charlotte hall, maryland. >> a 12-year-old, a nice little girl. >> reporter: this man who goes by joe is her great uncle. he would not let his film his face because he is amish, but he did want to talk about the accident. >> herred da told me two minutes before she was killed she was singing when i die, i'll fly away and she was singing that just before getting hit. >> reporter: it was 7:30 saturday night. her father was driving the buggy when they were hit head on. >> one must have been bleeding internally because she didn't make it to the hospital. >> she was real nice. a nice pleasant young lady. >> reporter: teddy used to work with the 12-year-old at the amish market in charlotte hill. but today, her family's stand is closed. >> i think it's incredibly sad. i mean, i can't imagine having daughters of my own, what that might be like. >> reporter: the accident raises some serious questions for a community in the heart of maryland's amish country.

can cars and buggies still safely share the road? >> it's not as easy or safe like the past. it's a concern, a deep concern when we have young folks out on the road. >> reporter: most amish buggies are outfitted with brake lights and turning signals, but they still can't cross an intersection as far as the car. >> and it is dangerous for them to be doing it, but they've got no other choice. they have no other way to travel. >> i think it is more of the responsibility of the drivers to, you know, slow down, and to be real respectful of the amish. >> reporter: as for the driver of the pickup truck, the st. mary's county deputy said that the 31-year-old man is cooperating. police do not believe that drugs or alcohol are a factor, and so far, no charges have been filed. in charlotte, kristin fisher, 9news now. >> the other two people in that buggy, they were taken to the hospital, but they are expected to make a full recovery. well, imagine this, the small plane carrying you and your elderly mom goes down in the chesapeake bay.

you try to help her swim to safety, but after a mile in the water, the waves, they are just too much. she goes down, drowns, and you survive. well that's what the 48-year- old man is dealing with tonight after ditching his plane last night. he was trying to get back home to clinton, maryland when something went terriblying wrong. the 78-year-old woman was his mother. ross was not seriously hurt. well tonight, freedom for amanda knox. she spent the last four years in prison in italy, following a verdict sentence of murder for 26 years. it was overturned by an appeal's court today. the seattle native collapsing in tears as that verdict was read. >> we're thankful that amanda's nightmare is over. she suffered for four years for a crime she did not commit. >> the jury also cleared knox's former italian boyfriend in the killing. during the appeal, the jury heard from independent experts who testified that the key dna

evidence linking the couple to the crime was unreliable, possibly even tainted. it is a not guilty plea for the man accused of plotting to fly explosive-packed model planes into targets right here in washington. 26-year-old manmade the plea in a court appearance this worchester, massachusetts today. the case has been orchestrated and facilitated by the government, an entrapment defense. he's a u.s. citizen accused of taking possession of grenades, guns, explosives from undercover fbi agents posing as al qaeda operatives. he planned to attack the pentagon and the capitol. check this out. man, it's big. it looks like 1,000 people needed to be evacuated.

no serious injuries were reporting so far. a local family with ties to our area, where they were killed in afghanistan. the 32-year-old joined the army his senior year in high school and he served six tours, including iraq, afghanistan, and bosnia. his father said he was modest and they are just now learning of how much a hero he was, earning four purple hearts during the last attack, helping to shield another unit of his area. a woman severely disturbed did not know what she was doing. and the national park rangers were told about finding her minivan down a mountain after driving it down the drive.

she found dela rosa headed downward. congratulations to the university of maryland for capturing, i should say, first place and the department of energy solar decathlon. the school's solar power energy conserving water shed house was inspired by the chesapeake bay. and about 200 students and 18 universities were all involved in that competition. which involved designing, building, transporting the structure here in d.c. the maryland design features a green roof retaining rain water, solar panels that provide year-round power and an indoor waterfall. the competition required the winning home to produce as much energy as it consumes, so maybe even more. well it could be one of the nation's largest pumpkins this season and it is on display in virginia. the owners of the null farm's market bought this giant

pumpkin that weighs in at more than 1,600 pounds from northern pennsylvania, an area known for a couple of record-breaking gourds. the pumpkin's circumference is larger than last year's world pumpkin, but if not heavier in terms of weight. this great pumpkin grew from one seed planted in may and at its peak, it was growing 50 pounds a day. well never underestimate the power of friendship with the local elementary school student was diagnosed this summer with lymphoma. his friends did something extraordinary to support it. this afternoon, his family shared that remarkable story with our andrea mccaren. >> reporter: the 10-year-old is a fifth grader at bethesda elementary school. and nonlodge -- it took away his hair, not his friends. >> he is everyone's best friend. >> reporter: days before the start of the school year,

