hi, everybody. happy purple friday. i'm mary bubala. kai is off today. here's what people are talking about. the season's first winter weather storm. the winter weather advisory goes into effect. a snow system caused traffic accidents and tie-ups for the morning rush hour. that's the scene in iowa. outside right now, it is calm, cloudy and cool. but that's going to change. we're expecting a wintry mix starting tonight. bob turk is in the first warning weather center, where he is keeping a very close eye on live doppler radar for us. >> this is going to be purple

friday. maybe a white start to your saturday. take a look at radar. we have a batch of precipitation. from chicago to pittsburgh. it's very dry air over us. temperatures just above freezing. that moisture is moving into this cold air. so initially, after midnight tonight, we do expect to see some snow. what do we expect generally across north central portions of maryland? we're looking for anywhere from one to maybe as much as 2 to 3 inches on the pennsylvania border. south of us, mainly rain. ice mixture to the north of us. here in the city, we could see as much as an inch. and then we'll see a change to sleet, freezing rain and then eventually a change to all rain. and because of that weather coming our direction, we do have some advisories, that winter storm watch to the northwest of us. the winter weather advisory, for much of the reason, except garrett county, goes into effect 11:00 tonight, until about 1:00 tomorrow afternoon. the worst time for this storm, for driving, is going to be tomorrow morning, let's say

between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 or 9:00 in the morning. any untreated roadways could certainly get slick for a while tomorrow morning. mary? >> all right, bob. thank you. stay tuned to wjz for instant weather updates and a live look at stopler radar, log -- doppler radar, wjz.com. it is the biggest purple friday of the year. we are just two days away from the play-off game against the patriots. ravens run to the super bowl. ravens fans are rallying all over the area. wjz is live. jessica kartalija is at bill bateman's in parkville, waiting for the ravens caravan to arrive. i thought you were part of the caravan. >> we had to get here early to secure our spot. it is totally packed here. everywhere we have gone, it is flowing with ravens fans. i am not kidding you. everywhere i have gone, someone

has purple on somewhere. women had purple scarves. the purple fever is contagious. and baltimore has caught it. ♪ [ music ] >> reporter: it's purple friday and the ravens caravan continues. >> it's a good feeling spirit, you know? >> with the so-called iron fan. >> i've been to every baltimore home game since 1956. i now have 355 consecutive home games without missing a game. >> first stop, alonzo. >> we decided that it would be fun to follow baltimore, get in on the fun. >> the flacco fuman choo in full effect. >> we're confident about the patriots. they don't have the defense that the texans had. and we have an offense that is going to put numbers on the board. >> reporter: hoping to spread purple pride through maryland.

>> go, ravens, go! go, for the ravens, go, ravens go! let's go, baltimore! every day! >> i want to go out there and support the team. i went to oakland. seemed to work then. >> the fans are out, we're out. the feeling is electric. we're just ready to go for sunday. ♪ [ music ] >> reporter: and as i mentioned, ravens fans are already here at bill bateman's in parkville. the caravan is expected to show up in the next couple of hours. they're making their way. they have been in annapolis today. and they started bright and early, around 7:00 this morning. mary, as i mentioned, it is already getting crowded in here. if you are going to head out, i suggest you do so soon to secure a spot. because once they get here, it is going to be fast. >> a spot right next to you, jessica. we'll check back in with you in

a little bit. and we will bring you the afc championship game live from foxboro, massachusetts. as the ravens face the patriots, game-time sunday afternoon. and wjz is your home for all of the ravens' excitement. don't miss the seasons pizza championship special. get team updates. watch it all tonight at 7:30, here on wjz 13. hope dwindles, rescuers are searching above the water line of the crippled costa concordia, but do not expect to find anybody alive. anna metranga reports for wjz. 11 people are confirmed dead, and 21 remain missing. >> reporter: rescue officials allowed crews to resume the search for victims on the costa concordia. but for now, only above the waterline. divers had to suspend work in deeper waters after the cruise liner began shifting on the reef. even the slightest movement could put rescue workers in danger. >> reporter: a fire department

