. this is 9news now. an arctic blast puts moisture from the south and equals big headaches on the roadways. crews have already treated the highways and interstates ahead of the snowfall, but what does this mean more morning commuters? with the answer, chief meteorologist topper shutt. >> we have good news here. one is a dry snowfall. i think for the morning commute we're okay. let me show you where the advisories are. district, montgomery county, prince george's county. you are under the advisory 10:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. and they can issue an advisory for one inch of snow during a rush hour. the storm hasn't gotten any bigger. clouds are about to roll in. they're just entering into central virginia. they'll roll in here overnight.

here is the forecast. increasing clouds by dawn. i dropped the temps 14-24. now, for your wakeup weather, i think you're going to be okay but treat it as a winter day. very cold. teens and 20s. snow beginning to fall at 9:00 down towards culpeper. temperatures in the teens and 20s. we'll come back and break it down hour by hour and tell you how much is going to fall. >> all right, topper. and in a few hours, salt trucks will hit the roads again. earlier today, the maryland state highway administration pretreated the interstate with a salt-brine solution. road crews help the salt will help prevent a headache come tomorrow. the cold weather is already causing other problems across our regions. in just two weeks time, wssc has responded to 300 water main

breaks. not only does the cold cause them, but it also poses serious dangers to people. brittany morehouse joins us live to explain. brittany. >> reporter: well, anita, if you think about it, even the smallest water main break in southeast it was fixed rather quickly. you can see the salt right there. but even still, ice forms when that water hits the pavement. it's so cold out here. it's just an accident waiting to happen and an accident crews are always trying to prevent. >> once your feed and hands get cold, you're done. >> reporter: 18 years on the job, and they're rushing to fix water main breaks. >> working here so long, we're used to it. we prepare ourselves for this type of weather. >> reporter: this year has been pretty bad. in the 15 days. >> this time last year we only had 36 water main breaks. this time this year we have 66. so you can see the difference from last year and this year due

to the cold weather. >> reporter: cold weather that not only causes breaks but also creates treacherous conditions, as one neighbor observed near this break. >> the pavement may be dry in certain spots then it hits black ice or unclear ice. >> by the time the water hits the surface, it freezes. >> black ice all the time. you can't see that. one guy broke his ankle. he stepped off the machine and went up under the machine. >> reporter: even worse, sometimes the smallest breaks go unreported and the black ice builds. >> when a pipe breaks and an alarm goes off, that's noft the case. when a large -- not the case. when a large main breaks, we know it. we can see it on the distribution system. we're not going to know this small six-inch main is broken. >> reporter: that's where you come in. >> we need someone to call. we need someone to call and let us know. >> reporter: to prevent ice like this from forming, crews

spread salt all around in dc. the crews send a sand truck out right away. they say they'll try to get the sand trucks out there even before crews tow to repair that water main break. anita. >> all right. thank you. right now a suspect accused of shooting a police and a possible robbery is on the run. this is the second time in six days somebody has opened fire on a prince george's county cop at close range. our gary nurenberg is live just across the street from the suitland federal center with the latest on this case. gary. >> reporter: when you're a police officer, anita, life and death can sometimes be measured in inches. it was tonight. [ sirens ] it started about 5 5:30 when a robbery victim from several days ago spotted a robber at this metro station and phoned in a clear description. within minutes, an unnamed officer found the suspect meeting the description, approached the man to see if it was the right guy

>> and that suspect produced a handgun and fired it at the officer. the officer returned fire. the officer was not injured. we're not sure if the suspect was struck or not. the suspect took off and fled on foot down swan road. >> reporter: police closed nearby roads and searched the area to no avail. it was only last week when there was a fire in close range. hurley was not struck. that suspect died two days later. two officers in six days in gun fights at close range. they both walk away unhurt. it is only through the grace of god that the prince george's county police department isn't planning two funerals. anita. >> absolutely. thank you. new at 11:00, we just learned kenneth ellerbe will be made the new fire chief. he is currently in sarasota, florida, but a dc fire official. over the weekend 9news now

reported cathy lanier has been chosen to keep doing her work as a district top cop. both appointments will be announced formally by the mayor tomorrow. the tax cut compromise has passed the senate and now heads to the house. liberal democrats are leading the charge against it, but they're not alone. the non-partisan congressional budget office estimates the tax bill will mean a loss in revenue of 893 billion, a price tag some conservatives have raised issue with because congress has not determined a way to make up the funding. >> it's a bad deal for taxpayers. we'll do little to create jobs and i cannot support it. >> this is a bad deal for the american people. and i hope my colleagues will reject it. >> despite the disagreements on both sides, president obama urges the house to move quickly. otherwise, come new year's day, everybody's taxes go up. the house has voted to repeal the don't ask, don't tell policy. since 1993, the policy has barred openly gay people from serving in the military.

