this is a live look outside. 95 south of the beltway, north and southbound moving freely. 895 at the harbor tunnel, things are looking good there, as well. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. back to you. could morning. >> good morning. >> fire breaks out at a downtown apartment complex overnight, quickly going to four alarms. >> george lettis is live downtown this morning with the details. >> another busy day for baltimore city firefighters after yesterday's block fire. the building on fire is on north charles street, 100 yards north of the monument. it is an office building. it is office space on the top three floors and two restaurants on the first floor. we talked to kevin cartwright with baltimore city fire a few moments ago. [no audio] this was an office complex. it was empty at the time of the fire. it has been burning since 1:30 this morning. firefighters are still trying to get this under control. the flames are still shooting from the roof. this has been a stubborn fire. the wind is not helping out. nobody was inside at the time. no serious injuries. a couple of firefighters had some minor injuries. they are doing ok. firefighters have been on the scene for several hours. we're live in mount vernon. george lettis, wbal-tv 11 news. >> thank you. another fire. this one in a downtown business along the adult entertainment district. there were no reported injuries. it rose to five alarms. gayety show world around 4:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon. firefighters were hitting the hot spots. the fire is still under investigation. some of you shared your images from the fire from the gayets building. it was built in 1920 and was considered one of the premier burlesque venues in baltimore. 10 families became displaced after flames ripped through their condominium complex. this was in the warren lodge condominium. people were rushed to get out of the building. the displaced families were set up on an mta bus to stay warm. the cause of the fire is also under investigation. >> a fire -- a doctor faces some tough charges about the maker of a stent. the company which makes the stents mark midei apparently paid -- mark midei. he was placed on a list of top stent doctors. this shows the potential fraud, waste, and abuse. >> the white house announces a deal to prevent your taxes from going up at the end of the month. unemployment checks will get back into the hands of those without jobs. that is expensive and it has some democrats livid. >> i'm not willing to let families become collateral damage for political warfare here washington. >> president obama reluctantly agreed to keep tax breaks for the wealthiest americans for two years and a compromise to preserve tax cuts for the middle class. liberal democrats against any tax breaks for the rich are expected to resuvolt. >> for a democratic senate to fall this philosophy of tax breaks is absolutely wrong public policy. i will do whatever i can to see that 60 votes are not acquired to pass this piece of legislation to correct the president said to continue this fight while americans are suffering -- >> would be the wrong thing to do. >> the deal extends unemployment benefits till the end of next year. millions started to run out this month. 82% cut in payroll taxes. in the end, democrats will have no choice but to vote yes -- a 2% cut in payroll taxes. >> they will hold their nose and vote it. >> neither wise nor warranted, said the president. tracie potts, wbal-tv 11 news. >> the highest court in california here's arguments for and against proposition 8. lawyers are expected to argue whether this violates the constitution. >> if you redefine the institution, if you redefine the word, you change the institution. it is -- you cannot separate -- you cannot separate the two. >> a federal judge struck down prop 8 back in august. >> administrators are concerned of the lack of good manners. they're not a top priority for most 12-year-old. some say cell phones and texting have made matters even worse. there is a yearlong course and kids get everything from opening doors to the proper way to set a table. they also learn about cyber bullying. if you would not say it in person, did not say it online. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. how do you feel about students being required to take a year- long course in good manners? e-mail your response to [email protected]. again, that is [email protected]. if you don't have anything nice to say, do not say anything. >> there you go. 26 degrees on tv hill. >> three adults a sense for holding a teenager captive for more than a year. >> how the winter weather is affecting parts of pennsylvania. >> this is a live look at traffic. this is 95 in the catonsville area. >> welcome back. it is 28 degrees downtown. we will talk about the wind chills in a second. the wind as close to 25 miles per hour already. proteins in the northern suburbs. it feels like 11 in westminster. that is what you want to dress for as you step out the door today. a mix of sun and clouds. a chance for a few snow flurries and a high temperature near 38. we will check the seven-day forecast coming up in just a few minutes. for now, over to the news desk. >> three adults will spend the next 30 years in prison for holding a teenager captive inside a california home for more than a home. the three pleaded guilty in october to more than a dozen felonies. the fourth man was found guilty by a jury and faces life in prison. the teenager managed to escape from the house. he ran into a nearby gym for help. he had a change shackled to his leg. >> northern pennsylvania is a bit chilly of these days. conditions are slick in syracuse, new york, as well. lake effect snow is hitting the that area. a foot of snow hit new york recently. their rough start to the season when you're technically two weeks away. it could be worse. coming up, the morning's financial news in the bloomberg business report. >> the largest job discrimination case is centered around walmart. >> some road closures to tell you about downtown. >> now traffic pulse 11 and insta-weather plus together. >> george lettis has been reformed on this fire. >> on charles street. we also have closures from the fire yesterday. i don't know what is with all the fires. it is causing some problems in terms of problems. charles street is closed between monument and reed. is an area you might want to avoid. baltimore street is closed from the fire yesterday. some additional closures on holliday and commerce street. anne arundel county, southern maryland boulevard, there is an accident to watch for. the major roadways are checking nap ok. 95 just south of the beltway. southbound traffic picking up in volume but no delays just yet. this is near the harbor tunnel and we see the very light volume there. 