this evening. the move follows the first large scale arrest connected to that movement. more than 30 demonstrators were arrested yesterday, after they refused to take down the two-story wooden structure in mcpherson square. our surae chinn has more from the encampment scene? northwest washington. the usual peaceful atmosphere from the park disrupted as shouts and arrests were made. 31 people arrested. some of them hung onto the roof and refused to come down. police plucked them off with a cherry picker. the police say the last remaining protester expose and relieved himself while clinging onto the beam. >> he exposed his genitals as he was urinating in the direction of the officers. >> reporter: because this is a leaderless movement people do things when they are upset and feel like their civil liberties

are being violated. >> reporter: is that an excuse? >> i wouldn't say an excuse, but it is a reality. >> reporter: the national parks service has since torn down the wooden shelter. >> we are really interested in us having a warm police to stay. >> it is sad that it got confiscated. they had told us before they could build structures that were modular and could be moved. >> reporter: both park police and the national park service say the inspector deemed it unsafe and protesters had no permit or permission to build. >> reporter: occupy dc says there will be another gathering on the national mall between eighth and 14th street. but they vow this one will be peaceful. surae chinn, 9news now. 15 people were charged with crossing a police line. another 16 others were charged with disobeying police orders. occupy dc invites

protesters across the country to participate in tonight's demonstration that is going to be held on the national mall beginning at 7:00 p.m. well the search resumed this morning for a missing w s s c worker. emergency crews are looking for 35-year-old kale duckett. duckett has been missing at the reservoir in montgomery county since friday. he was inspecting the area for a deer hunt, and never returned. his empty boat was later discovered onshore. in a statement, duckett's wife, keisha, says we are not giving up. please help us find him and keep him in your prayers. >> dc council members are set to discuss their embattled colleague today, council member harry thomas. thomas was a no show today after fbi and irs agents served a search warrant at his home last

week. numerous items were taken from the northeast house, including a sports utility vehicle and a motorcycle. council member thomas has been accused of using $300,000 from a youth program for his personal use. he has agreed to repay the money, but he denies any wrongdoing. our bruce johnson is at the wilson building in downtown washington. he will have the latest developments on this evening's newscast beginning at 5:00 p.m. a second person has died as a result of a thanksgiving day accident that occurred at the home depot. jose christina sanchez rosa of falls church, virginia died this weekend. he was one of 5-day laborers standing in the parking lot when they were struck by a lincoln town car. the accident also killed

41-year-old freddie cast -- castillo leon. the driver of the car suffered a medical emergency. well the cash strapped post office is set to announce unprecedented service cuts today. the estimated $3 billion move is part of a wide range move to stamp out debt and to avert bankruptcy. analysts say the cuts will mean it will take two days for most first class mail to reach its destination. an estimated 100,000 postal employees could lose their jobs. we'll have more details on the post office changes on our evening newscast, beginning at 5:00 p.m. well the free ride is over on maryland's inner county connector. because, beginning today, drivers on the new road connecting montgomery and prince georges county will have to pay. you need an ez pass, in order to pay the electronic toll. the maximum toll is $4 one way. sunday's loss dropped the

redskins to 4-8. and it done get any easier. the new england patriots will be up next. the redskins were actually ahead in the fourth quarter, but rex grossman fumbled the ball and the jets recovered the ball at the 9-yard line. sean green then scored the second of his two touchdowns, and he would tack on another one later in the game, and the redskins were in a hole that they just couldn't get out. the redskins lose 34-1. >> we didn't get the ball in the end zone, disappointed the way we started out in the third quarter. we had a chance to at least get ahead by 10. >> breaking down those last few drives. we can't do that with professionals. well the season is going to be over for two redskin players. sources say that trent williams and fred davis will be suspended for four games after testifying

positive for recreational drugs earlier this season. we don't know who will be playing the field at the super bowl this year, but we do know who's going to be the halftime headliner. it is going to be madonna. nbc and the nfl made the announcement last night. the super bowl will be held on february 5th in indianapolis and it will mark the first time madonna has performed at a super bowl halftime show. the stars were out in washington last night for the 34th annual kennedy center honors. this year's honorees include barbara cook, neal diamond, sonni rollins and meryl streep. smokey robinson performed sweet caroline.