democratic leaders are now trying to squeeze in a vote in the final hours of this session of congress. president obama is anxious to get that vote done as well. his concern is that when republicans take over the house, it could be moved to the legislative back burner. three and a half million dollars of crystal meth, nine indictments, eight arrests. federal immigration and custom officials took down a drug ring. investigators say all of the suspects are mexican nationals and they all claim to have ties to a mexican drug cartel. the men were arrested in our area as well as in georgia and north carolina. tonight drivers in arlington are hoping their tires survived the night. this morning they woke up to find several of them slashed and flat. this is the second time in two months somebody has gone through this neighborhood slashing tires. the vandals targeted cars lining the streets of culpeper, 19th and cameron. >> this is the third time my

truck has been hit this year. all of my tires have been slashed. all of my brand new tires. i'm tired of paying for these tires. i don't have money. >> i don't know if it's gang related or what, but it needs to come to a stop. >> people in the neighborhood say about 30 tires were slashed last night. if you have information about the crime, please call police. still to come, a medical miracle. a little boy born without fingers is able to grow them back through an ingenious procedure. we'll have andrew's story after the break. but first, the latest on a school board meeting that ended with bullets flying and one man dead. stay with us on 9 news now. ambulance

so you can say the forecast for a new york city

meteorologist high pressure followed by possible drought conditions. you see, wabc has yanked one of its meteorologists off the air. that is heidi jones. she is in trouble with the law. she made up a story about being assaulted while being in a park. she could get up to a year in jail. for this next story a warning. you may find some of the video disturbing to watch. we are learning more about the man who held a florida school board at gun point. he was pushed over the edge by the economy and frustrated over his wife losing her teaching job. he opened fire yesterday in panama city but didn't hit anybody. a security guard wounded him in a brief shootout but he died after turning the gun on himself. now to a classic example of wrong place, wrong time. [ yelling ] . [ fight ing ] >> a greek lawmaker made the

mistake of walking out of parliament just as thousands of angry protestors were on the march. demonstrators turned the guy into a piñata. staff workers eventually got him out of there. fortunately his wounds aren't serious. these demonstrators are mad about deep government cut backs. tomorrow lawyers for wikileaks founder will try once again to get him released from police custody in britain. his attorneys hope to have bail reinstated after prosecutors quashed it yesterday. he was granted bail under very strict conditions. he has to wear an electric tag and post $316,000 in a cash bond. some notables said they will contribute to the money, saying michael moore. >> i do not agree with everything he has done. however, i think the most important thing in our system of law is justice, due process and freedom of expression. >> his legal team says it's collected about half the money

it needs in cash to spring him if the decision is in their favor. now, he is not being executed for leaking documents on wikileaks. he's accused of sex crimes against two women and prosecutors want him there. three years ago, andrew bowers was born without fingers, but a step-by-step procedure is allowing him to grow new ones. it sounds unbelievable, but it is happening. how doctors are giving such kids normal use of their hands. >> you expect them to come out with ten fingers and ten toes and when they don't it's a shock. i didn't know anybody else that had the same situation. you kind of mourn almost. he had no fingers at all on his hand at all. >> reporter: andrew's mother laurie spent hours on the computer looking for a solution. >> i didn't really know what i was looking for because i had never heard of anything like this. >> reporter: when andrew was four months old, a friend gave her an article from a cleveland newspaper about a doctor helping children born with similar

