blowing against their son and daughter. jurors felt date presented a strong emotional case, but lacked documentation that the principal and other leaders were neglectful and failed to take action. >> there's not enough credibility for it to be a bullying case. >> they claim their children were believed at linwood elementary and hazelwood elementary between 2008 and 2010. their special needs sun, they said, was hit and kicked and stuck in the knee with a fork. >> i am going to have to tell them that the system failed him. that we fail him as parents, that we were not able to protect him. >> how did you feel him as a parent if you brought this -- you went as far as you could. you tried. >> because we were not able to correct the problem. >> jurors tell us they realized this was a difficult and monumental case that could cause school district across the

country to change their policies and procedures. they did not think the evidence they heard rose to that level. >> the story did not match up. the fact that the child was choked on school property and called police. no one knows the name of the person involved in the incident at school. no one saw the child taken to the office. the principal was unaware that is to place. >> it puts schools on notice that going to school and making complaints accomplishes very little. >> the school system is -- we do not know to what extent the principles are writing these things down and actually doing investigation. >> i feel betrayed that the school system can do these things and get away with it. it is really sad. >> in a statement, baltimore

city school officials say they aren't -- are committed to protecting students from bullying. >> and now a follow-up to a story we first told to about last night at 11:00 p.m. a brawl at a baltimore city school that was caught on camera. here is the latest. >> it is unclear what led to this brawl, and as you mentioned, a brawl that was caught on tape. it looks more like a professional wrestling battle royale than a high-school basketball game. the melee erupted wednesday night during a basketball game between the hometown connections leadership academy high school located on the city's west side and cardozo high school from

washington d.c.. and as you can see from the video that was posted online, it was a free-for-all. baltimore city school administrators tell us a fight broke out and fans and players from both teams were involved. all of this while officers tried to separate the scuffles. it was the hot topic on campus today. >> it is unfortunate that it did happen. >> it is still under investigation, so i spokesperson from the baltimore city schools says no disciplinary action has been taken at this point. the outcome of the baltimore city schools police investigation will determine their next steps. one person was taken to hospital with possible minor injuries. in the meantime, we tried to contact the district of columbia schools about the incident, but they did not return our phone

calls before this newscast. >> tonight, homicide detectives are investigating a deadly shooting in southwest baltimore. here is the scene in the 2500 block of pratt street. police found the victim just after 10:30 p.m. last night. he had been shot multiple times and later died at shock trauma. and baltimore county police are learning more about what led to a deadly stabbing in woodlawn last night. a 23-year-old was involved in a fighter around 11:30 p.m. with a group of people when officers arrived. he had been stabbed multiple times. he later died. so far, no one has been charged. >> two people are recovering from minor injuries after a fire ripped through a building. the fire crews arrived at the scene at the 3100 block of saint

paul street just before midnight. they rescued several people from inside the building before bringing the fire under control. still no word on what started the fire. >> a terrible day in iraq. bombs killed at least 57 people in baghdad today. in the worst violence the war- torn country has seen in months, the attacks were coordinated. 14 explosions in 11 neighborhoods. most took place in the shi'ite neighborhoods, but soon the areas were also targeted. these bombings come at a sensitive time, just three days after american troops pulled out of the country. meanwhile, a top u.s. general blames miscommunication and a lack of trust for a series of errors that led to a -- an air strike last month that killed dozens of pakistani troops. u.s. troops were fired on first by what they thought at the time work energy -- enemy insurgents. the general said actor purpose be based on the information they

had. since then, they have shut down the air base that was used to drones.n >> house republicans have decided to extend the payroll tax cuts for another two months. all day, pressure has been growing on them to make the deal. jennifer johnson has late breaking details from washington. >> president obama was joined at the white house by some frustrated american workers. among the 2000 an hour p. naille and tweeting political leaders to get the payroll tax cuts extended. the senate has passed a two- month extension, but house republicans are not budging. >> this is an issue over both parties agreed. has this become so dysfunctional that when even when people agree we cannot do it? >> pressure is coming from

senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, urging the house to accept the two-month plan from the senate. the house gop leaders still want to negotiate 12-month plan. >> i saw him christmas shopping with his dog. he can bring his daughter out here. we are at friendly. -- he can bring his dog up here. we are pet friendly. >> this is senate republicans and democrats and the american people saying to the house republicans, what are you doing here? >> if they do not extend a tax cut, a typical american family making $50,000 a year will lose about $40 per paycheck. >> an agreement has to be reached by january 1, over one -- or over 160 million americans will face immediate tax increases. >> and some encouraging news on the economic front. fewer people apply for

unemployment benefits last week, sending the jobless claims never to the lowest level in more than three years. the labor department's weekly report showed the benefits dropped by 4000, the third straight weekly drop. >> not exactly the happiest holiday news out of owings mills this afternoon. one of the ravens deep threats will not be out on the lineup until the playoffs, at the realist. -- at the earliest. >> a day after signing a new place-kicker, they shelved their number-one receiver for the rest of the season. anquan boldin has a torn meniscus. assuming all goes well, he should be ready to go for the playoffs. he is taking no chances with his surgery, using the most popular sports surgeon in the world.

coach harbaugh is now explaining his timetable. >> anquan boldin is getting surgery this afternoon. he has a slight tear in his meniscus. it happened tuesday night after the walk through. he is seeing dr. andrews this afternoon. he will be back in two weeks, before the playoffs, whichever route we have to play in. it will be a bit tighter if we have to play in the first round. >> billick nunda for likely play against cleveland on saturday -- billy conn this will likely play against cleveland on saturday >> a massive form of a recall. >> make sure you grab your pen and paper and your cans of formula. very important information straight ahead. >> plus, a successful answer to

weightloss. we will explain in the medical alert. >> questions about the fans going up around the inner harbor? our story coming up at 5:30 p.m. devaughn >> we will let you know what is -- what to expect going into the

>> breaking news right now. skyteam 11 is live over a house fire in anne arundel county. here is captain roy taylor. >> 1400 block of charts. road, just between -- of sharp's. -- sharp's point road. they are doing an extensive search of the house for any injured or overcome by smoke. >> the death of a 10-year-old missouri boy leaves wal-mart -- a 10-month old missouri boy leaves wal-mart to do a recall. we call it a cautionary move as investigators look into the boy's death. he raised gravely ill after

being given powdered formula. at this point, it is not clear if the formula had anything to do with his death. the recall covers 12.5 ounce cans of enfamil powder. if you have this product in your home, you should return it to wal-mart for a full refund. >> in tonight's medical alert, do you know what your heart rate is? peoples whose heart rate increases over time may be more likely to die of heart disease. those whose heart beats increase from under 70 beats per minute to over 85 beats per minute in over 10 years had a 9% more likely great of dying -- 90% more likely rate of dying from heart disease. you can always reduce that by having a healthy diet and

exercising regularly. researchers followed 61 children starting in early infancy and found that those who were given table food that contains salt, like crackers, breads, breakfast cereal were much more likely to eat salty foods as preschoolers. infants need some sodium in their diets, but if they are given too much it could lead to a lifelong problem. as we let the bell blues and another notch this holiday season, many of us are -- as we lose in the belt another notch this holiday season, many of us are resolving to lose weight this year. johns hopkins is using modern technology to keep dieter's motivated. >> for doug howard, the decision to lose weight came shortly after the scale readfield he weighed 280 pounds. >> -- readfield he weighed 280 pounds. >> i found out i was diabetic.

>> all purges the pins were given information about healthy eating and exercise. -- all participants were given information about healthy eating and exercise. two-thirds were given access to a website where they could track their way. summer offered counseling sessions and others were given phone and group counseling. >> most people know what to do. the key is to sustain behavior. a lot of the counseling is focused on the behavior is necessary to sustain weightloss. >> many lost at least 5% of their body weight and kept off for two years. and phone counseling had the same results as group counseling. >> they have the ability to go to the same facility week after week. but it is much easier to schedule an appointment and do it over the phone and scheduled again for the following week.

