2012. >> reporter: fireworks have been a part of new year's eve in annapolis for more than a quarter century. that tradition may have been enter erupted if some businesses didn't step up. >> it's been a family affair for husbands and wives and children. >> reporter: harvey blonder owns several business necessary annapolis and other annapolis business owners have stepped in to help cover the cost of the more than $13,000 price tag for annapolis two fireworks show on new year's eve. >> a lot of people have planned their evening around new year's eve and the fireworks that go on in downtown annapolis, and they have made these plans for early s months in advance. it's something that's good for the businesses, good for the economy and showing that we're on the up side. >> reporter: the city is grateful for the help from the business community. >> of course the mayor is cognizant of the fact that these are stressful economic times. so we are really pleased to have the businesses come to the front line to assist us in

making this happen. >> reporter: this new year's eve celebration appeals to everyone. the children's event starts at 3:00 with clowns magicians and pace painting ending with fireworks at 5:30. radio city playing music under a heated ten at the docks for dancing and entertainment. all the bars and restaurants will have events scheduled all leading towards another fireworks show at midnight. many are glad the fireworks will still go on. >> we're going to have dinner here in town and then bounce around and see the fireworks. >> reporter: so annapolis has all age groups covered early fireworks for youngsters at 7:30. for the adults who can stay up later and wants to enjoy everything annapolis has to offer the late fireworks go at midnight. also there's free parking downtown. in annapolis i'm don harrison for abc2 news. >> that guy used to spin records in the hearts of annapolis on new year's eve. although parking will be free

it will be limited. make sure you leave early. today is good riddance day. so say bye-bye to whatever it is that made you blue this year whether it's a bad memory of a parking ticket. it's time to say good riddance. it's all happening today in times square if you can't make it don't worry you can submit your worst memory of the year online. the day is inspired by a look tin american tradition in which new year's revelers put items from previous year can into a giant doll and they set them on fire. the burning of the dolls jamie all right. whatever you say. gusty winds out there. 30 to 35 earlier today. these are our peak wind gusts. things have died down a little bit. steady ones now at our weather bug sites across the state. right around 15, 16 in he's he ton still seeing gusts up over

20. feeling like the mid 20s hagerstown and mount airy thanks to that windchill. clear skies over the state. we'll see temperatures continue to drop through the 30s. windchill will feel more like 20s. we look to big changes for the new year's weekend. all right wyatt. one year after her disappearance authorities are still baffled by her death. phylicia barns disappeared exactly one year ago tonight. her body was found in april. tonight family friends and supporters will host a rally coming up at 7:00 to keep the teen's murder in the spotlight and lead to arrest in this case. the rally is going to be held at browns memorial baptist church on west baltimore avenue we'll have the latest at 11:00. fire officials say there are many lessons we can learn from the connecticut fire that killed 5 people. the house was being renovated and the family was not supposed to be staying there yet. there were no hard wired smoke alarms. fire officials say in older

homes the fire could engulf this room in 18 minutes. with new material the home could go as much as 3 minutes at a time. one family's trash is another thief's gold boxes from your christmas gifts that you toss out on the street may be the inviting a they have you're broadcasting what your big haul was for this christmas. police say to prevent this take the labels off and fold the ones with the big ticket items fold them up and tuck them in between other ones so nobody can see them. kim leonard called it her dad's favorite. they have the best rice pudding outside geek town. but this place is known for its sausage and hot dogs when they closed the place in baltimore you open the door of memories. the closing of poll okay johnnys another lexington market. >> reporter: sausage that is and diane wilkins who has worked at the market for more

than 15 years is moving. >> it's sad, you know. we're closing the doors. we don't have enough revenue coming through. it's not like it used to be. >> i just heard about it today and i was very sad because it's an institution. people come from far and away just to have their wonderful polish sausages. >> i would love to stay been there a longtime have a lot of relationships there built a lot of relationships there. and yeah, it's a sad day and customers are very sad. >> reporter: you'll still be able to enjoy the all meat sausage with the spicy tomato secret sauce at the washington boulevard and security square location where we were today. >> we're still frying up the finest sausages just a different location. >> i eat here at least once a week the food is so good. i hope everybody will come to

security square paul so they can get their polish sausage fix. >> reporter: at security square paul fred slade for abc2 news. >> just stopped in there a couple weeks after before a ravens game. crocodile turned help to maniac caught on tape. the crock gets a new toy and meal while he hangs out at the pool. mother nature sure put on a show in 2011. a look back at the performances that made headlines not on the mall though. there wasn't bad weather on this mall.

