saying guests who choose to breastfeed in public areas of the store are allowed to do so without being made to feel uncomfortable. >> it takes a lot of mother-to-mother support. even though we don't know the mother from texas it's just a matter of everyone kind of pulling together and saying it's ok, don't feel bad about it and everybody has to feed their baby. >> we're here to offer our services to educate employees and other people and let them know you can't treat people that way. >> meanwhile, start also says it will inform all employees about the company's breast feeding policy. corrine redmond, abc2 news. check out the new video out of new mexico. diners got a surprise when a sheriff's deputy crashed his car into the patio. the group standing outside waiting for a table just moments earlier. police say the deputy was on his way to a call when he was hit by another vehicle causing that cruiser to spin out, hit a snow bank and flip over. no one was seriously hurt.

witnesses say a driver plowed into one another after a colorado subdivision. when done the neighborhood looked like a war zone. carlos ayala, 40, witnesses say plowed into at least five cars. driving on several flat tires and bare rim. he was charged with criminal mischief and resisting arrest. no word yet on why he chose to hit all those cars. alligators -- got a bottle hanging from his mouth. he's on a florida interstate. the 7-footer spotted along a concrete median on i-95. officials say someone had tried to poach him using a hook on the bottle. the sheriff's deputy with the cruiser and lights were flashing, followed behind the gator where his journey down the interstate until a professional could step in and have the gator put down. talk about a bad way to start a marriage. a vermont man proposes to his man with a stolen ring.

25-year-old briern jarvis was in court wednesday. police say he stole the ring from a zale's store in burlington. the girlfriend announced the engagement on facebook and posted a photo of the $3,000 ring on-line. that is when police saw and came knocking. >> he was in there for approximately an hour. and there was some inkling from the employees it was kind of a legitimate interest that he had in getting this diamond ring. so there was some thought frankly it would pop up on facebook. >> the girlfriend was wearing the stolen ring when authorities arrived and questioned the couple. investigators don't think she knew the ring was stolen or anything about jarvis's plan. no word yet on whether or not that engagement is still going on. a family in california learned a very costly lesson. how a free game on their i-phone ended up costing $500. emma watson and justin bieber are two names you usually don't

put together. why the young celebrities are making news this morning for what they have in common. you're watching "good morning maryland." we'll be right back. ♪ [ male announcer ] little owen wanted to play,

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here's a lesson to all parents. be careful when you let your parents play with your i-phone. one family learned the hard way. an app originally > the next day i cost my mom

$500. >> to purchase one set of coins. he's happy. it's great. the next day we start getting the bills. >> zachary wracked up nearly $500 in debit charges in a single day. his parents say without additional authorization. after a brief struggle with the apple app store the family got their money back. zachary is no longer allowed to play my town 2. google's answer to facebook, googlereached 60 million users, according to their unofficial statistician. it got off to a roaring mark hitting the 10 million mark in two weeks but numbers began dwindling. it took three months for the site to reach 40 million users. google hasn't released its own count recently. cash to swap for unwanted gift cards, that's increasingly popular. some shoppers going out empty-handed. how to avoid gift card exchange scams. >> reporter: eight 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 duds in a wallet. web sites where consumers can sell and trade unwanted gift cards will purchase them at a discounted rate are more popular, that is probably why scammers want a piece of the action. it can include sending buyers expired gift cards, stolen ones or fake ones with zero store value. still to those with an established reputation. or seek out on-line reviews of the web site where you plan to do your gift card commerce. be mindful there may be fees attached for transactions and know whether the web site is simply a facilitator between consumers or offers more protections. just because you don't plan to use the gift card in the next week or month doesn't mean you have to unload it. federal law says gift cards are good for at least five years if they have an expiration date at all. for consumer watch, i'm karen

kafa. >> for more go to abc2news.com, click on the money and then "scam alert." you can find the top scams in our area for 2011 as well as tips to shop on-line safely. again, that is abc2news.com. the boy wizard beats out your vampires. harry potter worked the biggest magic in 2011. the final film of the franchise was the top grossing movie of the year with the chopping $381 million. what do emma wattson and justin bieber have in common? the most influential hair cuts of 2011 according to "the wall street journal." watson's 60 and bieber's switch were "the new the most sought after hairstyles of the year. a national championship and a few nfl games. now tim tebow can add something else to his resume, and it has nothing to do with football. janet jackson wows audiences on stage but now one group says

they are not fans. why she's on an organization's naughty list. a half-price to "the new york times" sounds good, or it did. more on a coupon mix-up coming up in a bit. 6:40. clear skies, some clouds trying to work their way in. could make for a pretty sunrise in spots and could make for a pretty day back toward deep creek lake. they are going to get light snow but that system just bringing clouds for our way for today. we'll talk about the little warm-up for the end of the year. >> on the roads now still a very nice ride for the most part. we checked in with city police and state police, all lanes open on 95 making your way through baltimore. a live look at 95 and maryland 175, we'll have a complete check of the roadways coming up next.

