tonight a canine officer at a local airport has been locked up charged with soliciting a

minor. shomari stone is at dulles airport with more. >> reporter: investigators have not told us where they arrested this officer. the officer is a metropolitan airport authority canine officer at dulles airport. here he is at national airport. he was charged with soliciting a minor with a communications device which usually means on a computer. he was arrested at 1:30 this afternoon. right now he is at the fairfax detention center. the metropolitan washington airport authority put him on administrative leave. we'll update www.nbcwashington.com with the details as they become available. live at dulles airport, i'm shomari stone. back to you. we know the reason for a nightmare commute. an 18-wheeler started leaking dry cleaning fluid. the eastbound lanes were shut

down at 4:00 this afternoon and didn't reopen until 6:00. traffic was backed up for 12 miles. >> i was just hoping it wouldn't take us too long to get across the bridge because i have kids. i don't want them to wet their pants. >> another motorist alerted the truck driver to the leak. the fluid was not hazardous. police are warning women to watch their backs and cars near the verizon center that comes after an attack despite a young child being in the backseat. jackie bensen has more from chinatown. >> reporter: the victim was driving a car with ohio license plates. her toddler son was in the backseat. the report was taken by d.c. police about 8:15 thursday evening. the victim just left a parking garage and was stopped on f street northwest when a man opened the unlocked passenger

side door and pulled a gun. he pulled a gun and sexually assaulted the woman and fled the car. the child was not harmed. >> at this point we don't have a specific location of where the assault occurred. we're still dealing with the complainant trying to get information. >> reporter: the woman described the man's voice. >> he apparently talked with a southerly drawl, a southern accent. >> reporter: women driving in the area found news of the crime shocking. >> oh, my god. >> what? oh, my goodness. >> police are warning women to be careful. >> lock your car doors when you're driving and the normal precautions of being aware and cognizant of your surroundings. >> reporter: there are a few security cameras in the area and the police are examining video from them. back to you. >> thank you. the police in fairfax county set up one of their first drunk driving check points of the

weekend. the check point is part of a broader effort all weekend long to stop drunk driving and make sure that everyone celebrating the new year does so safely. there's no excuse to drive after drinking this weekend. the washington regional alcohol program is providing what they call sober ride. it's a free ride in a taxi good up to $30 and you pay the rest if there is any more. they want you to tip the driver. you are asked to call 1-800-200-taxi to get your free cab ride this weekend. take a look outside tonight, a mild one but some of you could see rain before morning. doug kammerer is here. >> just a little in the way of light rain. storm 4 doppler radar showing the spin in the atmosphere is this storm. there are two storms making their way to area. the first could produce a couple

of showers tomorrow morning. a few of those right now back in portions of west virginia. this area right here not reaching the ground just yet. but i wouldn't be surprised to see light showers. the current temperature is 49 degrees. incredibly warm once again. we will be on the warm side until the next storm moves in. and that one will bring the coldest air of the season. >> see you in a little bit. temperatures are a bit lower to the north and the west of us just enough for some of the ski area resorts to hope today. this is video from ski liberty where there were a handful of slopes open. the crews there and ski round top and ski white tail have been making snow around the clock. this is the latest start for the ski season in our area in six years. a developing story now involving baby formula pulled from store shelves.

officials with the fda determined there is no evidence that enfar mill newborn caused a deadly bacterial infection. two babies died. but scientists tested four cases of the formula and found no traces of the bacteria. verizon wireless dropped a plan to add a $2 fee for customers paying online or over the phone. an fcc official announced they were concerned and looking to the matter. the ceo of verizon wireless issued a statement saying we take great care to listen to our customers and the decision was based on their input. the iowa caucus is a few days away now and those hoping to win the republican nomination for are the will be fighting for votes this weekend with the exception of ron paul. despite being neck and neck with

mitt romney paul decided to go home for the holiday. rick santorum is in third followed by rick perry. newt gingrich now dropped to fifth. today the former house speaker was emotional at a forum when recalling his mother's battle with depression. >> and my emphasis on brain science comes in directly with dealing -- see i'm having emotion. from dealing with the real problems of real people in my family. >> he is behind with iowa voters but plans to give romney a run for his money if new hampshire. new hampshire's primary is a week from tuesday. after a really wild ride on wall street this year the stock market ended 2011 just about where it started. the closing bell rang the s&p

