overnight, the first deadly fire of 2013 claims the lives of two people. we are live open the scene with the late -- on the scene with the latest in this investigation. weeks after the deadly massacre, students from sandy hook elementary returned to class. it may be the last chance we have to see him burst through the tunnel. number 52 the last original raven says this playoff run may be his last. you will hear from ray lewis on the thursday, january 3rd, "good morning maryland," i'm charlie crowson. >> and i'm megan pringle. be warned today you are going

to want to bundle up. >> meteorologist lynette charles is standing by with the latest on this. it is a double thermal day lynette. >> it is cold outside and we have the temperatures to prove it. we are in the deep freeze this morning with temperatures in the low 20s. chestertown at 25 degrees and we're at 24 in owings mills. pilesville at 21. luckily the winds are calm and we are also going to be dealing with more sunshine in the forecast for today. so as we look at maryland's most powerful radar, not a whole lot to behold. just the five sweeps scanning the sky and we will be seeing lots of sunshine continuing through the afternoon and into tomorrow also. waking up to about 6:00 temperature around 25 degrees. we will be crisp and we will be cold. we will be under a mostly sunny sky but still that temperature at 35 degrees by lunchtime. let's get a check now of the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. good morning lynette. we are off to a very cold start. you will want to crank that heat in the car this morning. if you are traveling on 95 no delays whatsoever traveling from elkridge into downtown baltimore. it's going to take you just 12 minutes. you won't have any problems

getting down to d.c. this morning. and if you are traveling on 695, the west side is nice and clear. as we head over to parkville, this is what it looks like right at harford road. no problems getting up to 83. or if you are traveling the inner loop down to 95 and in hunt valley 83 nice and clear, no delays from shawan road down to the beltway. that's a look at your abc2 timesaver traffic. megan and charlie, over to you. 4:32 right now and we are following breaking news out of baltimore city this morning. a house fire is to blame for killing two people. >> abc2 news linda so is live at the scene in northeast baltimore with the very latest. linda, what do we know right now now? >> reporter: the medical examiner just removed two bodies from the scene. an autopsy will be performed to find out how the bodies died in the fire. we spoke with the fire investigators who was able to confirm that two men died in the fire and five other people including a pregnant woman escaped. the first victim was found inside the house on the first

floor. the second victim was discovered outside right by the basement door. we're hearing reports the victim initially got out but was trying to get back inside when he died. the fire broke out just after 11:30 last night. we're in the 3,000 block of montebello terrace. if you're familiar with the area that's right behind the safeway store. the firefighters couldn't go intense when they got here. a second alarm was killed and more manpower and more firefighters got here. eventually they got inside and discovered the body of the first victim on the first floor. the five other people who made it out including the pregnant woman all had nonlife- threatening injuries and three were taken to a nearby hospital to be evaluated. they're trying to determine if the home has working smoke detectors and what caused this fire exactly. but again two people, two men died in this fire.

in this 3,000 block of meant bellow terrace off harford road. we'll continue to stay here and bring you any for updates -- more updates in 30 minutes. we're live in northeast baltimore, linda so, abc2 news. all new this morning, president barack obama signed into law the bill averting the fiscal cliff. the president's now vacationing with his family in hawaii. so a copy of the bill was sent to the president while he's away. the white house says he reviewed the legislation and signed it using an autopen. mimicking his signature. the president first used this technique in 2011 to sign a law relating to the patriot act. the fiscal cliff deal was passed late tuesday night and preserves tax cuts for those earning less than $400,000 and also extends unemployment benefits. and it is going to be an emotional day for the survivors of the sandy hook elementary school shooting. >> coming up today they are going back to class in a different building. it's the first day back since that massacre three weeks ago. crews spent weeks furnishing the newly repurposed school located in a nearby town. desks from sandy hook were

taken to the school along with backpacks and other belongings left behind after the shooting. 20 children and six adults were killed when a gunman opened fire. the sandy hook elementary school principal was one of the victims. her daughter says she will be there when the kids walk into that school today. >> yeah, i saw a couple of her staff members and you know just the little pieces they picked up of the doughnuts that she used to bring in and somebody saying we're going to miss those. i said i'll bring them. she'll still be there. i'm going to be proud of every single kid that walks in the doors because it's a hard thing for them to do. >> students will see a familiar face. the school's former principal will be the interim principal. yesterday parents and students checked out the new building. the middle school was outfitted rugs and furniture similar to those at sandy hook. and as students and teachers get ready this morning, people all over the country are remembering the 20

