off the perimeter so that any curious on onlookers are not in danger. >> we know these buildings are very cut up. they have been used on many different uses over the years. >> reporter: a shelter has been set off right here off of fayette street. so if there was anyone who couldn't get all of their belongings and cannot get home, the shelter is set up if they need it. we're standing in the middle of fayatte street. a lot of firefighters still on scene. at the height of this there was more than 120 firefighters here for this five alarm fire. a few buildings were evacuated. those are the building right behind me here. they are city buildings, all those city workers are evacuated just before 4:00. we know at 401 fayette there was damage. we're at the command center and there is still a lot of activity as they figure out how to go forward. the mayor and the fire department both are saying that they will be here all night. they have to assess these buildings to see how bad the damage and is if they'll have to condemn them or knock them down, we just don't know. fire investigators are still looking into the cause of this fire. it's not everyone clear which building it actually started in. because by the time firefighters got here it had spread already very quickly. we will have the latest for you here. we'll right now send it back to you on tv hill. our complete coverage continues with derek valcourt he's also live at the scene. what's going on at your vantage point? >> the firefighters still have many of the roads out here blocked off. the good news is, the smoke, we're not seeing nearly as much as we were seeing earlier. the wind obviously creating quite a few problems for the firefighters. the winds have been changing directions quite a bit down here. one minute we have a lot of smoke in this area, the next minute it's cleared out. so i guess, i suppose in some essence that's a good thing for the firefighters. the winds clearing the smoke out pretty quickly but changing direction has created quite a few problems. pwás there's been so many people who have come down to see what was happening. keep in mind this 400 block of baltimore street right in the heart of downtown. lots of tall buildings around, businesses, people were coming out to see what was going on. and these oáfbg were some nightclubs -- and these of course were some nightclubs on the block. a lot of people had to evacuate quickly and a lot of people here to see it. here's what some of them had to say. >> basically, a little bit of smoke coming out the front. a little bit coming out the back. then the girls started running out naked. >> we looked at the building, just a little bit of gray soot coming out. so we started looking at it and we saw a bunch of people running out, running out. a couple of girls trying to get their clothes on. >> reporter: war memorial was open for anyone who had to evacuate their buildings and maybe left personal items or keys to their cars inside. no one has been using the war memorial so that must be a good thing. everybody must be out of downtown. if you can avoid this area, roads are locked up. viewers have been sending in incredible video and pictures of the fire since it broke out. adam may is live in the newsroom. >> you know how there's so many tall buildings surrounding that area right there. a lot of people from their high rises were able to look down and take good video of that. let's take a look at amateur video coming in to wjztv.com. people have been saying that work downtown, when they were on the 15th or 20th floor they were actually eye to eye with the thick black smoke that was rising into the air. really quickly to note, there was a fire in the 1961. that fire happened december 21st. almost exactly 40 years ago to the date, and it was a burlesque club back then, a very similar use of the building. and bernadette woods joins now. >> we keep hearing about the winds and they've been very high. sustained winds coming in between 20 to 25 miles per hour and had gusts higher than that. they're coming out of the west. that's why you're hearing a lot of these stories in little italy and smoke being smelled all the way to canton. wind gusts right now 30 miles per hour. and that did not help the situation. another thing we want to bring up too is the temperature is very cold. but we were above freezing which is good news because the fire this morning has some issues with sub freezing temperatures. however over the next hour or so those temperatures are going to drop and we're going below freezing so ice could become an issue with some of the water that was still out there, denise. the fire has you've been hearing is causing massive gridlock. let's go to christie in traffic control. >> we have closures to watch out for on fayette street, lexington street. right now what we're advising people to do is to take pratt or lumbar. those streets are getting very heavy as well. we have live footage of the jfx, it was at a complete stop moments ago, but now it's back to a crawl. thank you very much christie. let's go back to adam may live