with the non-profit group that will work to provide loans. starbucks say that 100% of the donations will be going towards the loans that are geared towards creating jobs. right now for the first time in four years, amanda knox is out of prison. the 24-year-old american was released about 45 minutes ago. and this is more than an hour after the conviction was overturned by the italian court. and our scott broom is in our satellite center, monitoring the fast-changing developments in this story overseas. scott? >> reporter: it was a dramatic verdict brought down just a couple hours ago, made after knox made an impassionate speech broadcast on the web. >> i did not kill, i did not rape, i did not steal, knox told the jury. i wasn't there. hours later, the jury's verdict was read. >> both are acquitted. >> reporter: knox was hustled from the courtroom. apparently emotionally spent in tears. her family reacted moments later. >> we are thankful that

amanda's nightmare is over. she suffered for four years for a crime she did not commit. >> reporter: but the family of the victim was also there to remind the world of who was lost. >> everything that meredith must have felt that night, everything that she went through, the fear, the terror, and not knowing why. i mean, she didn't deserve that. >> reporter: the co-defendant and ex-boyfriend were also acquitted and scheduled to be released. both had been behind bars for four years. here in italy, justified by the time declaring knox guilty of falsely accusing a local bar owner, which happened early in the investigation. and she has been released on time served for that charge. her family said she is headed home tomorrow morning. she told a friend just a few moments ago that she is looking forward to heading home and getting on with her life. and live in the satellite center, scott broom, 9news now. >> thanks for that. scott, what started out as a

few dozen college students appear to be turning into a movement across the entire country. you probably heard about the 700 people arrested over the weekend as the occupied wall street project who entered their third week. and now similar demonstrations, they are spilling on to main streets from boston to l.a. and bruce leshan is live where the potessers have been since -- protesters have been since saturday. >> reporter: hey bruce, you know from wall street and the bankers up here, a couple dozen protesters are gathering here on a kind offed cold blustery day. but this is how the protest started up in new york and there are a lot of people hoping this will be turning into a kind of movement, a kind of liberal counterpoint to the tea party protests over the last few years. three weeks in new york, hundreds of arrests. unemployed veterans, deeply indebted students with few job

prospects. all occupying wall street. they called themselves the 99%. and in new york and l.a. and denver and in d.c., they are rebelling against the power structure, allowing the top 1% of the americans to show you more than 1/3 of the nation's wealth. >> can't we have a little bit of compassion? can't we not let people starve and be forced to live in the streets? >> we will let them have their turn. they ruined mesh. >> from the streets to the convention hall. >> we've got a movement now. >> reporter: scores of liberalgroups are hoping to build on the occupied wall street protest. >> we will be going back with a bigger dream. >> reporter: to shift the nation's political debate to the left, countering the tea partyship to the right. >> the people who love this country and everybody in it, they are deeper patriots.

they are not the patriots. they are not the patriots. >> reporter: now, these d.c. protesters say that they will be staying here at the square. and with occasional areas with places to bank of america until things will get better. bruce? >> yes, got it. thank you so much, bruce. fewer people were getting rich on wall street's day at the closing bell. they were down about 258 points. and nasdaq lost about 79.5 today. s&p 500 dropped 32 points. today, president barack obama called on congress to pass the job's bill before the end of the month. and he talked about it before meeting with the cabinet this morning. and the president says that he hopes those who don't like his plan that they speak up. >> and if there are aspects of the bill that they don't like, they should tell us what it is they are not willing to go for. they should tell us, you know, what it is that they are prepared to see move forward. >> and the president's $447

