upper 50's to near 60 degrees today and maybe some fog this morning. we have to talk about the rain chances as the next storm system approaches. >> good morning. one problem spot for this early morning. that is in harford county. they crashed to watch for. that is the only thing we have going on right now. the harrisburg expressway is looking good. we're looking good there. up to speed on the major roadways. 11 minutes on the outer loop west side. 11 minutes as well. 70 minutes on 895 between it -- 17 minutes on 895 between the 95's. this is a live view of 70 west

of the beltway. east and west bound looking good. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. back to you. >> 3 people have to be rescued in charles village. crews were called to the scene on st. paul street just before midnight last night. three people were treated at the scene and released. homicide investigators are handily a late-night shooting in southwest baltimore. officers arrived on pratt street to find a male victim shot in the head. dozens of baltimore city police officers had to be called in to break up a brawl at a high school. it is not clear what led to the brawl. spectators were surprised by the

number of people involved. >> there were caught up in the fight. >> both players and fans exchanged blows. no word on any injuries. a case of bullying. they claimed the school system did not do enough to protect the child. lowell melser has more on what the judge has thrown out. >> the attorney for the sullivan family says despite the outcome of this case, she is hoping that parents with kids will better know how to deal with bullying. the jury will continue deliberating later this morning. the sullivan family claimed two of their children faced bullying between 2008 and 2009 and that

the school system did nothing to stop it. the sullivans attorney says what is most important is that the issue of bullying is out there for discussion. >> i am glad that this issue is getting attention and that our children may be more safe as a result. >> yes today the judge tossed out nine different counts leaving four for the jury to decide. those jury deliberations will continue later this morning. lowell melser, wbal-tv 11 news. >> police are asking for your help to identify two men wanted in a local barbershop shooting. the owner of the upclose barbershop survived the attack but lost his eye to a gunshot

wound. police are asking anyone with information to please come forward. police say the men in the photos matched witness descriptions. there is a reward for information on the crime. the man who was murdered outside the towson town center apparently knew who shot him. rodney pridget saw someone he knew and commented on his dislike. somebody followed pridget outside the mall and he was shot several times. police hope surveillance video will help them identify the gunmen. your taxes could be on their way up in just nine days.

congress remains at the impasse over the popular payroll tax cut. kate amara has more. >> the halls of congress are clearing out. house republicans are refusing a bipartisan senate deal to extend the tax deal for two more months. >> bypassing the extension and then racing home to their vacation. >> the gop called it a poor policy at once the senate to return and negotiate a full year tax break. >> we want the senate members over here to work with us to resolve our differences so we can do what everybody wants to do. >> democrats are also dealing in their heels. >> mr. speaker -- >> we will be here every day

waiting for them to come to the floor of the house to take up this legislation so we can get it done. >> president obama called speaker boehner. >> the president reiterated his commitment to work with congress to extend the payroll tax cut for the entire year. >> no action means payroll taxes will jump about $20 a week for a worker making $50,000 a week. kate amara, wbal-tv 11 news. >> if the deal gets passed, this is far from over. >> the current stalemate is basically over how to pay for extending the tax cut for a full year without adding to the deficit. >> 52 degrees on tv hill. explosions rocked baghdad this

morning leaving more than a dozen dead. a chase to the streets of orlando is caught on tape. this is 95 north of 152. ♪ [ female announcer ] this time of year you have a lot of festive meals. and safeway helps make every holiday meal

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>> welcome back to 11 news today. 5:09. 58 degrees downtown at the inner harbor. we will drop down a bit more as we head towards sunrise. a cold front is passing over the area. back expecting it to bump up to 51 by 9:00 a.m. the front moves offshore and we

will move up to 60 for the high temperature. we have a chance for rain tonight. >> thank you. 18 people were killed and dozens injured after a series of explosions in baghdad. the worst attack happened where at least seven people were killed. the first since u.s. forces pulled out of the country. a car chase through orlando came to an end on wednesday afternoon. police chased a car through the city until the car went through a red light. two other vehicles were involved in the crash. one woman in the accident was taken to a hospital. authorities found a firearm and

marijuana inside the suspect vehicle. 52 degrees on tv hill. we'll check out some of the high-tech gadgets on the wish list of many a kids this holiday. why not renta toys? companies are letting you do that. >> we have one accident

[ mom ] hey guys. guys... [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls with cinnabon cinnamon

are an irresistible sunday morning idea. nothing calls them to the table faster. sunday morning ideas made easy. [ younger brother ] oh, do you want it? yeah. ok, we'll split it. [ female announcer ] made fresh, so light... ...buttery and flaky... this is half. that is not half. guys i have more. [ female announcer ] do you have enough crescents? >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> good morning.

