move that could affect all drivers, but hopefully save thousands of lives. board members voted unanimously to officially recommend a full ban on using cell phones while driving. that includes hands-free devices. the only exception is in the case of an emergency. gps devices would still be okay. >> it just takes seconds, lives are lost in the blink of an eye. you can't take it back. you can't have a do over. and you can't rewind. >> the board's recommendation follows a finding by federal accident investigators of this deadly highway pileup in missouri last year. it was caused by a distracted 19-year-old pickup driver who sent or received 11 texts several minutes before the accident. the pickup driver and a 15-year- old student on one of the school buses were killed. 38 others were injured. >> no e-mail. no text. no update. no call is worth a human life. >> drivers we spoke to had

mixed feelings about the board's recommendation. some questioning how realistic is it? >> i think it's too much. how are you going to enforce it? >> it would be difficult and also would be difficult to enforce. but i think the less distractions, the safer we are. >> now in d.c., maryland, and virginia, drivers under 18 years old with a provisional license or learner's permit already cannot use their cell phones or any sort of communication device to talk, text, or e-mail. now the ntsb's move today is just a recommendation, but they are hoping it paves the way for all other states to make that into law. back to you. >> okay anny, thanks a lot. we have more information on all the laws concerning cell phone use. go to our website, wusa9.com. a last minute move by jerry sandusky kept a half dozen of his alleged child sex abuse

victims off the witness stand. hundreds of police, reporters, and lawyers gathered for the penn state coach's preliminary hearing. bruce leshan was the only washington television reporter in a courtroom. talk about a shocker when they canceled the hearing. >> reporter: yeah, no kidding. i mean, anita, you should have heard the reporters banging away on their laptops inside the courtroom trying to be the first to tweet it out. now attorneys for some of the alleged victims say waiving the hearing was an act of cowardism, but sandusky's lawyers say it was a tactic to avoid a hearing that was stacked against him. tight security, a mass of media, and jerry sandusky preparing to face the public testimony of five of the young men he is charged with abusing. >> stay the course. wait the opportunity to present our side.

>> but the former penn state football coach failed to stay the course for this preliminary hearing. instead of listening while the young men detailed allegations of abuse, dating back to when they were 10 or 11 years old, sandusky's lawyer decided it waive the hearing, infuriating the attorneys for some of the alleged victims. >> he didn't want the boys to be heard or seen. >> sandusky's council spent weeks accusing them of lying. >> putting these kids through this is a total disregard for them and is further abuse. >> sandusky's lawyers say the hearing -- cross examine the accusers in detail. >> this is the fight of jerry sandusky's life. this is the game of his life. >> defense attorney says the accusers are motivated by the prospect of massive civil lawsuits. >> what greater motivation could there be than the

financial gain that could come out of this. >> victim 6's attorney says that is the typical kind of character assassination sex abuse victims usually face. >> 13 years. he's never brought a claim against this man. >> sandusky allegedly abused victim 6 back in 1998. and victim 6 only hired a lawyer this year. he says to counter some of the lies that were being told about him. anita, back to you. >> a shocker today in pennsylvania. thanks for that report, bruce. now to the child sex abuse scandal at syracuse university. two men who say they were molested two years ago by the assistant basketball coach are suing syracuse head basketball coach, jim for defamation. they will being represented by gloria allred. >> it's long overdue for the university to be held accountable for its actions and inactions in this matter.

we plan to do everything possible to be supportive of bobby and mike and look forward to vindicating their rights in a new york court of law. >> former syracuse ball boys, bobby davis and mike lang say they were molested by assistant coach, bernie fine. fine denies any wrong doing. prosecutors are investigating and the allegations have cost fine his job. anita, the size of your paycheck could very well depend on the latest showdown here in washington. house republicans and senate democrats are squaring off without extending the payroll tax cut, which expires in just 2 1/2 weeks. the nation's capital has all the appearances of the good will of the holiday season, but politics have not caught up with the pictures. >> it is senator reid wants to hold up the jobs bill, then he will go on santa's naughty list. >> not exactly nice comments from republicans about democrats or these. democrats about republicans. >> they are playing with 160

million who need a payroll tax cut. 6million who have lost their jobs and need unemployment insurance. >> if congress cannot agree to extend the payroll tax cut, a worker will take home about $1,000 fewer dollars next year. house speaker john boehner says the house has a solution. >> our job creation bill that will also have middle tax relief has been put together in a bipartisan way. it will pass with a bipartisan vote today. >> the bill extends the tax cut while shortening the weeks people receive unemployment benefits. it speeds the government approval process and a controversial oil pipeline from canada to texas. president obama would veto that bill, the president wants the holiday recess put off until there's a deal. >> the president is going to insist they stay here until they get it done. >> the congressional recess is scheduled to begin late next week. so the holidays could arrive before an agreement is ever