the kennedy center show will be broadcast tuesday, december 27th, at 9:00 p.m. coming up, people facing foreclosure with breathe just a little bit easier over the holiday season. we'll explain, when we come back. plus the efforts to save the pay roll tax cuts. virginia congressman jerry connolly will be in the studio with me in just a moment.

iran says it shot down an unmanned united states spy plane. iranian news reports say the country's armed forces shot down the plane yesterday because it violated iranian air space. the pentagon is not commenting,

but the united states-led coalition in afghanistan says american forces lost control of the drone over afghanistan late last week. motorists are catching a break over the holidays according to the lundberg survey, prices at the pump have dropped 9 cents a gallon in the past two weeks. that means the average price of regular gasoline is now $3.29 a gallon. however analysts predict prices will not come down much further. at least not right now. struggling homeowners are getting an early christmas present. several large mortgage lenders including fannie mae and freddiemac are promising not to foreclose on delinquent borrowers during the christmas season. the moratorium will run from december 19 through january 2nd. chase, wells fargo and bank of america have also announced a temporary suspension ofee visions around the holidays.

all right. now we are turning our attention to the presidential campaign trail. republican presidential candidates are scrambling to win over herman cain supporters. the georgia businessman suspended his campaign over the weekend, just a month before the iowa caucuses. danielle nottingham is tracking down the latest development from the house. >> reporter: gop front runner newt gingrich arrived for a meeting with real estate mogul donald trump in new york. the republican presidential candidate is surging in the poll and releasing his first tv ad of the campaign season. gingrich, rick santorem, ron paul, michelle ball man and the rest of the gop pack are all scrambling to win over herman cain supporters now that he is out of the race. bachmann said many cain followers have been coming over

to her side. but the form her house speaker clearly has the momentum. less than a month before the iowa caucuses, eye new poll shows gingrich ahead of paul and mitt romney in that state. but in new hampshire where voters go to the polls in the nation's first primary, romney has a sizable edge. >> reporter: so far president obama's reelection team has mostly focused on romney. but political analysts say it is just a matter of time before gingrich comes under fire. newt gingrich's negatives were very, very high when he left washington in the mid 90s. >> reporter: gingrich has admitted to an extramarital affair. and has been married three times. with a debate scheduled for saturday in des moines, gop candidates are expected to spend a lot of time courting voters

this week. cain has yet to announce which republican candidate he will endorse. it is always a pleasure to have jerry connolly with me to discuss some of the top subjects and stories he is interested in. we are going to staff off by talking about the extension of the payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits, a subject he is quite interested in. because payroll cuts for americans will expire at the end of the year. >> that's right. and it could cost well over $1000 for an american family if that is allowed to happen. the president proposed extend it go again. i think given where we are and the economic recovery, that is critical. it could add or subtract one full percentage point to gdp growth. we can't afford to lose a percentage of gdp growing in this economy. >> no. we are in a serious situation. >> that's right. >> so that would hurt us.

>> congressman, you must be awfully happy about the president signing the veteran's bill? >> yes, i was invited to the white house for the signing. it is a great bill, part of the president's jobs package that provides several sets of tax credits for employers who hire returning veterans, especially from iraq and afghanistan. right now we are at 12.5% unemployment among those veterans. that is unacceptable. if people really want to do something for our veterans, hire them. thank you. now open season for federal employees will be ending in a few days. >> that's right. december 12th. >> what does that mean? >> that means people have until december 12th to make changes to health insurance or life insurance or withholding and it is really important. there are lots of choices available for federal workers. they need to go online and make those choices. they can enroll online as well. >> it is very difficult, though, to make the decision. how do you know which is the

right plan for you? >> i know. we just had a town hall meeting for federal employees and retire ease. we had about 150 people there. i had a annual of experts trying to answer those questions. four people, lots of resources out there francis does a checkbook every year and it lays out the options. >> do look. do look. it is important. you have until december 12th. >> that's right. >> and every year circumstances may change. >> that's right. so what you used last year may have been good. but this year next year you might want to make changes. congressman, it is always a delight. always a pleasure. >> happy holidays. happy holidays to you, congressman jerry connolly, one of my special friends. coming up on 9news now at noon, we are going to introduce you to a program that is assisting members of the military.

howard? >> reporter: j.c., very comfortable. winds have been light, unfortunately, we've got clouds around. look as we go to break, up to 55 at andrews. one of our warmest spots. rockwell and gaithersburg, rain chances and snow chances. how cold it is going to get by the end of the week. you are watching 9news now at noon.