500 finished 4/100 of a point lower than where it started the year. the dow jones finished 64 points higher. the nasdaq was down 48 points. no champagne toasts at popular lounge in northwest. the club was shut down by the d.c. police. mood lounge was shut down after two people were stabbed there last night outside the club, that is. the club was finally shut down at 6:00 this evening and will stay closed for 96 hours. the family of a man who died days after being hit by a car is questioning why the hospital let him go. he was taken by ambulance to the hospital on friday. he was sent home the same day after being examined for a few hours. in tuesday he was taken back to the hospital in severe pain and three days later he was dead.

his family believes the hospital could have done more. >> i think i mean that type of hit, you know, and not seeing any injuries outside, i mean i think they should have maybe it's inside. >> fairfax said it could not discuss specifics involving an individual patient. arlington has 24 hours to go before making it through the entire year with no homicides. will the be the first time that's happened there since the '50s. d.c. leaders say the murder rate in this city is the lowest it's been in nearly half a century. there have been 108 homicides this year in the district. that is the lowest since the early '60s. most of the homicides have been solved. despite that encouraging news, there is a report that some violent crimes are up. the police union says it is

because they had to cut down on neighborhood patrols to keep an eye on the occupy protesters. >> when the power is downtown crime is going to increase. that is one of the things we faced when occupy d.c. started. >> that is ludicrous. >> the next focus is on threats of electronics. the fbi believes a man known as the dapper bandit is living in virginia. investigators say he is accused of robbing ten new york area banks starting in september of this year. his trademark is to wear suits during his crimes. the fbi is offering a reward for anybody who provides a tip leading to an arrest. volunteers at thrift store in maryland have a mystery on their hands. they want to know if a hidden stash of money found in clothing that was donated was a gift or a mistake. people at the st. james thrift

shop found a large amount of money in a pocket of clothing that was donated. that money has been put in a bank account until they can figure out if it was a donation or left by mistake. the store won't say how much money is left because it is several hundred. >> if it's an intended donation we will gratefully accept that. but if it's not we want to get it back to the rightful owner. >> the owners have a series of questions set up to find out if anyone claiming the money really belongs to them. 19 suspicious fires in l.a. overnight. police officer pulls a man from a car that was burning and then arrest him. if you are planning to go out for n

tonight a $35,000 reward for information that leads to the people responsible for setting more than a dozen fires overnight. they started popping up in hollywood and west hollywood at midnight and continued until 4:00 in the morning. they ripped through parked cars and carports and buildings as well. one house that was damaged belonged to the late rock star jim morrison. >> something that is manmade and someone trying to do harm it hits home with us. >> all the fires were in a two-square mile area and most in densely populated neighborhoods.

a dramatic rescue in grand rapids, michigan. a police officer called to the scene on thursday might and found a guy sleeping inside a burning car. the officer pulled the guy out and took him across the street to safety. although the car was parked it caught fire because the guy fell asleep with his foot on the gas pedal. after saving the man's life he busted him and charged him with operating a vehicle while intoxicated. 24 hours now times square will be hopping for the granddaddy of all new year's celebration. today was a time to practice. 1 million people from around the globe expected to cram times square tomorrow. police are patrolling the streets and checking trucks for suspicious items. >> you never know. the enemy's still out there.

>> we do this well. we have a will the of experience doing it. >> the street vendors getting ready with souvenirs and noise makers. you can watch the party right here on news4. in year's past it has been really cold out there. if you are planning to visit adams morgan for new year's eve you can expect a mess down there. this week they mistakenly closed both sidewalks which means if you were walking you had to go out in the street. the transportation department said at least one sidewalk is supposed to be open at all times. new year's eve in alexandria will be quieter this year. the celebration will not include fireworks. a serious of accidents at fireworks displays and a state law that requires more space

between the fireworks and spectators. the event will have 100 performances at a dozen venues and a laser show late at night. it will cost $20. doug either way folks don't need to be bundled up for new year's. >> it is amazing what we are dealing with right now. we are 43 minutes from 12:00 and is it 49 degrees outside. that is going to be what it will be tomorrow night and maybe warmer. let's look outside after a beautiful day. is it a fantastic friday out there. we got a fantastic friday. a super saturday and a pretty nice sunday. the rest of sunday looking okay at least the first part and we'll get to sunday in just a second. but for the record today, 54 was the high. the low was 35.