. check out this new video we got in from mu m. diners got quite a surprise when a sheriff's deputy crash his car into the patio. talk a close call a group had just been standing outside waiting for a table a couple moments before this happened. police say the deputy was on his way to a call when he was hit by another vehicle causing the cruiser to spin out hit a snow bank flip over, luckily nobody was seriously hurt here. look at this on 99 in california yesterday a big rig hit a car and slammed into the

overpass bursting into flames. when emergency crews arrived they quickly discovered the truck was stuck under the bridge. traffic backed up for miles while firefighters tried to put out the flames and crews tried to clear the wreck. the driver was treated on the scene for minor injuries. we're not sure if this crock was going to be a toy or a snack. the crock named elvis lunged out of his pool at the australian zoo and dragged the lawn mower under the water he then tried to eat the machine lost two teet in the process. zookeepers they eventually got the lawnmower back when the crock was done trying to snack on it. wow. do you own an will cd panel? if you do we have money coming your way. coming up the price fixing accusations and the half million dollar settlement from some top electronic makers, and just out of iowa, this is a caucus now. the republican daughter are making their final please we've got big news to tell you about

tonight.

[ snoring ] [ thunder crashes ] [ snoring ] [ thunder crashes ] [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold... medicine. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] vicks dayquil. defeats 5 cold & flu symptoms. ♪

. in your money tonight you know web sites offering cash or swap for unwanted gift cards have become popular but not all the sites are leaving you satisfied and some could leave you empty happened had how to avoid gift card exchange scams. >> reporter: 8 in 10 americans plan to give gift cards during the holiday season and the weeks after christmas can make the difference between gift cards getting cashed in or collecting dust in a wallet. web sites where consumers can sell and trade unwanted gift cards will purchase them at a discounted rate have become more popular. that's probably why scammers want a piece of the action. they can send expired gift

cards stolen gift cards fake gift cards with zero store value. stick with those with established reputation. seek online reviews of the web site where you plan to do your gift card commerce. be mindful there may be fees attached for your transactions know whether the web site acts as a facilitator between consumers or offers more protection. just because you don't plan to use a gift card in the next week or next month doesn't mean you have to unload it. federal law says gift cards are good for at least five years in they have an expiration date at all. google's answer to facebook is called google plus. it has reached 60 million users. that's according to google's plus unofficial statistician. the social networking site really got off to a roaring start hit a 10 million mark in the next couple of weeks but the numbers dwindled. took two months for the site to reach 40 million. 'tis the season to shop

for a date online as the count to new year's eve ticks on ward they are turning to online dating sites. they are expecting a 10 to 20% jump in new subscribers. the increase is expect touchdown to last through valentine's day. experts say those who really want to find that special someone should update your profile change your photos post updates on a regular basis and that brings profiles up in searches more often giving users a better chance of catching someone's eye. little extra on that catching someone's eye there jamie. >> like that. >> good delivery. 38 degrees now out at the airport. it has been one cold and blustery afternoon. those winds fierce at times today but at least we will the sunshine to take a little bit of the edge off. you could see through the day mount airy we take a look out in carroll county finding some morning clouds and some

sunshine. man, those winds were just whipping out there and pushing the clouds by racing by. a chilly day in annapolis. no question of that. see that chop along the severn river as the wind just whips the water. five sweeps showing a crystal clear scenario. that's going to continue right into our new year weekend. take a look at these temperatures dropping quickly from west to east in the state 23 out toward deep creek late 38 baltimore 42 at the beach tucks on river in the low 40s. >> temperatures dropping as the winds continue to funnel in out of the north and west gusting still close to 30 at the top of the hour in easton and in dover at the afternoon. now the windchill factor with those winds feeling more like low to mid 20s from baltimore northward more like mid 30s down toward d. c. and annapolis. humidity right now moderate to low really dry scenario. you definitely might need lip balm here tonight if you're

headed out. woodlawn about 48 or so. decent amount of sunshine on tap mixed with clouds lake effect snow showers hitting places like our favorite town pittsburgh back up through erie he and western new york but on the whole things are dry and clear across the east. but windy blustery conditions and here's why. our storm system the big rainmaker from yesterday that's offshore sitting off new england coast and high pressure spotting out of the southwest two different areas of pressure trying to come together we're getting that strong northwest combined know that really bringing in those powerful northwesterly winds through the day. they will continue to diminish through the night and as we go into the overnight hours expecting just breezy conditions down to 25 those temps get frigid out there. overnight tonight. your thursday forecast 45, just a few clouds. it's certainly looking at a fair weather today. spots out to baltimore will go into the upper 40s tomorrow. tomorrow night dropping down to 32 clouds on the increase.

it will not be as frigid out this overnight tomorrow night. so definitely a little bit of improvement there. we look ahead to your new year's eve weekend. all important scenario as everybody heads out on the town. we're talking about an improvement here. temperatures in the low 50s. in fact, it's possible on new year's day we could hit 55 or so and that would be quite the way to bring in the first day of january and the first day of 2012. so how's that jamie. don't get too used to it. next week we're going to see some of our coldest weather yet this season. >> very good that's nice. >> let's tee it up. let's take a look at democracy 2012. look at the polls out there today. one week away from the iowa caucuses and there are some new poll numbers out. it might give one candidate some renewed hope. torre dunham joins us from d. c. with the latest on the race for the republican nomination.