kim dacey checking on your morning commute. we have one accident to report in harford county. one thing you want to watch out for. looking very nice on the roads closer to baltimore city. 63 on the west side of the beltway. 59 on 95 in the northeast corner. looking good at all the way around. this is 95 in the area of mountain road in harford county. moving in just fine. this is 70 west of the beltway. very light. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. now let's get the latest on the buses and the trains. for that we go to kurt kronke of the mta system. good morning. >> we're looking good on the marc trains right now. no delays on the penn, camden, and brunswick lines. light rail and metro subway on schedule. the three bus diverting at

preston. i'm kurt kronke and now back to ava marie. >> thank you. good morning. a couple of days away from the christmas holiday. maybe you're heading out to do some traveling today. there is some rain later tonight. the roads are looking good. 58 is the current temperature at the inner harbor. the big discrepancy -- we have 50's and a few low 60's along the eastern shore. turning colder from baltimore out towards the west. 39 in oakland. a cold front is passing over us right now. we're seeing those temperatures drop down. quite a bit of clouds in the sky. partly sunny skies. that front is still over us. it brought all the rain.

that is moving offshore. a quick burst of high pressure breathing dry weather and this new storm system will be lifting it from the west. another cold front heads are way behind that and this will bring a drop in the temperatures as we head into the holiday weekend. you can see how cold dead air is behind that second front. 27 in minneapolis. the mild air moving into the southeast and the ohio river valley. temperatures will be able to bounce back as we get more sunshine in the east. thunderstorms in atlanta. snow from denver to chicago. that star system lifting off to the east. snow in the midwest -- that storm system. maybe some areas of fog along the east. high temperatures near 60 this

afternoon. into the 40's tonight. maybe a few showers into the evening. some could be pretty heavy. some places to pick up to 2 inchees os of rain. a storm system for christmas will stay mostly to our south. >> many americans are feeling optimistic about their finances. nearly half feel that 2012 will be a better year for them financially. 48% have that optimistic attitude. one key is that 54% will set a budget and stick to it. many believe that is an important step in overhauling your finances.

that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. are you more optimistic about the economy for 2012? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. why buy thule's this holiday season when you can rent them -- uy toys this holiday season when you can rent them? forget about the legos. kids are looking for high tech these days. >> the man rush is on for the best toys. chris burns plays with toys for a living. we brought our own experts to play time. think abouticking up a tablet

built just for them. >> there is one made just for them, the leapfrog. >> it can take stills and record a video. >> the software is designed for kids 4 to 9. >> another is one from v-tech. >> it has a lot of the downloadable apps. >> may be it is time for the first camera. >> it has a traditional lens and takes a video. >> it can handle anything she can throw at it. >> it is kid stuff. >> radio-controlled cars have gotten an upgrade.

this one is controlled by light. >> it is 8 red light -- it is 8 red lig a red light. >> it is great for spying around and sue your brother and sister are up to -- and see what your brother and sister are up to. >> this blaster looks like a peripheral for a video game. you have the touch screen going through the trigger as you're blasting aliens so it looks like you're blasting aliens right in your living room. >> ellen braitman has a look at the bloomberg business report. >> no aliens here. home values are on the decline

but not as down as before. values were rather small decrease in four years. the value of the overall housing market dropped by nearly $700 billion this year. we do have a jobs back in focus. we will get the weekly jobless claims. we are seeing stock futures higher ahead of that. yesterday was a pretty mixed close. the dow and the s&p or in positive territory. exelon is getting a green light in the takeover of constellation energy. they were just hit with a lawsuit in washington alleging the takeover would eliminate competition. and that it would lead to an increase in wholesale electricity prices for consumers

in the mid atlantic states. the we have a sagging jobs market. a survey says nearly half of adults are optimistic that next year will be better when it comes to their financial situation. 40% plan to overhaul their finances in 2012. i am ellen braitman reporting for wbal-tv 11 news. >> best buy it made the money list this year -- naughty list. >> they are anchoring many on- line customers, failing to deliver items in time for christmas or at all. >> thank you. 52 degrees on tv hill. some changes are coming to this year's new year's celebration downtown.

>> there was some cheer last night. there was a five-start dinner and a toy -- a fine start dinner and a toy giveaway -- a five- star dinner. >> this holiday season. we're providing a catered meal from one of the top catering services. we greet them with roses. >> that is fabulous. they also received a gift cards

for the holiday. the annual fireworks event is now a go. ♪ the mayor and the office of promotion announced the 2011 sendoff will feature live music, a light show, plus 80 minutes a fabulous fireworks. event doors can see if you welcome changes -- event-goers can expect to see a few welcome changes. >> new ways to make it not so spectacular when it comes to the music and the fireworks. the visitor experience. >> officials will also cordoned off the area with a metal fence restricting the harbor to just nine different answers points.

festivities will kickoff 9:00 p.m. on saturday, december 31. 5:26. 52 degrees on tv hill. what do you do when you're left with some chicken droppings? find out what they are doing with the messy byproduct. >> what could be a landmark bullying case here in baltimore city. i will have a live report. >> police say or they are moving in the right direction into the death of phylicia barnes. we will explain what they mean. >> the cold air returning to parts of the east. temperatures will still be warm today. >> one problem spot. major roadways are looking good.