salons could soon be changing. right now anyone under 18 needs a note from their parents, but there is a push for banning tanning for those teens all together. >> it's one thing for adults to make a decision that they want to take a product that has a risk, but wire trying to ban it for children. >> reporter: currently anyone younger than 18 needs a note. tanning bed technology has improved over the past few years. however, some feel it should still be banned all together for those under 18. >> they might be better products, but they still give people cancer. >> reporter: last year 14 other states attempted to curb access to tanning beds. some people agree with medki. >> i used to go to tanning bed lake out in the sun, and now i'm suffering for it, because i have had melanoma cut out of me

several times. >> reporter: salon owners often cite freedom of choice. >> i don't think they should ban it. it's about you. it's not about them. it's not going to affect them. >> you're still a kid. you don't always know what's best for you at 18, or until you're 18, and even then you still make dumb mistakes, so -- >> reporter: in 2009, howard county became the only county to ban tanning for those under 18. california is the only state to ban underage tanning. this is the second year in a row that medki will ask for the bang of tanning beds for minors. and teens in california will also have to get a tan a new way starting monday, as don mentioned. the law is one of many going into effect on new year's day. in tonight's consumer alert, you don't have to worry about ferry fees and taxes from

the airlines anytime. airlines are now required to include that information in advertised fares. the rule will go into effect january 26th. consumer reports has chen been the toyota camry hybrid as the best family sedan. the gas mileage, an amazing 38 miles a gallon. tonight a warning about scammers using social media to dupe you out of money. this is part of our crime checker report. >> abc 2 is working for you with crime checker, the baltimore city police department is warning about social scammer trying to get their hands on your unit. they have seen an increase in the attempts to defraud people through on-line scams continue to protect yourself, police have a few simple tips to

follow. first any requests for social media in social media are usually phony. also don't include social security numbers, birthdays, and things of the like until you are sure who you are communicating with. if you would like to check out this or other crime checkers from stories past, go to our website, abc2news.com, and click on the crime tab. have a great new year. here is look at tonight's top stories. two doctors are facing murder charges after what investigators are calling a botched abortion. dr. steven chase brigham and nicola reilly were arrested and charged with murder earlier

this week. court documents show officers are found 35 fetuses in the clinics freezer, some as late term as 36 weeks. as 2011 comes to an end, baltimore city's police commissioner said the murder rate is down. so far baltimore has seen 196 homicides, a record low that they say is proof the city is getting safer. 1979 was the last year that the city came close to a murder rate of under 200. maybe you have a new year's date or party you want to impress. how about opening the champagne with a sword. >> you find the vertical seam,

where it goes around the bottle, this glass lip is where the weakest point of the champagne bottle is. so all you have to do is tap it, and it goes flying. so ready to do this? one, two, three. >> wow! i don't have one of those knives at home, but it doesn't matter. you can do it with any sharp night, but just be careful of the sharp blade and any broken glass that might fall on your floor. >> i don't know, i think it might be easier just to do the tilt and pop, at least no sharp objects. we have only cooled into the mild 40s. the rest of the evening will fall through those 40s. we have a brief chance for rain as we go into the weekend. we'll talk about when that arrives, and look all the way

into the first days of 2012 state straight ahead. >> a man naps in his car while it's covered in flames. we'll tell you how he made it out unhurt. >> and would you pay five grand for a back pack that lets you take flight? we'll take a look at the new invention that will take you to new heights.

new video out of memy shows another reason you -- michigan shows another reason you shouldn't drink and drive. this guy is sound asleep inside of his car while it's on fire. almost as soon as the officer yanked him out of the car, the ingin bursts into flames. investigators say the car was in park, but the drivish likely fell asleep with his foot on the gas. he was later arrested for drunk driving. check out this surveillance video that captures a purse snatching on the streets of new orleans. police say a man took the woman's purse and ran away. authorities are trying to track down four people they believe were involved. the incident occurred in the french market. a man propels himself across lake las vegas power bade pressurized jet pack. he calls the machine a fly board. soon, you can try this

yourself. go ahead, i dare you. the stores are expected to hit stores in the spring. the price tag for this, just $5,000. people getting ready to ring in 2012 with style. how people around the world are preparing for the new year. and promises, promises. we often break our new year's resolutions not failure into the new year, but your smart phone could hold you to it.