it did start off on a cold note. everybody was in the 50s by late this afternoon. december 4.8 degrees above average. last year you remember how cold it was, 4.9 degrees below average. nearly a 10 degree temperature swing from last december to this december. out there right now very warm with southerly wind at 10 miles per hour at 49 degrees at the airport. still cooler to the north. looking at 35 in hagerstown. but fredericksburg, 55 degrees at 11:00 at night. a very warm, moist air flow making its way in from the south as a result of a storm system out that way. a couple of light showers hitting the ground out here in st. mary's county. that's about it. but the wider picture shows the storm system that is plaguing the great lakes making its way east. and this is the area of rain that could come through tomorrow morning. anything that happens tomorrow

will be light. a shower or a sprinkle. that front moves through here and we're going to stay on the mild side. temperatures aren't going to go down that much. the cold front moves through early tomorrow. we break into the sunshine tomorrow afternoon back into the 50s. maybe a little bit warmer tomorrow than today. any precipitation should stay to the west of the allegheny front. then this frontal boundary moves in. this is coming out of canada. final canada open for business for the cold air. warm and mild to start on sunday but cold and windy on sunday into monday. and into most of next week. so get ready for the cool down. tomorrow morning mostly cloudy and a few showers possible. a mild start. 37 to 43 degrees if -- if we get that low tonight. many areas may be above 45 degrees. tomorrow afternoon an early

shower. 54 to 59 degrees. winds out of the west at 15 to 20 miles per hour. but will the be a mild wind. ringing in the new year tomorrow night looking spectacular. fireworks displays at national harbor and annapolis and fredericksburg. looking very, very good. and 57 on sunday. that will be early and then the cold air moves in monday. a high of 43. 35 on tuesday. 36 on wednesday. but don't look at the numbers. with the wind, it's going to feel like 18 to 19 degrees all afternoon. >> that's cold. >> that's cold. coming up in sports a good night for the caps. do you suspect the wizards are not playing like a first-class

it is hard to believe what went on down there tonight. >> the capitals looked good. in two previous games they did not look good at all. here's how the series has gone between the capitals and sabres so far. the caps go to buffalo and get pummelled and then the sabres come to d.c. and the caps open up a can of not in my house. look who is in the house. a good game to watch. first period ovechkin with the puck. shoots and deflects and beats ryan miller. the puck right off the stick and in.

the caps take a 1-0 lead. 1:42 in. the fastest goal to start a game this season. in the second semin gives the puck to his buddy ovechkin. back to semin and then to backstrom and he shoots and scores. the 100th goal of his career. beautiful passing. more caps, top of the screen. semin deflects it ahead to backstrom and he passes to ove and he rips one to the back of the net. his first multigoal game since october. the caps beat the sabres 3-1. here's the hero. >> we have to play simple and you can see how we score. it was simple plays. so again we have to continue what we do right now. finally wet get stuff going and

we're moving the puck pretty good. we're shooting. i think we're investigaticreati good shots. >> we have to be like tonight. creating chances, playing the right way getting pucks deep. they did a lot of good things tonight. up next a new year's eve game against columbus. the wizards will is to wait until next year to get the first victory of the season. the wizards have had bad moments this season. this takes the cake. first quarter roger mason gets the ball. he hits the jumper. but mason doesn't get credit for the bucket. why? he was not on the active roster. he is ineligible for the game. they receive a technical foul. wizards get the points but the basket is credited to rashard

lewis and mason had to leave the game. as for the well eligible players. remember bogut? the wizards lose 102-81 to be 0-3 to start season. the patriots visiting charleston. patriots in transition. leaving it for pearson gets the bucket and one. mason up 46-38 at the break. cougars on the inbounds pearson finishes with the dunk. but he wasn't done. george mason up by two. check this out. doesn't matter throws up the wild shot and it goes. the senior finishes with 35 points and 14 rebounds. george mason wins. the patriots are 9-4.

virginia defeats towson 57-50. the cavaliers won ten in a row and the tigers lost 32 straight. towson is hurting big time. >> but they only lost by 7 to virginia. >> they almost upset them.

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face night stuff. nasa announced that a volcanic eruption caused a new island to

form in the red sea. it is to the west of yemen's coast. fishing boats reported seeing lava fountains from the ocean. four days later a satellite image showed an island where there used to be water. the smoke is from water and

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