spokesman said, as soon as we were given the go ahead, our crews got ready and returned to the ship immediately. once it's safe, divers want to finish searching underwater areas of the bridge, where passengers gathered, before abandoning ship. rescue crews are worried about the weather ahead. and also about the wear and tear on fuel tanks, which is scraping against the reef. >> reporter: the ship is carrying half a million gallons of fuel. and crews rushed on friday, to finish surrounding it with oil barriers. >> reporter: this view shows the catastrophic damage. and underwater pieces of the wreckage, lying on the reef, where the ship ran aground. amateur video from the night of the wreck, shows a crewmember telling passengers, everything is under control. and that they should return to their cabins. two american passengers are now home in minnesota. the sisters described the chaos as the ship started to tilt.

>> i looked around. and i saw that people were in this life boat. and this whole life boat was full. >> reporter: that spot, where passengers scrambled for life boats, is one of the places search crews are looking for bodies. in jig lio, italy, anna metranga, wjz eyewitness news. >> reporter: and the ship's captain remains under house arrest. francesco schettino faces criminal charges for his actions both before and after running aground. the cruise says it will not cover his legal expenses. students on alert near an attempted sexual assault has school and police concerned. vic is in the newsroom with more on what the police told the victims happened. this took place at a park near greenway and university park greenway. the police reported said he exposed himself to them and threatened them when the women started to leave, a suspect

tackled one of them and allegedly tried to sexually assault her. she was able to break free and run for safety. the suspect fled on foot toward gilford avenue. >> city police are working on a sketch of the suspect. six u.s. marines are killed in a helicopter crash in afghanistan. the chopper went down in the country's southern province of helmond. the names of the marines are not being released yet. the pentagon says it does not appear that the helicopter was shot down. >> reporter: pivotal primary. in just hours, south carolina and gop candidates for president are attacking each other. danielle not being ham report-- nottingham reports for wjz. the polls show, it is a two-man race between mitt romney and newt gingrich. >> reporter: mitt romney dodged rain drops on his last day of campaigning before saturday's south carolina primary. he promised supporters brighter days ahead if he wins. >> i'm going to make sure the next generation has an even

more prosperous future than the generation i've enjoyed. i love being out here and in the rain. >> reporter: mitt romney is now neck and neck with newt gingrich. but that was before gingrich's ex-wife told the media that gingrich wanted an open marriage. >> reporter: gingrich scored points with the audience with his response. >> the story is false. every personal friend i have who knew us in that period says that is false. >> reporter: gingrich canceled his appearance friday. his campaign said it is too small, and it allows him to spend more time visiting a children's hospital. ron paul said the debates are helping his campaign. >> debates have always been very helpful in promoting what i've always talked about on sound economic policy. >> reporter: rick santorum continues to push himself as the only candidate for conservative voters, arguing both romney and gingrich have

supported healthcare plans that support obama's. >> once the government has your health, they have your pocketbook and everything else that comes with it and we are no longer free. >> reporter: the four candidates have just hours left to sway voters. a recent poll suggests about half have yet to make up their mind. in charleston, south carolina, danielle nottingham, wjz eyewitness news. >> since 1980, the first year south carolina held the gop primary, the winner has gone on to clinch the republican party nomination. we're going to check in on our roads right now. here's kristy breslin at wjz traffic control. can we call this the calm before the storm, kristy? >> i think that's definitely accurate. and we have a lot to talk about so far. northbound 95. expect delays there, from the 8 niche split past whitemarsh boulevard. as far as the bolt way itself goes, the north side inner loop. northbound outer loop, also seeing delays heading to

