a conservative radio talk show host is rushed to the hospital. we'll tell you how he's doing

this morning. the van that threatened times square. what this means for the massive new york celebration. we'll take you there in just a bit. a winter storm caused problems on the road. this little baby couldn't wait for the storm to end to enter the world. those stories and more. in the meantime, good thursday morning, happy new year's eve, thanks for joining us. i'm megan pringle. jamie's off, justin in the weather center. the big story today is the weather. >> you got to see me make a snowball earlier. we got ourselves some snow in the city, about an inch right now on the north side. the fact we have the visibility improved downtown, doesn't mean the weather's improved, i think it means they've gone from snow to sleet. takes up less space in the sky. we can see it farther. i think we have sleet, maybe turning to freezing rain in downtown baltimore. let's check this out. 29 in stevenson. temperatures trying to fluctuate

here as we're dealing with the storm and still snow in baltimore county. you can see 2 to 3 inches. i think up towards the pennsylvania line and carroll county. 26 belair and kingsville. 32 rock hall. head down to the south, thomas point, all right at 34 degrees. that's plain old rain to the uh, south side of the bay bridge. 20s on the west side. deeper snowpack expected. i've upped the totals here. two to four inches north and west of baltimore. winter weather advisory to 1:00 p.m. watch the precipitation on the radar. most could be done by 9:00 or 10:00. icing problems in the city, that will linger through the morning as well. let's see what's happening on the roads with matt tacka. >> quite a lot, unfortunately. we started the morning with freezing rain. covered by little snow. very slick out there, especially on the overpasses you'll find problems along 895 at 295.

up the baltimore, washington stretch. on the baltimore beltway, checking a crash on the outer loop, 795. new one on the east side. inner loop at pulaski highway. more salting operations on the jfx northern parkway and cold spring lane. you're seeing snow cover on many of the roads. give yourself a lot of extra time when you finally get out. remember to stay with abc2 news all morning long for updates on the weather. this is the big story today why we get reports of icy roads, we pass them along to you and make sure you have everything you need to know before you head out tonight or go anywhere today. if you can't get us on air, you can always get us online. we have an update on breaking news we brought late last night about conservative talk show host rush limbaugh. he is resting comfortably at a hospital in honolulu where he was taken for chest pains. the program said in a statement yesterday that limbaugh

appreciates people's prayers and well-wishes. the statement says that limbaugh will keep people updated via rushlimbaugh.com and via his radio program. a suspicious van shut down a popular tourist destination yesterday. the van had tinted windows and a police car from a law enforcement agencies that doesn't exist. the bomb squad moved in. using a robotic camera, they spotted clothing inside and a temporary registration. luckily no explosive devices were found. police still trying to track down the van's owner. an arizona couple caught off guard as they went racing to the hospital to deliver their child. baby angela wasn't waiting. dad said he could only drive about 40 miles per hour.

mom gave birth while dad was behind the wheel. the snow was so bad he couldn't pull over to the side of the road. he had to pull over and cut the baby's umbilical cord and finish driving to the hospital. mom, dad and baby are doing just fine. >> how do you feel about a d cup this morning? we're talking about a coffee cup, relax. this coffee shop is a little different. we'll tell you what you get with your cup of java. you're looking at temperatures in the 20s. got ourselves about an inch of snow in baltimore. few more inches on the way in the north side. it is ice moving in around the south side of the city and around the bay. we'll check out the details for you and even go outside and take another look at what conditions are firsthand. let's see what's happening on the roads. >> slick conditions no matter

where you look. still trying to clear out the problems 395 at 95 and everywhere you look slick and slow this morning. rainbow, why so blue?

hmmm, i'm losing energy this morning.

did you have a good breakfast? nooo. here, try this, it's under three hundred calories and pretty satisfying. mmmm! tasty! looks like everything is back to normal. fight the morning fade in under three hundred calories. jimmy dean d-lights. shine on.

the body scan controversy comes as president obama is demanding a report from federal intelligence agencies today. he wants to know how a nigerian accused of trying to blow up a christmas airliner was allowed to board the plane. new year's eve celebration kicks off at the inner harbor tonight at 7:00 p.m. part harmony will be performing and then at 9:00, blues traveller will take the stage. we've got this winter weather advisory through 1:00. as we check out the radar, want to point out something interesting, the back edge is

actually showing up in the mountains. a lot of this stuff is likely to end during the morning hours. it's not going to take us all day, but by the time we head into the afternoon, we'll be pushing warmer temperatures in. it is ice around the bay. baltimore city southbound looks like freezing rain, turning to rain around the eastern shore. temperatures just above freezing. we noticed that around the bay bridge. temperatures stuck in the 20s. run we're at 28 degrees in baltimore. it is 27 from york back towards hagerstown. those places could see uh, 3 to 4 inches of snow and wind chills down into the mid-20s for most of us. most of the event will be this morning, although the advisory goes through 1:00 in the afternoon. keep in mind, even when it stops or changes over to freezing rain and rain, you still have to deal with what's sitting on the ground and on your car. take time to clean things off. holiday mode this morning. take your time. it'll improve during the afternoon, with a 35-degree reading downtown.