mass martin curry, in south korea. want to say hi to all my friends and family back in dc. have a good holiday. i'll see you whether i get back. >> and we hope you come back real soon. i like those. >> i do, too. all right. so a little cold temperatures. >> reporter: nothing we can't handle. rain is in the forecast. >> reporter: nothing we can't handle. but i say that because by the time we get toward the middle of the week it gets colder. a slight chance by thursday morning things could be a little wintry here. lots of clouds, couple of breaks. we'll call it mostly cloudy to cloudy. the clouds have been a little bit more persistent than what i was thinking that morning. still a south wind at 5 to 10 miles per hour. we will get rain in here

tonight but looks like that is going to hold off until overnight tonight. mild today and tuesday. highs tomorrows more of 55 to 60 or so with showers late tonight and tuesday. cooler, mainly dry on wednesday. so a wet time tomorrow, break wednesday. wednesday night thursday morning another wave of low pressure heads this way. if it is cold enough on the right track that could maybe bring a little bit of a wintry mix. slight chance of snow here wednesday night thursday morning. doesn't look like a powerful system but just want to let you know. a slight chance now. the rains well out to the west. even heavy rains. look at the oranges and reds coming out to kentucky and southern ohio. this morning cold down to freezing in frederick. 34 culpepper. more moisture to the east and temperatures dropping, there was a lot of fog here this morning. that delayed schools on the eastern shore for about 90

minutes. right now up to 55 in easton. salisbury 68. they are feeling it there. but we are holding in the 40s in manassas. 55 at dulles under cloudy skies. south wind at 5 miles per hour and humidity at 77%. lots of cold still in the central and western parts of the country. you have the cold air coming down. a lot of rain. heavy rain, thunderstorms, louisiana and a little bit of snow mixing in. nothing stuck in dallas this morning and in new mexico and all of this moisture is moving up to the north and east. this will move in tonight and tomorrow. then thursday looks jake an area of low pressure. late wednesday night and thursday morning. today 58 today and tomorrow wednesday cooler 50ish with the chance of rain returning. probably not until wednesday night now. thursday could be a little bit of a wintry mix.

thursday only 43, a little recovery friday and then cold saturday in the 30s and sunday we recover to the 40s. that is your weather. don't go away 9 9news news knew returns? just a moment. [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

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-- 9news returns in just a moment. in today's hero central 9news now witness to say thank you to service personnel. we are teaming up with the uso of the metropolitan washington area to provide holiday food baskets to our military families. and people like the ship let -- shiplets, who i recently paid a visit to. >> reporter: these are the moments you treasure. especially if you are a

military family. warrant officer john shiplet, has already served three tours in war zones and duty could call again, anytime. which means time away from his wife and children. >> she set up the camera with the background of the christmas tree, showing the kids opening up their president. >> it is hard. the kids want daddy there. you are half empty. it is hard to go through it all half empty. >> reporter: last year was a blessing. the table was full. john got to be home for the holidays and there was more than enough food, thanks to the uso turkey for troops program. >> i got all the fixings, and it really helped. because that was one less burden i had to budget for. >> i just completed the next thing out there. specifically for the turkey. >> reporter: he was excited to come home and see everything i had bought. see what the uso had given us.

his jaw dropped. >> it is nice to know people care enough about us to help our families while we are gone or even while we are here. just a big thank you. >> reporter: on behalf of the uso and 9news now, the thanks is all ours. i'm j. c. hayward, 9news now. >> all the money donated to the uso program stays in the dc metropolitan area go to usa 9.com to make a donation. thanks for being with us. come back at 5:00. ♪

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to make all of your gatherings just as merry as can be. ♪ only at safeway. ingredients for life. >> billy: thank you, thank you. (slams receiver down) all right. so rafe is gonna draw up a contract, and once we sign it, the money'll be transferred into your account. >> victoria: ohh, and "restless style" will be yours again. that's great. >> billy: aah! thank you for doing business. >> nick: sure. (cell phone rings) >> nick: nick newman. hey, greg. what's up? >> billy: (giggles) >> nick: what? hey, can you guys turn on your tv? >> billy: yeah. >> nick: all right, thanks for calling. dad's been arrested. >> man: billionaire victor newman confessed to the murder of his ex-wife diane jenkins. mr. newman turned himself over