reached. tonight, four occupy d.c. protesters say they won't eat anything until congress starts talking about a full voting voice. right now, the district has a delegates, but eleanor cannot cast the vote. the protesters are demanding to meet with republican congressman, david issa who sits on the affairs, but the congressman has the continuing protests in mcpherson square. he wants the up tieror department to explain why the occupy protesters have been allowed to camp out in the park in the first place. taxpayers spent some $400,000 to renovate that square and it's being destroyed by the protests. the national park service does allow 24 hour demonstrations. congressman would like to explain the difference. tonight at 7:00, more on that courtroom bomb shell with jerry sandusky's decision to waive the hearing a smart move?

the criminal defense attorney weighs in and tells us if either side can consider it a win. >> still to come in this half hour, one of those stories that may have you asking, is nothing sacred? how one woman is cashing in on shirt services. >> it's getting chilly out here, but not as cold as it has been. plenty cold this morning. we got down to 30. 52 was the high. average isn't that far off. record high 71. we will come back. we will talk about milder air and when you might need your umbrella. >> and coming up next, students at a local school help flip the switch, so to speak, on the energy. the veterans affairs center salute all who serve at home and abroad this holiday season. >> hi, we're the family, we are stationed in germany and we are saying a big hello and

merry christmas to uncle bob.

students in worthing ton elementary school helped cut the ribbon on the solar panel installation. on two acres of land near the school. the howard county project was funded by a grant from the maryland energy administration. solar panels are just one alternative for people trying to keep their energy costs in check. >> that's right, more people may be looking for options after they hear this. according to today's u.s.a. today, households paid $1400 for electricity last year. that's the fifth year in a row it increased ahead of the inflation rates. now the study exinplays people having bigger houses and more electronics.

power says winterizing your home will help you save money. that includes replacing or cleaning your air filters, inspecting your heating system, and sealing windows and doors with weather stripping or caulk. still ahead, he's not fired, but he is stepping aside. we'll explain why donald trump is bowing out of a presidential debate.

melwood and wusa9 salute all who serve at home and abroad this holiday season. >> best wishes and happy christmas to my family out in maryland, my mom, my brother, my sister-in-law, all the other siblings. love you guys, see you soon. news from campaign 2012 tonight, donald trump is pulling out of a republican presidential debate he agreed to moderate. running for president himself,

the debate had been in jeopardy since . the postal service agreed to briefly delay closing more than 250 mail processing centers and 3700 post offices. the closings were supposed to start taking place early next year. now they won't happen until sometime in mid may. lose a record $14 billion next year. a brazen bandit is preying on parishers. it happened at six different churches in northern virginia so far. peggy fox is live in sterling with the story you'll only see on 9. peggy. >> sterling united methodist is one of two churches hit on sunday by a woman known as the key thief. she shows up, goes into the church office like she is supposed to be there, steals keys, lets herself into other offices where she steals wallets, purses, ask checkbooks and gets away unnoticed. >> it was a sense of shock.

>> just before reverend john peterson his sermons, a thief stole the preschool director's wallet from her purse, which she left in this room. >> i know it's desperate time and desperate people out there, but that was my property, that was my money that was in there that i earned. >> brenda spoken to the woman here at this bulletin board before it started. the thief wasn't able to get keys because the church office was locked. unfortunately, the same thief is believed to have hit sterling united methodist. the pastor's church and home keys off his desk and inside his desk. >> it's so bizarre and brazen and troubling at the same time. that someone would violate the trust of the church. >> the sheriff says churches need to be more vigilant.

>> they feel like they can mix and mingle and unless you are that familiar with all the congregation and its staff, you're not going to know whether somebody is out of place or not. >> the woman is a white woman 5'5" with long, dark brown hair. the first church she is alleged to have hit is flor rise united methodist where they have surveillance video of her. perhaps why police haven't caught up with her yet is because she hit in numerous jurisdictions from leesburg. police are hoping to close in on her. i'm peggy fox reporting live, back to you. >> peggy fox in sterling, back to you. >> too early to talk about a white christmas? >> funny you say that, mr. johnson. >> it's not funny. >> it's ironic. actually, we have been asking our facebook friends to tell us if they think we'll have a white christmas and what the percentage is of having a white christmas. out in the west, some microclimate out in l.a. this is a place called

