Hello, thanks for joining us.
I'm Frank Malloy.
And I'm Leah Johnson.
This is Eyewitness News at 11.
Before we get to our headlines tonight, we do have some news tonight from part of our own 13WMAZ family.
The Jones Zone got a little larger...
Meet Ella Hope Jones... Daughter of Ben and Lorra Lynch Jones.
Little Hope, as they'll call her, is just about 3 hours old...
Let's see Ella again...
Tomorrow marks the end of what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration classifies as the Hurricane Season.
The agency says, this year produced 19 named storms.
The average is usually 12.
You see the damage here brought by two of this year's storms: Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Isaac.
Isaac was one of 10 named storms that were also hurricanes -- a number also above average.
Only one storm became a major hurricane, below the usual three.
Based on all that activity the 2012 Atlantic Hurricane season has been classified as "above-normal."
Only clear skies for the holiday parade in Forsyth tonight. .
Candace Adorka spent the evening at there... Where whimsical was the rule of the day.
In Forsyth, the christmas season doesn't start...
...until downtown comes alive with a parade of dancing... music... and lights
<after thanksgiving the community hangs up christmas lights but the christmas parade is the big kicking off point>
This year, the theme for the Hometown Holidays parade was Holidays in Toon town.
<it's a spongebobb christmas it was pretty much the kids idea because all the adults don't like spongebob>
<There was a Dr seus float that was vet original and KB sutton float was neat The kids seemd to enjoy the king fu panda walking around.>
<I think we're gonna do great because we have the live mario and luigi and they're gonna give up that added bonus that we need>
Warden Angela Williams says the 8 inmates at the Burris Correctional Center worked on the Mario and luigi float.
She says they built it in a day, and rushed to be part of one of the biggest events in forsyth.
<we're a big part of the community the department of corrections is here in forsyth and we felt that we needed to show our support to the community>
The sense of community spread from the main event to the sidelines.
Even as the parade draws to a close... It only signals the beginning of good tidings.
<it gets you into the christmas spirit and makes you happy>
The hometown holiday parade is in its 23 year... And if this enthusiastic crowd has anything to do with it... There'll be many more,
Candace Adorka 13 wmaz eyewitnmess news.
The parade featured about 60 different floats and other vehicles. 20 of them are up for best float.
Organizers with the Forsyth-Monroe chamber of Commerce say they plan to announce the winners tomorrow
The parade featured about 60 different floats and other vehicles. 20 of them are up for best float.
Organizers with the Forsyth-Monroe chamber of Commerce say they plan to announce the winners tomorrow..
Get ready to enjoy some of your favorite holiday classics with a free concert next week.
The band of the U.S. Air Force reserve is preparing to give you an early Christmas gift with a performance at the Museum of Aviation.
We spent time with them this afternoon to listen in on one of their rehearsals.. and to learn what's so significant about this year's show.
Today... It seems everybody was focused on making headway with their holiday preparations.
Vice President Joe Biden was no exception.
A squad of security escorted him as he attended the grand opening of Washington's first Costco store today.
While there, Biden grabbed a few samples of the some of the groceries the store sells.
He also took home an apple pie, fire logs, a big screen TV and some children's books.
Reporters did seize the opportunity to ask the Vice President about fiscal cliff negotiations.
He said he's optimistic a deal could be reached.
Former President George H-W Bush remains in a Houston hospital, where doctors have treated him for bronchitis.
His spokesman says the 88 year old has been there for six days and has a "lingering cough."
Bush has a form of Parkinson's disease that affects his legs and requires him to use a wheelchair.
The World War II veteran is the oldest living former president.
Bush family members say they hope he's able to go home this weekend.
An unexpected impact.. Of the economic downturn.
Since the start of the recession in 2007, the birth rate in America has declined.
Last year it plunged to its lowest level since at least 1920.
That's according to a study released by the Pew Research Center.
The overall birth rate in 2011 was about 63 babies per one thousand women of childbearing age.
The biggest dip in recent years is among immigrant women.
