>> i'm bruce johnson. thanks for joining us this saturday night. heading out to the 7-11 tonight? consider this. robbers have been caught on video robbing three stores within a short time span in montgomery county. tonight police are asking for help in identifying the figures. lindsey mathis shows us what they look like and how they operate. >> reporter: police say the robbers began their crime spree at 2:00 a.m. on wednesday at the 7-11 on montgomery village avenue. around 3:30 a.m. they entered the 7-11 in germantown and then gaithersburg. police released the video of the robbery in germantown. >> a handgun was not seen but implied. >> reporter: the police say both suspects could face armed robbery charges. >> they kept their hands in

their pocket where they might have had a weapon. >> reporter: in this case, stark says the clerk did everything right, and no one got hurt. >> the clerks were compliant, obeyed their commands, and soon after they received the cash, the suspects fled. >> reporter: police say the two left on foot but points out sit surprising the robbers chose 7- 11, since it's known for having surveillance video and many even have monitors in their stores. >> we're hoping somebody in the community can help us identify them, give us some information, so we can resolve this crime. >> reporter: one suspect wears a checkered jacket with red sweatpants and black shoes. the second suspect wore a gray hoody with dark pants and black boots. police are offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the suspects. in germantown, i'm lindsey mastis, 9 news now in wusa9.com. >> anybody with information about the suspects or the crime

is asked to contact crime solvers. call the number, 1-866-411- tips. a local police officer was struck by a truck while making a traffic stop today. the 38-year-old officer suffered minor injuries this afternoon on west route 100 near rondo mills mall. the driver of the truck was taken into custody on suspicion of drunk driving. for months, 9 news now has been bringing you exclusive reports about alleged corruption in the d.c. taxicab industry. tonight, sources tell us that justice department and the fbi are at odds over what to do with more than 30 cab drivers arrested late last year for alleged bribery. the drivers were rounded up at the d.c. police academy after allegedly showing up at a southeast apartment, where on hidden camera, they were taped paying some $500 each to the chairman of the taxicab

commission, leon swain, working undercover for the fbi. drivers were paying for bogus taxi licenses. sources tell 9 news now, federal prosecutors offered the defendants a plea bargain agreement in which they would admit to a misdemeanor bribery charge instead of the felony. at least one cab driver has already accepted the plea. fbi agents and swain are said to be furious. now, it costs more to park in the nation's capitol. today marked the first day of the increased meter fees. drivers also had to feed the meters on nights and saturdays in high-demand areas, including adams morgan, georgetown, downtown, the usery corridor. it will now cost some $2 an hour to park. meters will be enforced until 10:00 p.m. monday through saturday. all this month, you should see updated signs and meters to reflect those changes. tonight, two british men are charged with making a fake bomb threat and being drunk aboard a plane bound for dubai. the men were pulled off the plane as it prepared to leave

london's heathrow airport. the men made verbal threat. bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in but no explosives were found. the two men are due to appear in court later this month. a third man was also removed from the plane and questioned, but later released. the man police say triggered the shutdown of a terminal at one of the nation's busiest airports is back home after answering questions about why he allegedly broke through airport security in the first place. even though investigators say they have their man, not everybody is satisfied tonight. karen brown reports some politicians argue the punishment just doesn't fit the crime. >> reporter: he faced the glare of the media outside a newark police station. the last time he was at the airport, a major terminal was shut down six hours after the 28-year-old doctoral student ducked under a barrier and snuck under the terminal to walk his girlfriend to a gate. a week later, frequent fliers are still nervous about the

security breach. >> it does give you because, when you think that that could happen at a major hub like newark, where things should be at a higher level. >> reporter: he will be arraigned on a charge of defiant trust passing and faces a small fine. some are demanding stiffer penalties. >> we're going to see if we can strengthen that law to make sure the federal government has jurisdiction there and can bring something that says you're going to go to jail if you break it. >> reporter: airports across the country are on heightened alert following the attempted bombing of an airliner on christmas day. there is new information that there could be a similar attempt in the future. cbs news learned british intelligence confirmed what the terrorist suspect abdulmutallab told investigators, that close to 20 other muslim young men were being prepared in yemen to use the same technique to blow up planes. >> the bottom line is there are hundreds of these terrorists around the world that have gone