with more incredible pictures the viewers are sending in. >> let's take a look at some of the pictures people are sending in. you can see more pictures taken from the top of some of those buildings looking down. great vantage points, this one you can see the yellow fire lighting up the night sky. you take a look at the next picture, look at what happened just moments later when the smoke started roaring. that's when the smoke started filling the area. federal hill, we also had people in canton that said they could see and smell the smoke. we have incredible pictures that came in from little italy as well as the smoke was coming in. the smoke was so thick, it was almost barreling down the streets there between the buildings. now all of it able to rise up into the air, it started coming at people as they were walking down the street. there you can see the smoke. this was one of the most incredible pictures as the tower of smoke is so high that's when people were eye to eye with the smoke when they were on the 15th. looks like we're near the police department which would be just a couple of blocks away. you could see just a black out situation there from the smoke on the streets. those are some of the latest picture, we're going to continue to go through pictures that people are sending to wjz, we'll go back to you in the studio. wjz.com is always on, check in for the latest, video and pictures on wjz.com. stunning details about a local doctor and his ties to a drug company. the evidence is alarming that maryland patients received unnecessary heart stents while the manufacturer was praising and partying with the doctor making the recommendations. >> reporter: that report really goes into detail the relationship between dr. mcday and abbott. we now know that abbott was paying thousands of dollars for consulting even after the hospital told him he could no longer practice. >> at the sprawling home of dr. mark maday, abbott labs paid thousands of dollars for dinners, a pig roast, crab, beer, a party just before abbott praised mcday. but just days after that dinner, mcday would have a sprawl. scandal center on mcday after mcday's employer, st. joseph sent letters to mcday's clients telling them they may not have needed the stent. many of them sued. the stent did not appear to -- mcday has always denied any wrong doing. >> i'm competent in everything that i've done, every decision i've made. >> reporter: the senate investigation found stent investigations come at a high cost to taxpayers with 27.5 billion billed to medicare between 2004 to 2008. >> the government's perspective, we only bring these cases when we think we have a sure case. >> reporter: and abbott released this statement. dr.midei has been a highly regarded physician. we have no further comment at the time. >> reporter: reporting live, mike hellgren, wjz eyewitness news. thank you very much, mike. now adam may takes a look at a threat made in an e-mail to a baltimore sun writer covering this story. adam-- >> reporter: that e-mail surfaced during a senate investigation and the target telling wjz it says a lot about the pharmaceutical companies. >> reporter: when the baltimore sun published a column on the scandal, a vice president of abbott wrote a colleague, don't you have connections in baltimore. someone needs to take this writer outside and kick his you know what. do i need to send the philly mob? >> i would hate to think that the pharmaceutical company is taking out calls on individuals. >> reporter: when asked they claim they don't have connections to the mob, the author of the e-mail is still employed and they will not release any response to the e- mail. >> if the response was, all right boss, i'm putting in the job tomorrow. it would have been upsetting. >> do you think you're going to walk out of this building and look over your shoulder. >> i don't think these are mob guys, they are intimidating but i don't think it's take jay into the parking lot and beat him up kind of way. at least i hope not. >> reporter: abbott labs say they have apologized and they are addressing this issue internally. >> hancock will have a column in the threatening e-mail in tomorrow's baltimore sun. a punch in the gut to the ravens and fans after a loss to the steelers. now they have to pick themselves up to get ready for another prime time game. mark viviano joins us now from the team and the game. >> reporter: it doesn't make the ravens loss any easier. not for coach john harbaugh. he called it the hardest defeat to put up with yet in his stint here. >> ben roethlisberger came into the game with a broken foot and he left with a broken nose. from head to toe he was broken up. and the turn in the game came when palumalou stripped the ball. enough time for the ravens to put together a game tieing drive, but that fell short with this final pass from flacco. the ravens fall to their rival and the offense took the game. it's clear, this team seeing its shortings in it's inability to finish the game. >> it hurts worse than any other game because you know, we, we're just -- it's sad