herman cain says he is reassessing his campaign to see if that accusation that he had an affair hurt his candidacy too much to go on. the republican presidential candidate announced that decision in a conference call with his campaign workers today. on that call cain pledged to keep his events for the rest of this week, but that's it. his decision comes one day after a georgia woman says she had a 13 year extramarital affair with him. cain denied that and allegations of sexual harassment from four other women. will herman cain step down and if not, does he stand a shot at rebounding from these accusations? the washington post is here to talk about that and thanks for coming in, perry. first of all, reassessing, is that another way to say, i'm getting out of here? >> that's what it sounds like. reassessing, it causes you to lose support. maybe before the iowa caucuses in january. >> so in the next few weeks,

perhaps, maybe in the next few days. do you get any sense at all that this was a guy who never expected to get as far as he did to get to the top of the polls and just wasn't ready for all the scrutiny? >> he never said that he didn't want to win, but he was campaigning in ohio and tennessee and places that the primary related. he wasn't doing the work to learn the details and campaign their win. i'm not sure he was trying to win as opposed to gain more fame. >> the scrutiny that comes when you become a front runner. that's when this started to happen. cain said, he didn't want this to happen. his lawyer said this was none of your business. >> it was strange. herman cain was on cnn saying this did not happen. what herman cain's personal life is like and voters decide whatever they want to vote on

and the media is going to cover a story like this. so those comments seem distant from each other. >> is it a fair question though? is this any of our business? two consenting adults, no one is defending that, but why do we get in it? >> we have been discussing this. >> gary hart. like i said, voters, particularly republican voters care about the moral values. and so they get to choose them based on them and that's what they decided to do. that's where we are. >> any chance in your mind that a, herman cain can reconstitute this campaign or is there some real organized effort out there? >> there has been. if you watch fox news, a lot of republican leaders are saying herman cain needed distracting. his opponents say he should get out of the race. he is headed toward no chance in recovering. >> thank you so much for talking with us. we'll do it again soon.

>> police are moving in on dc occupiers. park police arrested two occupiers. one seen with illegal drugs. police support the occupiers are violating park rules, like public urination, alcohol use. the national park service posted signs reminding the occupiers. however, they found a loophole around the no camping ban. >> we're not camping. we're holding a 24 hour vigil. >> there's a blur of fine line between camping and a 24 hour vigil. can you admit that? >> that's correct. >> fine line indeed. a spokesperson tells us they are taking a conservative approach to allow people to exercise their rights. the occupiers say they hope to clean other parks as a way to give something back. a d.c. paramedic on administrative leave amid an investigation. this comes after the death of an 87-year-old woman who came in complaining of stomach pain.

>> this is bruce johnson. we are told the mayor is being briefed on this investigation. it was november 17 when d.c. fire and ambulance crews were dispatched from 14th and newton streets northwest to an elderly woman complaining of abdominal pain. the paramedic did or did not do that is raising questions tonight and causing the fire chief to place him on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation. >> there are some concerns regarding this incident. that's why we placed the employee on administrative leave. >> this is part of what they are investigating. determined that the woman's abdominal pains were not that serious. and he decided not to go with her to the hospital. this is despite the ambulance for asking him to remain with the patient. the 87-year-old woman was transported to howard university hospital. she later died of an apparent heart attack. a spokesman for the hospital says she did see a doctor and a cardiologist upon her arrival

before passing. bruce johnson, 9news now. >> this is being compared to the death of david rosen bomb who died at howard university hospital back in 2006. after emergency responders misdiagnosed him. his family agreed to drop a $20 million lawsuit in exchange for changes in d.c. fire and ems protocall. an update on the story we brought you. tonight we have learned that u.s. airways has granted lynn mccain a full refund on her tickets. len and her family planned a trip from bwi to belize for january, but her doctor wouldn't let her travel after she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. she bought nonrefundable tickets, but she contacted the airline. last night the best u.s. air would do is give her transferable vouchers. the airline changed their mind and gave her a full refund. those 70-degree days are gone, but it's all to be

expected because december is the day after tomorrow. >> we knew we were going to go back to reality eventually and in terms of how abrupt it could have been, it's not that bad. more like seasonal. let's start with temperatures. we are 51 downtown. that's about average. 48 in gaithersburg. 48 in frederick. and upper 40s in leesburg. mid 40s in manassas. jump the divide, we're in the 30s out toward oakland. winds out of the south gusting to 17 miles per hour at winchester and gusting 20 miles per hour at annapolis. we don't normally think of a southwest wind bringing in colder air, but it will. becoming partly cloudy, one or two blanket night. winds out of the southwest at 10 to 15. we'll come back and tell you how cold it's going to stay tomorrow and we'll look ahead to the weekend as well. thanks top. still to come, santa cutting back? the largest santa school in the united states starts to teach how to deal with those high priced requests in a tight economy. but first, a mural sparking debate over constitutional

rights at a virginia high school. so then, why is the aclu having a tough time picking a side in we'll explain why. that's up next.