through training camps in several countries that want to attack us in the united states. >> reporter: but this family from finland says they will keep flying and trust security is doing its job. >> we can't live with the fear all the time, so we have to just live our lives. >> reporter: he says if not, then the terrorists have won. karen brown, cbs news, newark, new jersey. >> friends say the 28-year-old is a very good person who really loves his girlfriend. an earthquake over the coast of northern california. it happened this afternoon. 27 miles from eureka, california. that quake rocked buildings and knocked out power to several coastal communities. no injuries were reported. four aftershocks followed the quake. the biggest register is a magnitude of 3.8. thousands of homes are without power. there are reports of minor property damage. family's snowmobile outing on a frozen lake in vermont

turned deadly. three snowmobiles carrying six people all together went through the ice. a father, his daughter and 3- year-old granddaughter all died in the tragedy. three other family members were pulled from the icy water including a 4-year-old. >> this is the main part of the lake right here. so it's just not safe to be out there. >> about 25 people helped in the rescue and recovery efforts. some were working from a canoe in a small island near where the snowmobiles went in. they used a ladder and a rope to try to bring everyone to shore. the man who served as president of howard university here in washington for more than 20 years has died. james cheek, he was 77 years old. the university spokesman says he died friday at a hospital in grains borrow, north carolina, after a long illness. he served as howard's president more than 20 years. during his tenure, enrollment increased $6,000. the ufort's budget climbed to more than $400 million.

he was awarded the presidential medal of freedom in 1983. the funeral arrangements haven't been announced. heavy snow being blamed for a roof collapse in sioux city, iowa. this is what's left of the lab. cracked tiles covered the floor and ceiling. school officials say repairs could take some time. >> right now we have no e-mail, no internet connection, no availability to grade books or any of our teacher resources, attendants and so on. >> we're seeing a lot of places in my territory where snow load's creating havoc and i think there's more to come. >> firefighters managed to salvage computers and servers. and engineers are assessing the building's safety before students return to class. the fda approved a new drug for rheumatoid arthritis. it was developed by a by owe tech company -- biotech company. it works by blocking a protein

associated with inflammation, but the fda says users may also experience serious side effects, including infections, liver abnormalities and damage to digestive organs. it's been approved for use in japan since 2005. it is already approved for use by european unions, india, australia and according to the arthritis association, rheumatoid arthritis affects close to 1.3 million people in the united states. still ahead on 9 news now, charter schools in the nation's capital looking for students and staff. well have that story. some emergency workers making sure they're ready for any rescue on ice. we'll show you how they do it when 9 news now returns. if you had a chance to get out of the breeze today, it wasn't a bad day. you're wakeup weather calling for a frigid start in many cases. those temperatures anywhere from the teens to lower 20's. it will feel like the single

digits. if you're headed to church or a weekend schedule like i am, prepare for it. we do have warmer temperatures on the way though. your complete forecast in just a few minutes.

parents looking for alternatives to public schools and teachers looking for jobs headed to the washington convention center today for a closer look at public charter schools. the recruitment expo showcased

the 67 charter schools located across some 99 campuses in the city. the expo gave parents a chance to see what programs might fit their children's needs and complete enrollment applications for the next school year. public charter schools are open to all d.c. students. the schools have no tuition fees and operate independently from the city's public school system. the d.c. fire and rescue workers, winter weather means rushing to save people from frigid waterways after they walk or play on the ice. today dozens of those rescues took place as part of a drill. armando trull reports from georgetown. >> reporter: d.c. fire and rescue personnel took a plunge in the ice-covered potomac near the key bridge on saturday. >> it's cold, but it feels like pressure. >> reporter: they were preparing for the types of rescues they can expect over the next few months. >> just going out for a walk with the dog or themselves on the canal, oftentimes you have folks up there skating and will punch through. then we have to get them out. on occasion you have a car skid off the road into water, punch

through the ice. all kinds of scenarios. >> reporter: just last week, 9 news now witnessed one of those rescue attempts after a car was discovered partially frozen under rock creek. unfortunately, the 22-year-old victim didn't survive the freezing waters. that's why divers wear these mustang survival suits. >> it gives us thermal protection while we're actually in there. it's not a wet suit, so you don't get wet, but it protects you from the water. it keeps you warm for 15, 20 minutes. >> you feel comfortable, because you know you're going to float, but you have to be careful how you move your feet. >> even though it's a drill, we're tied off, so if we fall through, you won't float downstream under the water. we have two ways to get people out. one is using a fence collar, where we lower a collar around the victim and pull them out with the rope. the other one we're using a sled. the sled is actually good if the ice is a little thinner. if you punch through the sled will keep the rescuer afloat