charles street. on the west side, 25 minutes on the inner loop, from frederick road to security boulevard. and accidents include, in the towson area, taylor avenue, loch raven boulevard. painters mill. washington boulevard at troy hill. and also wabash avenue, at liberty heights. let's take a live look as you can see, at liberty road. this traffic report is brought to you by subway. introducing the new hot pastrami melt. it's freshly-baked bread, pickles, mustard, bubbly cheese. to satisfy the biggest appetite, only from subway, eat fresh. still ahead on eyewitness news at 4:00. [ singing ] today, the world is mourning the death of a legendary blues singer. burned to death, the chilling thing the suspect in the fatal attack is saying to police. and it is cool and cloudy

outside. but the weather is going to get tricky in maryland tonight. bob is updating our first warning weather forecast. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

some sad news out of the entertainment world. singer eta james has passed away. ♪[ music ] ♪ at last >> i could listen to that all night. there she is singing her famous classic "at last ." her long time friend and manager said she passed away from complications from leukemia. in october, james released her final album. she was 73 years old. a man accused of torching a woman to death in a new york city elevator boasts to police he still would be free if it

wasn't caught on tape. jerome isaac is accused of dousing 71-year-old delores gillespie and then setting her on fire. isaacs said he drank alcohol and went to sleep afterwards. surveillance cameras captured him wearing a mask and gloves, and lighting gillespie on fire with a barbecue lighter. good news on wall street today. [ stock bells ringing ] >> reporter: the markets are mixed. but it has been a good week for the dow. the dow is up 96 1/2. s&p up just a point. and nasdaq is down 2. let's go to new york now, where alexis christoforous has tonight's cbs money watch update. >> reporter: investors declined to place any big bets as key greek debt talks remain unresolved. greek officials are working with private creditors on a new agreement to get bailout funding and prevent a default on its debt. oil prices were lower, on concern that europe's financial

troubles will slow the global economy and demand for oil. at the pump, the price for gasoline is practically unchanged at $3.33 a gallon. that's almost 18 sends more than a month ago. and 27 cents more than a year ago. wall street was also weighing some of the biggest tech firms. microsoft, intel and ib34 each posted solid fourth quarter earnings. but google badly missed estimates. its stocks plunged 8%. home sales, home construction also rose last month, signs that a recovery in the housing market may finally be taking hold. rupert murdoch's media company is paying cash to more than 3 dozen victims of a phone hacking scandal. news international also apologized for the intrusion, but did not admit that senior officials knew about the practice. a company is paying out about a million dollars that will be

divided among victims, including actor jude law. that's your money watch. for more, go to cbsmoneywatch.com. in new york, i'm alexis christoforous. a jewelry store in california is giving customers a chance to get their hands on a diamond the size of a quarter. take a look. oh, that's beautiful. the store is letting customers come in and try this 18-carat diamond on for free. can even hold it. it is known as a triple crown diamond. so what's the price tag? on a gem that size? yeah. you'll have to put it down. it's about $1 million. beautiful. it's kind of a tease. can't take it. can't buy it. coming up on wjz's eyewitness news at 4:00. the numbers have skyrocketed in recent years. now, a group of psychiatrists want to change the definition of autism. the story ahead in healthwatch. jennifer hudson's mother murdered. the suspect's attorney says they're not ready. what the judge is saying.

and we said it before. it is the calm before the storm. the latest on a wintry mix, headed to maryland. and bob is updating the first warning weather forecast. wjz definitely wants to see your purple pride on this purple friday. here are some of your favorite purple-and-black photos. to see the complete slide show, go to wjz.com. ,,,,

-dad, why are you getting that? -that's my cereal. is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. is it a robot? no. is it a jet plane? nope. is it a dinosaur? [ laughs ] [ male announcer ] inside every box of heart healthy cheerios are those great tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. stickers? uh-uh. a superhero? ♪ kinda. [ male announcer ] and we think that's the best prize of all. ♪

storeall right. outside right now, it looks okay. but that's going to change. >> it's been a nice day. it's been chilly, but dry. we've had a lot of sunshine. clouds are coming in now. quick look at radar. we had to go pretty far out to the west now. just around columbus, ohio. a little snow being reported there. most of what you're seeing here in eastern ohio. pennsylvania and west virginia, not reaching the ground. the air is very, very dry. but later this evening, i'm talking maybe after midnight, it will moisten up. and that's when we'll start seeing some snow across the region. take a look at the temperatures. very dry air. just above freezing. but look at the dew point. yesterday, the dew point was in the midteens, low 20s.