to say but, we're not a good offense at times, we really aren't. >> they got the w. in this league, that's all -- they don't want to say baltimore defense played phenomenally and put up everything that they lost. that's all that matters. >> reporter: any loss to the steelers stings in baltimore. with our wjz fan cam, we asked you what disapoints you most about falling to pittsburgh this time. >> a loss is very disappointing but i think the most upsetting part is that it was the steelers. >> cam cameron needs to find us more employment. he's too conservative. >> i would have gone to the field goal, because i think he definitely would have made it. >> hard fought game, and losing was the thing that disappointed me most. >> reporter: some injury news to add to the insult, todd heap's hamstring injury looks pretty serious. we'll get the latest from the coach, that's coming up a little bit in sports. >> what a night it was, mark, thank you very much. we'll see you in a few moments. watch the game right here on wjz next monday our coverage kicks off at 8:00. >> still to come, paying at the pump, gas prices soaring close to $3 a gallon. and dozens of people now homeless after a baltimore fire. and a blustery monday evening. bob will be back with the updated forecast, coming up. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, you may not know this, but as of right now there will be no live horse racing at next year in maryland. this means thousands of jobs are on the line. political reporter pat warren takes us inside the meeting that just wrapped up on the future of horse racing in maryland. >> reporter: the race started at the stake house today with the admitted disadvantage that business is business, heritage left aside. >> one of the obligations that the owners of the magna has and the owners of the the racetracks have with is a minimum amount of racing days in order to be licensed to operate. that business and our state. >> reporter: in a campaign, racetrack owners warned that the vote to put slots in arundel mill instead of laurel, would be the kiss of death. last week they puckered up. the state racing commission refused a plan to cut racing to just a mere 30 days at mindeclo and 17 at laurel which they argued would put them out of business either way. >> reporter: today the state called the parties to the table to try to find a compromise in all or nothing. >> i suppose one of the big questions that magna has to say is whether they are truly in here for the long haul. governor o'malley did not attend the meeting but he's trying to stop the power of the eminent domain. >> eminent domain is always an option. we've been seeing it's been windy and blustery downtown. >> today was really the coldest day we've had so far. with temperatures in the mid- 30s. right now we're down to freezing 32, but it feels more like 21 degrees. that with the west wind at 21. humidity 44% and dry cold air. the barometer on the way back up. we'll talk about the rest of the week. cold weather continues right after this. ,,,,,, bge's instant discounts got our homeowner to switch to energy star® cfl bulbs. these covered cfls look great and last longer- perfect for 'them hard-to-reach places. 3-way cfls really click with my style. go to participating retailers for bge's instant discounts on select cfls. learn to speak the language of energy efficiency at bgesmartenergy.com. wjz13 continues to follow the breaking story from downtown baltimore. a huge fire on baltimore street spread to four buildings, in the end not far from city police headquarters. we're taking a live look now from sky high chopper 13. we'll have the update later. it's one of our coldest days so far. we go to bob turk. >> reporter: temperatures getting close to freezing downtown to around 34. so the next couple of hours, and that water down there is going to be pretty solid. we have pretty heavy snow bands, this is all lake effect snow all to the north and west of us. continues particularly heavy. just south of buffalo into pennsylvania. some of those flakes might reach baltimore. primarily they'll be holding off to the west. mostly the winds dry out as they come down the mountains so we don't see too much of lake effect snow east of the mountains. however surrounding areas in west virginia have picked up any where from five to 18- inches of snow. already and there's more on the way. some areas could see several more feet of snow. just picks up that moisture and dumps it right there. take a look at temperatures right there: down to 32, the warm spot, you can call it 33, 33 only 14 in oakland right now. 14degrees the current temperature with a wind of 18, 21 here, 10 at ocean city which brings up wind gusts up to 30- 34 miles per hour. it's really an uncomfortable afternoon evening. current windchill is 20, two below in oakland. all because of a deep air of low pressure that's setting up over eastern quebec. it's causing all that lake effect snow. that will continue for a couple more days out there. plain cold and windy, the winds will diminish by wednesday afternoon and by thursday, not much wind but still in the cold side. day temp in the mid-20s and a gail warning in the bay tonight. 