children and six adults in newtown, connecticut. in mississippi for example teachers there held a vigil on the beach honoring the victims that were killed nearly three weeks ago. >> we are thinking of them and we're not going to stop thinking of them and we're not going to stop praying for them. because it's a journey in the days ahead. >> back in newtown the victims are shining down on the victims there. the newtown fire house has now 26 stars on the roof and there's the display of 26 large and small bronze stars as a memorial to those. in the wake of the shootings school officials are taking all gun related gestures and threats seriously. now one little boy from maryland is learning that even pretending to have a gun is no joke. a family says their 6-year-old was suspended from the elementary school in silver spring after using his fingers to mimic a gun. the school sent a letter home to parents describing what happened as a serious incident. the child was suspended for a

day and the incident will be on his permanent record. other parents in the area have mixed reactions about whether or not the punishment was justified. >> nowadays with everything going on it's something very scary. you know. for a kid themselves. but at the same time, i think that was a little too harsh for a 6-year-old. >> i wouldn't expect someone to do that to my child. if they did i mean i would expect you know, some type of discipline. >> the parents of the 6-year- old are appealing the one day suspension. they say they want their child's record clear asked they may ask him to have him sent to a different school. a spokesperson says the response was not a knee jerk reaction to the single incident. they want to see new gun laws tightened for those who are mentally ill. the panel recommends that psychologists and psychiatrists and social workers be required to report any threats to law enforcement officers. once the threat is credible

officials would be allowed to seize the gun immediately. current maryland state law doesn't require the reporting of those threats. the recommendations were sent to the governor yesterday and lawmakers will propose new gun laws during the 2013 general assembly session. that begins next week. tickets to this weekend's baltimore ravens playoff game are going to be hundreds maybe even thousands of dollars on the internet this morning. especially after the news from ray lewis that this will be his final season. charlie is at the live desk this morning with more on why lewis is calling it quits. and how fans are reacting this morning. >> you know megan 17 years, one super bowl title and a legendary trademark dance. everyone is surprised and people are remembering the ultimate raven the last original member of the team. now saying this will be his final season. ray lewis will retire after the ravens' playoff run. the future hall of famer made the announcement yesterday after first telling his

teammates. he was drafted out of the university of miami in 1996 and his first game as a rookie he was named the afc defensive player of the week and that was just a glimpse of things to come for 17 seasons. lewis will leave the game as the greatest middle linebacker ever and now after all that time it's time to spend his time with his family. >> it's either hold on to the game and keep playing and let my kids miss out on times that we can be sharing together. because i always promise my son if he got a full ride scholarship daddy is going to be there. i think we all get to enjoy what sunday will feel like you know knowing that this will be the last time 52 plays in a uniform. and ravens' stadium. >> i'm definitely sad about him. not playing football anymore. but he's been injured for so long. that he knew it was about time to come and hopefully the ravens will go to the super bowl and he'll go out with a bang. >> indeed. coming through that tunnel one more time. there is a scenario where the ravens could have one more home game but a lot of chips have to

fall for that to happen. so when it comes through the tunnel coming up this sunday, that may be the last time at m&t bank stadium. he's missed the last ten games of the regular season with a torn tricep. he will be eligible for the hall of fame in five years after retirement. ray lewis probably a first ballot hall of famer in 2018. he is leaving behind that famous dance we have seen it so many times. now we want to see it from you. send your version of the ray lewis entry dance to pix@wmar.com. put ray lewis in the subject line and we'll see. megan? >> people are going to be cheering and i know you have been looking at the game day forecast to let people know. >> prepare for dry weather. so we'll get some sunshine out there as well. i have that forecast it's going to be a good day but a sad day especially if they don't win. because it's going to be his last game. but you know all things must end and it seems like the good things end first? but here's the football

forecast for you and i hope you like it. still fine tuning this. right now though a temperature of 40-degrees with that kickoff at 1:00. partly cloudy skies and we will be seeing the sunshine out there as well. the winds out of the northwest at about 5 to 10 miles an hour. so let's get down to business this morning. this is what we're looking look. you're stepping out the door we have some clouds out there. these clouds will erode as we go throughout the day though because we still do have some very dry air in place. most of the weather to the north of us to the south of us is not going to be getting in here for today. we'll just have the sunshine and the cold temperatures and that's what we're seeing and feeling this morning. look at the 20s all across the board here. pick out a number. hickory, you're at 23 degrees. let's send this back over to megan and charlie. out with the old, in with the new. >> up today the 113th congress will be sworn in. why some the new senators in the group are going to be making history. >> one supersized snowman coming up. one man's snow creation that's cull putting all -- putting all others to shame. >> everything is up to speed