4 degrees. that's very very dry air. which means that moisture that is coming down from the clouds, most of it is going to evaporate for a while. humidity only 28%. very, very dry. no wind at all right now. the barometer, 30.26 inches. actually, has risen. 26 oakland. 28, hagerstown. and 34 down by ocean city. once again, that dry air around the region. to the north, 30 and 29 up in westminster. along the pa border. that's where we're going to see the most precipitation. a form of frozen precip. north winds brought that chilly air do to the -- to the south. this moisture moving into the midwest. came through iowa this morning. afternoon, chicago. getting snow. now it's moving into indiana, ohio. it's running right along that border. and you see the clouds north of us, sunshine today. south of us, a little bit of precip beginning to show up.

and it's not reaching the ground. a little rain there in the carolinas. here's what we're watching out for later tonight. it moves in. we'll start seeing? snow in the region. -- seeing some snow in the region. here's what we expect. maybe as much as 1 to 3 inches, northern sections in southern pa of snow and some sleet. and then some freezing rain and then some rain by tomorrow as it all ends. most of this will happen overnight tonight. midnight to maybe 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 in the morning. mix of rain. maybe a trace to an inch in this region. and mainly rain south of the region. take a quick look at where we expect that storm to go. it's going to go to the portions of the tennessee valley. then it quickly gets out of here. and another weak system could give us a few showers yet on sunday. but it will get much milder this weekend, after tomorrow. north winds on the bay, 10 to 15. small craft advisory, on the bay, on saturday. so the bay temperature, still stuck at 40. tonight, late tonight, we'll start seeing the mix move in. 27, snow, sleet, freezing rain.

bad driving conditions for several hours in the morning. that icy mix, a little drizzle, rain in the afternoon. temperatures getting back up to 36 eventually by tomorrow afternoon. so we'll get above freezing along the pa border. may stay right around 32 most of the day. which means it could be an extended period of ice just north of our region. watch out for that. >> we'll keep our eye on it. >> don't miss tonight's cbs primetime lineup. then stay tuned right after that, for eyewitness news at 11:00. scott pelley has a preview of what's coming up tonight on the cbs evening news. as the south carolina primary approaches, our own steve hartman goes on the road to find his ideal candidate. it's a mayor with a half century on the job who doesn't think politicians should talk politics. his story tonight, on the cbs evening news. new cracks. some safety checks are now ordered on a popular jumbo jet. hello, everyone.

i'm jessica kartalija. we are live at bill batemans in parkville. i'll have the very latest on how baltimore is getting into the ravens' spirit. that story is straight ahead. roaring winds, pushing an already fast-moving brush fire into a community of homes. eyewitness news at 4:00 continues with denise and vic after this. here's a friendly reminder.

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whee whee wheeeeeeeeeeee! everything you love about geico, now mobile. download the new geico app today. whee wheeeeeeeeeeee-he-he-heeeeee! it is 4:29. 33 degrees and mostly cloudy. hello. thanks for staying with eyewitness news. i'm denise koch. >> and i'm vic carter. here's what people are talking about. >> firefighters in nevada are making some progress in their fight against a fast-moving brush fire that has already claimed at least one life. 10,000 people have already been

