done what i elected them to do. i require a little bit more representation. >> reporter: but in the end, you have to be positive. new -- a new year beckons. >> a lot of new opportunities. >> reporter: there are quite a few optimists out there for a lot of folks, especially on the orioles side. at the stroke of midnight they'll have a special clock right in the middle of the water to let people count it down and along with the mayor, there will be the orioles birds who mr. press a button to launch the fireworks as they count down to the and of the new year or let's say about 50 days before pitchers and catchers have to report. reporting live in the inner harbor, roosevelt leftwich, abc2 news. >> thanks. the new year's spectacular will

attract traffic downtown. we have all the details. >> reporter: you'll want to expect heavy congestion. the spectacular will shut down many roads. they include pratt street at charles street, baltimore at gay street and lombard will be shut down at president's street. traffic on 394 north will be detoured on to howard street and you won't have access to conway. southbound travel will be diverted on to lombard street. everything will reopen right after the fireworks and parking restrictions are in effect for a large portion of the inner harbor through 3 a.m. for a complete list of all of the road closures, go to abc2news.com. i'm lauren cook and that's your time saver report. >> it's been 12 months filled with stories of joy, sadness, grieve, elation and astonishment. we said hello to some new face and good-bye to other ones. let's look back at the top

stories of 2012. >> a massive crowd has gathered here. >> we want to be free people. >> the italian crows ship capsized. >> joseph kony. >> viral on social media sites. >> my name is sandra fluke. >> legitimate rape. >> the largest ipo in tech history. one article has the entire country talking. >> the president said he now believes that same-sex marriage should be legal. >> we now note name of the suspect blamed for the movie theater spree. >> shooting at the sikh temple. >> people have been shot in

front of the empire state building. >> bath salts. >> bath salts. >> jerry sandusky sentenced. >> the iconic statue of joe paterno is gone. >> gaga. >> flying squirrel. >> someone sold photographs of bript's prince harry. >> it's one of the hottest novels around. >> what went wrong. why now? >> isaac is forcing changes. >> what do you mean shutup? >> four more years. >> thank you. >> four more years. >> christopher stevens and three other embassy staff, they are dead. >> we mr. bring those to -- will bring those to justice who committed these murders. >> all the effects of hurricane sandy already.

>> sandy carved a path along the eastern seaboard. >> we can't secure the crane until the wind dies down. >> gangnam style. >> honey boo boo. >> the shuttle rolling done the streets of l.a. >> let's take a look at the man at the center of the scandal. >> syria has gone on for 20 -- >> the red line warning talks. >> barack obama will be re-elected president of the united states. >> terror at an elementary school in connecticut. >> 20 children are dead. six adults are also dead. >> so our hearts are broken today for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children. may god bless the memory of the

victims and in the word of scripture, heal the broken hearted and bind up their wounds. here at abc2 we've been looking back, too and put together a less of the stories. go to the featured stories section on our home page. >> when it comes to renovations, bathrooms and kitchens are one of the most expensive. and a state trooper helped

deliver a newborn baby, his own.

we're taking a look at the smart apps.

>> reporter: with 2012 nearing an and, we decided to take a look at the hottest apps. the first one is instagrams. you can share photos with your friends. it sold for a billion dollars to facebook and had only a handful of employees at the time. instagram is very popular but they're no stranger to controversy. in terms of service updates, the company said it will allow users' photos to be sold to advertisers but they soon backtrack. pass, you can share things from what you're listening to to where you are. the idea, was to share what matters most with the friends and family that matter the most to you. you're limited to 150 friends. it was created by one of facebook's earliest employees. the next one up google map. this got a lot of attention

toward the end of the year. when the iphone came out, it was only a matter of time before google launched the map. of course, many cries for google maps. here's one to look out for for the new year. it's called snap chat. lots of photos and messages exchanged. your photos and messages candice appear within seconds. it's being used in all sorts of ways. since it's launch, the company has shared over a billion photos. this is definitely one to look out for as we head into 2013. >> make them and break them, seems to be the theme of many new year revelers. find out how to use your smartphone to keep those

resolutions. steps a dad took to save his new daughter's life coming up.

all right. check out maryland's most powerful radar on this last evening of 2012. all sweeps scan clear. just a little bit of verga. dry in baltimore. we gear up for the big new year's eve celebration, kicking off the fireworks. 40 degrees with a light southwesterly breeze. the days are short. sunset is 4:54. weather in motion across the area today. parksville, cloudy, just about all day. of course, kids enjoying a couple more days. parksville middle. havre de grace, yeah, kind of a gray day on president

susquehanna but no precipitation staying dry in towson as well here at loch raven tech. on the whole, a decent finish to the day. a few gusts of 15. temperature wise comfortable, temperatures hovering in the upper 30s. radar a little more active up toward pittsburgh and southeastern ohio. there are snow showers in that direction. in fact, we could see a few showers around here for the first day of 2013 tomorrow. as we look at a weak disturbance sliding south of maryland, this could spark a couple showers, especially toward mid-morning. it's going to be light stuff and perhaps some wet snow but also a little bit of light rain. again, all very light precipitation, not of any consequence. as we look at your wednesday, we clear the skies and dry things up. however, there will be a change in temperatures with the clearing of the skies. look at the air to the north and

west. you can tell january is about to kick. temperatures struggling to get out of the 20s. that very cold air will make a dive south. so a colder pattern sets up. we're going to struggle to get out of the 30s for highs. to the west, this area will split overnight, that disturbance passing to the south could bring a to you winter showers tomorrow, let, no stickage, cold air blasting in later this week. we will not get the full brunt of this but we will catch the edge. that will mean colder numbers toward mid-week. in the meantime, enjoy the new year. 32 degrees, mostly cloudy, mid-30s at midnight. tomorrow 42. obviously, anything that falls maybe a winter shower but -- wintry shower. tomorrow night colder, down to 26 and as we look at the setup