when i joined the national guard, i never thought i'd be saving lives. it's more than money for college. it's built my character and given me a sense of accomplishment. now i'm on a career path, and i'm the leader of my team. i put on the uniform and i have a whole new outlook on life. country, community, family-- that's what matters most to me. if that matters to you, go to 1-800-go-guard.com.

it happens every year like clockwork, but doesn't happen without a lot of planning or preparation. talk about new year's celebrations. this year everybody seems ready to go. abc's scott goldberg reports from the crossroads of the

world, times square. >> reporter: ushering in the new year takes fortitude and practice. so for 2012, they have already air tested the confetti that will fall on the million or so people in the huddled mass at times square. this year's test went very well, we're told. so did the sidewalk broom test that follows. on the west coast, pasadena is getting ready for a different kind of march in this year's rose parade. members of the occupy movement plan to walk the parade route after the last float goes by. but by far the world's most radical observation comes from the south pacific island nation of samoa. they are knocking friday december 30th off the calendar. >> it's good, very good. >> reporter: the move across

the international date line put sass mowia on the same calendar as its major trading partners. back in new york, visitors from around the globe are moving in for the party. >> i'm in new york for the first time, so it's very special for me. >> reporter: it's the 40th anniversary of dick clark's rocking new year's eve with ryan sea crest. >> every year you start to get a real adrenaline rush when it's 11:59. >> reporter: when the ball drops at midnight, the temperature should be above 40 degrees, so they are expecting a record turnout this year. all right. check it out. a fairly quiet night out there. temperatures running around 46 degrees, and we were up above 50 in many spots earlier today. we'll be in the 50s just about

all weekend before the bottom drops out. check out continues each north of the city. on the whole, this has ban good- looking day of weather. manchester with a light coats of snow. those melted off almost instantly today. laurel today, beautiful blue skies, and then a few high, thin clouds. just a mix of sun is and clouds out there. so really weather looking pretty good. maryland's most powerful radar all clear tonight. that will hold up, we think, through about 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, and then we can get a very briefly round of rain showers in here, because temperatures will still be well above freezing overnight. 46 in baltimore, 48 in easton. winds out of the south- southeast. and generally a mild wind for us, as we take a look at the trend here temperature-wise for highs today, we did crack 50 degrees in just about every spot in central and southern

maryland. you have to get out to hagerstown where theying stuck in the 40s today. and again, just a few passing clouds for the earlier part of the evening. but as we go into daybreak on your new year's eve morning, we do look for this system that's pin whiling through the great lakes and southern michigan right now. this thing while it will skirt mainly to our north, we're bound to catch some rain showers. nonetheless, very mild air will continue to be the story through the weekend, but as this thing moves through the area, just be aware you'll wake up to a cloudy sky and a few rain showers, but we'll be dry and clearing by tomorrow afternoon. about a 6:00 a.m. peak chance for at least some rain showers, but then that quickly moves out, we're left with partly cloudy skies into tomorrow night, and then we'll clear things out. a little chilly. new year's day weather looking pretty good as you head to your

favorite ravens tailgate party. new year's eve day, 56 with slow clearing. the new year's baby likes that. and then we go to 35. your 7-day forecast. yeah, the trend is for some pretty mild weather throughout the new year. it's interesting that we start not just 120, but the first day of -- not just 2012, but the first day of january near 60, but it's sort of a false hope, because then we will be facing some really cold temperatures. >> that's a gift, man, that's a gift. all right. good stuff. shifting gears. we're in the final days of

2011, and the gop candidates are at a last minute rush to convince iowa voters they should be the republican nominee. we have more onen the latest campaign blitz in iowa, and the impact it's having on the candidates. >> reporter: you have to imagine right now these candidates have started getting exhausted after crisscrossing the state of iowa, so on the campaign trail, it's getting nasty, but also getting emotional for some of them. that gingrich showed his -- newt gingrich showed his sensitive side. >> my interest in brain science comes from dealing with, you know, the real problems of real people in my family. >> reporter: michelle bachmann was hit with a one-two punch this week when she dropped to the bottom of the latest poles, and her iowa co-chair left to join ron paul. she is fighting back.