forced out of their homes. bagad shavan reports with the latest from rein -- reno. >> reporter: the kinisso family still doesn't know if their home from reno, nevada was destroyed. janice evacuated as the flames from the lot next door swept over. >> it just came over. >> reporter: they're among more than 2,000 people still not allowed back in their homes. [ inaudible ] >> reporter: the fast-moving wildfire has destroyed more than two dozen houses. but firefighters are making progress and have the blaze about 50% contained. >> our primary focus today is extinguishing hot spots and securing the perimeter. >> reporter: flames broke out on thursday. and heavy winds caused them to spread quickly. the last few months have been unusually dry in reno. in fact, the city set a record this winter. 56 days without any precipitation. >> the grass is so extremely dry. and essentially, we're still in august conditions here. >> but it is raining lightly

now. and heavy rain could be on the way. that should help douse the flames. but with all of the charred lands, it also increases the chances of flooding. in reno, nevada, bigad shaban, wjz eyewitness news. >> this is the second major wildfire to hit the reno area in 30 months the last one, mid- november wiped out 30 homes. today in iowa, areas were hit with half a foot of snow. schools across the region were closed today. and a state of emergency has been declared in those areas that were hardest hit. and a live look over baltimore now. no precipitation yet. but it's certainly a chilly end to the workweek. wjz is live with first warning weather. bob lets us know when that wintry weather will make it here. >> we will see some snow here late. probably after midnight. 1:00, 2:00 in the morning. that storm moving through the chicago area. that's about as far east as the

snow has been reported right now. so the air is extremely dry right now. very, very light winds. eventually, some of that precip starting moving in late tonight. it will eventually turn into sleet and freezing rain for a while. so we've got kind of a really wintry mix coming in during the overnight, into your saturday morning. here's what we expect, as far as precip totals are concerned. generally along the lower eastern shore, let's say dover to ocean city. in extreme western portions of the western shore. mainly rain, in between from baltimore to d.c. and over around maybe north of dover. a mix of sleet, snow, freezing rain, terrain, maybe about an inch accumulations. up to an inch to 3 inches by the pennsylvania-maryland border before it's all said and done. and it will probably be ending as just rain or freezing rain. north of our region, not much above freezing. we have winter weather advisories going into effect. most of the region, as can you

see, except the eastern shore, and delaware, under a winter weather advisory, for much of the morning into your saturday. so a slick saturday. but a warmer sunday. vic? >> stay with wjz and first warning weather coverage. for updates on the weather and a look at first warning doppler radar, log log onto wjz.com. experts in europe raise new concerns about the safety of the world's largest jetliner. >> denise, europe's air safety authority is ordering inspections on nearly a third of the world's airbus 380 super bus. the engine of a quant ation -- qantas airlines plane descended in midflight. they recently uncovered cracks inside the wings of two a380 jets. air jets and the airlines will have between 4 days and six weeks to complete those safety checks, depending how much time

the planes spent in the air. >> no aircraft will be grounded before the checks. a bus has assured passengers that there's no reason to be concerned about the safety of the planes. a trial date has been set for the man charged in the murder of singer jennifer hudson's mother and two other family members. william balfour will stand trial in april. despite his attorney's objections that she needs more time to prepare. the 30-year-old is the estranged husband of hudson's sister. prosecutors say he shot the three people because he was angry she was dating another man. many are concerned that it could be usedded for the privacy of ordinary citizens. >> reporter: as you walk the streets of the big apple, the city has its eye on you. >> there are a lot of cameras already here. so as people walk, they're being filmed. and most of the time, they don't know it. >> reporter: and now, the nypd has new technology that can

scan. >> if it's going to make us safer citizens, i'm okay with that. >> it's called tera hertz. it can measure radiation emitting from a body, and can detect anything blocking it, like the gun used in this image. >> you could use it at a specific event. you could use it at a shooting- prone location. >> reporter: the scanner would only be used in reasonably suspicious circumstances. and could cut down on the number of stops and frisks. but the new york civil liberties union is raising a red flag. >> it's worrisome. it impacts privacy. the right to be able to walk down the street without being subject to a virtual patdown by the police department, whether you're doing nothing wrong. >> i don't believe in that.