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. >> have a few downtown bus diversions because of the fire activity. the three, 11, 64 bus is diverting. the 40, 48, and 91 buses are being diverted at baltimore and light street. 19 and 35 streets are diverting westbound at fayette. metro subway is on schedule. now back to tony pann. good morning. >> is another windy and cold start for us on this tuesday morning. don't pay attention to the actual temperatures. it feels much colder. 27 at the airport. for this time of year, you say it is not that bad. that is true. but when the wind is gusting over 20 miles per hour, you have to chop 20 degrees off. 11 is the wind chill in westminster. 17 at the airport. 16 in elkton. it is a cold start for us this morning. we have lake effect snow machine going to our northwest. some flurries will cross into the baltimore area. we don't expect any accumulation. it is a different story in western maryland. wheatherthe same whe set up as yesterday. it should start to change tomorrow. windy and cold. a mix of sun and clouds. high temperature in the upper 30's, but it will feel like it is in the 20's for most of today. the wind will die down a touch after midnight. temperatures drop back into the 20's. tomorrow, that area of low pressure will dissipate. the pressure gradient will relax just a bit. the wind should die doubt on wednesday. the average high temperature this time of year is 49. it will feel better because we will not have the wind. chilly on wednesday with a high temperature near 40. at the end of the week, a system comes in with a chance for some light rain or snow showers on wednesday. -- on friday. on sunday, a more significant storm moves in. still showers and windy and cold on monday with a high near 35. >> the company that makes the whopper is getting leaner. burger king is laying off 400 employees right before the holidays. this part of a new organizational structure. burger king was started in florida over 50 years ago. they will keep their headquarters in miami. the u.s. supreme court has agreed to weigh in on the largest job discrimination case in american history. involves walmart employees who say the company gave more promotions to man. pete williams has that story. >> everything about this case is super sized. the nation's largest retailer facing the largest class action suit ever. women claimed the company discriminated against them. betty was among the first to sue when this case began nine years ago " we had no concept even how to apply for to management. nobody talked about management. it never was addressed. you had to go through just to get promoted. >> walmart says the class action lawsuit of as many as 1.5 million is too blunt an instrument. with more than 4000 stores, there is no way a single class action case could represent the employment practices of all those stores and managers. >> size is not the only issue. the diverse nature of the claim makes it unfair to try these claims in one fell swoop. >> u.s. chamber of commerce hope the court will use the case to put limits on class action suits, which they claim have become abusive. lawyers say a large class action lawsuits are sometimes the old way to get leverage against corporations when they violate civil-rights. >> the playing field is not level of one individual has to go up against wal-mart. if an entire class goes up, and makes it a fair playing field. >> it possible book deal between borders and barnes and noble and at&t users may have customer st. -- can you hear me now? jane king joins us live with the bloomberg business report. good morning. >> we're looking pretty strong for the start of trading here today. it is kind of quiet. the s&p did head lower. ben bernanke said the economy may need more stimulus efforts. there was nervousness among investors yesterday. citigroup is now closer to independence after its taxpayer bailout a couple of years ago. an investor has offered to finance a bid to buy borders to buy barnes and noble. it is worth more than $960 million. it would combine the two largest bookstores. a lot of unhappy iphone users. at&t may have an exclusive hold, but now it is now ranked the worst in terms of service by "consumer reports." the magazine said most at&t customers who own and i thought were less pleased with their service options. that is business at the new york stock exchange. i'm jane king reporting for wbal-tv 11 news. >> what is on tap for your next report? >> a couple of things. some upbeat news about jobs. is tinseltown turning its back on christmas? >> thank you. 26 degrees on tv hill. coming up, another look at your morning commute with traffic and weather [ older brother ] hey, that's the last crescent. 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[ female announcer ] do you have enough creents? with cinnabon cinnamon have such a sweet and delicious aroma that my family can't wait to get their hands on them. enjoy cinnabon cinnamon... nown all pillsbury cinnamon rolls. >> some schools are unlocking the mystery of mystery meets. >> they are revamping the menus so cafeteria food is not just, you know, cafeteria food. we see what is cooking in the kitchen. >> the sights and sounds of creating yummy yet healthy deserts. you might think a school cafeteria is an unlikely place to find fine dining. but here are two of miami's top chefs would be up some delicious treats. michele jones in restaurant and as a top judge on "top chef." they were breaking with students. >> we have to teach him there are other ways of making some foods they recognize into a healthy but still tasty and very approachable. >> like brownies with very little oil, using dates and applesauce instead. >> i thought, this would taste nasty, but it smelled real good. >> seeing an effort by their classmates to produce quality food. that may drop one more barrier to trying to be food. >> when robbie tasted the brownies -- >> this is a good. is amazing. >> the public schools chef and ship program -- >> we want our students to choose healthier foods. we want fresh fruits and vegetables to be their lunch of choice. >> fear create better food and providing some inspiration -- they are creating better food and providing some