the washington, d.c. veterans affairs medical center and wusa9 salute all who serve at home and abroad this holiday

season. >> coming to you from germany. >> hi, greetings to our son, darryl baker jr. and centerville. we miss you, we love you. and hope to see you soon. >> an act of freedom of speech or a violation of separation of church and state. that is the debate sparked by a mural at a high school down in richmond, virginia. now it was painted on the walls at the james river high school by the fellowship of christian athletes and it shows a huge cross along with a bible quote. some questioned it and say it violates the concept of separation of church and state. however, the aclu says it's not that simple because the equal access act requires all student groups to be treated the same. if others have paintings on the wall, that mural may not violate the constitution. >> what we will do is ask them exactly what the situation is. how many other paintings are up there. what are the rules? and what are the circumstances

under which they are allowed to do this? >> the school system says it is currently reviewing all of the information displayed by the james river high school clubs. what trumps what? separation of church and state? the mural was not sponsored, but students do not have freedom of speech. weigh in. mcginty's mail bag. the address is mailbag@wusa9.com. sunny and warm has given away to rainy and cool. topper tells us when we are going to dry out and if there's chance for warmup by the time the weekend rolls around. but first, hundreds of people lining up overnight all desperate for a new place to live. nobody got any keys, though. the reason why up next.

today we saw another sign of just how rough things have gotten for folks in this very tough economy. hundreds of people camped out for hours in northwest hoping, perhaps praying for a chance to get into a new place to live. this desperate scene unfolded at a subsidized apartment complex in columbia heights and our kristin fisher was there. >> these people are exhausted. soaking wet. and they have been fighting for their place in line all night and all morning long. >> it was raining all night. it was cold.

it was freezing. >> diamond has been waiting here since 6:00 monday night. >> i'm basically a single mom with a three-year-old and just trying to make it day by day. >> 17 hours later at 11:00 tuesday morning, she's the first person in. >> it will be a gift from god. it's like a 50/50 chance. >> her chances of getting subsidized housing are actually much worse than that. you see, this isn't a line from available units. there are no vacancies. this is a line to get on a waiting list. >> basically it was two seconds. >> diamond and her friend are beyond disappointed. they are devastating they are walking away without an answer. >> i have been waiting for 15 hours and don't get nothing accomplished. >> i'm pretty upset about it. i have to wonder if they are going to call me or not. >> and they'll likely be calling for a while. the average wait time is one year and they were at the front of the line. >> i'm trying to go to school. i can't go to school because i'm trying to get an apartment.

basically i'm homeless. if anybody is listening to this message, if obama, or anybody can help us, let me help. >> kristin fisher, 9news now. >> a lot of people out there that need some help. and that waiting list is now closed. they processed 300 applications in under four hours. hundreds of others were turned away. a new cvs news poll shows how much the rough economy is facing families. half of those said they are concerned about having enough money to afford the gifts they want to buy. just 24% said they weren't concerned at all. when asked if they thought they would have money to cover all of their gifts, 19% said they would have enough. and those numbers could affect your child's trip to see santa. according to the "new york times," the largest santa school in the u.s. is training its students on how to lower kids expectations because of the bad economy.

now teaches students who to do, for helping get their parents a job. one would be santa said, he guides children to realistic gifts and lets them know the cutting back as well. so does this ruining the magic of santa? he is supposed to be magical, or is it just a sign of the times? from the santa school trying to -- send your realistic thoughts to mcginty's mail bag. wusa9.com. all right sir. >> well, it had to happen, right? >> what's that? >> we are back to reality. it could be the way it works. what if we swung the other way and instead of 20 degrees above average. we are 20 degrees below average. >> it hasn't swung that far yet. that's the silver lining. all right, let's talk about the satellite picture radar combined. the showers are gone. the storm will affect us really for the next 24 to 36 hours with wind and with colder air.