billion plan includes expanding the payroll tax cut and giving tax credits to employers who hire people who have been out of work for a while. well, it there is just a bit of good news for the economic front tonight. and specifically, we are talking about prices at the gas pump. the national average for a gallon of regular unlead is down to $3.41. and this marks the 23rd consecutive drop from their daily survey. the prices are falling about 23 cents over that time. they find that our area has the worse congestion on the history. they need to broaden our thinking here if we want to make the traffic better. governor bob mcdonald announces a year-long study today that would take a look at commuting patterns in northern virginia. the super nova study will also look at the impacts for drivers, maryland, west virginia, d.c. the goal, to develop a plan to increase mobility and to give commuters more transportation choices. >> this week marks 10 years

since the u.s. war began in afghanistan and a new cbs poll that shows public support does appear to be winning. today, just 39% of the more than 1,000 people believe that the war has been a success. and 50% do not. 69% say that the war has lasted longer than what they anticipated and 62% say that they do want to see a decrease in the number of american forces in afghanistan. an army ranger was tied to our area. and they are one of the most recent casualties in that war. first sergeant billy starks was wounded last tuesday and he died the next day. lindsey mastis just spoke with his family. >> reporter: he's a proud town full of patriotism, mourning the loss of not just a great soldier, but also of a great man. the first sergeant was an army ranger and a father of two boys, ages 3 and 7. and today, his wife had to tell their children the heartbreaking news. their dad would not be coming home. and he was wounded by insurgent

rocket fire in afghanistan. he was taken to a hospital if many germany and -- he is taken to a hospital in germany and died the next day. it happened just two weeks before being scheduled to come home. and he also says that during the attack, his son's body shielded other soldiers it in his unit. five were injured. his friends and family are flocking to the facebook page to share with the world how wonderful he truly was. he joined the army his senior year of high school serving six tours, including in iraq, afghanistan, bosnia and others. the 32-year-old was modest. only now his family is finding out just how great he really was. his father said that he just found out his son had four purple hearts and a bronze star. i'm lindsey mastis, 9news now. coming up tonight on the cbs evening news, scott kelly live from afghanistan as we hit the 10-year mark on the war. tonight where the country

stands and america's path out. coming up on 9news now at 7:00, imagine that you've got to spend more on certain foods because the federal government thinks those foods make you fat. i'll tell you where it is happening. that's tonight at 7:00. >> looking forward to it. still to come in this half hour in the face of rising retirement. d.c. police will get some good news about boosting the 4th. topper? >> yeah, we actually have some breaks in the clouds, but check out the almanac. the high and the low only 53 and 46. averages are still about 74 and 55. we'll come back and tell you when we will be turning it around and show you the snow over the weekend. but up next, some star power that comes to virginia to draw attention to breast cancer research. we will be right back.

they hope to call attention to the fact in a visual way. the staff is turning the white house pink tonight after dark. and they have been placed on the lights that have illuminated the north side of the white house. look for that. jill biden, the wife of president joe biden participated in the round table discussion on breast cancer today. it was at the breast cancer center in alexandria. and actress jennifer aniston. they also had breast cancer patient survivors and medical staff. they held an emergency meeting to decide if one of the winners for this year will be honored. and that is because shortly after being announced that they had one, where they had learned about it on friday. that is not typically awarded for them, but the foundation ruled that the decision would stand in good faith. still ahead, the uncle of a little girl that is killed in a

buggy accident opens up to 9news now. a rare glimpse into the amish community is coming up. çñ

that little girl died while trying to cross the intersection in maryland. and that is where our crisis is live tonight with reactions. what a sad story. >> reporter: well you know, a lot of people in this community have been worried about something like this happening for some time. worried that maybe cars and buggies could no longer safely

come down the road. keep in mind that it is an area that is really in the heart of maryland's amish country. people here, they are forcing the buggies on the daily basis with the signs posted at almost every intersection. and the buggies themselves, they are now outfitted with brake lights, turn signals. but many people here including the great uncle of the 12-year- old girl just killed say that it has been an accident waiting to happen. >> i think it is the first traffic fatality since 1941 on this road, where there have been some accidents and scrapes and bumps. to me, it's amazing that we have gone this far without it affecting the traffic fatality. >> reporter: and in this case, the problem stems from the fact that the buggy could not cross the intersection as fast as the car can. and the accident happened around 7:30 on saturday evening. the buggy carrying the family of three, a father and his two daughters, where that buggy had the green light entering the intersection. but the light turned red before

