day four of their landmark bullying case against the baltimore school district. king and the children's father, who accuses the school district of ignoring their complaints, say that they want to win. >> i do not want to pretend that i know what the jury is going to do. i would hope that the jury, after looking at all the evidence, will render a verdict in the sullivan's favor. >> the sullivan family claim that their two children, one with special needs, faced bullying at glenmount elementary and hazelwood elementary between 2008 and 2010. the parents allege that the children were assaulted and tormented, and school administrators did nothing to stop it. >> the school system never denied it. they denied the paperwork. they denied whether or not i should have written a letter. i truly thought it was ok just to tell somebody. >> regardless of how the jury decides, the sullivan family hopes to bring more attention to what they feel is a concern with the school district. >> i am glad that this issue is

getting attention and that our children may be more safe as a result of it. >> on wednesday, the judge did toss out nine counts, leaving four for the jury to decide. they are discussing if two principals were negligent in the alleged bullying. the sullivan's lawyer would not predict if they could win, but is happy to see that their story is playing out. >> well, we hope to have a jury verdict in the sullivan's favor tomorrow. but regardless of how the jury comes down in this matter, there was no dispute from the city school system that this did happen. >> the judge in this case dropped nine counts yesterday, leaving four for the jury to decide on. those deliberations will continue later this morning. lowell melser, wbal-tv 11 news. >> closing arguments set to begin a trial of a u.s. soldier.

the defense rested yesterday in the trial of bradley manning. he was accused of leaking classified data to wikileaks. the scale is considered the biggest national security leak. he may be court-martialed. the governor will hold a hearing on a controversial redistricting map. residents can voice their hearings on the proposed changes. there are 12 majority black districts. the regional map contained only 10. there is a lawsuit against the map saying it will dilute the black vote in the case. shootings continue in the city. there was a case in the shipley help area. officers responded around 10:30 on wednesday and found a man suffering from gunshot wounds to the head. police are making progress in the phylicia barnes murder

investigation but say they cannot reveal details without compromising the probe. the teenager disappeared last year and a body was found in cecil county. investigators have reviewed family and friend and are reviewing more evidence in the case. a father is facing charges of child neglect this morning. police say anthony venson left his child home alone for least four days. the toddler's mother had been in the hospital since friday when sh. she called police and they made the discovery. >> officers arrived on the scene and found a child located in a bedroom that was in disarray. the child was only wearing a sweater and a diaper. the diaper appeared to be heavily soiled, which had been honored for quite some time. she was visibly very hungry,

malnourished, and was dehydrated. >> the mother has since been released from the hospital and reunited with her daughter. two alleged burglars are in police custody this morning. police say they broke into at least 30 cars and trucks in montgomery county stealing everything from cash and other electronic devices. one of the victims returned and found it had been ransacked and his cell phone have been taken. the victim used an app on is iphone to help track down the suspects. both suspects admit they are part of the occupy baltimore movement. nearly 1,000 acres of land have been donated to maryland's program open space. this is said to be the first donated public access land in

the history of the program. people will be able to use the land for horseback riding and kayaking. it will help protect waters of the nearby choptank river. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. kim dacey checking on your morning commute. we're looking pretty good so far. on the inner loop of the beltway, we have a crash at baltimore national pike on the west side. the rest of the major roadways are looking pretty good. 61 on 795 heading south towards the beltway. 60 on the outer loop of the beltway. 56 on the harrisburg expressway near padonia road. no problems there. this is the topside of the beltway. moving just fine on the topside. 95, and southbound traffic looks

like you'll not see any problems. northbound is looking good, too. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> welcome to the first day of winter. mild air pushing back into the mid atlantic. mostly cloudy west of baltimore. there could be some areas of fog, especially if you head toward the mountains. the ground is saturated. partly sunny skies. the cold front moving offshore. mild air will push back and from the south. temperatures will be above normal. a new storm system coming in from the south will push back the heavy rain. a high near 60 degrees today. 15 degrees above normal. the rain pushes in. some showers for the evening.

a better chance for rain overnight. some places could see upwards of 6 inches of accumulation. we were at 62 yesterday. that is 15 to 20 degrees above normal. we will be dropping off as we head into next week. winter will finally arrive this weekend with temperatures in the mid 40's. rain tonight. 53 on friday. christmas day, we have been talking about that storm. latest models keep itself. mostly dry weather for now on christmas. >> 52 degrees on tv hill. a famous first kiss made even more famous in front of hundreds of loved ones. we are still taking your answers to our water cooler question of the day. are you optimistic about the economy for 2012? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook

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>> today marks the anniversary that president obama sign the repeal of the don't ask don't tell policy. people got to celebrate. one woman delivered the

traditional for scarce. she said it felt great to make a positive statement. -- one woman deliver the traditional first kiss. >> it has been a long time coming. it has been nothing but positive. >> it was the first time two women sailors shared a first kiss. 6:41. 52 degrees on tv hill. still ahead, a look of some of the responses to our water cooler question of the day. >> we have a crash in dundalk. >> it is 8 dry start today -- it is a dry start to the day. a few clouds in the sky. 58 at the inner harbor.