news time 6:43. good morning, maryland, i'm charley crowson. let's head to meteorologist justin berk with a check of the forecast. >> 6:43. temperatures in the 20s for many of us. 22 reisterstown, 23 manchester. notice it warms up a little

bit, upper 20s mount airy and laurel. davidsonville 29 and a range of the upper 20s to near 30 by the bay. we've had clear skies and clouds trying to creep in this morning. the high thin clouds that will gradually lower and thicken, they are connected to the weather system producing snow in ohio. this disturbance passes north which leaves us on the warming side but we get the clouds ahead of it. as we dim out the sunshine and go overcast this afternoon. at least temperatures warm up a little, 46, much less wind than yesterday. let's check the holiday weekend forecast in a moment. 644, here's angela. >> on the roads, had a reported accident on 95 at mccullough street but according to police all lanes are open to the fort mchenry tunnel on 95. also, 895 looking good northbound and southbound as you head towards the harbor tunnel. if you're traveling on 95 or 29 heading through the columbia region you should have a good ride, 29 looking good now at 108. the pike is good eastbound or

westbound between 100 and u.s. 29. here's a live look at 50, we're good to go on u.s. 50 all lanes open making the drive between i-97 and the chesapeake bay bridge. we're learning more about a deadly crash along a busy maryland highway that killed one person. it happened on the rockville pike and alta vista road in bethesda, montgomery county. linda so standing by with all new information. >> reporter: we spoke with fire and rescue, they tell us the road reopened and they are still working to find out what caused that deadly crash. one person was airlifted to shock trauma. in all 11 people were hurt when the toyota pickup truck crossed the median on to oncoming traffic and crashed into a metro bus. it happened after 4:00 yesterday and shut down that stretch of rockville pike for hours. the map driving the pickup truck was killed. his identity hasn't been released. the driver of the metro bus had to be extricated, she's a 13-year veteran,tainen to a local hospital with serious injuries.

neighbors say that stretch of rockville pike is dangerous and they lobbied the state for years to do something about it. >> it would not be the first time that somebody lost their life here. nine years ago somebody here lost their life in a similar accident. >> reporter: a neighbor who witnessed the crash says the driver of the metro bus was pinned and that's why it took so long to get her out. charges could be filed for a driver going too fast on 83 who caused crash that killed a 5-year-old boy. it happened before 3:00 wednesday afternoon at a ramp that connects 83 north to 695. police say an suv was being driven by devon mckeever, didn't slow down fast enough and ran in the back of an acura carrying the owen family. police tell us all the family members were wearing seal seat belts. and speed was a factor. the gulf oil spill from last april, according to the "the wall street journal," prosecutors are considering to

charge several bp employees for providing false information to regulators about the risks. drilling risks. felony charges could be aannounced last year. it's considered the worst oil spill in u.s. history. no comment from bp or the department of justice this morning. officials of the september 11th memorial in new york city say they plan to announce thursday, today, the site has one million visitors since opening to the public earlier this year. the memorial plaza has two huge fountains drawing a thousand visitors a day to ground zero even as construction continues for the rebuilt world trade center. you're required to get free passes in advance. it's officially open september 12th, a day after the dedication. a artist starving himself has hit the three-week mark for a hunger strike. adrian parson says he lost 25 pounds since it began. the 29-year-old consumed only electrolyte enhanced water and vitamins. he's staying in the church in

the square where he and three other young people begun fasts. the other three dropped out. he's still going on. someone called police to tip them off about the 12 foot by 12 foot structure going up in the occupy camp. when police arrived none of the demonstrators would claim it. officers declared it and abandoned it and took apart. some argued but no arrests. in montgomery county be prepared to ask if you want paper or plastic. there's a 5-cent bag tax now modeled after the one in dc. it takes effect sunday, january 1st, expected to generate $1 million next year. some to be used for water and litter clean-up. iowa voters are still trying to figure out who they want to lead the gop going into tuesday's iowa caucuses.