grapevine up interstate 5. it's about 80 miles from downtown l.a. and they had a pretty good snowfall. some areas had up to 14 inches. that is kind of cool. not that far. it's about 80 miles north, northwest of downtown l.a. all right, let's talk about sat lit picture and radar combined. there is some snow in the mountains that we showed you early at 5:00. they got hammered in the mountains. some areas had up to 26 inches. there is a fair amount of moisture here. it is training off to the north and east and we'll move into the plain states tonight and tomorrow. eventually, this will get to us. the good news is, it won't get to us until late thursday. it's not going to have much punch. and even though we are in mid december, it's still green. not any cold air anywhere. a little bit of a mix north of minneapolis and that's it. it will be rain for des moines and chicago and detroit. for us, a few high clouds moving in tonight. the meteor shower. you want to remove yourself

from all light to see that. 44 right now in rockville. 41 in bethesda. temperatures are falling. 44 in arlington. 40 in beltsville. out to the west, well we have a 39 in reston. and go up to the north, we have 38 in reston. so, it's going to become milder. the meteor showers tonight. now this is actually not remnants of a comet, but an asteroid, and you can see as many as 30 to 50 per hour. get away from all light and the problem is, we still have a waning moon. so the sky is not ideal for viewing. you don't get a chance to do it tonight, you can have a better chance on the third of february. not as cold tonight if you are headed out and milder wednesday and also on thursday. so for tonight, we'll stay partly cloudy, 1 to 2 blanket night. 26 to 36. two blanket night out in the suburbs. lows downtown will remain above freezing. plenty of 20s in rockville and

gaithersburg. 29 in reston. and 29 in fairfax. 31 down in brandy wine. now for your wednesday morning, partly cloudy and chilly. grab a coat, 30s and 40s. winds light. and by afternoon, partly sunny and mild. clouds will be on the increase. you need a light jacket, but high temperatures in the low 50s with light winds. that's a good december day. next seven days. more clouds on thursday. but milder. showers possible late thursday, but mid 50s. a break on friday. right now we'll keep friday night dry. i know we have showers in there, rain. it's safe to our south. clouds come in friday afternoon and chilly over the weekend. we're in the 40s and temperatures moderate. we are back near 50 on monday. >> bruce thinks you are dodging the question about a white christmas. we'll ask it again. yes or no? yes or no? >> snow it is. >> caps have an opponent

tonight, they host the fliers, but a philly injury might play in the caps favor. plus, a wizards training camp winds down. they find out what they think may give them an advantage. those that and more coming up next in sports.

guys, are you cheating yourself on shut eye? it could be sapping your testosterone. a study tracked the levels of healthy young men. the hormone levels were off by

15%. low testosterone can affect sex drive, energy, and concentration. [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices... in more ways than ever. and our networks are getting crowded. but if congress frees up more wireless spectrum... we can empower more people to innovate... putting momentum behind our economy. and we can reduce the deficit...

with more than thirty billion dollars paid by america's wireless companies. it's simple -- more spectrum means more freedom. for everyone. now, 9sports with kristen burset. the best sports in town. >> all right, the capitals have a chance to take a big

step forward tonight. also be without the league's top scorer who is out with a concussion. it's been almost two months since these two faced off. that was a happier time in caps land. they were 7-0 to start the season. it was a close game until the caps scored three goals to win 5-2. things are a lot different now. the fliers are on top and the caps are struggling, but they are hungry for another victory. >> we really have to pay attention to detail. the move lifts up, don't give them any second opportunities. they are playing well. they are playing good hockey. they play very well as a team. it will be a good test for us. >> on every sports team, you have your jokers, like bruce and topper. and you have players that can help bring back the focus, like matt. for the wizards, they have a nice melting pot of different

personalities. they have been in camp for less than a week, but they spend time together off the court. now those different personalities shining through. it is those bonds that will help them throughout the season. >> you need something that will lighten you up. you need someone that can tighten things up. >> work together each and every day off the court. the chemistry is really well together. >> we play video games off the set, too. as the terrapins continue their home stand, less time focusing on themselves and more on their opponent, not good for a team who has been struggling off season and edging close to acc play. he knows his team could use the extra practice. >> i actually don't like that we play on the 28th, 31st, and the 3rd. instead, we are going to be preparing for stanford and preparing for cornell instead

of working on maryland. >> this week's game of the week poll includes hoops games. loudoun valley at potomac falls. d.c..highschoolsports.net. you all appreciate about it. they don't touch each other. >> they are dancing. >> the kid in the blue, he has a little back kick. >> that was a back kick. >> it's the cutest thing. they are bouncing around. here's the back kick. there you go. >> no contact. >> no kids were hurt in the making of this video. they didn't get close to each other. isn't that the cutest thing? >> that's all for 9news now at 6:00. stay with wusa9 for the cbs evening news. >> at 7:00, anita is back with our area's only local newscast and andrea, mike, howard, and

monica tomorrow morning starting at 4:25.