>> definitely a privacy issue. but again, it's for our safety. so it's one of those things, a double-edged sword. >> before they used the scanner, the nypd would like to make it more portable with a detection range that could take months or years. one of the most common child developmental problems and the way it's diagnosed. a panel is reassessing the definition of autism. it would narrow it. it could reduce the dramatically increasing number of children being diagnosed with autism the changes could mean children with problems could be denied health, education and social services. hi, vic. hi, everyone. plenty of chaos out there. the harrisburg expressway, really struggling in that northbound direction. we're up to 20 minutes there from shawan to belfast. as far as the beltway itself

goes, 20 minutes from the jones falls expressway around the perring parkway. and the west side inner loop continues to build. heavy there over to security. traveling 70, problems in both directions. westbound heavy from 29 to marriottsville road. eastbound heavy, also towards the beltway. and if you're traveling on northbound 95, we have a disabled tractor-trailer, it's blocking the right-hand lane in the right tube. so just take the left tube instead. as far as other accidents go, pulaski highway. erdman at north megan. ask also south hanover. let's take a live look. you can see, pretty heavy there on the beltway, on the west side there at wilkens avenue. this traffic report is brought to you by the progressive insurance baltimore. you can get details and tickets at baltimore boat show.com. back to you. >> thank you, kristy. it is the biggest purple friday of the year so far. wjz is your home for complete coverage of the ravens' run to

the super bowl. the ravens' purple caravan is crisscrossing the state today, getting fans fired up for the patriots. fans are anxiously awaiting the caravan's arrival. jessica kartalija has been following the roving rally all day. hello, jessica. >> hello to all of you ravens fans. the caravan should arrive here in parkville in just about an hour. and all day today, fan fans have been getting into the ravens spirit. we are seeing purple pride all over maryland. take a look at this. baltimore county executive, kevin kamenetz, officially renamed this to ravens plaza. kamenetz was surrounded by ravens supporters. and he was certainly getting all of them fired up. he wasn't the only politician showing off their ravens spirit today. for more on that, we're going to go to mary bubala, back on tv hill.

maybey? >> all right -- mary? >> all right, jessica. annapolis for purple pride. no matter what their stance are on the issues this session, maryland lawmakers are united in their support of the ravens. >> what time is it? >> game time! >> what time is it? >> game time. >> the traditional color of politics, red, white and blue, took on a different hue in annapolis today. >> root for the ravens to beat the heck out. new england patriots! [ cheering ] >> reporter: it was all purple on the house floor at the state capital, with maryland politicians, pumped up for the ravens' afc championship games sunday. >> i am predicting that new england is going to suffer at the hand its -- hands of the baltimore ravens defense. and baltimore will be winning this game. >> my prediction is ravens, 30. patriots, 15. >> they're going to kick some tail at 3:00. >> reporter: governor o'malley declared this a purple friday,

with maryland lawmakers setting the tone. >> they got it. they got it. that is so great. well, governor o'malley did not make any official bets with the official governor of massachusetts. but he did talk about the lobsters he received after we beat the patriots back in 2010. mmm, they tasted so good, said the governor. denise, back to you. >> we should make a bet with newscasters in new england. >> yeah. >> i like that. >> we'll send them the crabs. but we won't have to, because we're going to win. >> there you go, mary. >> all right. and we will bring you the afc championship game, live from foxboro, massachusetts. game time, 3:00 sunday afternoon, right here on wjz 13. and wjz is your home for all of the ravens' excitement. don't miss the seasons pizza championship special. get fan reaction, team updates and a hometown sendoff.

that's live tonight at 7:30, wjz 13. and lots of purple around the building today, too. everyone is in the spirit. straight ahead on wjz's eyewitness news at 4:00. more hazing at florida a&m university. the latest on the arrest of four students. surprising move. the jackson family speaks to prosecutors in the conrad murray case. why a hearing about restitution is canceled. and it is cloudy right now. but there is a winter storm heading our way. bob is updating your first warning weather forecast. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

four members of a&m's marching band is under arrest. campus police arrested the student thursday night. the students are charged with hazing band members who wanted to join a group in the clarinet section. the victims told police they were punched, slapped and passed. in november -- paddled.