and he can patted dell his way to the -- paddle his way to the person and get them out. >> reporter: their advice is no ice in d.c. is safe and your best way to avoid being a victim is stay off it. in georgetown, armando trull, 9 news now. >> exposure to freezing water for more than 15 minutes can result in injuries, maybe death. that's why these rescues are a race against the clock. today's rescue examiner, graduation rates in the schools jumped 3% last year, but fewer than 3 of every 4 students actually earned a diploma. you can read the full story in sunday's washington examiner. still to come on 9 news now, a possible thaw in the frozen weather. we're back in a minute.

it's definitely expensive having a growing family, and it's something that you think about. we try to be conscious of that and plan out our meals so that we can feed everyone on a budget. ♪ at giant, we know saving money is important. every time you shop with your card, you can enjoy thousands of real deal savings and weekly specials -- like porterhouse steak, only $4.99 a pound, and strawberries, 2 packs for $5. this week only. it makes me feel good because we're saving money and that works for me. only with your giant card. ♪ [ female announcer ] now you can get the latest name-brand cell phones where you already save. well, actually, just a few rows over...

in walmart's expanded electronics department. get unbeatable prices on new, fully activated verizon wireless, t-mobile, or at&t phones. they're a lot closer than you think. save money. live better. walmart.

they're a lot closer than you think. mostly cloudy kinly tech in northeast washington was a kickoff site for a special

competition. today more than 250 washington students gathered for the first regional robotics competition. teams from maryland and the district of virginia received special robot-building kits. now they'll have six weeks to design and build robots to solve a technological problem. winners will compete in the national championship in april. students not eligible for $11 million in scholarships. is that incentive or what? >> it's quite a trip those kids put together. a great job. >> really good stuff. are we going to get a break-in this weather? we are finally looking for a good break. temperatures we haven't experienced in weeks, possibly even months in the way you look at it in some cases. let's check out the next three days. first of all, with our forecast first. we see a lot of sunshine back in the forecast, but not the temperatures rebounding in a way we would really like to see in the next few days or at least a weekend. weekend is when we would really like to enjoit it. much warmer temperatures.

34. 38-37. wait. we've got much warmer readings coming our way. clear skies allowing temperatures to drop and drop rapidly. temperatures feeling like single did i zwrits. wind chills tomorrow morning single digits, rising in the upper teens to lower 20s. by the afternoon, lower to mid- 30s. today we were squeezing into upper 30s in some cases but the wind chills made it feel a lot colder. right now, current temperatures in the 20s. 27 our current reading here in washington. you figure out a 10 to 20 miles per hour wind and that factors in the wind chills making you feel into the teens in many cases. indianapolis, very light winds relative to where we have stronger winds, 10-20 miles per hour, only hanging 20 degrees right there on the bay. i want to show you the satellite and the radar together earlier today. plenty of sunshine here in washington. that didn't help our temperatures warming into the mid-30s like i suggested. what i'm going to show you is our forecast track over the next couple of days. go through the clouds and show you these breezy conditions will start to let up a little bit. breezes from the northwest are

starting to die down. that very frigid air moving in from the northwest starts to warm up ever so slightly. not so frigid, it's still cold out there. at least this is the beginning. i do think of our slow warmup the next couple of days before we really feel the big warmup coming a little bit later. we still have to get through a pretty cold day before the warmer temperatures. around the beltway, forecast morning wind chills in single digits to upper single digits in many cases. afternoon wind chills we only recover back into the mid-20s. upper 20s in some cases. now, i want to show you our zone forecast. let's head out west. we have a lot of virus out there, too. giving you afternoon high temperature forecast. it's still fairly cold. factor these into wind chills and you're still into the 20s, upper teens as you head into cumberland. partly cloudy skies that way. there's that slow warmup starting here. there might be an overnight flight, a flurry at best. not even an inch or covering what we had the other day.