finish crossing where they were hit head on by the pickup truck. the 12-year-old was thrown from the buggy. she died just shotly after. her sister and father were also taken to the hospital where they are expected to make a full recovery. as for the driver of the truck, the sheriff's office says that the 31-year-old man is cooperating. they don't think that the drugs or alcohol are a factor. and so far, you know, no charges have been filed. bruce? >> kristin, thank you so much for that. the d.c. police department have their first recruiting class in more than a year and the city leaders say that it does come in the nick of time. violent crime is at historic lows, but the department is losing a lot of veteran officers to retirement about 15 a month. and the gray administration has come up with funding to require 200 new officers. >> they should have had a pipeline, we didn't for whatever the reasons were. we made a commitment to rebuild. >> the starting pay for a d.c. police officer is about $49,000 per year. just who you work with

makes up the dynamic in any business. in our newsroom, we have a lot of different personalities. many are pretty intense. when that happens, there are bound to be some pet peeves among the co-workers. the website will be compiling a new list of the top five pet peeves on the job. number 5. and people who don't respond to e-mails. that is followed by the start of meetings too late or too long. but the dirty common areas and constant complainers. at the top of the list, people not taking ownership for their actions. and that is the biggest pet peeve. now, there were a few others that stood out in the survey here in the united states. 65% of the people are really upset when people take, well, food out of the fridge, it does not belong to them. i hate that. while in brazil, 83% hate the accessive gossipping. dare i even ask. what irritates you gentlemen? >> that's the biggest one, or leaving dirty dishes. >> yeah. >> i have enough of that at home.

>> yeah. >> you say that it will be better, right? >> yeah, but i cannot get over the picture that we have talked about it on friday with the snow a little bit. we think it is the earliest largest snowfall on record for virginia. over west virginia, excuse me. the snow shoes, they are nine inches. and just at the picnic table. that's incredible. now, here is the deal. an altitude-driven snow. and we're in the upper 20s to the lower 30s with nine inches officially for the snow shoes. dropping up to 3,200 feet. so generally, you know, you get a temperature drop of 5.5 degrees every 500 feet you go up. and so now radar, a little bit of shower activity around i-81 between hagerstown and winchester. nothing heavy certainly. some breaks in the clouds as you go outside, look to the west, you'll see clearing and maybe a little sun. more showers are north of baltimore, up 83. that's about it. temperaturewise, still 52 down -- temperature wise, still 52

downtown. 50 in frederick. 52 in leesburg. and still 54 for you in fredericksburg. you jump the divide, you know, still 41 for the friends out in oakland and they held in the 30s, much of the weekend. and so we are going to improve. finally. all right, we are looking at a chilly night for you tonight, a dry commute tomorrow. you'll need your sunglasses, and then a wonderful day on wednesday. and just fantastic, probably the best of the week. although that the bulk of the leak is great. for tonight, we're going to keep it mostly cloudy and chilly. showers are still possible. low temperatures in the 40s. winds are out of the northwest at 10. and the northwest wind, it's a dry wind. it's a good direction. the temperatures tonight, 49 to 50 downtown. mid-40s in gaithersburg and rockville and even 45 in reston and fairfax and 48 in bowie. now tomorrow morning, well, becoming partly cloudy, breezy, cool, grab your sunglasses. temperatures in the 40s and the 50s. the winds will keep the fog from being a problem. and then by the afternoon, partly cloudy, breezy, milder, a big improvement.