The number of foreign-born women having babies dropped 14-percent between 2007 and 2010.
The birth rate for U-S born women declined 6-percent in that same period.
Another sign of ongoing economic struggles in parts of the tech sector.
Hundreds of workers at daily deals site Living Social...found out today they're being laid off.
The Washington, D-C company announced today it's letting 400 employees go.
This news just a month after Amazon reported a worse-than-expected loss, due in part because of its investment in LivingSocial.
A company spokesman says the job cuts will allow the company to invest in other areas, like mobile efforts.
A new survey suggests that married couples are more likely to own a tablet, while smartphones are more popular with single people.
Of the more than two-thousand people surveyed, 49-percent of single people said they own a smartphone, compared with only 43-percent of married people.
On the other hand, 45-percent of people who have said "I do" reported owning a tablet, compared with 36-percent of singles.
But the digital marketing company that released the survey, The Search Agency, says the ages of survey takers more than their relationship status may have impacted the results.
Finishing touches are going on floats all around Central Georgia...as we march towards a weekend with a full lineup of Holiday Parades.
We've got it all in tonight's Scene 13.
A busy weekend, indeed, friends... Particularly Saturday... Which promises plenty of colorful floats, cool cars, thousands of lights...and yes, perhaps a sighting or two of the big guy himself.
Let's start rolling with the annual Warner Robins Christmas parade. This year's theme... A classic... The 12 Days of Christmas...
The holiday extravaganza is in its fifty-fifth year.
In keeping with tradition, it steps off from Houston Road and Watson Boulevard.
The marching begins at ten a.m....
With up and coming Nashville recording star and Georgia native Colbie Dee doing the honors as Grand Marshall.
Don't be late.
The fair city of Dublin is not to be forgotten.
They get in the game on Saturday at 2 p.m.
The parade will start on Telfair St., turns left on North Jefferson St., another left at the court house on Bellevue Ave. Then it proceeds through downtown and will finish at City Hall on Bellevue Avenue.
And Bolingbroke gets into the act that same afternoon with a parade in the tradition of Norman Rockwell.
That one begins at 3 p.m. on Rivoli Road.
Other parades stepping through the area... Doing it the Perry Way...as Santa pays a visit to Central Georgia.
The jolly guy gets on his way at 4... and the route will take him down Main Street..ending up at the old Harvey's.
Fort Valley's parade begins at 5 p.m. at Blue Bird and ends with a celebration at Fort Valley Festival Park.
And you can cap off the festivities at Centerville's parade. It begins at 7 p.m. on Thompson Road and ends at the Galleria Mall.
So... Fill the thermos with hot chocolate...pack up the family...put on that lit-up Christmas sweater you know you've been waiting all year to wear... And get your holidays on.
Now a look at what you'll see if you're planning to take in a movie in between all the festivities.
Not a lot of holiday spirit here though.
This week's new releases will take movie-goers to the dark underworld and a house of horrors.
In "The Collection", a masked psychopath captures an unsuspecting group of partiers at an underground warehouse, and kidnaps the only survivor.
her father forces the only man who has ever escaped an encounter with this killer to lead a group of mercenaries through a booby-trapped house of to find his daughter.
From the writer/director team behind several of the "Saw" movies, "The Collection" is rated R.
And in "Killing Them Softly," three low-level thieves rob a mob poker game, and manage to crash the entire underworld economy.
Brad Pitt plays an enforcer hired by the mob to restore order, and make the thieves pay.
Also starring James Gandolfini, "Killing Them Softly" is rated R.
So our recommendation? Hire a babysitter for your movie date... and pick up the kids for some family time at all the holiday events we told you about.
In news, we learn to expect the unexpected...
But one Miami meteorologist didn't anticipate this.
Look closely...as this cat paws his way right onto a Univision news set during a live weathercast.
Pretty impressive, how the meteorologist rolls with the punches.
The news team at Univision 23 says, the cat is one of many that wonder around the parking lot.
This one wasn't satisfied with staying outside the station gates though... Turns out, he was ready for his crack at his big break on air.