in november, a student died in a hazing there. a man's body was dismembered. but his information is not being released. the head was discovered by a dog walker in bronson canyon. thursday, his hands and feet were found. no arrests have been made. but detectives are plowing through dozens of leads. a volunteer firefighter dies at the scene of a fatal fire in new jersey. he passed away while battling the blaze alongside his son. >> reporter: the blaze that killed the homeowner and the firefighter here at 33 jefferson street may have started in the basement. it looked that way to anthony cesario, who was driving by, called 911, then got this video with his cell phone. >> after i heard there was someone at my house ti thought, -- i thought, that's crazy. >> who told you someone was in the house? >> the homeowner. she told me her husband or boyfriend was in the house. and that's when she called the

cops. >> firewhite fighter -- firefighters went into the basement? >> she said exactly where he was. >> tragedy compounded as bruce tur cot, firefighter, suffered a heart attack. >> they found him slumped over the wheel. just an amazing guy. a lifelong volunteer fireman. both boys, both sons are firemen. >> reporter: one of his sons was here on the scene, also battling this blaze. >> he was here with his dad. i can't imagine what the family is going through now. we're going to do everything we can to comfort them and pay our respects to the entire turcot family. >> now, turcot leaves behind a wife and three adult children. a developer is looking to keep developments. a crane collapse. the settlements surround the 2008 new york disaster, when a nearly 200-foot tall crane toppled onto a block, killing the six workers and a tourist.

the same workers' lawsuits have been settled. the developer wants that settled before details are released. the only person criminally charged was acquitted of all charges in 2010. a driver makes a wrong turn and ends up in a san francisco subway tunnel. the driver drove his suv in the tunnel and managed to get two city blocks before crashing. the driver was not hurt. but the accident brought the subway to a halt for more than two hours yesterday morning. city officials say people have accidentally turned into the tunnel before. a los angeles alzheimer's patient, missing for more than a week, is found safe, thousands of miles from home. jude hunter went missing last week after he was dropped off at a doctor's appointment in california. nine days later, the 81-year- old was found standing, dazed and confused, in grand central station, in new york city. hunter has no idea how he got to the big apple. but alzheimer's experts say this type of wandering happens often.

>> even those who may say, oh, that never has happened, to expect that they could encounter a wandering incident and that they should get them enrolled in medic safe return. >> reporter: the alzheimer's association recommends giving a medical bracelet, which gives contact information for medical care. police say suspects are using sling shots to break car windows, then they grab all they can and run. most of the break-ins are happening in midtown, where police have beefed up patrols. dr. conrad murray will not have to pay michael jackson's family $100 million. the pop star died in june 2009, of an overdose of a surgical anesthetic, prop fol. murray was sentenced to four years in prison. a famous kidnapping victim is ready to start the next

chapter of her life. a family spokesperson confirms that elizabeth smart is engaged. she and her unknown fiance became engaged this past weekend and are said to be planning a summer wedding. smart was kidnapped at knife point from her parents' home in 2002 at the time she was 14 and held by her captors for 9 months. a u.s. postal worker is caught on camera, tossing a package. watch as the mailman hurls the package over a fence in california. inside, a rare and expensive clock was crushed from the throw. the owner of the broken clock complained to the post office. they issued an apology. in a statement, they said, quote, the incident does not represent the kind of service we strive to provide our customers, unquote. taco bell is rolling out a new breakfast menu, dubbed first meal. it features traditional back to basics. sausage patties, bacons, tortillas. there's the menu. the chain is also testing

before -- better for you items like oatmeal. they are testing mostly in states in the midwest. open from the late-night tacos. >> put away the taco meat, bring out the eggs. end of the first season storm has a mixed bag. >> bob has more next. [ beep ] [ man ] you have one new message. [ mom ] hi scooter. this is mommy. the progresso chicken noodle you made is so good. the vegetables are cut nice and thick... you were always good at cutting your vegetables. and it's got tender white-meat chicken... the way i always made it for you. oh, one more thing honey... those pj's you like, the ones with the feet, i bought you five new pairs. love you. did you see the hockey game last night? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

the amazing alternative to raisins and cranberries with more fiber, less sugar, and a way better glycemic index. he's clearly enjoying one of the planet's most amazing superfruits. hey, keep it down mate, you'll wake the kids. plum amazins. new, from sunsweet.

