the season was bright are because of you -- brighter because of you, one more reason, abc2 works for you. now to a developing story. remember last new year's day when black birds were found dead inw3 a town. it happened again. 3 intentionally causingçóok÷ theç( round.

deliberately caused this tragic scenario. >> reporter: a spectacular sight to see -- millions of black birds flying overhead, common in the winter months in arkansas. black birds come back year after year in increasing numbers, peaking in january. the sudden death of thousands of birds last year cause bid fireworks cause -- caused by fireworks caused authorities to ban them, but this year they appeared dead on the ground. >> this is an act produced by human beings. >> reporter: the director received numerous calls. >> do not let this national phenomenon that we see many, many times across the south frighten them or consider this some terrible thing.

it is not. it's perfectly normal. >> reporter: he lives right next to a roof that has been watching the birds. he found eight dead in his yard eye heard a pretty powerful firework go off but nothing loud, nothing close. that triggered some movement from the birds. the first time i now realize that yes, there is, in my opinion, a correlation between the booms of the fireworks and the movement of birds. >> reporter: he said it's disappointing to see some people try to ruin this awesome ritual. >> it's sad when you see a bird like this lying dead. it's sad. all right. a few lightly scattered snow

showers, but they're not touching the ground. maybe you see a brief shot of flakes and it's over. no significant weather. we a decent looking day before the winds and the wind chill factor, things we've been noticing. a mix of sun and clouds. the winds whipping the severn river, shaking our camera in annapolis. one more stop in ellicott city. a windy day with the temperatures continuing toñr dr. 37 easton. weave' got the warmest spot at 41, already falling into the teens in western maryland. you can see this widespreadçó sw shower some ofñi which has tried to sneak in. they have been hitting theçóçóñó ground inñi pennsylvania, west virginia andñrñrxd parts oçw3q n ohio. we'll lookt( forñr that topçóñi continue tonight and into

farther of the -- part of the day tomorrow. in the meantime, what is have nothing trouble reaching into the state is that cold air. temperatures really dropping out there and a secondary colder shot gets ready to punch in tonight. we really feel a difference temperature wise. points north and west have dropped into the low 20s. so that is the air that's on the way tonight. it will make it tough for to us get much above the freezing mark tomorrow afternoon. you can check out the trend. still some lake effect snows to our north and west. some could get into western maryland. we'll continue to sit dry. mostly cloudy, breezy and colder, still windy and blustery tomorrow, 32. coldest day of the week, especially when you flow that wind chill factor. gnome tight our coldest night of both the week and our winter season. it will get down to 17.

let's check out the extended seven-day forecast, a couple of cold days mid-week but the temperatures begin to bounce back friday into saturday and sunday. so, again a warmer bounce back after a cold blast today and tomorrow. we'll be back in just a minute. stay right here.

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in tonight's health alert, a powerful new pain killer could soon be hitting the market. it contains pure hydrocodeine. it could be as much as 10 times stronger than vicodin. one of the companies developing it says it is a potentially safer option because it does not

contain acetaminophen but critics say the hydrowould add to the abundance of pain killers. >> do you think it's dangerous to the public. >> when you pack this amount of narcotic into a single pill, it's easy for someone to overdose into critics also argue about addiction. stay with us. we'll be right back after a break. ã

i remember the days before copd. my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort. it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ] with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition.

now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. as we start a new year, many of us resolve to better ourselves. sometimes those resolutions are

hard to keep. >> reporter: as the fireworks of new year's eve come, it's time to make your new year's resolution. some are easier than others. >> we're healthy. there's a lot to be blessed about. >> reporter: a lot of standard resolutions are throwing -- thrown around like saving more money. easing up on the spirits isn't one of the resolutions for a lot of people. >> to quit smoke cigarettes. >> reporter: that's one of the big ones. he owns a cigar shop. >> 30 pounds overweight than to smoke a pack of cigarettes every day. >> reporter: getting in better shape might be the most popular one and the hardest one to keep.