if we get more showers, they're of the rain variety. right now, 6:40 the let's go back to the roads with matt tacka. >> we have a lot of icy conditions out there. >> we'll check in with you in just a bit. the winter weather matt's talking is the big story. we'll check in with him when we come back. the cold weather hasn't been kind, especially when it comes to spending time outdoors during the middle of the night. the cause of this apartment fire. residents are now without a place to stay. plus: the search for a missing man. his family members say he has dementia and they're worried. it's more than just coffee in pasadena. servers are attracting business seven days a week. we have all the details. it was one thing for a family to have their home broken into, but somebody said this guy

wasn't gone for long. happy reunion when we come back. announcer: when it comes to fighting flu viruses,

like 2009 h1n1, wash your hands and get your flu shot. regularly disinfect surfaces. and talk to your friends about doing the same. let's help spread protection against flu viruses like 2009 h1n1.

new year's eve, thursday morning, 6:44. thanks for joining us. i'm megan pringle. weather the big story today no matter where you're going and what time. let's get right to justin. >> 6:44. moved in on schedule, started about 4:00 this morning. if you're watching this yesterday, we thought the mess would move in. an inch of snow on the ground in baltimore county. stevenson university, 28 degrees. snow-covered baltimore county. mixing with, i got the report from our buddies at the national aquarium, turning sleet into the city. this is plain old freezing rain. parking lot at harbor school in annapolis. currently sitting at 32 degrees. let's show you the radar. we have ice around the bay. more rain on the eastern shore, although once you head north of kent county, we have more ice problems that will linger. the ice problems linger for a few more hours. deeper snowpack and colder temperatures. back edge of the precip moving

through west virginia. our forecast this afternoon just up the tally a little bit. baltimore city to include a one to two inch range. we'll push that two inch on the north side of the city with baltimore county up near towson. ice and plain old rain. spotty showers, steady stuff will end by mid- to late morning. back north and west, deeper layer of cold air. sluf out two to four inches of snow. afternoon reading. not steady precipitation, just spotty showers. we'll take you down toward the south. we do expect to have two to three inches in howard county, this afternoon mixing ice and rain showers, 32 degrees. we're about an inch already turning to ice and then freezing rain and plain old rain, an afternoon temperature of 39 in annapolis. want to go outside? want to see what it looks like? pete on the street, now in the sleet, o'neill will follow me. show your our morning in the dark. just to make all the mamas

happy, i'll throw a jacket on. it's cold outside. we have a 28 degree reading at the studio. pete check this out. someone saw me in the last half hour and gave me an idea. they want me to clean off one of the station cars. we've got ourselves, look at that, can you see the texture. we have a little crust with some flakes coming down. it's coming down pretty good, but a solid inch of snow. even some ice underneath that stuff. this is what you'll have to deal with going outside for today. you see that? that's a layer of ice. we started with rain that froze on contact, and now dealing with just plain old snow. as i mentioned earlier, this is a really good packing snow. very different consistency than what we had with the last storm. so it'll be fun for the kids to get outside. pete, take a quick shot at that light. we have moderate to heavy snow coming down right now. on the north side of baltimore and through baltimore county in towson. let's see what that means on your commute this morning, we'll toss it to matt tacka. >> mine's the green car to the

left. at this point we have slick conditions all around and your perspective comment this morning was it. stay in, it's very pretty. if you're on the roads, you're in it. 95 has been littered with accidents all morning. too many to mention. the good news, if there is any, they're mostly fender benders. no major incidents at this point. the entire area is finding slick spots. a few accidents of note to keep an eye out for, 895, problems along the richie spur. earlier overpass problem, 295 with us. latest problem on 95 is lombard street. right lane is blocked there. fender bender, liberty as you make your way through randalstown. remember to stay with abc2 news all morning long. we have the latest updates not only on air, but online. as we get reports of icy roads and winter weather alerts, we'll pass them to you. catch us on air or on

abc2news.com for the latest updates. this morning police are asking for your help to find an elderly man with dementia. he drove away in his daughter's car. it happened at the hospital on green street in downtown baltimore. 72-year-old james guy was waiting in his daughter's car when she went in the hospital to visit her husband. police thought another man got in the car and drove away with guy, but now they say guy probably drove away by himself from the area. let's get you a description of the car. green, 1996, four-door buick regal. has temporary tags on it, 45232k. if you've seen james guy or that car, a green buick regal, police call baltimore city police, they'd like to hear from you. all new information this morning on the kidnapping and murder of an 11-year-old girl. an attorney for the 30-year-old salisbury man charged with the