>> this is about money, and about the ron paul campaign seeing the floor coming out. >> reporter: iowaens can't escape the last minute blitz of ads. >> one man stands alone. >> reporter: ever notice how some people make a lot of mistakes. >> the big mistake -- >> the fox guarding the hen house is like asking congress to fix washington. bad idea. >> reporter: mitt romney has decided he'll take a quick break from the state. he'll go to new hampshire to campaign for about 24 hours, and then ron paul has decided he'll go back to texas to spend new year's with his family, but will be back on the campaign trail monday. >> i here governor chris christie is also mixing it up.

how is that. >> reporter: in he's on the ground in iowa campaigning for romney and showed a little attitude. watch this. >> you people disappoint me on tuesday, you don't do what you're supposed to do on tuesday for mitt romney, i will be back, jersey style, people, i will be back! >> reporter: i think he's the only one who can get away with saying something like that. >> i think you are right about that one. mixing it up on the campaign trail. thanks so much for that report. former american idol winner kelly clarkson facing some backlash for supporting ron paul on twitter. she tweeted: . >> well, that tweet triggered a wave of heated tweet from fans, some supporting the singer of

supporting the death penalty, racism, and not equal rights for same sex couples. she tweeted back and apologized, saying she supported ron paul because he believed in smaller government. 2012 is just hours away, but before it comes to a close, a look back at the people we lost this year. those stories and a lot more coming up at 6:00 37 now a preview of what's ahead in world news at 6:30. coming up on world news, after a tough year, how did the average americans 401(k) actually end up. and new rules regarding gambling. could it be heading straight for your living room?

on this last day of trading, we're more or less back where we started at the beginning of the year, the dow jones industrial average phil nearly 70 points, the s&p was down 5 points. make 'em and break 'em seems to be the theme for many new year's referrallers who make promises for the new year, only to stumble days later. but your smart phone could be your resolution solution. >> reporter: out with old habits, into the new. >> i'm going to join the gym and become more active. >> i'm going to try to drink more water, because i drink too much diet soda. >> reporter: new year's resolutions are easy to make and even easier to break.

have you had one you didn't stick with? >> yes. go on a diet. >> to stop biting my nails, but it didn't help out. >> reporter: resolutions 2012 lets smart phone users set goals, and track progress. weight loss is a popular resolution each year. the dale burn app for iphone manages calorie counts. the quick coach app from live strong is for those who want to kick butts in 2012. it provides guidelines for quitting smoking gradually over time, or helping you go cold turkey, and tallies how much money you have saved since putting down your last cigarette. and it can require a support system. >> i want to try to eat helple thier. >> we have to be to a role

model. >> reporter: try boast your goal on social media, so encouragement can spur you on. an article in usa today says apple will reveal two new versions of the ipad late next month. they will have 9.7 inch screens with cameras. reportedly apple is hoping to compete with the kindle fire which has been ex-dreamily popular this holiday season. and amazon had a great holiday season thanks to the kindle brand. they sold more than 1 million each week of of december. i was one of those. every married couple has an engagement story. just ahead, a proposal with a charm city flare on abc 2 news at 6:00, which starts right

now. two doctors charged with murder. what they are accused of, and how it happened right here in maryland. the temperatures are dropping, and that can only mean one thing, flu season is officially here. how to recognize the symptoms and what to do about them. >> and it is truly a romantic charm city type story. how one couple decided to creatively take the plunge. but first more on the breaking news on the baltimore grant. city officials say they are ending -- baltimore grand prix. the city is calls for baltimore racing development to pay its debts. city officials announced last month that the group had not paid the $5.1 million it owes the city. the inaugural grand prix had a $47 million impact on the economy, and now the city says