deformities. >> i burst into tears because finally here was an answer. >> reporter: the doctor performed the procedure called calitosis. >> i have many children i have done this on who are now adolescents who have played highly competetive athletics without any difference. >> reporter: it's a multi-step process, usually beginning at the age of six months. to make sure the child is healthy enough and to foster brain development corresponding to the new fingers. first pockets are made. next pourings of andrew's toe bones are taken to stunt the fingers. >> they're going to be a little shorter but it doesn't affect the walking or running. >> reporter: in their new location, the bones are pinned and then the doctor makes the fracture. >> we very delicately cut the bone, literally break it, but in a very controlled manner. >> reporter: then the slow

process of lengthening begins. now andrew is growing fingers where once there was none. >> it's a process that i would do -- we would do again in a heartbeat. absolutely. just because of the function that he has that he would not have had. >> reporter: now, the doctor does point out the process is done for -- is not done for looks. it's for function. functionality of the hand. andrew will continue occupational therapy to improve the function of his new fingers as much as possible as he grows. the rough economy is being blamed for a spike in shoplifting this holiday season. to help crack down on the crooks, police are doing more aggressive patrols, especially at high end shopping malls. so far officers have managed to recover several thousand of dollars worth of stolen stuff. one netted more than $58,000 worth of clothing and perfume. >> they're very organized. they have -- they know what they want to steal.

they usually have multiple players, multiple vehicles. >> there is so much going on. things are so busy. they try to take advantage of that. >> shoplifters are getting more aggressive, assaulting officers even carrying guns. if stolen items aren't recovered, mall managers say somebody has to play and ultimately that cost gets carried on to the customer in higher prices. as we said, times are tough. just ask santa or santa's helpers. one of the helpers is laurie chapman. she works at the post office in brentwood. she storts through some of the -- sorts through some of the letters that come to santa and in many cases it's not for luxuries but necessities. not what people want for christmas but what they need. >> there's a grandmother that wrote a letter in. she had her grand kids. she had six grand kids. and she was asking for help with shoes, clothes, hats, scarves. maybe a toy every now and then because nothing wrong with a child having a toy. but definitely she was looking to keep them warm for the winter

and be able to provide for them. >> she was sharing these letters for people willing to help out. wusa9 is trying to do our part as well. we've teamed up with the marine corps reserves for toys for tots. you can take a new unwrapped toy noo any fire department. find out more information at wusa9.com. click on our toy nine drive. i know we were talking they need the little ones, toddlers need toys. >> yep. >> and pre teens. they're collecting up to 17-year-olds. so let's not forget those kids. >> yes. >> books are good. >> books are good. >> sports stuff. >> sports stuff. >> new and unwrapped and we would like you to help us. >> there is a football. >> uh-huh. >> and a stuffed animal is always a hit. >> always. >> always a hit. here is the deal, not much changed. the advisories have expanded a little bit. it does include the entire metro area. still a little bit of snow, but a high impact. let's start with the satellite picture. here is what is going on right now. we're still clear in the

immediate metro area which is one reason temperatures are tanking right now. >> they're in the tank. >> they're in the tank. they're going lower than that. now, probably after midnight we'll see some of these high clouds from the southwest part of virginia move in. and then temps will level off finally. all right. the outside story. well, high impact for a little snow. that's basically because of the timing tomorrow evening's commute. morning commute should be fine. you may have some snow in culpeper at the tail end of your commute, but i think in the immediate metro area it will be snow free. different story, though, for the evening commute. will you have some light snow to deal with. again, it's dry snow. kind of good. accumulations 1-2 inches. more to the south of town. here is a look now at the forecast track. and by 7:00, clouds just about everywhere rolling in here. the snow is still back to the south and west. so there is 9:00. culpeper is on your doorstep by 9:00. now, we'll advance it by 11:00, almost the noon hour, it's almost to the district. so it's going to snow in culpeper before manassas. it will snow in manassas before

it snows in gaithersburg. by about 1:00 or lunch time, it should be snowing across the entire metro area from dc to baltimore and down into fredericksburg. and then after that it will stay snow, and that's the problem. thus the advisory has been expanded. there could be a little bit of a mixture through the south of fredericksburg as we get into the evening hours. let's talk about how much. 1-2 inches is a pretty good bet. five inches by midday. at first the north will be a little behind but then i think as we go into friday and thursday night, everyone will see 1-2 inches, maybe 1.6 up in frederick and maybe two and a half inches down towards fredericksburg. tonight increasing clouds by dawn. very cold. 14-24. dry. tomorrow morning mostly cloudy. light snow developing. teens and 20s. now often do we talk about winds developing in the teens. very cold. by afternoon cloudy and cold.