ron paul is rising among the top republicans. so is rick santorum. corrine redmond is live with a breakdown as it dangers day by day. >> reporter: it's a campaign of ups and downs for the candidates. it seems for now mitt romney is the person to beat. according to a new cnn/"time" magazine poll romney tops the field in the hawkeye state. newt gingrich, who was on top three weeks ago is now in fourth place. gingrich and romney are dealing with another threat from the right. first it was santorum. now seems to be texas congressman ron paul. >> i'm running for president. if you get a chance to caucus remember mitt romney. >> something has to change. something will change. >> reporter: michele bachmann

says ron paul will be a dangerous president and john huntsman calls him unelectable. a new poll finds americans are hopeful that 2012 will be a positive year for families and the country. 62% of people polled are optimistic about what the new year will bring for the country. 78% are more hopeful about the year their family will have in 2012. as the nation's economic fortunes improve the public's expectation force the economy in the coming year are at their highest point since spring. 33% think their household financial situation will improve in the next ;7e$ñ12 months, 11% think going to worsen. maryland state police want to remind everyone to have a designated driver or plan to stay over if you plan on drinking on new year's eve. according to state police there were four alcohol-related deaths in memorial day last year during new year's eve. this year they will patrol highways and several several checkpoints set up throughout the state. it's the season to shop for a date on-line. as the countdown to the new

year's eve ticks onward more and more people are turning to popular on-line dating sites to find love. they are expecting a 10% to 20% jump in new subscribers as the big night approaches. the increase expected to last through valentine's day. this morning we're going to head to annapolis where they are carrying on their new year's eve festivities. they will have live music, kids' activities and two fireworks displays. first at 7:30 for the kids. and another for the adults much later, around midnight. newstime 6:51. before the clock hits midnight saturday take time to reminisce about went to 11 and the big -- 2011 and the big news stories that shaped it. you can find it at abc2news.com. we have everything from the most powerful pictures of the year to the local stories you've been talking about all year long. again, that web site, abc2news.com. in frederick, they are

discussing new ways to pay $17.8 million to the families that lost four members when a marine fighter jet crashed into their san diego home in 2008. one oklahoma baby is the third child sickened this month by a bacterial infection but wasn't taking enfamil. you recall it was pulled from the shelves following the death of a missouri infant. however, testing showed no bacteria in that product. a memorial fund says 2011 saw 10% increase in officers killed over last year. gunfire was the most responsible for the killings. "the new york times" is in a bit of a pickle today. the newspaper accidentally sent out an e-mail to more than 8.5 million people offering a 50% discount for four months.

it was intended for a few hundred customers. the paper quickly rescinded the offer. and peta recently named janet jackson enemy of the year for her fur fashions. and two of the most powerful people on the planet, once again the most popular. president obama and secretary of state hillary clinton once again top the list of the world's most admired people. mrs. clinton's 16th time on the usa today gallup poll list is the president's fourth. oprah winfrey, michelle obama, sarah palin and condoleezza rice round out the top five most admired women. list for the guys includes president george w. bush, president bill clinton, reverend billy graham and warren buffett, they round out the top five. on the football, according to a survey you want tim tebow

to be your next door neighbor. the denver broncos quarterback who doesn't shy away from talking about his faith is the most desirable celebrity for a neighbor in 2012. the same company says jolie and pitt were runners up. aniston was number three but tebow tops the list as the most desired celebrity neighbor. justin berk, what about you? >> something tells me if i'm living in tim tebow's neighborhood i'm doing pretty well for my own house. i think he has a good house there. wouldn't be bad if i were next door. we have nearby 25. that is bwi marshall. nobody lives there but that's where we record the weather. we have a look at teens and low teens in portions of new york. binghamton, that airport up there at 1,500 feet in elevation, 11 degrees. 13 below at 6,000 feet in mount washington. there's a source of some really cold air, well below zero.

we're talking 20, 30 below zero across parts of northeastern canada. it's waiting there, not going to move in yet while we start with clear skies. we look back to the west for that system we keep showing you, snow across the great lakes, mixing there around chicagoland. basically this system rides to the north and brings in clouds for today. it's going to keep that active jet stream with the little disturbances passing through the north over the weekend and reinforces the mild air for us. we get clouds building in even though we have what should be a pretty sunrise today. we jump past the weather maps. it's not important because there's not much action, just the warm-up. today, 46, a little above normal but less wind than yesterday and we'll see the increasing clouds. tonight back down to around freezing and then look tore temperatures in the afternoons in the 50s next couple of days. this is a st. paul chance of maybe a -- a small chance of maybe a sprinkle or flurry saturday, 54 on new year's day but we'll spend the afternoon and evening watching football indoors. then we get that cold air, 39 monday. potential for that coastal

storm we've been talking about, looks like it's going to stay too far to the east but we get snow showers and highs in the low 30s for the middle of next week. still reports of an accident, southbound 95 in the fort mchenry tunnel blocking a couple lanes but two lanes are getting by. fortunately we're dealing with very light traffic volume so you shouldn't experience major backups there. in the meantime, heavy now on 29 through columbia. as we get another live look at traffic, for those of you heading into downtown on the jfx, southbound lanes to the right of your screen, very light volume, posted speed as you past coldspring lane. remember, news always on 24/7 at abc2news.com. you can upload the new i-pad app at abc2news.com, also for smart devices as well. >> they are smarter now.

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