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new information regarding the penn state sexual abuse scandal. the letters sent out to potential students regarding the lawsuit filed against jerry sandusky. >> and herman cain dropping out of the race for the white house? when he says he'll make his final decision. an basketball fans gearing up. when nba players will be hitting the court. we'll let you know. december, 1st, thursday, i'm charlie krauss. there's a look at downtown baltimore. this is something justin berk does so well every morning, showing you great sunrises. justin, this on the first pleat -- meteorological day of winter. rising from the east. setting in the west. >> we have great images to show you. it will be dark at night, bright during the day. that is a guaranteed forecast, right? first, yes, it's the start of meteorological winter and i wanted to look over some of the

snow extremes. this will post on-line later today. notice typically january, february, our big snow month but a couple of years ago we challenged that record of just over 20 inches with a big storm that hit us during the second, third week of the month. yesterday on facebook i asked, are you interested in seeing snow? 232 of you actually were. viewing the comments it did look like -- i think we're on full screen right now. he lost his camera so let's just go to it. let's just show you how bel air looked yesterday. sunrise gives way to a mostly cloudy sky. it was definitely an autumn and almost winter-like setup even with the sun in annapolis. you had clouds later on. typically more sunshine and clouds arrive in the winter season if you're by the bay. this morning's temperatures in annapolis, 38 degrees. we're in the 30s and frosty in many spots. we will be warming back up with sunshine and high of 52, a bit of a breeze this afternoon. more on the winter outlook in a

moment. 6:32. here's burt with traffic. >> thank you very much. traffic smooth, though building volume in and around baltimore. first shot of our live camera at i-95 and maryland 175, headlight getting a bit thicker, more traffic but still moving well. second shot now, over on the beltway, traffic building in a little thicker there but up to posted speeds. drive times -- locations in and around baltimore, you've got southbound 83, looking at about six minutes and 695, 795 to 70, seven minutes there from one point to the other. that's your traffic. back to you. more fallout in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal rocking penn state. corrine redmond standing by with details. >> reporter: the child abuse scandal that rocked penn state

brought officials together at a town hall meeting last night. it happened hours after the first lawsuit was filed against former penn state defensive coach jerry sandusky and the charity he founded. he's charged with sexually abusing eight boys. the lawsuit is from a ninth alleged victim, a 20-year-old who said he was abused by jerry sandusky more than 20 times in the 1990s. jerry sandusky's attorney says his client is innocent. sandusky told nbc news he only horsed around with the kids in the shower. according to a attorney he hired a private investigator to prove his innocence. >> he sat here with his mother and brother and said he was the boy in the shower as far as he knew but that he was not engaged in any sexual acts with jerry. >> sandusky was part of the penn state family. we all are. i feel shame. >> reporter: meanwhile penstate reportedly has sent out letters to potential

students encouraging them to consider the school in the wake of the scandal. the letter also encouraged applicants to reach out to admission staff or current students if they have more questions. right now sandusky is free on $100,000 bail, charged with 40 counts related to the sexual abuse. corrine redmond, abc2 news. democracy 2012 -- a big show of support for herman cain amid allegations the republican contender has been carrying on a 13 inform year affair. he heard crowds scream "stay the course." he may fulfill those wishes. let's listen. >> they want to you believe that with enough character assassination on me that i will drop out. >> when asked when cain was going to drop out or make an announcement he says he was only re-assessing his current campaign. the faa is investigating a small plane crash in seattle.

it happened when a plane crashed into a parked aircraft at boeing field. it started a big fire and the flight instructor and student were not seriously injured. holiday season is in full swing in the nation's capital. first lady michelle obama welcomed military families to the white house yesterday. children and service members were escorted into the state dining room where they had the decorations. shine, give and share is the theme for the obama's third christmas in the mansion. jolly old st. nick's beard got caught repelling down at a south florida mall. it made for an agonizing descent for the kids unable to free the real white beard whiskers . he finally landed safely. rosa parks, black seamstress, on this day in 1955, refused to give up her seat on a segregated bus in alabama. it helped spark the civil

rights movement. she died in 2005 at age 92. you may be surprised to find out some of the most wanted items are not on the shopping list. up next, the top 10 items, or few of them, rather, that shoplifters are targeting. americans search the web for many things and there is a list of some of the things people may be searching for that may be on some wish lists. @ñ we all have internal plumbing.

