury. set your barometer, just take a little needle and set it to 30 inches in the back and watch it go up or down. 30 inches, when it goes up, higher pressure moving in. when it goes down, lower pressure moving in. temperatures around the region, it's really warming up. compared to what we had last night, 36 past river, 35 in ocean city, 24 in oakland. remember, this morning it was only in the teens.

33, 35 annapolis. at the airport, 13 degrees this morning. many suburban areas were 9, 10, 11, 12. the averages today, 31. no wind, but we have a southerly breeze kicking in and it's already bringing in, we had clouds and flurries tonight. probably saw some of those. they're continuing to the east. it will not really amount to anything. they're really signifying warmer air moving in. that warm air coming in, that's what's creating the clouds and the light flurry activity. it's moving up, you can see clearing skies moving in from the west. ohio is drying up completely. we'll look for partly to mostly sunny skies and warmer conditions friday and saturday. by sunday, another weak front may bring us a shower and that's about all we're expecting. west winds today may be gusting up to 20 knots.

a small craft advisory tomorrow. tonight, becoming partly cloudy but milder. 13 last night, 27 tonight. that's pretty good. 44 tomorrow, partly sunny skies. the next five days, up to 50 on friday. 54, take a picnic on saturday. maybe a shower sunday. a little cooler, 44, partly sunny skies on monday. coming up, ray lewis responds to the critics who say he should retire. we have the latest from the line backer next in sports. it's the perfect time to find great deals

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based on what his peers tell him, he's still very good. he says he doesn't read the newspaper, but he did have a response to a baltimore sun column critical of his play. he is the greatest raven ever, maybe the best line backer in nfl history. sun writer mike preston wrote it's time for him to step aside. he's 36 years old, not as dominant as he was in his prime, but he does remain the heartbeat of the ravens defense. he told us today he dismissed the criticism. >> i have two obligations -- first of all, to myself to play the game with nothing else on my mind. the second thing i have an obligation is to my teammates, to give it everything i got and just do what i do. we have an opportunity, if we can block everything out that everybody wants to write about or think about, we have a great chance of doing something special. >> he did not participate in practice today.

they'll hold another practice tomorrow. they will face either houston, denver, or pittsburgh. a game you can see here on wjz, 1:00 kick off a week from sunday. this sunday we'll bring you the steelers and broncos wild card game sunday at 4:00. in college basketball, an embarrassing milestone attained in humiliating fashion. playing at drexell in philadelphia, the tigers lost their 34th straight game. that ties the record for the longest losing streak in division one history. the score, 61-27. that's the fewest points they've scored since 1932. also in philly, blue devils playing at temple. wyatt dialed in from long distance, nailed a couple of key three pointers down the stretch. wyatt scored, the owls knock

off duke 56-57. rapid redux does it again. rapid redux adds to its awesome streak, 22 victories in a row. that is the north american record. >> wow. i thought he was going to retire soon. i guess not. >> as long as he's healthy, he'll keep running them. >> why booger. up next, the ingredient that gives this ham bugger take a moment to ponder tender cuts of pastrami, piled sky high atop your favorite freshly baked bread with spicy mustard, pickles and melt-a-licious cheese. okay, enough imagining how this fresh toasted number would tantalize your taste buds -- it's time to actually experience the subway big hot pastrami melt, built by the sandwich experts the way you love --

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those five food groups sound a whole lot better when you put them in a taco shell instead of a pyramid. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. fantastic! pro-gresso ] they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. 12 teams vying to play in the super bowl, but there are

46 sandwiches looking to be super bowl worthy. the indiana board of tourism is holding a contest to find the state's super bowl sandwich, one of the leading contenders is the all-american burger in west lafayette. its secret ingredient is a thick layer of peanut butter on the sirloin burger. there is a d.j . in poland who is kicking it old school. this 73-year-old grandmother calls herself d.j . ricca. she's throwing down hot disco and samba tracks. she taught herself how to use the mixing board and the younger d.j .s give her plenty of respect. ,,,,,,,,,,