it's just that, a flurry. there is the big warmup in store for us. middle of next week. i'm going to do it. bruce? 50 degrees. i'm going for it next thursday. i think we can see it. first time we probably hit 50. i'll have to go back and do privilege va on this. i know it has been several weeks, if not merely a month or so, that we felt that warm. >> bring out the bikes. get the top down. >> get outside and enjoy things. a groom in oslo, norway, got an icy friends thanks to his friends who threw a stag party with members from an ice plunging club. the air temperature was only 13 degrees. so can we now assume he won't have cold feet for the wedding? >> he'll be sick for the wedding. that isn't much fun. >> may not show for the wedding. >> devon putting warmer on a 50 degree thing doesn't say warmer to me. >> the florida girl. >> i'm anti all of this.

i'm not going to lie. >> i'll take 50. >> i'll take indoor sports nowadays. basketball, anything indoor. i'm cool with that now. >> we'll take any winning team. the cavs look good. >> ahead in sports, warning to nhl teams, lock up your goaltenders, because against washington, they are not contenders. la hoyas appeared to be wiped out before launching a crazy come back. all the stories, next.

every family has that relative you don't want to see show up on your doorstep. that's probably how the rest of the southeast division feels when the capitals come to town. washington hasn't lost a division road contest this season. tonight in atlanta, an onslaught would ensue. the guys were showing no mercy to the thrashers who were about to get embarrassed. first period, mike gets the

scoring started. 1-0. nicholas backs tropical, trom 3-0. this makes it 6-1. how about you get one. 7-1. because who doesn't love more goals, jason, here is number 8. the only guy that didn't score was obe. he did play. they didn't need him to. capitals win 8-1. that matches their season high for goals in a game. nfl playoffs getting underway. mark sanchez making his playoff debut visiting the bengals. thomas jones a touchdown run. they win on the road 24-14. college hoops and halftime mercifully rolled around, you couldn't have blamed la hoya fans for wanting to wave the white flag. for the guys in gray, there would be no surrender. number 12, georgetown, hosting number 13 yukon. hoyas have been down by at much as 19. but he went ballistic in the second half scoring 28 in the half.

that gave him a career-high about 3. put the hoyas up 1. georgetown, the comeback win. hoyas have won four straight over the huskies. number 8, west virginia at notre dame. mount nears fall by 270-68. uva at u.c. state. the floater for two of his game high 23 uva wins by. mason, second half, mason was up 5. the tip to extend the lead to 7. mason increwses 59- 46. james madison best finish of the day, game tied at 66. he passed to ben. the fade away 3. there's your game winner. they win by 69-66. some other area scores for

you. american loses its patriot league opener to lee high. navy beats bucknell. the wizards return to their home court tomorrow to host the hornets. while they would like to forget their p.r. nightmare after week there is one thing washington would like you to remember. they can win. the wi zardst upset or land dough at home on friday and sunday will attempt to accomplish winning back to back contests. they can't change the off the court issues at this moment but believe fans can appreciate what happens when the whistle blows. >> if we come out and play hard and we fight and compete, the crowd, the people will respond to that. and will respect that type of energy. >> and in the scenario tiger woods has come to know, adidas issued a statement that it would be evaluating its relationship with arenas based on his recent conduct and suspension. the company has been endorsing

arenas since 2003. finally, folks, another lesson about gambling is painful. texas lost to alabama. the president of the texas motor speedway has to fly the flag over talladega superspeedway all weekend in texas. the good news for him, nobody's really racing. i was just told the cowboys game wrapped up. they are moving on. i'm sure redskin fans don't like that. >> dare we say the cowboys willend up in the superbowl? >> it's hard to argue no one's looked better. they crushed them tonight. >> one of their first playoffs in a long time. >> 13 years. >> people were talking about wade phillips losing his job. he could end up being in the superbowl this season. >> i'm not saying it's happening. that's my prediction. the weather prediction will be better than my sports rediction. it will be better by the middle of the week. a cold day tomorrow. we originally thinking upper 20s to around 30.

so 34 and today's high of 36. it's not awfully bad when you compare it to 1 and 2, what it's felt like. get through the west of the weekend. the middle of the week will feel like shorts weather. >> have a great night. we'll see you back here tomorrow. bye.

i know. my diet? well yesterday i had an apple turn over mmm hmm, i know it's sort of my weakness - i always keep it in the house well, that and boston crème pie, white chocolate strawberries, ya ya - oh! and key lime pie i've already lost some weight

[ female announcer ] yoplait light - with 28 delicious flavours at about 100 calories babe, what are you doing?! ♪