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welcome back on this thursday morning. news time 6:40. it's the season for so many things. giving, sharing, charity. also shoplifting. a new top 10 list of the top items shoplifted from. one out of every 11 people will walk out of the store with something they didn't pay for. what are people picking up?

the number one item, not a joke, filet mignon. jameson whiskey is number two. electronic gadgets like smartphones are fourth and number five are gilette mock four razor blades. come in at number five. seems specific, doesn't it? many kids are getting free low-cost lunches now. "the new york times" looked at data and found 20 million kids are getting subsidized lunches. up from 2006 and 2007. it is good for many families grappling with unemployment and home foreclosure. according to yahoo.com, the i-phone was the most searched item followed by casey anthony and then by kim kardashian. subway deals keep rolling in. this month in december you're going to get a six-inch subfor two bucks. the deal is good only with the popular meatball and cold cut sub. are you letting your

vacation days go unused? a survey from expedia finds the average worker had 14 days off but only took four in 2011. the average worker earning $39, 000 a year, that adds up to $34 billion of time forfeited because they couldn't afford to travel or say they didn't plan ahead to get ready for the vacation. he spent weeks in a jail in aruba but this morning he's waking up in the united states. >> new developments in the disappearance of a maryland woman in aruba. the only suspect in the case speaks out exclusively as he arrives on u.s. soil. >> it's world aids day, what officials say you can do to be tested for free. details coming up. plus, the city of boston says they want the occupy protesters out. why officials want the square cleaned up, cleaned out so people can move on. 6:42. something else you can see today, happy winter. today's the start of

meteorological winter, december 1st every year. we could have snow next week. typically we only get a couple inches in december. by the way, annapolis starts off with a beautiful clear view, lots of sunshine. more on the extended outlook coming up. major closures for downtown baltimore today. more coming up. roadtrip. now?! [ female announcer ] crest whitestrips two hour express. in just two hours you can have a noticeably whiter smile

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6:46. good morning, maryland. i'm charlie krausson. a lot of people want to know about the big plans in mount vernon. >> won't be too windy but it will be chilly. it's december, happy december. happy winter. yes. some of us think it's a good season. it's the holidays. let's get into the spirit. our satellite and radar composite, we're virtually clear, not much action going on. we're looking at a very quiet setup, we're going to show uttemperatures as we look at temperatures down to 37. that is actually above normal for bwi marshall. only freezing spot we can find on the regional airport, up

towards york, we will show you some of your neighborhood conditions coming up in a few minutes. a little frosty, that's possible, winds settled down but we're aiming for a sunny day with a seasonable high of 52. that extended outlook with the chance of winter returning. we'll talk about that in a moment. 6:47. here's traffic. >> thank you very much. take a look at the scheduled closures in downtown baltimore. mount vernon place, closure because of the monument lighting, starts 9:00 this morning,, on the traffic camera, that's a shot of the jones falls expressway at northern parkway, traffic moving a bit. and harbor tunnel thruway as you approach the tolls southbound we have delays there backed up to about o'donnell street. that is your traffic. here's charlie. u.s. businessman spent nearly four months in jail in aruba and arrived back on u.s. soil. gary giordano waste nothing time about speaking out about the disappearance of his travel

companion, robyn gardner. abc2 news' sherrie johnson joins us live now with exclusive details and coming up in 25 minutes we're going to hear from gary giordano. >> reporter: that's right. he's ready to talk now. we've learned some new information this morning, giordano speaking out exclusively on "good morning america," in a few minutes. he left aruba yesterday and landed in miami beyork for the the gaithersburg man scored another legal victory yesterday when an appeals court rejected a prosecution appeal to put him back in pretrial detention. giordano had left aruba when a three-judge panel ruled that prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to continue to hold him as a suspect in the disappearance and presumed death of his traveling companion robyn gardner. prosecutors say they still consider gary giordano a suspect, they plan to pursue this case with the help of the fbi. giordano denied any wrongdoing in the disappearance of robyn gardner. he says she vanished while they were snorkeling in aruba. her body has not been found.

>> it is hard to believe that the american authorities would extradite him just to let him sit there as they continue the investigation. >> reporter: robyn gardner's family says they are very disappointed in his release. they just want to know what happened to her. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> and "good morning america" is coming up in 15 to 20 minutes. be a exclusive interview with gary giordano. coming up in minutes. after "good morning maryland." the man police believe is responsible for a series of sexual assaults along the east coast has been arraigned in virginia on charges of raping two teenaged trick-or-treaters in 2009. police arrested aaron thomas in march in his hometown of new haven, connecticut where he pleaded not guilty to charges of raping a woman there in 2007. authorities say dna has tied him to the rapes and the attacks on 17 other women from virginia all the way up to connecticut, during a span of 10 years. democracy 2012 coverage. republican newt gingrich is picking up support for his

presidential bid. congressman andy harris is now endorsing the former speaker of the house for the republican presidential primary. harris will be the co-chair of the gingrich in maryland team. he believes he has the experience to turn the economy around. health departments are offering free hiv testing to commemorate world aids day. linda so is here to tell us about it. >> reporter: we're joined by the baltimore county health officer dr. gregory branch and angela james, you work for the health department as case manager. first, what are they doing locally? this is a global event. >> yes, we're having testing sites around the county. we have three different testing sites. one of them being the york road center. we're asking everybody to come out to get tested. >> reporter: if somebody has never been tested before what is the test involving? is it short? confidential? >> very confidential. takes about 20 minutes. not even painful. you can get your results. >> reporter: 20 minutes?