well, we made it halfway through the month, without any major event. >> at least one third or more through winter. >> great. >> not too many complaints. at least for most people, i guess. unless you're up in the ski resort. let's take a look at temperatures around the region. just above the freezing mark. but what's interesting to note is how dry it is right now. it's going to take a lot of moisture alost to come -- aloft to come through that low dew point of 4 degrees. humidity is only 20%. that's bone dry. no wind right now. the barometer has actually been rising, 30.2 inches. 33, pax river. the dew point, way down. very dry air.

that means it's got to get up into the teens, at least, before we see any precipitation, reaching the ground late tonight, after midnight, 1:00, 2:00 in the morning. that's when we'll start seeing some snow in the region. it will be cold enough for snow here and up there. but eventually, warmer air south of us. right now, it's 43 in richmond. that warm air is going to be coming in aloft. over top of us, where the snow and the precipitation is made. it starts snowing. then it starts changing to some sleet for a while. then some freezing rain. because we're still below freezing. and then just plain rain on saturday afternoon, before it ends. we get a big mixed bag coming across the region. 39 in bel air. 29 in best minister. westminster. no wind here. but we see a northerly wind, bringing this very dry, cold, arctic air. to the west of us, that's where the snow will be this morning. it's been moving to the great lakes. iowa. chicago getting snow. indianapolis now, moving just into portions of ohio.

columbus, reporting some snow flurry activity. it's all heading out to our region. see how dry it is. a little rain in the carolinas, where it's in the 50s. eventually, we start to see precip. it moves out by tomorrow afternoon. mild air, sunday afternoon, another system coming from the west. maybe bringing a shower. but what do we expect for our region? generally north of the city. 1 to 3 inches expected of snow, some sleet, then freezing rain. then maybe ending with some rain right along the pa border in southern pennsylvania. may stay as light freezing drizzle for a while before it totally quits. that's where we expect to see some travel issues on any untreated surface. in the city here, down towards maryland. a mix and then some rain. mainly rain south and east of the region. on the bay tomorrow, winds will be picking up a little bit. to the north, 10 to 15 knots. the bay temp, still around 40 degrees. tonight, no further precip moving in. late tonight, 27. snow, sleet, freezing rain into the morning.

and then, a little afternoon rain, temperatures getting above freezing sometime around the noon hour or earlier, particularly from the city on south. so north of the city, northern carol, harford, northern baltimore. southern york, adams county, could stay right around 32, most of the day. light, freezing drizzle. light rain could cause some issues, obviously, with any untreated surface. >> at least it's saturday. >> most of it during the morning, where most people are not even up. >> right. thank you, bob. still to come on eyewitness news tonight. i'm jessica kartalija. coming up on wjz. we have ravens fever. and we're on the caravan this purple friday. ,,,,

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coming up next on wjz eyewitness news at 5:00.

tracking a messy mix of ice and snow in maryland. when will it arrive? and what to expect. ravens fever. we'll follow the purple caravan as it goes around immediate -- maryland. complete coverage ahead of the game. sounding offer after clashes with police. occupy baltimore is back. i'm mike hellgren. i'll tell you where they'll be tonight. police say a pervert is on the loose in one prestigious maryland university. i'm weijia jiang, on the edge of campus, with an urgent message from authorities. coming up. check in for more on these stories and all the day's breaking news coming up at 5:00.