>> he was able to track its progress on line. all of this support motivated him to exercise six days a week and sent to an 1,800 calorie diet. >> i am now off all medications and i no longer have to watch my blood sugar. >> he is also down 100 pounds, living proof you can lose weight and keep it off. you just may need some help from your friends. >> researchers say that there are specific weight loss programs -- their specific weight loss program is not available commercially, but they're hoping doctors will start offering similar programs. and finally, teenagers who have open discussions with their parents, even when they do not agree, are more likely to resist peer pressure. teen-agers who learned to argue reasonably about money and other topics rather than winding --

whining, are not as overly dependent on their friends and less likely to be influenced by them. >> now your -- not -- >> now your weather forecast. >> here are some holiday lights to get you in a holiday mood. at least you can drive around the neighborhood and season holiday lights. sunshine today with temperatures in the low 60's. would it not break any records like yesterday, but it was way above average. it is dropping back a little bit, 53. the clouds have been picking up over the last couple of hours as well. cloudy skies for the most of the rest of the evening. once we're past 10:00 p.m. or

11:00 p.m., it is pretty good -- a pretty good chance that some rain will catch up with us. you have a big batch of rain coming at you from the southwest. that shower activity will move in late tonight. some of the heavier stuff is moving across kentucky and tennessee. i doubt if we will see any thunder tonight. close to an inch of rain before it ends early on friday morning. and behind that, temperatures to drop off. the forecast goes like this for the rest of tonight. cloudy skies to start, then rain developing. it could be heavy. temperatures will drop back into the 40's. during the day tomorrow, the storm will move very quickly out of here. we might see some rain early in the morning.

if you are up at about 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning, then you might see some rain. then partly to mostly sunny skies in the afternoon. cooler in the low 50's. still 10 degrees back above average, just not as warm as it has been. the high-temperature will be between 49-54. if you're going out into the northeast, you will follow that storm. there's a chance for rain in new york and boston. temperatures in the 80's across florida. there could be some rain and higher elevation snow in new mexico, parts of texas, and arizona. chile and dry in denver. 68 in l.a. tomorrow.

45 around here on saturday. christmas day, a good football weather. some sprinkles or snow flurries in the forecast snow flurries more likely than anything else. dryout monday and tuesday. the next chance for rain will come late wednesday and into thursday. >> a lot of people are shopping online. >> of course. >> but there are some bad news -- there is some bad news for some online shoppers. some orders from best buy will not be arriving on time. >> and howard county police are searching for this woman to night. >> is graduation day for the students at the maryland food bank.

>> the baltimore city police is making it a little brighter for some today. the distributed 350 holiday baskets to local families in need. they were filled with everything from donated canned goods to children's toys to fresh bread. >> this is the fifth and largest class to date of shatz graduating -- chefs graduating. >> it had all the makings of graduation day, the proud families, the inspiring speeches, and the graduates during with excitement.

the -- cheering with excitement. 13 students just completed the program at the merryl -- maryland food bank. the graduation marks the end of a rigorous 12 weeks of culinary training. they learned everything from basic my skills to work the machines in a commercial kitchen to the actual cooking techniques. they will use all of those skills to start a career in the food industry. >> i am happy to do this. it is worth everything to me. >> the class started out with 28 students, but these 13 are the only ones who have the dedication and drive to make it through to the end. >> i'm very proud of this group. they helped each other out through a lot of hard times. for some of them, they're really hard life struggles. with this group they actually came together, kind of like a family. >> each student is graduating

with a job offer and not just turning a job, but starting on a career path. >> it is my goal to be financially stable, to be able to get my old place. i am looking forward to it. -- my own place. i'm looking for to it. >> right now, i am on social security. i want to get off of it. i do not want to be stocked not knowing my future. this will get me my future. >> and it starts with graduation. >> don't let the dream start here. -- stock year. -- stop here. >> what a great program. that really is life changing. >> baltimore loses -- a baltimore couple loses the baleen battle -- the bullying

battle and a baltimore brawl, coming up. >> a fence around the inner harbor. details, next. >> one hertford county community is helping out. rob roblin shows us. >> and a solution to an age-old problem about toys that only get played with was or twice. how you can save some serious cash without spoiling anyone's holiday. hi. i was on carmax dot com and i think i found the one. great car. and i think, it's right over there... (sighes)... finding your perfect car is easy at carmax because we carry only the highest quality used vehicles. and at carmax dot com, you can choose from nearly 30 thousand cars with most available for transfer to the store nearest you. so come find the one for you today... at carmax. busy day! yes it is!

>> you are lodging wbal tv 11