smith's battle with cancer is over. the life and to rear of a longtime talk-show host, a man who challenged people around him to think. 11 news reporter barry simms has more from those who knew him best. >> we have a fitting tribute tonight, where ron's image is being projected on the building that houses wbal tv and wbal radio. friends, critics, colleagues, and listeners are remembering ron smith. he covered a wide range of topics, giving his opinion and taking people to task. now, the man known as the voice of reason is gone. >> ron smith is being remembered. ron died last night after a battle with inoperable pancreatic cancer. >> listeners calling in,

offering condolences. >> the loss of such a great friend. >> to politicians and others, sharing their sense of spirited debates. >> in talk radio, in terms of being able to communicate, being able to make an audience respond. >> i remember, he spoke out against the war, and that's -- that angered many. >> he loved going cynical, and that reflected his personality. self-taught, opinionated, did his homework. >> ron loved his show and challenged people who disagreed with him. >> the only time he ever became irritated was when a listener called up and would not be interested in dialogue. >> his career in baltimore actually began in 1973 as a reporter and anchor for wbal tv.

dr. howard at the arnold palmer sports center at the hospital met him in the 1980's. the physician and broadcaster became good friends. dr. howard had the difficult time of telling him about the news. >> it is hard for a doctor to tell any patient really, really bad news. it is harder if you have to tell a friend and really, really bad news. >> somehow through the conversation, dr. howard says, ron made him feel better. >> sharing with us at work and all of the listeners the whole story of his illness, brief as it was, which are lot of people found amazing, a lot of people found very courageous, uplifting -- which are lot of people found amazing. -- which a lot of people find

amazing -- found amazing. >> there is a way to try to raise money for the pancreatic research center at johns hopkins. reporting live from the studios in northwest baltimore, barry simms, wbal tv 11 news. >> thanks, barry. he was an all-around great guy. we want to thank the many of you who are leading condolence messages. -- leaving condolence messages. you can share your messages on wbaltv.com. click on "ron smith." the house has voted down the

extension of the payroll tax cut. sally kidd is in our washington bureau with a look at what is next. >> president obama made a surprise appearance at the white house press briefing this afternoon and called on the house republican leadership to take action. unless congress breaks its stalemate, taxes will go up january 1 for some 160 million americans. >> i am calling on the leadership to bring it for a vote. >> president obama needs to call on senate democrats to go back into session and go to conference. >> the problem with the senate bill, republicans say, is that it is only a two-month extension. >> two months of certainty when it comes to payroll, their paychecks of >> an extension with provisions -- their paychecks? >> an extension with provisions. the senate has already left for

the holidays, and harry reid says they are not coming back to negotiate. >> i do not think we have to do what mr. reid says. >> also at stake, medicare payments to physicians. the clock ticking towards january 1, with no sign of compromise in sight. >> the people all over the country, the people in the gallery, they know that they are watching this functionality at its best -- watching dysfunctionalilty -- dysfunctionality at its best. >> sally kidd, wbal tv 11 news. >> trying to assure people they are safe after a deadly shooting outside but towson town center,

and police say the victim was not a random target. >> police did not have a lot to say about this case. they clearly made their comments with the holiday shopping season in mind. the towson town center had a much more normal appearance today. the scene last night of police and a sealed off crime scene still had an impact on shoppers. >> i was supposed to go there tonight, but you know what? i would rather go there tomorrow morning and see my wife and kid and hug them and not take that chance. >> they are saying that 19-year- old rodney pridget was not a random victim. >> this was not a random act of violence. this was absolutely not a robbery. >> pridget was shot dead on a

sidewalk outside the mall. they suggest some of -- some acquaintance of his. >> we know the victim and the suspect were in the mall prior to the shooting. >> any witnesses, videos that there was any kind of altercation? >> i cannot answer that at this time. >> the result of the fatal shooting of a garage in 2005, cameras. they will not describe what the cameras captured or talk about motive. >> this time of year, it is important to tell our citizens they are safe when they come to our shopping centers and malls. we have done a lot to protect them with private security, and i thought it was important to make this statement at this point in time. >> i think i will continue my same patterns. >> the towson town jon general manager issued a statement this afternoon that says, in part --

the towson town manager -- the towson town mall general manager issued a statement this afternoon that says, in part -- that again from the general manager of the mall. the victim, rodney pridget, was in criminal court back in september where he was given probation in the theft of a playstation from a private home. police are now looking over that case to see if it has any connection at all to the shooting. he grew up in foster care and was working to get is live back on track. reporting live, i am j miller, wbal tv 11 news. >> thank you. jurors heard testimony from the father of a boy at the center of a bullying case. we have more on today's proceedings. >> they are done here for the evening. the big bombshell that came out

of court is that the young man admitted to lying because he did not want to have to go back to school and be delayed again. -- and be bu8l -- bullied again. the 10-year-old special needs students, his parents say was bullied, -- special needs student, who his parents say was bullied, he said his father abused him so he did not have to be sent back to elementary school. the student also said while attending two different elementary schools, he was beat up, even choked. his father said he immediately

told school administrators of the abuse on behalf of his son. the school district attorneys asked him if there was a paper trail or evidence of the bullying. he said no and that he did not think he had to document this. principals of both schools say they did not receive the bullying form, and they said they should know how to report these incidents. they do not have a zero tolerance policy for bullying. the defense is expected to hear more from their witnesses tomorrow. reporting live, wbal tv 11 news. >> thank you. there is much more to nine ahead on 11 news at 6:00. >> i am tim tooten. learn that you can finish high school and get the skills you need to land a job. >> i am gerry sandusky at ravens

headquarters. the outlook for a playoff has improved dramatically thanks to the younger brother of john harbaugh. more on that coming up in sporrans. >> much above average temperatures. we will show you that. 45 degrees at the airport. d