inspiration. >> the time is now 5:27. coming up in the next half-hour -- lettis. george a stubborn office building fire is still burning in mount vernon. >> that fire has some road >> that fire has some road closures 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. ♪[ male announcer ]... with new breakfast melts. try the sunrise subway melt®, or the melt-tastic breakfast b.m.t. on flatbread. they're melted goodness made irresistibly delicious, get yours starting at 7am. subway. build your better breakfast. >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today in hd. >> good morning and welcome back. i am lisa robinson. >> and i am mindy basara. thank you for joining us this morning. let's get a check on weather and traffic on this cold morning. >> it is little deceiving. look at the current temperature. you say, so what? it 27 degrees. with the wind gusting 30 miles per hour, it makes a huge difference. it is 27 at the airport and the wind is gusting 25. that creates a wind chill of 12. wind chills in the low teens. we will make it up to 38 today. there will be a chance for a couple of snow showers or flurries. close to two feet of snow in western maryland in garrett county. the ski resorts love that. the seven-day forecast in just a few minutes. >> i could feel the wind coming in at this morning. >> especially on the bridge's. >> we do have some warnings on the bridges. the fires are causing problems this morning. charles street is closed between monument and read streets -- reed street. baltimore street is still closed because of a fire yesterday. some closures on commerce street in that same area. it might want to avoid that area. we have a crash in the city at liberty heights. southern maryland boulevard, we have a crash to watch for the re. 11 minutes on the topside. 10 minutes from the beltway down minutes 32. this is 95 just south of the beltway. looking great. southbound traffic looking good. this is 895 at the harbor tunnel. things looking good there, as well. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> fire breaks out in a downtown building overnight. >> it began around 1:30 this morning. george lettis is live at downtown with details. good morning. >> firefighters are still trying to get things under control. this fire has been burning since 1:30 this morning. the flames will not go down and the wind is not helping things. it is an office building with two restaurants on the first floor. in a summit 800 block of north charles street, 100 yards north of the washington monument. no one has been seriously hurt. >> the good news is nobody was inside >> absolute. we're fortunate in that sense. the businesses on the first level, a coffee shop and restaurant, they were close. nobody was inside. right now we're going to continue working and trying to get this under control. >> we have been told that two firefighters suffered minor injuries. right now it is too early to tell any kind of cause. despite the freezing temperatures, water -- getting water on to this fire has not been a huge concern. what may be a concern is the morning commute. a lot of the streets have been closed. you might want a different way around mount vernon this morning. george lettis, wbal-tv 11 news. >> another fire broke out downtown. this one at a business along the adult entertainment block. there were no reported injuries. firefighters had a difficult time getting control of the fire. the building caught fire around 4:00 p.m. yesterday. firefighters worked through the night. the fire remains under investigation. we received dozens of pictures and video from yesterday's fire. this is cell phone video which was uploaded to wbaltv.com. >> we caught up with the mayor earlier and she spoke about the threat the strong wind posed to the fire. >> we're glad that we have everyone's eyes on safety for our fire fighters who are out here and making sure we have sealed off this perimeter so that any curious onlookers are not in danger. >> this morning that fire is under investigation. now to an update on a deadly fire in frostburg. and never hit flue pipe is to blame. the pipe is used to connect a wood stove inside the apartment. reports show evan kullberg and alyssa salazar died of smoke inhalation. a working smoke detector has stopped and found inside the building. -- has not been found inside the building. >> it is not a done deal just yet. president obama reached a compromise with republicans to extend the bush era tax cuts. he still has to sell to members of his own party. kate amara is live with the details. good morning. >> good morning. the president is calling this plant an essential step on the road to recovery. his next step -- he has to get fellow democrats on board. president obama has reached a tentative deal with republicans on the fate of the bush-era tax cuts. >> i believe this plan is directing to do four jobs, for the middle class, it is their right thing to do for business and it is the right thing to do for our economy. >> the agreement would extend tax cuts across the board for the next two years. long time unemployment benefits will be extended another 11 months. to will be a payroll tax deduction for workers next year. >> it is one of the most powerful things we can do to create jobs. >> the president must now sell the deal to members of his own party. some democrats think he conceded too much. >> limiting the tax cuts to those who need it. that is the sad thing. >> i am not at all happy with this. i want to see all the details. >> republican leaders reacted positively. mitch mcconnell said -- i am optimistic that democrats in congress will show the same openness to prevent tax hikes administration has already shown. today, the vice president will be on capitol hill meeting with senate democrats, hoping to sell them on the proposal. live in washington, i am kate amara, wbal-tv 11 news. >> can you tell us any of the specifics in the compromise? >> the proposal would also extend tax credits for children, college tuition, and the earned income tax credit. as for the one-year deduction is social security taxes, it basically means every working american will get to keep an extra 2% of the first $106,000 of income. >> keymar, thank you. >> 26 degrees on tv hill -- kate amara, thank you. >> pregnant women may want to put the cell phone down. >> don't forget to e-mail us your response to our water cooler question of the day. how do you feel about students being required to take a year- long course in good manners? e-mail your response