brandon was increasingly nervous. one of his beggest concerns -- biggest concerns, how he would feel the first day of school with no hair. >> people would make fun of me. i felt like i didn't want to do this anymore. probably wanted to be home schooled for a while. >> reporter: a baseball coach dreamed up an idea. what if a couple of brandon's friends did something drastic to look like him? and so one by one, brandon's friends, they shaved their heads. 13 boys in all. he would no longer stand out that first day of school. >> i felt happy that people would do that for me. >> it was probably the most emotional day in my life. it was a tough day. and a very positive way. >> and off came the hair, on came the smiles. baldness overshadowed by belly laughter. >> it was a party. it was out of control in the barbershop. >> i wasn't sure at 10 years old if they really get it, and the kids, they did. >> reporter: today, brandon is back in school, and they still have been surrounded by his

fuzzy friends. >> i think they learned how important they are and how they could cheer you up when things are kind of tough. >> i felt grateful. >> hair may come and go, but friends they last forever. in bethesda, andrea mccaren, 9news now. >> we call that the good side of peer pressure. now we have a note that he has endured four surgeries and to rounds of chemo and his prognosis at this point is excellent. let's get outside and check the prognosis on the weather, top. >> reporter: it is also excellent. i mean, not so great tonight, but we'll turn this weather pattern around and it is more like early september than october. hagerstown to winchester over towards leesburg and into northern counties, that's really just about it. they will be kind of weighing in as we go through the rest of the night. temperatures, only 52 downtown. in the 40s in gaithersburg and frederick. 52 in leesburg. the warmest spot is 54 in fredericksburg. that's not all that warm. for tonight then, mostly cloudy, chilly again, a shower

is possible, at least early on. lows are in the 40s. and we'll come back and we'll talk about, well, when we are really going to dry it out completely. and if the 70s or even 80s are in our future. thank you, top. coming up in your only local news at 7:00, how about paying a little extra because you like to eat the fatty stuff. we've got the skinny on that one just ahead. plus, the fight, the powermovement. they sprung up in new york and now they are migrating down to k street. we'll tell you all about it and a lot more than that right after this. [ screaming ]

[ zapping ] there goes dwayne's car. oh, man. there goes dwayne's house.

whoa! whoa! and there goes dwayne. man, that thing does not like dwayne. [ male announcer ] state farm's got you covered. nice landing. it was. [ male announcer ] get to a better state.

in the mail bag tonight, those greedy bankers, nobody is happy with my guest from last friday who suggested that the best way to handle those fees for using your debit card is to just stop using your debit card. kathy from college park writes, so now let me see if i've got this right. it is our fault that the debit cards will incur fees. we should all, instead, be borrowing on credit cards? the banks tried to do things on credit, but that did not work out too well for them. but now the idea is after they go into debt, that they will be bringing the economy to their knees. they demand that we fork over

even more money for those bonuses for future incompetence? and they have it all wrong. they should just be bankers. our good friends from shantily -- chantilly on a similar note. he wants people to get into debt and to live in debt. he wants people to get that credit score way up there. let's be clear, the real bottom line use of that credit score is so that the banks and merchants know who is at safe credit risk and to make them lots of money. finally, this on the comment from a viewer last friday who would accuse me of having obvious areas for anything that he calls it the right of center. and our good friend from arlington says that she's got my back. i think that you are extremely fair and always represent both sides on all issues. i have no clue as to what he meant. at our house, we think you're one of the most greatest reporters. we also appreciate the fact that he will go the extra mile with experts who have explained

the current situations, which confuse the general public. and i'm all for hearing both sides and you do that. you know what, that's what i'm going for, deb, so you pretty much made by evening. then again, i'm suspiciously easily pleased. just send your questions to mailbag@wusa9.com. it's about time for some better weather. topper has the forecast straight ahead. plus, a chesses pro-- cheesy protest, the grim reaper, they don't like you talking bad about their cheese out there. we'll tell you about it. stay with us.

it seems to be morphing into the occupied d.c. protest. they are hoping to create a national movement. our bruce leshan reports from the square. >> reporter: three weeks in new york, hundreds of arrests. unemployed veterans, deeply indebted the students with a few job prospects. and all occupying wall street. they called themselves the 9%. and in new york, in l.a., and in denver and d.c., they are rebelling against the power structure, allowing the top 1% of the americans to a mass more than 1/3 of the nation's wealth. >> hey guys, can't we have a little bit of compassion? can't we not let people starve and forced to live in the streets? >> we let them have their turn,

they ruined america. >> reporter: from the streets to the convention hall. >> we've got a movement now. >> reporter: scores of liberal groups are hoping to build on the occupied wall street protest. >> we are going back with a bigger dream. >> reporter: to ship the nation's political debate to -- to shift the political debate to the left and counter the tea partyship to the right. >> the people that love this country and everybody in it are deeper patriots than they could ever hope to be. they are not the patriot. >> the protesters say they are going to stay right here in the square, until things get better. i'm bruce leshan, 9news now. >> and protesters from all over the country are promising that thousands will join them on thursday in freedom plaza demanding greater taxation for the rich and the big corporations and an end to the wars. protection for social security and medicare for everybody as well. well denmark is imposing a new fat tax on some of it foods. people are being forced to