here on 97 at ben field boulevard. i'll let you know what traffic looks like on

good thursday morning, today the 113th congress will be sworn in. the new congress will have 20 female senators. that's the most ever in u.s. history. it will also have the fewest number of military veterans sin also a kennedy won't be returning in the nation -- will be returning in the nation's capital. this past two years mark the first time since 1946 that a kennedy didn't hold an elect office in washington. one of the first orders of business will be to vote on the sandy aid to help victims of the storm. speaker of the house john boehner scheduled one vote for tomorrow and another one next week. lawmakers were furious yesterday after congress adjourned without holding a

vote on the measure. the monthly private sector jobs report and the weekly jobless claims are going to be released after 8:00. tomorrow the december jobs report will come out. secretary of state hillary clinton is waking up in her own home this morning. she was released from the hospital yesterday where she was being treated for a blood clot near her brain. doctors expect her to make a full recovery. there's still no word this morning on when she will return to work at the state department. and d.c. is making headlines for something other than a political showdown. in 2012 d.c. was the top place to move. that's the fifth year the nation's capital has received that honor. the findings are the result of the united band lines' latest annual migration study. oregon, nevada, north carolina and south carolina all rounded out the top five. 15 minutes from 5:00 right now. good news and bad news with the chesapeake bay. let's start first with the good news. a new report by the chesapeake bay foundation shows that oxygen levels for crabs, oysters and bay water have improved. on the bad side though, the

health of underwater grasses went down from last year and the foundation president will baker says the bay is still dangerously out of balance but he does say that restoration strategies are starting to work. all right, well, we have all built snow men but i am willing to bet that nobody out there has ever built one like this before. >> you have got the see this. one man in new york is taking the winter pastime to an entirely new level. he's going top shelf. this is a 3'6" tall snowman nicknamed b. a. for its height. now the builder used cow mats for a hat and tires better buttons -- for the buttons, with help of 30 people and snow machines b. a. came to life. he helps serve the community when people visit they can put canned foods in the lowest button aka the tire. the builder then donates the food to a pantry in his city. >> a snowman with a good cause. i love that though. that puts in perspective how huge that is with the cone for the nose instead of the carrot. >> 36 feet tall.

lynette? >> huge. >> you know how much snow you need to have for that? >> nothing like that here. >> not that much snow but some snow? but we're not going to get that as of now. we're actually going to be free of precipitation the next several days. you can see the snow in the north and we have some wet weather with the rain in the south. we're going to have high pressure move in here from the west. with that plenty of sunshine through the day. this is what you can expect. some very cold temperatures on tap right now. 24 degrees in perry hall and 22 glenelg. 22 ijamsville and we should be around 25 degrees now for that time of year. these these temperatures are on the cold side. now future trend not picking up on a whole lot. you really have to follow the timeline to see if we have a new day on tap for us. get out there and enjoy the sunshine if you like the dry times. 37-degrees is what i'm going with for today. we should be at 43 now for this

time of the year. the deep freeze again through tonight and then by tomorrow temperatures still sunny and cold. but breezy. coming in at 40 degrees and the seven day forecast looks like this. as we head into sunday. yes we're looking at a temperature of 43 degrees. let's get a check now of the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. good morning lynette. well, we are certainly off to a cold start but if you are heading downtown you're in luck. no delays right now on the jfx. as we check in and use the abc2 timesaver traffic drive time, you'll notice it will take you just 11 minutes to travel southbound from towson all the way downtown to fayette street. and everything will remain up to speed through both the fort mchenry tunnel and the harbor tunnel. if you are using 695, this is what the west side looks like at baltimore national pike. no problems getting up to 795. and here in parkville, the beltway will remain nice and clear. no problems from harford road all the way up to 83. that's a look at your abc2 timesaver traffic. megan and charlie, over to you. a murder suspect gives a taped confession but now he may not spend a day at all in jail.

>> why the case was dismissed and how the lead investigator ended up facing criminal charges of his own. >> also this morning a baby reaches for his doctor's hand even before coming out of the womb. a special picture people will be talking about for days to come and you'll be seeing it when "good morning maryland" continues.