24, a few scattered flurries possible with continued breezy conditions and windy and cold tomorrow. 36 with a few scattered clouds in the early morning. tomorrow about the same, same kind of cold will continue at least a few more days. >> thanks, bob. still to come tonight on wjz's eyewitness news. building immunity. how sending your child to day building immunity. how sending your child to day care can actually help their ,,, bge's instant discounts got our homeowner to switch to energy star® cfl bulbs. 3-way cfls really click with my style. learn to speak the language of energy efficiency at bgesmartenergy.com. it is just after 6:30, 32 degrees and partly cloudy. good evening thanks for staying with wjz. here are some of the stories people are talking about tonight. updating the breaking news we've been following all weekend. a huge fire shuts down the heart of baltimore. wjz is in live now, kelly mcpherson has what's happening at the very moment. >> reporter: we just got an e- mail update from chief steven carthwright that they know five buildings were impacted by the fire, but there is a possible sixth building. you can see they are still working on this fire. there were at the peak of this more than 100 firefighters here fighting this. and right now they are still putting water on to the buildings, there are still plenty of hot spots that they are working on. we understand there still were flames visible because there are still little fires within these buildings and right now you can see that there is lots of activity. streets are still shut down out here as they still work to contain this five alarm fire. where surprisingly and unbelievably no one was injured this afternoon. kelly mcpherson, wjz news. >> now let's go to derek valcourt who is also live at the scene at a different location. what's going on there derek? >> reporter: the fire chief is telling us how difficult fighting this fire has been, partly because of the winds and also changing directions quite a bit. every time they would move people out of the way, out of the smoke to one location the wind would change, they would have to change people to a different location so that was a challenge. also traffic downtown. this is right in the heart of downtown. people getting out of work for the day. right at the 5:00 hour. busy, they had to block off a lot of streets. that was another challenge and a third challenge certainly the age of these buildings, they are older buildings and that certainly helped fuel the fire. >> certainly these buildings were built way before sprinklers were required. i can tell you that the mique building was sprinkled. and sprinklers went out and helped contain the fire. certainly sprinklers did their job in this building and we would have loved to have sprinklers in all the buildings, something we're just working toward. it'll time some time to get that done. >> are the building where the fire started, damage is beyond repair. will they be condemned, can you know at this point? >> we don't know at this point. fire department has inspectors here to make that assessment for us if they can get in. >> reporter: fire chief clack saying it's going to be a long night for his team. they're going to be out here for much of the evening, they've started to open up a few of the streets. investigators will be looking into this cause of this for several days. derek valcourt, eyewitness news. >> wjz13 is always on and you can check in for complete coverage of this huge fire downtown. for updates, for extra video and pictures log on to wjz.com. 10 families now homeless, an investigation is under way into a fast burning fire in an apartment fire. the fire started after 5:00 a.m. at the warren lodge condominiums and strong winds spread the flames. firefighters think it was at a lower unit, but it was over the top when they arrive. >> the whole roof was in flames. >> reporter: hours later, crews were still putting out hot spots. residents got out with what they could. >> someone was pounding on my door saying fire, fire. >> reporter: that knock probably came from firefighter dave clark who got the call. >> i came and got my son, and my dog and this blanket and my shoes and i just ran out of there. >> reporter: the extreme weather made it difficult to battle. temperatures are below freezing so besides fighting the fire, officers had to put down salt to make sure they didn't slip. residents say they are just glad that everyone is all right. >> it's a very quiet, comfortable wonderful place to live here. and now i have to go. >> reporter: the cause of the fire is still under investigation. now a former resident telling us this isn't the first time this building has burned. a similar fire happened here nearly 30 years ago. reporting in cocky sville, andrea fujii. just in time for the holidays, gas prices are closing in on the $3 a gallon mark. that's because oil prices are now at $90 a barrel, the highest in two years. the cold temperatures here