>> 20 minutes? >> yes. >> reporter: that's quick. angela, you see how hiv cases affect people in the community. is there a certain population where a lot of people don't know they actually have the disease? >> yes. you have the younger population, 20 to 29 and then the older population, that would range from 45 up to 59. >> reporter: that's surprising because when you get older, that age group doesn't typically think i should get tested for hiv? >> correct. but everyone should be tested. it should be part of the annual regular physical. >> reporter: doctor, do we have a cure? >> unfortunately we don't have a cure at this time. i hope and believe everyday we're a step closer to a cure. but i would say to you that we talk about not only cure but care. we do have care, we do have treatment. if you are positive after testing we can treat you and how you can protect yourself

and others. >> reporter: it's no longer a death sentence. back in the 1980s and 1990s everybody thought, oh, you're going to die but it's treatable. >> definitely treatable. it's considered a chronic condition at this time. it's manageable. but you have to know your results. i say to all your viewers get tested. it's a matter of life or death. >> reporter: wonderful. baltimore county offering free sites today as is baltimore city, howard county. find a list of those on our web site at abc2news.com. in the studio, linda so, abc2 news. five things to know on this thursday morning. the house is expected to vote on a resolution calling for the naming a meeting room in memory of congresswoman gabrielle giffords' staffer gabe zimmerman, killed in arizona in the shooting. and police say in boston, occupy boston is out of control. they want them out. organizers will be in court this morning for a a hearing. today the nba 235 faa silt will

be open. facility will be open. the move comes after last week's announcement that the players and owners reached a tentative deal within the five-month lockout. the season to start on christmas day. mcdonald's restaurants in san francisco appear to have beaten the city. they are no longer giving free toys for kids meals. a new law in san francisco bans the restaurant from giving away is to in the happy -- toys in the happy meals, effective today. but you can now pay a diem for the toys that were in the happy meals and that dime goes to the ronald mcdonald house charities. the irs is looking for 100,000 taxpayers so they can deliver them the checks. they have 153 million dollars in refunds they've never been able to deliver. the average refund is $1,500, that would more than cover most christmas wish lists. holiday traditions are taking place tonight. first the lighting of the white house christmas tree and the celebration that kicks off at a:00. the headlining act, the black

eyed peas. 5:00. closer to home, national lighting of the monument in mount vernon, 5:30. former raven matt stover flips the switch at 7:30 and the lights go on. how is the weather going to be for the vean tonight? >> i think nearly perfect by december standards. happy winter day to you again. 37 in baltimore. that is warmer than roanoke and charlotte and atlanta and montgomery, they are all down below freezing. even jackson, mississippi at 27. how about that? the cold air made a deep dive to the south. it modifies a little as it pushes to the east of the high pressure is in control and we'll stay on the cool side today. there will be a return flow, high clouds streaming ahead of the page storm pattern back west. we may get into some of that mixed with sunshine the next few days. this is the dominant feature for us. we're dry into the weekend. storm pattern with snow primarily across the northern plains, central rockies and all that action with rain and snow

across the desert southwest, providing the santa ana winds, there was record high pressure from western canada and this storm pattern really helped to funnel the winds. you'll hear about that more on "good morning america" in a few minutes. by the way, some that energy will pull to the east. at least one or two models are hinting that may actually help to develop a winter-type storm for us next week. most of the action through saturday morning, rain and snow back from northern texas into the central plains but for us we're going to actually watch that pattern for early next week. 52. that is our seasonal high and forecast of 2-degree guarantee today. we'll have mostly sunny skies. 27 the low tonight. we'll get into some of the cold air, low 30s by the bay. dry, low to mid-50s in the afternoons into the weekend. dry, up to 60 sunday but the ravens playing in cleveland, they'll have to deal with rain as this storm system approaches them first. brings rain for us monday and tuesday and hint of that tuesday storm could re-develop off the coast pulling cold air

and end with snow so stay tuned. now traffic. thank you very much. we've got clearance at the harbor tunnel freeway, that's the earlier delay as we got to the tolls has been cleared, all lanes open. also traffic moving well now on maryland 29 and on the jfx at coldspring lane, traffic flowing freely. don't forget this evening -- actually this morning, starting 9:00 a.m., mount vernon place and baltimore city closed down as they prepare for the the lighting ceremony. we have more facebookers. >> come on sarah. it's the first day of winter, you got to. you see it in the long range it's at least worth mentioning. we're not hyping it, just like to project what is a possibility in the long range. >> "good morning america" next. remember, gary giordano, exclusive interview on "good morning america." minutes away.

take a live look at the big apple now. statistically stat -- statue of liberty, beautiful shot.