high temperatures, 65 to 69. and winds are out of the northwest at 10 to 15. and that is still below average, but you know, that's much milder than what it has been over the past three days. we'll talk about the day planner. 40s to start with the clouds and then you'll need your sunglasses. by noon, partly cloudy skies. maybe a light jacket to start. you'll need your shades for the rest of the day. next three days, fantastic on wednesday, 74. not bad on thursday. a little bit cooler, but still temperatures are around 70. next seven days. still nice, we don't have a drop on your seven-day forecast. in fact over the weekend, we're talking about temperatures going above average. upper 70s on saturday. sunday might hit an 80-degree mark on monday, which will at least help us forget about this past weekend, which was great. >> yes. >> that is nice. >> yeah, in the fireplace, topper? >> yeah, this time in the fireplace. >> always a great start. >> yeah. >> all right. >> and enough about that. >> i know. >> can we at least on the monday after, can we dwell on the things that went right before complaining?

i mean, i was complaining about how close the game was. but hey listen, for three weeks, he was like missing in action, but he shows up yesterday. and he steals the show. now, do we have a runningback controversy? and speaking of which, i know you don't want to talk about rex, but a lot of people are, bruce. they want him out and they want him back in. not the right trend at quarterback. and the downside of this side, well, way down on 9sports next.

so here's the thing, the only thing worse than bari winning a game is not winning a game. they let the rams hang around deep in the 4th quarter take comfort in knowing that is the same kind of game last year the skins would have found a way to lose. perhaps the most pleasant surprise of all of this was ryan terrain's reemergence. he didn't touch the ball once in the first three games of the year. yesterday, he closed for 135 yards on 19 carries, including that 20-yard touchdown run. hey coach, remember me now? >> he has big play ability. we have seen it last year, hopefully he can stay healthy. i think everybody saw what he did when he did come in and this last game, he made some excellent runs, big-time runs. and hopefully, you know, he could do that through the remainder of the season. >> interesting way to put it. now will it be him or tim hightower who starts against the eagles in two weeks. he kind of ducked that question saying we will play the best

players, but saying that he injured his shoulder yesterday. meanwhile, do you remember the last time they had a great pass rush? if you are under 25, chances are you don't. they were the last group of redskins striking fear into opposing quarterbacks. perhaps until now that they had seven sacks. rookie ryan added his third. the skins d is getting stouter by the minute. >> we expect to get that everywhere. if they don't keep extra guys, you know, we feel like we should be hitting them with the talent and the depth, and you know, the play call to get it done. >> and as for rex grossman, 143 yards, two interceptions, and a qb rating of 48. that's two straight weeks from rex. and they had them run that last pick back to tie the game. we might be starting the show in two weeks. all right, time to cast your vote for the

d.c..highschoolsports.netlayoff andwe'vewe've got theater roosevelt out there as well. they left the capital to fly home to moscow to return the funeral of his uncle. he says they hope to have him back for the season opener on saturday. finally the thing about this is that you can do it pretty much anywhere like in a kid's program. but if you are going to jump over the little wall, you need to watch out for the little kiddy bench. but you know, he plays it all, saying he meant to do that. just need to hop over the other wall. of course, he has a bruise the size of the bench himself. >> wow. >> yes, it could have been worse. >> it looked a little headish. >> yeah. >> all right. >> it looked painful. >> immediately he has a hurt shoulder now. >> who is going to start?

>> well, we've got talented players, a bunch of guys who could contribute. i think that it doesn't matter who is left in the game. tim hightower is talented. so your policy looks good, is there anything else? why did you buy my husband a falcon? thanks for the falcon. i didn't buy anyone a falcon. sure, you did. you saved us a lot of money on auto insurance. i used that money to buy a falcon. ergo, you bought me a falcon. i should've got a falcon. most people who switch to state farm save on average about $480. what they do with it, well, that's their business. oh, that explains a lot, actually. [ chuckles ] [ male announcer ] another reason people switch to state farm. aw, i could've gotten a falcon. [ male announcer ] get to a better state. [ falcon screeches ]