the next few days, there's that colder air moving. we talked about that blast. it will arrive in the middle part of the week. i think we'll make it above freezing but it will not be a warm stretch. looking beyond that right now, the playoffs set up for the ravens here at home, breck -- bringing in the colds, a little irony there. i know the last time they were here, they did put it up on the scoreboard, colts. >> they didn't have to take the name with them when they went but they did. so that's part of the hatred of the whole exodus. >> they don't have manning anymore. if a new look for your bathroom is your new year's resolution, we help for you tonight. charley crowson shows you four

things you can do. >> reporter: she devoted countless hours of scrubbing. instead of redoing the floors, she hired a company to reseal the grout for about $350. >> now it's back to where it was a lovely shade of gray. it's sealed. i don't have to worry about it. it was very inexpensive, very inexpensive choice for something that looks -- it's a dramatic change. >> reporter: while a full-scale bathroom remodel can cost tens of thousands of dollars, there are simple updates you can make. >> remodeling your bathroom can be overwhelming but one of the best returns on investment. you can get up to 5% return but -- 58 -- 85% but you don't have top spend a lot. change the tile or the handle.

>> reporter: you don't have to rip out the shower tile or tile floor. if the tile is in good shape consider regrouting, sealing are a stain -- or staining. >> if the shower is in bad shape with mold and little due, they're thinking about tearing it out. we can come in. we grout it, clean everything and recaulk it and it makes the bathroom look brand-new. >> reporter: overtime the bathtub shows signs of wear. refinishing an existing bathtub is another simple project that can make a big impact. >> it's a nice alternative because bathtubs get scoured. they get stains. the tile becomes porous, so this create as barrier, spot water can get behind the -- so the

water can get behind the tile. it puts a coating on it to make it look brand-new. >> when replacing a bathtub, it might only cost $300 to buy a new tub, but people don't realize the cost of taking out the old one and installing a new one which could add a significant cost. the alternative is to have the bathtub refinished. >> reporter: another simple update your toilet. it may be more cost effective to replace it than to find likes which can increase your utility bill. >> often the focal point of the bathroom is the toilet. for about $200 you can buy a new toilet. keep in mind, you need to hire a professional. so you will add a little cost. >> reporter: updating the sink's

hardware such as tub handles, control knobs or shower heads are another way to give the bathroom a newer look without spending a lot on a total remodel. in tonight's consumer alert, some new apps on the market will help smartphone users stick to new year's resolutions. >> reporter: it's time to make those new year's resolutions. >> a happier, healthier. >> lose my temper less often. >> i'm going to try again this year had get into better physical shape. >> that's my resolution, year after year. >> reporter: isn't there an app to that. >> the app i'm concerned with is the appetizer, not the phone app. >> reporter: it's not an appetizer but this app pull thes

health on the -- puts health on the table. >> nutrition, better eating, reducing stress, especially around the holidays, sleeping better. >> reporter: it can link them to local doctors. they can choose a specific resolution and work with a doctor to lay chief it. >> if you questions, you can ask the doctors, get an answer for freehand continue engaging throughout the year. >> reporter: for those looking to bet a bit more organized, an app called brewster can consolidate things. >> if you're thinking about who you should reach out to all these people in brewster are a search away. >> reporter: the apps are from forks twitter and a number -- facebook, twitter and a number of things. >> it has e males, phone

numbers. >> this shows you their interests, hobbies, et cetera. >> reporter: if you find a group of friends who want on the same resolution, you can work on your goal together. >> anyone can create an app. >> reporter: to create pan app, they pick a theme, choose content, and the app is ready to install on your smartphone. >> we created a 2013 app. >> we created this app with some of my friends who also have a similar goal. as we're working toward the goals we can encourage someone. >> this could be someone's new year's resolution. coming up at 6, new year's doesn't have to be a holiday just for adults. the little ones are welcoming in

the new year. >> scammers are taking a tragedy and using it for profit. how they're making money off the sandy hook shooting. those stories and more coming up at 6:00.

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now to illinois where a state trooper had to deliver a baby on the side of the highway. the baby was his daughter. >> reporter: at seven pounds two ounces, mae si is -- macy is her parent's holiday surprise. >> after yesterday, no, i understand how -- now i understand how that happens.

>> reporter: megan martinez said her water broafnlgt soon, the contractions were a meant and a half aapartment she and her husband hit the road for the 25-minute drive. eye told him there was a foot reaching out. i reached down land there were toes. >> reporter: it was going to be a breached birth. he pulled over. their 20-month-old daughter ava was in the back seat. macy was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice. >> training kicked in. >> reporter: chad laid her down. >> i had to improvise in removing the mucus from the airway. i actually had to do that by mouth. >> once she started breathing, oh, my god, she's breathing. >> reporter: soon pan ambulance

arrived to take -- an ambulance arrived to take them to the hospital. >> this was the best gift i got this christmas, without a doubt. >> it's very honoring. it's breath taking, just overwhelming. >> wow, great story. we're checking out a special new year's eve celebration. it's just for kids. that story is at 6:00, which starts right now. it looks like we will go off the fiscal cliff. we have hours left for 2012. we're heading downtown for a look at how baltimore is prepping for tonight's beg celebration. >> and a car roll county man loses control of the damage. what will the weather be like as we heado