spend more on foods like bitter and oil -- butter and oil. this amounts to $2.49 for every 2.2 pounds of fat, a kilogram, i guess. the new fat tax is designed to help the average dane. denmark is believed to be the first country in the world to tax fatty foods. imagine this, if someone was denouncing film production in hollywood, in the land where cheese is king, someone is looking to take a big slice out of your livelihood. this billboard features a grim reaper on a major highway and it reads cheese can sack your health. the local cheese heads are not looking so favorably on that. >> we are just trying to show america, you know, what's going on in the state of wisconsin. we've got the greatest team, the greatest product, the nutritious field. let's stand up for wisconsin and the cheese industry. >> that original billboard featured the grim weeper

wearing a cheese head, but they said that they will just go with the grim reaper. he is grim enough. >> yes, indeed. >> okay. and now topper, fortunately for us, the weather will look a little less grim soon. >> yeah, tomorrow. we're going to hop out of it tomorrow, it will still be cool, it will just feel pretty nice after days where we have struggles to get to 50. so here is the deal, let's start with the snow. that fell over the weekend. this is just fantastic, well, i think it's fantastic. nine inches in snow shoes. it's the earliest largest snowfall in west virginia record, west virginia history rather. they are about 740 feet. you can drop down to the valley, they had about four inches. down where timberline is, they are at 3,200 feet. so it was real an altitude- driven snowfall. every 1,000 feet you go up, the temperature drops about 5.5 degrees. we sat in the upper 40s and the lower 50s over the weekend while places like the snow shoes sat in the upper 20s and the lower 30s, getting hammered. all right, live doppler, a little bit of the shower

activity to the west and over towards leesburg and down towards warrenton. nothing is heavy and it will kind of diminish as we go through the night. the temperatures are still chilly. 52 downtown, 46 in gaithersburg. 52 in leesburg. only down to 54 in fredericksburg. here's the deal, we're going to have a big improvement for you. finally improving tonight, chilly again, a dry morning commute. you'll need your sunglasses tomorrow. dust them off again. and just wonderful on wednesday. the nicest day of the week. really the rest of the week looks pretty good. mostly cloudy tonight, chilly, showers are possible. winds are out of the northwest at about 10. most of the showers will be out of here by midnight. look at the lows, a lot of blue here, indicating the 40s. we are looking at 44 for good faithers burr. good faithers -- gaithersburg. 45 in reston and 46 in fairfax. so that is a chilly night. now tomorrow morning, becoming partly sunny, nice, breezy, cool, grab your sunglasses, 40s and 50s. 60s though by late morning. and then by the afternoon,

partly cloudy, breezy, milder, a big improvement. a high of 65 to 69 and winds are out of the northwest at 10 to 15. we'll break it down for you. and some clouds that will start at 7:00 in the 40s. but then some sunshine here by noon in the 60s and sunshine again by the evening. 64 to about 69. light jacket and sunglasses is a good idea. the next three days, gorgeous on wednesday. 74 with sunshine for you. cooler on thursday. but still a nice day. sunshine at about 70. your next seven days. same thing for friday. right about 70. a very pleasant end of the week. look what happens over the weekend. we are talking about in the upper 70s on saturday and sunday with sunshine. and maybe even 80 for you next monday. in some way we could wake up for this past weekend because it was gnarlly. >> yes, it was indeed. all right, let us get to our weird news file. because most of us if we can figure out how to get rid of 10 to 15 pounds of ugly fat, we usually never want to see it

again. you'll never get rich thinking that way. he has come up with something called liquid gold. it's a storehouse for patients on lipo suction fat, charging $900 to freeze and keep a coffee-cup size worth of your old blubber, plus $200 a year to store itself. this is all just in case you need it later, maybe you want to smooth out some wrinkles or get a butt lift or something. but you've got to wonder, how much money is really in need when most of us have the plenty of the fresh new stuff all for the taking? >> yeah.

that's the white house, of course. the lights are pink because this is breast cancer week or months. the week of months. by the way, we invite you to stay tuned for channel 9's prime time lineup. "how i met your mother" begins at 9:00 p.m. and "two and a half men" at 9:00. and then it will get serious. hawaii five-0 later tonight. that is our report. e.t. is next with more of your entertainment news. topper and i will be back along with anita and topper. log on any time you like to wusa9.com. have a great evening. we'll see you a bit later.

now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment news magazine in the world. >> our kiss wedding exclusive. only et's inside the beverly hills hotel as rocker gene simmons says i do. >> this is the arch that took shannon 28 years to walk through. >> the vows, the guests, every emotional moment. >> ashton and demi. new information on their reported split. plus are ashton's bad boy headlines helping" two and a half men". >> michael jackson's kids. where they were this weekend as we bring you the