4:51 right now and back now with the interview only on abc2 news. the now former head of the criminal investigation for the sheriff's department is facing criminal charges of his own. >> yeah the state prosecutor is charged with making nicholas plazio with misconduct in office. it all started with the murder in carol county back in september 2010. 25-year-old jeremiah demario was stabbed to death outside his apartment. it looked like an easy conviction. the suspect gave a taped confession but he remains a free man because the case was dismissed. demario's father watched the confession during a court hearing and months later

problems became surfacing. the girlfriend asked for an attorney and the major plazio ordered the interrogation to continue and the state says plazio lied about that under oath. >> here he had to opportunity to truly take a bad guy off the streets and for whatever reason, he didn't do it that way. >> the murder charges against russell latterrer, they are accessory to murder, that charge against glover all been dismissed. now yesterday the care roll county sheriff's office announced that plazio resigned and his office is cooperating with the state prosecutor. the co-owner of a popular restaurant in federal hill is starting out 2013 on the wrong foot. matthew is accused of raping a woman in his restaurant's bathroom on new year's eve. now according to police the victim says she had an argument with her boyfriend and went to the restaurant on light street. she says she had several drinks and then was sexually assaulted by the 29-year-old in the bathroom. police say the woman was treated at a hospital and

released. the restaurant has put out a statement on their facebook page defending the co-owner. it reads in part -- quote we have video as well as witnesses that directly contradict the accuser's allegations yet he is still charges. what happened to innocent until proven guilty? news around the world right now. a small plane skidded off the runway and caught on fire at an airport in nevada. this incident happened just after 7:00 wednesday evening at the north -- rather las vegas airport. take a look at this video of the plane engulfed in flames. it's pretty incredible look at all the smoke. crews there on the scene within minutes spraying foam to put out the flames. officials they everybody made et -- say that everybody made it off the plane just before it caught on fire. all right as any mother will tell you giving birth is a blur. but even so, a picture this one that we're going to show you makes it crystal clear. >> this is going to be one of the stories of the day. in this picture your going to

see something that doctors and the couples are now struggling to explain. adam slinger has more on the special picture that's now gone worldwide. >> reporter: when you realize what you're seeing? you probably won't believe it. >> as soon as i looked at it you know, looked in the camera and saw the picture, i was like wow this is awesome. >> reporter: not even officially born for another 15 seconds, the picture shows a baby holding on to the doctor's hand during a c-section. >> he knew right away it was going to be a good photo. >> reporter: alicia is a professional photographer but it was her husband randy who took the image she'll never forget. >> my daughter reached up out of my stomach. >> reporter: she mosted the picture on facebook and gave it as a gift to the man who gave her baby a helping hand. >> i saw the hand just barely up against the bag of water. >> reporter: dr. sawyer delivered the baby back on october 9th. he says usually the baby's head is the first thing he sees but not this time. >> i never captured that

picture before. so that -- that's really rare. >> such a miracle of life like. >> it was an awesome experience to have. >> the picture is incredible. i can't get over it. >> that was adam slinger reporting there. you had an interesting insight about the name neveah. >> i like that. >> it's pretty. >> great picture, great name. >> exactly. and cold temperatures this morning? >> are we stuck maybe? look at the forecast i'm like oh. >> it's cold but it's that time of the year we're going to be dealing with cold temperatures but the biggest story is the game and it's not going to be that cold for the game. also we're going to start to warm things up. we'll have like a little slight warmup i should say. it's not going to be the -- >> like 70? >> not even hardly. maybe like the middle 40s but for today if you're stepping out to the airport. you can deal with this. bwi at 27 degrees right now. and look at this sunset now. so days are beginning to get a little bit longer. let's get a check now of the

abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. good morning lynette. well, so far so good right now on 95. it's nice and clear here on harford county. no problems from 152 down to white marsh. on the harrisburg expressway this morning, as we check in and take a live look here at hunt valley. no delays whatsoever at 83 at is that ban road. just 11 minutes right now southbound from the beltway down to fayette street. and as we take a look at the other abc2 timesaver traffic drive times, 695 no delays right now on the east side. you're looking at a normal 11 minute drive on the outer loop from 95 all the way up to 83. the west side nice and clear as well. lit take you 11 minutes on the outer loop from 795 down to 95. megan and charlie, over to you. consumer news this morning, first they brought you the gift, now they're taking them back. u.s. postal service or u.p.s. rather did that a week ago. now saying today will be the biggest return day of the year.

the company projects more than 520,000 packages will be shipped back to retailers. all right, well denny's restaurants are known for their breakfasts and family-friendly atmosphere. >> this morning at 5:00 why the manager at one of the restaurants is now asking a group of police officers to get out before they finish the meal. >> plus a puppy got scared and ran onto a frozen pond and then got stuck. how firefighters got him back to shore. it's dramatic rescue video all caught on camera. you have to see it.

well, sentimental love letters sent by a world war ii veteran are found tucked behind a heating duct. >> the homeowner in detroit found them doing a remodeling project. they came in the black and white papers and military discharge papers. they belonged to a man named stan gargus. also several let fresh a woman named -- letters from a woman named violet. >>