light snow. 1-2 inches. more to the south. high temperatures 25-30. and quite frankly i think most of us hold in the 20s tomorrow. so, again, a very dry snow. next three days, there is your snow on thursday. a break on friday. 38. maybe a little snow saturday night. 36. that nor'easter we were looking at looks like it's going to stay well to the south and east of us. so we'll keep a chance of a little snow saturday night. we'll keep it in the 30s saturday and sunday. cold again monday. upper 30s. and then low 30s on thursday another weak system and sunshine again in 30s. i was looking at the december almanac. the first day of december was 55. since then we've had 20s and 30s and 40s. we haven't been close to normal. >> do you know what else hasn't happened since the first day of december? >> what. >> the capitals have not won a game. >> what's going on? >> i don't know. they're trying to get better defensively and they forgot how to play offensively. and the caps tried it again

tonight. they're little hiccup has become, i don't know, a major case of indigestion. we'll show you their latest attempts against the ducks. plus is donovan mcnabb about to be benched? the coach gets evasive. 9 sports next.

it's time for 9 sports with brett haber, the best sports in town. >> so you know how we always refer to the capitals as the highest scoring team in hockey. well, not anymore. after six straight losses, including two shutouts, the caps are now the 9th highest scoring team in hockey and tonight did not end those numbers. tonight against the ducks, caps did strike early. backstrom behind the net. back hand right there. 1-0 caps. and they had plenty of chances to increase that lead. look at this puck on the goal line but it gets swept away at the last minute. then ovechkin hits the post on the break away. caps never lit the lamp again. it went to overtime tied at one. and there is the same guy scoring the game winner. caps fall 2-1. the losing streak is now seven. hbo is looking for on the night

they premiered that 24/7 series. tonight's show replace at 1:00 a.m. on hbo but do make sure you don't accidentally flip over to sin max at that hour. -- cinemax at that hour. there is nothing you want to see there. [ laughing ] >> why are you laughing? >> it's funny. >> i bet it is. the albert haynesworth situation gave us a deal of playing with guys he doesn't like. he embarrasses them and then runs them out of time. and the dealings with donovan mcnabb is starting to take on that same odor. shanahan may sit mcnabb on sunday. the coach didn't exactly quell the rumors today. >> i don't go to the starting lineups. i told you that before. i talk about it every week. sooner or later you come to the game and you'll find out who is starting. >> i think if i spent too much time focusing on that, i wouldn't focus on the task at hand. so i really don't worry about

that. >> interesting note from practice today, the redskins worked out for the first time on their artificial turf practice field because all three of their grass fields were completely frozen. you can add another casuality to the wizards. wall and blatche already out. time for you to pick our dc.high school sportsnet game of the week. some of the games on the menu for you potomac at osborne park. saint johns. broad run and breyer woods. cast your vote at dchighschoolsports.net. the winning game leads our coverage on friday. people saw jayson werth flip on his jersey today and wondered why he would leave a front runner like the phillies to come to a team like the nats. and, again, we remind you, $126 million. the former all star was introduced today to the city where he'll spend the next seven

years. and he says he believes in what mike rizzo and the learners are building in dc. >> this situation here in washington is one that is going forward we're going to put something together that i think that the city and the fans will come accustomed to love and come out and see us on a nightly basis. >> finally tonight, wait for this one, michael vick says he wants a dog. the eagles quarterback who has rehabed both his career and his image this season says in an interview that aired tonight that he and his children miss having a dog at home and he thinks having one would be a big step in his rehabilitation. personally i say too soon, a little too soon. your thoughts on michael having a dog? >> i don't know. maybe it would help him. >> i don't know if i would talk about it so publicly. >> i don't know. >> i don't know that i would trust him. >> too soon. >> maybe too soon. >> maybe. >> one dog is okay. one is not the problem. >> we'll be right back. >> what do you do with one dog? [ male announcer ] the face of hunger in this country is all around us.

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time is almost up. we are giving away a free ipad on facebook. you have to go to wusa's facebook page and click on the like tab for your chance to win. the deadline to enter is tomorrow. and we will announce the winner december 20th right here on 9 news now at 11:00. good night. [ laughing ]