you can see some of the whites and the magentas and the mixture in parts of indiana. much of indiana. and it did snow as far south as memphis earlier today and the smoky mountains in tennessee. and also in north carolina. it's going to snow tonight in much of west virginia and up into western maryland around the creek. in the meantime, showers are over for us. they are moving north. i mean due north. still pounding the delmarva and headed into pennsylvania and new jersey and new england. temperatures are a little cooler, but this is not so bad. 52 in college park. 49 in bethesda. 50 in beltsville. 51 officially at national. some 40s back to the west. great falls is 48. 47 in reston. 48 in sterling. and 48 also out toward leesburg. so here's the deal. back to reality, breezy and colder tonight. you'll need sunglasses tomorrow. you'll need a jacket or coat tomorrow as well. and a very nice finish to the week. okay, we're not talking in the

upper 60s again, but a nice finish to the week as we go into december. becoming partly cloudy tonight, breezy and colder. a 1 to 2 blanket night. 38 to 42. winds southwest 10 to 15 and we don't think of southwest winds bringing in colder air. they only bring in warmer air. but it will bring in slightly colder air. upper 30s tonight in gaithersburg. a 42 in arlington. 40 in college park for a low. down to the south, waldorf 41. 39 in reston. sterling 38. tomorrow morning, partly cloudy. breezy and cold. temperatures in the 30s and 40s and by afternoon, we'll say variable clouds. a few clouds will develop in the afternoon. it will be colder, but seasonal. high temperatures in the low 50s and winds westerly at 10 to 15. the zone forecast. we have morning snow in oakland. 36. 45 in cumberland, returning partly cloudy. hagerstown will hit 50.

50 in leesburg and 51 in manassas. downtown low 50s. and with the winds on the bay and title pennsylvania potomac, there's a small craft advisory. a little bit cooler still on thursday, but mostly sunny and mid 50s on friday. temperatures go down just a little bit on saturday into the low 50s. but then look what happens. on sunday we're in the upper 50s for the redskin game. stronger system rolls in here next monday. showers, rain, mid to upper 50s and then this is real temperature correction. maybe a morning flurry or shower on tuesday. highs only in the low 40s. >> that's realistic. let's get to our weird news file. because they are completely fearless or oblivious. i'm talking about new york city pedestrians. maybe even a birthright. well, now the city is fighting back but in a sophisticated way that might only work in new york city. to the big apple where signs like this are being placed on

dangerous corners. this has been dubbed curb side haiku. here's one. to risk, to chance the lottery, yet steps into traffic. here's another one. 8million swimming. the traffic rolling like waves. watch for the undertow and finally, on coming cars rush each a three-ton bullet and you flesh and bone. words to stay alive by i'd say. we'll be back. we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mail bag. mailbag@wusa9.com. 9news now will be right back.

in the mail bag tonight, that 200 pound eight-year-old kid removed from his home by social workers because they say his mom's inability to slim the kid down amounts to abuse or neglect. sharon thinks the state has a good point. if it is okay to remove children from a homesiting child abuse, neglect because they are not being fed. why should there be question about a child being over fed? unless there is serious underlying medical issue causing this child to eat everything in sight, shame on the parent. well, for her part, the mom has

been doing the best she can to get her son to lose weight, it's not so easy. mike from rockville says he cannot pass judgment until he knows the answers to some questions. is mom over feeding the child? is he suffering from a mental condition, gene deficiency, etcetera. what has child welfare done to educate the mother or have the child examined by doctors? if they are basing the questions on seeing the child, then what they did is wrong. you have a lot of good questions, mike. we have similar sentiments from jp in falls churchment strange, isn't it? that kids get their butt kicked in school, but when a kid is obese through neglect or the parents can only afford cheaper foods, interference is warranted? nope, bad call. you know it seems to me the government should only take a child away from a parent in two

solutions, an emergency or last resort. we don't know enough, but i would like to see if this kid is significantly thinner after weeks in the care of the state. i would also like to see more e- mail comments from you. mailbag@wusa9.com. that is our report. i'll be right back here tonight at 11:00 along with anita brikman. don't forget, you can log on any time to wusa9.com. have a great evening. we'll talk to you then. bye bye.

now, "entertainment tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. kim kardashian's new interview about her marriage falling apart. now, why her star could fall next. >> tv shows. magazines. tweets. is she overexposed? >> you're using me just like everyone else? then, does demi moore have a new man? does bradley cooper have a new woman? plus, george in a brace, where he just vacationed with stacy. 38 nearly naked models. 69 costume changes. 100 tv producers.

how the victoria's secret fashion show is made. >> plus, backstage with past angel supertars, heidi, claudia, gisele. how much they're worth now. charlie manson, what he looks like today. plus, the new movie about his women and a deeper look at why they murdered at his command. >> i took full advantage of them. every way i could. the biggest losers, before and after. and in tears over their obese home movies. >> i never want to go back there. now, in depth on the biggest entertainment stories from around the world. >> hi, everybody, and welcome to "entertainment tonight." i'm nancy o'dell. >> and from the "entertainment tonight" control room, i'm mark steines. new kim kardashian on the record about the end of her fairy-tale dreams. could her days in the hollywood spotlight be numbered as well? tonight, why the biggest reality star in the sword danger of becoming a casualty of her own fame.