disappearance of sarah foxwell has this to say. his client is denying the charges against him. people have been gathering at shorebird stadium for a memorial to remember foxwell. brian delmotter is the father. >> my 6-year-old is very upset. she wrote a letter to her this morning. i told her i could bring it to the memorial for her so she could show how she felt. >> little madison picked up a pencil and piece of paper and wrote this letter: dear sarah, you know i love you, i'm sorry you died. this man, thomas leggs jr. of salisbury right now is the main suspect, a registered sex

offender in maryland and delaware is charged with kidnapping and burglary in sarah's disappearance. more charges are expected. funeral services for sarah foxwell will be held saturday morning at 11:00 at emanuel wesleyan church in salisbury. dozens of families are homeless this morning and still can't get inside their burned out apartments after fire broke out late tuesday night. happened in aspen hill at the manor apartments. residents stood outside for hours as firefighters fought flames shooting through the building. at least 20 apartments were damaged. now residents will have to find an alternative place to spend new year's eve. >> want to get my stuff. >> i'm sad. uh... everything was in there. so... see if i can get in.

>> fire officials believe the cause of the fire may have been electrical. we'll keep you posted. there may be a push to get serious about cleaning up the chesapeake bay. a coalition of leaders presented their plan to the government. advocates for the day are calling for much tighter controls for things like farming and development. they wanted controls to come from tougher sanctions that have been violated. much more than what the federal government is proposing right now. >> if this mission fails today, today, if federal and state officials will have priced the chesapeake bay on death row, there'll be no appeal, i can assure you. >> an official with the epa said that some of the issues raised by those chesapeake bay advocates need to be addressed, at least at the state or local level. others would require brand new legislation for congress. 6:52 right now. salt water fisherman may have to

be registering with the federal government. the new federal law does take effect tomorrow and it will force those who fish more than three miles offshore who go after fish that spawn in fresh water to register in eight states. that's including maryland. the registry aims to collect better information about what they're catching. registration by the way is free for next year. it's make or break time for the baltimore ravens and their season is on the line. the team is getting ready to take off to play the oakland raiders. it's one of those can't miss the playoffs no matter what the outcome of the game. >> they're coming in, trying to be the spoiler. they have a lot of guys that you know, you're playing, you know, as professionals, you're playing for your career, for yourself and for the guy next to you. and that's you know, i've been in that situation before. and you still go out and put everything you have on the

field. >> we control our own destiny. the importance of the game, i think, is simple for us. bottom line, we win, we win. we understand that. >> on sunday, the ravens take on the oakland raiders. the game will be held in oakland territory. the match-up kicks off at 4:00. 6:54 right now, it is the last day of 2009. last day of the decade. as usual, spectacular fireworks display to ring in the new year. there are talented music groups you can catch before the fireworks display lights up the sky. at 9:00, blues traveller takes the stage. at midnight, fireworks will light up the sky to ring in 2010. quick programming note for tonight, the dick clark primetime new years rocking eve in ryan seacrest starts at

10:00. we also have an update for you on a story we brought on christmas day and we are thrilled to tell you this story has a happy ending. a baltimore family contacted us last week, they were desperate, their home was broken into and thieves stole, among many things, their puppy. we're happy to report that guy, max, is back home. the family got an e-mail from somebody who saw the story on the news and said "i think i saw that dog." somebody got that puppy for christmas. the family met up with them and they are happy to report this morning max is back home with his favorite chew toys. a coffee shop in pasadena serving up a little bit more of your uh, morning java, they're serving eye candy. as java divas, they're serving coffee, but you'll find something hotter there than your usual brew. it's the eye-catching concept to

pasadena. a shock trauma nurse often trades in the scrubs for something more scandalous. >> i'm not being naughty right now, just fun and exciting. >> the girls walk away every day with as much as $100 in tips. if you want to check out this java joints, it's located on richie highway in pasadena. >> if you need a cold shower, we'll take care of that. freezing rain and sleet around the city and northbound. snow on the north side. towson, parkton, columbia, westminster, 2 to 4 inches possible. most ends by late morning. still showers this afternoon. warm to 37 downtown. midnight and tomorrow, more snow showers. turning sharply colder this weekend. >> the latest problem now is on southbound 97. dorsey road. that one reports of an overturned vehicle. big problems out there. give yourself a lot of extra time. we're going to have weather

updates and road updates all morning long. in the meantime, we'll send you to new york for good morning america. happy new year.

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