>> reporter: jamie talk about i shake up in the republican field there's a new cnn time poll out numbers are quite stunning we're talking about two major headlines. rick santorum and newt gingrich. let's start with rick santorum. he's in third place in this latest poll out of iowa. rick santorum has posted about the fact he's visited all 99 counties in iowa on the day after christmas he was the only candidate who was out campaigning. and take a listen to what he had to say about his latest rise in the polls. >> look at the polls three months ago everyone said i was dead in iowa. polls change. convictions don't. >> reporter: polls definitely change and that gets us to our next point. newt gingrich he's really gone down in this poll. if you talked to newt gingrich or you've heard him speak over the last few weeks he said these negative ads airing out in iowa are affecting his campaign. he might be right about that. let's go in a little bit closer on this poll see where the

candidates were earlier this month versus where they are now. those numbers are really quite surprising. take a look at rick santorum. he's gone from 5% to 16% in newt gingrich on the other hand has gone from 33% to 14%. so jamie so much has changed just in a matter of weeks. these polls only last for a little bit. >> what does mitt romney have to say about all this. >> reporter: you're talking about all these other headlines that almost gets buried he's the frontrunner. but here's mitt romney today in iowa. >> i can't tell you what's going to happen. i can't join the expectations game but i can tell you i feel pretty good about the support i'm receiving here in iowa and new hampshire for that matter. and it looks like we're going to be off to a good start. >> speaking of new hampshire let's show you the latest poll out of this as well. we've got mitt romney maintaining his lead in new hampshire another significant number to point out is the fact that newt gingrich has also dropped off this in that state

as well. >> the numbers keep rolling in. thank you torre. torre dunham in washington d. c. coming up all new for you tonight at 6:00, should kids and teens caught skateboarding where they are not supposed to be get charged as criminals? that's what people in frederick are trying to decide. what they told us today. and it seemed like some of the big banks learned a lesson after rolling back new fees months back but now they are at it again. tips for avoiding the latest bank fees those stories and more coming up at 6:00. here's a preview of world news tonight at 6:30. coming up on world news drugs 10 times more powerful than anything you can take right how for pain but will it set off a whole new wave of abuse addiction? the whole picture tonight on world news. i'm just a piece of dirt stuck here in a rut.

ever since that ol' broom dumped me here... oh, oh. oooh! will love ever come my way? oh my! ♪ i believe in miracles [ male announcer ] swiffer attracts dirt. swiffer sweeper's new, thicker cloths get deep into ridges picking up more dirt, dust and hair than a broom to help leave your floor up to three times cleaner.

you sure are a pick-me-up! [ male announcer ] swiffer cleans better or your money back.

. have you noticed gas prices are up. you're not alone. what's triggering the rise? oil prices are back up of course. the price of a barrel of crude oil is just above a hundred dollars a barrel right now. they shot up more than 2% yesterday after iran threatened to cut off oil supplies flowing through the strait of hormuz. final numbers won't be out for a couple more weeks but it seems we had a pretty good christmas for the stores. the national retail federation has upped the original prediction from 2.8% to 3.8%. online retailers had big sales reaching 32 billion. that's 15% more than they did last year. for the first time a significant shoppers used their smartphones or tablets to make purchases. and holiday shoppers weren't just interested in buying an

xbox or a wii this year. guns flew off the shelves. according to the fbi almost half a million criminal background checks for gun ownership done in the last 6 days before christmas. the one day record for background checks was set on black friday. half billion dollars settlement for electronics makers. several companies are accused of conspiring to fix prices. hi tavern he sharp samsung are part of this 535 billion-dollar settlement. most of that is going to be refunded to people in 24 states and d. c. who bought electronics between 1999 and 2006. that's a lot of people. details of about who's eligible and how to feel not out yet but once it is you'll know about it. all right baltimore police have just released surveillance video of a man they need to talk to in connection with a triple shooting. look at the video on abc 2 news at 6:00 which starts right now.

the family of phylicia barns commemorates her disappearance. i'm brian kuebler that story coming up next. we got a message from the city of frederick they are making changes to their skateboarding policy. we used to get a toaster from our bank we're getting 2.50 charges here and 3-dollar charges there. a child who was flown to a local hospital after a crash on 83 this afternoon has died. police say two children they were 5 and 7 years old they were riding in a car with their parents when they were rear ended by a man driving a jeep in baltimore county. they were both flown to shock where a short time later one of the children passed away. police say 3 cars were involved in this crash.

northbound 83 was shut down, but several lanes are now back open. the crash remains under investigation at this hour. one year, 365 days. this time last year the name of phylicia barns made it on to the news for the wrong reason. she was missing. tonight one year 365 days later abc2 news brian kuebler tells us we still don't know who's responsible for her death. brian. >> reporter: on this anniversary of the disappearance of phylicia barns her family is holding a vigil in northwest baltimore. you'll remember the north carolina teen disappeared exactly a year ago while visiting relatives for holiday. that set off an all out search which ended in april when her body was found in the susquehanna river. her death was ruled a homicide. maryland state police have yet to milk an arrest in this case. detectives say they are making progress, but the barns family still has no answers as to who killed their daughter. so tonight the fa