in the east and in europe have also caused prices to spike. here's a look at prices right now, we're paying an average of $2.97 a gallon. this time last month we were paying $2.79. last year only $2.60 a gallon. president obama is open to a compromise on tax cut legislation as lawmakers continue to work on a deal behind closed doors. randall pinkston is in washington with more on who can get the cuts. >> reporter: president obama took the stage at a north carolina community college and called on lawmakers in washington to strike a deal on tax cuts. >> right now, there are bigger issues at stake for our country than politics. >> reporter: leaders from both parties and white house officials have been negotiating behind closed doors for days. they are reported to be closing in on a plan that would extend the bush era tax cuts for everyone for the next two years. >> there's strong bipartisan opposition to raise taxes on small business across the country. >> reporter: if the democrats drop the cuts, president obama will look to extend jobless benefits. president obama says it's a strong move when looking to shore up the economy. >> when american families stop spending money, that slows down businesses, it slows down hiring, it slows down our economy. >> reporter: to the point that the president wants to do thing that is i or our members are with, we want to do that for the country. >> reporter: they need to act by the end of the year other wise taxes go up for everyone. and as many as 2 million people could lose their unemployment benefits. randall pinkston wjz news. >> up to now, republicans opposed the spending bill. a facelift for facebook. your profile will soon be changes. a new biography changes will show the most recent pictures your friends have tacked you in. users will also be able to feature their favorite friends on their profile. for parents who must be feeling guilty about sending their child to day care while they work, a new study should make them feel better. as sandra hughes reports, they could be building their child's immunity. like many mothers, joane lombardo was torn about taking her child to day care to go back to work. but diane's anxiety was eased by other moms. >> a lot of people i knew said, hang in there. by the time your daughter reaches kindergarten, she is never going to be sick. >> reporter: they were right, and a new study reported backed up what many parents already knew. children who attend large group day care facilities before age 2-1/2 appeared to develop more ear and throat infections, were okay. children in smaller day care or stayed at home got fewer illnesses, but when they went to school they got sick. >> it's better that they miss school now with the day care than when they are in the school system. >> reporter: being in class every day, is crucial for learning. in los angeles, sandra hughes, wjz news. now researchers say there is a possibility that stimulating the immune system early could also give long term protection against asthma. >> you've been there, done that. not going back, right. >> yeah, toddlers are sweet for a day. but been there. >> send them home. a huge fire destroys a motel in georgia, was anyone hurt. more cold conditions for the rest of the week. i'll have the specific five day warning forecast. p. wjz13 is always on, here are the top stories on wjz13.com. for all the updates on all the , switching to progressive could mean hundreds more in your wallet year after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. one person is dead and another seriously injured after a plane crash. the plane flipped upside down then head nosed first into the ground. the cause of the crash is under investigation. family of four is dead after a massive house fire in kentucky. when fire officials responded to the scene they found all four victims dead inside a bedroom. two of the victims were adults, the other two young children. neighbors believe a caroseen heater is to blame. about 50 firefighters were called out to an abandoned super inn in augusta. the cause is still under investigation. harry smith has a preview of what's coming up tonight. >> less travel, enpowering women to take things into their own hands by fixing their cars. that's tonight's assignment america. that story and more on the cbs evening news. >> and here's a look at tonight's closing numbers from wall street. we'll be right back. ,,,, ,,,, the kincaids live here. across the street, the padillas. ben and his family live here, too. ben's a re/max agent, and he's a big part of this community. there are lots of reasons why re/max agents average more sales than other agents. experience, certainly. but maybe it's also because they care about the markets they serve and the neighbors who rely on them. nobody sells more real estate than re/max. visit remax.com today. the next, you start one feeling a bit off.ne. the moment you feel run down or achy, nip flu-like symptoms in the bud, with oscillococcinum. get oscillo and feel like yourself again. oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud. fire in