[marching band playing]

>> welcome back to 11 news today. 3 people have to be rescued by firefighters after fire swept through a building in charles village. crews were called to the scene on st. paul street just before midnight last night. three people were treated at the scene and released. eight new board is in the protection of human services after she was discovered -- a newborn is in the protection of human services after she was discovered inside a box in philadelphia. she was only feet away from make day care. she was found to be in good condition.

let's look in your answers to our water cooler question of the day. this morning we asked -- are you optimistic about the economy for 2012? >> we will post more of your answers on the front page of wbaltv.com. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning. kim dacey checking on your morning commute. we have a crash on the inner loop west part of the beltway at baltimore national pike. we have a crash in dundalk at north point road. overall, we're looking nice on the major roadways. 11 minutes on the inner loop. five minutes and 95 south

between 100 and 32 in howard county. no delays just yet. the topside of the beltway is looking good. both loops are moving just fine. nothing unusual for this time of the morning. 95 in white marsh, you can see southbound traffic is moving just fine. you should not see any delays all the way down 95 on either side. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> good morning. we have a few clouds in the sky. 48 degrees at the airport. a mild start today. four degrees above our average high. kind of odd to see that site on the first day of winter. this will be shortest day of the year, nine hours and 24 minutes

of sunlight. we will gain a couple of seconds of some light tomorrow and will keep seeing more sun. winter the start to drop down -- the temperatures will start to drop down. we're clearing down to the south. the front is moving offshore. mild air will bounce back into the mid atlantic. pretty heavy rain from east texas into northern parts of the gulf and we expect this to head our way. if you're doing some traveling, you may see delays in areas like atlanta. a powerful storm system moving into denver. a high of 19 and snow could be an issue. snow also in chicago. we should not see to many problems at bwi airport this morning. we will have a few clouds.

a high temperature of 60 degrees. the mountains, " 50's with increasing clouds. a better chance for rain in the mountains this afternoon. showers likely heading into tonight. some areas could see up to two inches of rain. upper 30's as we head into tomorrow morning. 53 tomorrow and drying out into the afternoon. then we will get a taste of what december should feel like. the ravens game, dry conditions and sunshine. a storm brewing down in our south. for travelers on sunday, expect a pretty good conditions. >> jury deliberations will continue in may when mark bullying case against two city's schools.

parents say their son were constantly harassed. but administrators never stepped in. lowell melser joins us live with the details. good morning. >> the attorney for the sullivan family says despite the outcome of this case, she is hoping that parents with kids in the baltimore city school system will better know how to deal with bullying. the jury will continue deliberating later this morning. the sullivan family claimed two of their children faced bullying at glenmount elementary and hazelwood elementary between 2008 and 2010 and that the school system did nothing to stop it. one argument was that the sullivans did not properly document the bullying incidents. the sullivans' attorney says what is most important is that the issue of bullying is out there for discussion. yesterday the judge tossed out nine different counts, leaving

four for the jury to decide. those jury deliberations will continue later this morning. lowell melser, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. here is ann curry with a look at what is coming up next on the "today" show. >> good morning. coming up, we are following breaking news in iraq. at least 60 people have been killed in a wave of deadly bombings. the fbi has intensified its search for a girl who vanished from her bed six days ago. what a mother has to say. where to find the most stylish looks at affordable prices. we will go to the north pole to check on santa claus' preparations for his yearly ride when we get started on it thursday morning. >> 52 degrees on tv hill.

we will come back and check the weather and traffic together before you head out to start your day. stay with us.

>> what is happening on the roads? >> i expected it to be light but the whole week has been really light, a full week before christmas. it is very light. report of a crashed near baltimore national pike. with a crash in dundalk at kimberley road and northpoint road. those are the only incidents we're seeing. this is the topside of the

beltway at york road. it is picking up just a little bit but nothing compared to what we normally see this time of the morning. both loops are running pretty well. this is white marsh. southbound is going away from us and it is moving in just fine in both directions. the 83's are in good shape because you do not have the script your windshield. -- you do not have to scrape your windshield. >> we have rain approaching the area tonight. this is not what winter will be like. reducing the temperatures dropping down into the weekend. rain and tapering off tomorrow. that storm, the potential for snow, as of now it stays mostly to the south. >> not looking good for snow. >> anything is possible but not

looking good for snow. >> people are divided on that. >> most people said they wanted to know if they were going to travel. >> if you are staying on, it does not matter. >> looking for more weather and traffic together? be sure to join us this morning for 11 news at 7:00 a.m. on wbal plus. you'll find more local news as well as up-to-date traffic and weather information. you can find it all on comcast channel 208, verizon fios 460, and 11-2. thank you for joining us. >> have a great day.

>> this is a wbal-tv 11 editorial, from president and general manager dan joerres. >> he called himself "the voice of reason." all of us at wbal-tv, wbal-am, and wiyy-fm called ron smith a friend. ron spent most of his life with the wbal family, first as a tv news anchor on our old "action news" team between 1973 and 1980. after a brief break from broadcasting working as a stockbroker, ron returned to wbal radio in 1985, where he began a whole new journey as a talk-show host. billed as a conservative, he had no problem picking on both political parties. never a screamer, ron succeeded by staying on top of local and national politics and politicians. he stood firm on his principles even if listeners didn't agree. as a former marine, many assumed ron would support the war in iraq, but he did not, bringing logic and reason to his oppositions actually for both wars in iraq.

this year, ron criticized the u.s. action in libya. diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in mid-october, ron continued working for a while, then discontinued treatment and retired. he was a man who loved what he did and knew how lucky he was to have the chance to spend so much of his life pursuing it. the voice of reason may have been silenced, but the lessons been silenced, but the lessons he taught from behind the