>> try to take better care of myself. i haven't had much luck in the past. >> reporter: january 2nd, how are you doing? >> not good. >> yesterday we averaged about 40 new members. >> reporter: they see an increase in memberships. >> my new year's resolution is to get back into shape like i was in the marine corps. i need to make a change in my life. >> reporter: some are more realistic. >> no, not this year. i neverñi keep them anyway. >> reporter: soxd if you madez@% resyñ6 let's hope it's onexd tha(ut(ájásq i'll probably start next week. i'm don harrison for abc2 news. >> all right. take a look at some of that weather that's imreeting us --

greeting us. a few snow flurries. most of it has not touched the ground. if you see a few flakes, it's because of those little waves. 30, breezy, a flurry. much colder as we go towards tomorrow and into tomorrow night. we'll have it for you coming up on abc2 news.

got cool video out of north carolina. they hit the water in chilly weather sunday for the new year's day barefoot tournament. the annual event raises money for charity. wow. this maybe the coolest way to close out 2011. they took part in the big brothers, big sisters polar bear plunge. they raised money for the organization. maryland's polar bare plunge is january 28th. we'll be right back.

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nasa kicks off 2012 by ore bight the moofnlt nays -- orbiting the moon. the latest probe joins its twin. the grail spacecraft will spend the next two months following closer to the surface and in march though will begin mapping the moon's gravity field. all right. the chilly winter like second day of the new year, 37 with the winds out of the west at 12. they've been gusting higher than that. take a look at some of the peak conditions. 40 in columbia.

nearly 40 in rock hall. 36 galena. 38 in mt. airy. temperatures across the state running in the mid to low 30s and teens. 37 in easton. 38 in ocean city. as we come out wider, you can see the widespread snow flurry action mainly to our west and north. a few of these flurries have come into maryland but they're short lived and most of the flakes never touch the ground. as you look up and down the east coast, the overall setup continues to be an active one. some of those deep convex bands reach -- convection bands reaching down into kentucky. the cold front is offshore. the secondary one is tbhulgd across the northern plains. that's going to come down and get us later tonight and bring

the winds back up tomorrow. by tomorrow night we'll be talking about teens around here, so a much colder scenario. you already see some of the cold air that has marched in and colder air, teens and 20s chicago northward. that's the source of the next blast. 25 degrees mostly cloudy, breezy and colder. tomorrow your two-degree guarantee just 32. we spend basically all day below freezing. that will be a cold day especially with the wind chills in the 20s. thank goodness the winds will be letting up, temperatures, coldest night of the season in those teens. your seven-day forecast the cold blast will let up on wednesday, mid to low 30s. looking for milder temperatures friday into saturday as we should push up to 5 -- 50.

back to you. the republican party of virginia is requiring gop voters to sign a loyalty oath. that means they must pledge to support the candidate they vote for in the march primary. >> it would dissuade me from voting in primaries to make sure i'm making an educated vote. >> virginia's primary will be held on march 6th. a happy new year, mr. costello. >> happy new year to you. all new at six, same sex spouses employed by the county are elogy -- eligible benefits. we'll seejf you at section. i] ã

i remember the days before copd.

my son and i never missed opening day. but with copd making it hard to breathe, i thought those days might be over. so my doctor prescribed symbicort.

it helps significantly improve my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. with symbicort, today i'm breathing better, and that means... game on! symbicort is for copd, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. it should not be taken more than twice a day. symbicort may increase your risk of lung infections, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. [ whistle ] with copd, i thought i might miss out on my favorite tradition. now symbicort significantly improves my lung function, starting within 5 minutes. and that makes a difference in my breathing. today i'm back with my favorite team. ask your doctor about symbicort. i got my first prescription free. call or click to learn more. [ male announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help.

>> the only large scale is the issuing of a special

two-year-old coin. the criticism was that it made things more expensive. coming up, saving more and losing weight, always two great goals but some health experts want you to focus on getting more sleep. the tips that will help youi] gt 8fñi new year, same sex partners can be included on the health plan. speaking with the family of victim number three. and this is the lowest of lows. tonight a scam alert. how seniors are opening up their wall let's thinking they're helping their own grandchildren. it is 6:00 in baltimore. with a move to help