downtown baltimore. you are looking live where firefighters are still battling hot spots after a huge fire erupted this afternoon. no one was hurt. and weather hampered firefighters from fighting this fire. let's get an update on the forecast. let's check in with meteorologist bernadette woods and bob turk for an update. >> fanning flames, blowing a lot of smoke over president street and the winds are going to continue tonight and tomorrow. now as far as the forecast goes for tomorrow, pretty much what we got today. we're looking at in and out of the clouds, throughout the day with a chance for flurries and temperatures only topping out in the mid-60s. then dropping into the 20s overnight tomorrow. now for the rest of the five day, here's bob. >> as we told you this past weekend, the cold will continue pretty much all week long. 36 tomorrow, 37 wednesday, the winds are slowly diminished down to 21 with the lighter winds. 36 on thursdays. warming up a little bit, maybe a rain or snow shower on friday then warmer, closer actually pretty much normal with partly cloudy skies. 48, 34 at night, saturday night. a little bit warmer than we've seen. in fact, that's pretty close to tomorrow's high temperature, once again the normal this time of year around 48, 49 degrees for a high. and then the upper 20s for our low at night. denise-- >> thank you, bob. still to come on eyewitness news tonight. >> the ravens look for answers after their loss to the steelers. mark has the latest coming up in sports. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, hearted break, anger, disappointment, bitterness i've heard it all today. >> keep going. they're looking at moving on, but today blue monday. it's a loss that cuts deep, falling short at home, losing to their rival pittsburgh and losing when they had the lead with just minutes to go. most of the anger is directed to the offense. derrek mason the most outspoken saying the loss hurts so bad that it makes his wonder whether it was worth to come back this season after he had pondered retirement. >> we don't score enough points, we should be an offense scoring more than 25 points in any football game. we had an opportunity to go down there and kick a field goal. we got sacked out of the fringe. that's where we're at right now, we have to get better, we're not good enough on offense, there's no question about it. >> the ravens have lost todd heap for next week. he suffered a hamstring injury in the first play of the game. it's a serious injury and his availability doesn't look good. it'll be another prime time show down, monday night in houston against the texans. it's a game you can see right here on wjz, our special live coverage will come your way at 8:00. the nfl mourns the passing of former qb and commentator dan meredith has died. commissioner roger goodell calls don meredith one of the most colorful characterrers in nfl history. baseball and the major league winter meetings got started. the orioles lead off with a trade. that brings a new third baseman to baltimore. mark reynolds. reynolds is a classic all or nothing hitter. he averaged 35 homers and 100 runs driven if in during his four seasons with the diamondbacks but he also led the league in strike outs each of the past three years. a native of virginia beach. with the new third baseman, the orioles still continue a look for a first baseman. the red sox have landed theirs, adrian gonzalez. the sox got gonzalez for three minor league prospects. they sign him for $150 million. gonzalez was available for trade because the padres could not pay him what he would demand as a free agent next year. the franchise in san diego is worth about $150 million. so, that's the economics of is worth about $150 million. so, that's the economics of baseball, the orioles make ,,,,, [ snoring ] [ male announcer ] in the nfl, you can't win tomorrow if a cold keeps you up tonight. vicks nyquil cold and flu. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever, best sleep you ever got with a cold... medicine. when you're a quarterback in the nfl... ♪ there are no sick days. vicks dayquil defeats 5 cold and flu symptoms. ♪ don't miss the cbs line up. that's it for us tonight. we of course will be back at 11:00. i'm vic carter. >> and for bob and for mark i'm denise koch. thanks for watching wjz baba >> smith: to want, wikileaks reveals sites around the world vital to u.s. security. some say it's a blueprint for terrorists. >> it's like painting a target on the companies or the entitys which are listed. >> smith: i'm harry smith, also tonight, elizabeth edwards is losing her battle against cancer. her doctors tell her to stop cancer treatment and she posts a farewell message online. and she's breaking down roadblocks, taking women into a world long dominated by men. steve hartman's "assignment america." captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> smith: good evening, katie is off tonight. there is breaking news at the white house. after weeks of haggling, nasty debate, and political posturing, it appears that president obama and consi