>> welcome home. well-wishers welcomed hundreds of troops returning from iraq. they arrived at bwi thurgood marshall airport today, part of the last group of service members to return to the states after their deployment in iraq. the remaining troops are

expected to arrive in baltimore later tonight. you know what most people here when they are applying for a job. "do you have any experience?" tonight, good news for those you want to earn a high school diploma while learning a job skill, a program now being offered by a number of community colleges. tim tooten is live. this is nice to offer this kind of things to students. >> it is especially good in a tough economy. md. integrated basic education and skills training. here is how it works. if you are 18 or older without a high-school diploma, you can get a ged and train in carpentry, electrical, plumbing, design, and citing -- siding, thanks to a foundation and the state department of licensing and regulation. >> either one of these would be

a valuable thing for someone, to either pick up a ged or pick up this kind of training, but the ability to get both of these for free is a great opportunity. >> just 20 slots are available right now for the first of the year. it is also a baltimore city college and anne arundel city college. we will have a website for you on that in just a minute. there is a report to the board of education that will outline school growth of a past eight years. there is still a opportunity gap of african-american students, especially in mathematics. there are a little more than 22,000 students enrolled in baltimore county middle schools. you can find out more about that education program i told you about on our website. pay as a visit at wbaltv.com and

click on "education alert" -- pay us a visit. >> the temperatures and the other way above average again. the average high is 44. we have been watching this front out of pennsylvania. during the day today, it was north of us, and now, it is south. the winds have shifted. the temperatures have dropped a little bit year over the last few hours after being in the low 50's -- temperatures have dropped a little bit here. the temperatures are not really going to move much. we may be in the upper 30's in the northern suburbs. the wind will shift, and the temperatures may actually climb.

some sprinkles and flurries trying to develop. nothing of any consequence. i get you will see any. we will keep that chance for maybe a sprinkle or some light rain showers. any no snow activity will be in the colder air in pennsylvania. -- any snow activity will be in the colder air in pennsylvania. during the day tomorrow, that big storm we have been talking about will visit our neighborhood. it will begin by the time it gets here. -- it will weaken. even though we will see some rain during the day on wednesday, the temperatures will be well above average again, perhaps in the upper 50's tomorrow. 55 to 60 is what we will say for wednesday. off and on rain showers. it will not be a steady rain.

going into christmas weekend, we will take a look at the national travel weather. there is rain possible in new york. rain in atlanta. atlanta is a big connecting hub. it should be dry in chicago. 54 in dallas. there could be some snow in denver, but probably late in the day, the high temperature 37. going into the weekend, once that storm passes, it will be dry and mild. that is the first day of winter for us. dry on christmas eve, and christmas day, there will be another storm following that. we will be right on the fence temperaturewise, so we will just say rain or snow at this time with a high temperature of 39. we will be able to give you more details closer to the weekend.

>> this is 11 sports. >> which you from the broadcast facility, they are -- with you from the broadcast facility. a sigh of relief, because last night, the forty-niners and did them a major favor by beating the steelers, and that gives the ravens a number two seat if they win, knocking out the browns and bengels. a much better position than after their loss to san diego. it was and lights on, lights off type of game, and i do not mean that metaphorically -- it was a lights on, lights off type of game. the first two drives, rogers. roethlisberger. 40 niner field goal -- 49ers'

field goal. the 49ers did not let up. in the fourth quarter, the win sealed. 20-3, san francisco over pittsburgh. right now, new england holds the top-seeded -- the top seed. if new england wins out, and the ravens win out, home field advantage to start the playoffs. the browns on christmas eve. the ravens have beat them seven times in a row. much of the concern starts with a kicker who has missed nine field goals this year. they would have had a lead, but instead, they have been playing

catch-up. let's be clear. he did not cause the ravens -- cost the ravens a win. they want to be 100% sure that they can count on him if a game winning opportunity were to, and the next few weeks -- were to arise in the next few weeks. >> he had a good day the day before. we will have to try to make a decision about that. >> morton not, with our guest, the ravens defense end -- more tonight, with our guest. comcast channel 208. it is on tonight at 10:00 on

wbal. coming

>> coming up tonight at 11:00, we are learning more about the deadly shooting outside towson town center. police do not believe it was a random act. and protestors are wrapping up their protesting. and more on the life and legendary career of talk show legendary career of talk show host ron ril, any luck finding ?

not yet. i want to buy used but how do you know what you're really getting. check out carmax. all their used cars are guaranteed. that's where henderson found the one for him. way to go, henderson. finding the perfect car is easy at carmax because each car is carefully selected, inspected, thoroughly reconditioned and backed with a five-day money back guarantee so come find the one for you today, at carmax. way to go, neil. >> all right, one more look at the 7-day forecast. it will be nice tomorrow. the first day of winter. another chance of rain thursday night, friday morning. >> i am kind of digging this weather. weather.