extend the payroll tax cut, but that it is how to do it and whether or not to attach anything to it that is causing the debates. >> right now everything is up in the air and they are all scared because they don't know what will happen. >> reporter: they are taking the latest spending battle in congress. the $1 trillion battle spending measure has been broiled up, extending the payroll tax holidays. >> none of the workers who have joined us here today can afford the $1,000 tax increase next year. >> reporter: both sides have agreed to or extended. how to do it is the sticking point. >> the american people know that the president and the democrats and congress, they made the payroll tax cut, too hot for the republicans to handle. >> but i think that everyone just needs to step back to take a deep breath. i think that there is an easy way to untangle all of this. >> reporter: the payroll tax funded social security. but the democrats believe imposing the tax now will be hurting the working americans and the economy. and the republicans are not sure about that and they have

tried attaching other measures, the democrats opposed it. >> you don't get used to that. and it makes it difficult every year, you know, not really knowing what will happen in january. or you know what the buzzers are saying. if they will go to work next week. >> reporter: the deal will be done before midnight on friday or the government shuts down and the non-essential federal workers will be staying home. >> just take it one day at a time. we'll see what happens. >> just roll with the punches. >> reporter: but most we have talked to are not worried. >> it does make us a little nervous. but i think as usual, you know, at the last moment, that they will work it out. >> reporter: now, the lawmakers, they do say that a bipartisan agreement is near and that they should have that deal worked out in time to avoid a government shutdown tomorrow night. i'm peggy fox reporting live, back to you. >> we can only hope that they are right. by the way, you can add the d.c. mayor to the chorus of those asking the federal government for some money. he wants the city to be reimbursed for my expenses that are related to the occupy d.c.

protest. in an interview this morning, he said that the protest is taking place on the federal parkland that the city should not have to put that $1.6 million bill for the police overtime and the big clean up. reports from the government's accountability office said that there has been significant improvements like problems on misidentified grades that were first reported last year. according to the gao. still a lot of work has to be done. they also question the wisdom of transferring the cemetery management to the army and the department of veteran's affair. and tonight, only about 5,500 american troops are left in iraq. and the war officially ended there today with the american troops that are lowering the flag of command up in baghdad. as they report, that means nearly all u.s. troops will be home before the self-imposed december 31 deadline. >> reporter: in a war that began with shock and all in

2003. and it ended with the quiet ceremony on thursday. troops lowered the flag, which moved out here for nine years. marking the end. the defense secretary flew to iraq to mark the moment. >> is and you have done everything that your nation asked you to do. and more. >> reporter: and saddam hussein was driven from power, though the u.s. did not find weapons of mass destruction. the american troops, more than 1 million in all, they theine focused on containing the sectarian violence, which carried a price. >> you remember the nearly 4,500 brave americans who made the ultimate sacrifices for their country. as well as the more than 30,000 wounded warriors. >> reporter: the conservative estimates put the numbers up at more than 120,000. and the iraq will now be left to govern themselves and many iraqis worry what will happen

after the americans leave. in washington, i'm emily schmidt. turning now to campaign 2012. tonight, the republican candidates for president, they will get their last chance to make their case to the undecided iowa voters, at least as a group. just under three hours, they are facing off in their final debates before the iowa caucuses. that debate will take place in sioux city, iowa. we'll have a wrap up for you at 11:00 on 9news now. nine attacks in seven years. tonight, d.c. police are hoping that a new publicity campaign will yield to new clues about the man behind one murder and a series of sexual assaults. scott broom is live for us in georgetown tonight with details. scott? >> reporter: they call him the potomac river rapist. this spot along canal road next to georgetown university is where he went off police radar 13 years ago after killing one of his victims. now after 20 years, this frustrating cold case is getting new attention. take a look at some of the

billboards here like these that are going up in at least 15 states up and down the east coast. looking for a suspect that the officers call potomac river rapist. the suspect, as we just reported, attacked at least nine women in our area between 1991 and 1998, killing one young woman here in the woods, right behind georgetown university. >> and in law enforcement, we well understand that, you know, cold cases, they could be solved after many years. and that oftentimes, these cases, you know, they just need somebody, somebody courageous to step on forward with a critical piece of information that could crack that case wide open. >> we have all these cases linked together. we believe we have a chance right now to bring the matter to closure to get that person responsible. and right now the people are at home for the holidays. something will need to trigger with somebody sitting at their families. they might remember something.

>> reporter: the new analysis of the old dna evidence that has linked all these cases together and there is a $25,000 reward. the suspect used chilling methods. ambushing some of his victims by breaking into their homes, covering himself with a blanket in one case and he became increasingly violent over the years. take a look at a link we have on wusa9.com to the fbi's website on all of this, which includes a map of the attacks and more background information on the potomac river rapist and that reward. that's what's changed over the last 13 years. police now have the ability to go online to make this duoviral, just like they did with the east coast rapist earlier this year. they had success with that. they want to try it again with this guy. reporting live, scott broom, 9news now. what is under the spotlight

once again. the judge ruled that the system was this disarray of the outdated and dangerous buses. the old buses are in repair shops. but one parent says that the problems will continue. >> they are still good, which is in violation of the judge's order. and the children have been late every day. that is still an issue with most parents across the state. >> parents are on edge sending their kids out in vehicle and oftentimes not knowing when they will come back home. >> reporter: well, the fleet reliability, a reliability fleet could solve a lot of those problems. >> when we have the vehicles that could run the routes effectively and reliable, then that would help resolve a lot of those complaints. >> reporter: the department is in the process of replacing buses with the multi-purpose vehicles like those familiar metro access vans. coming up tonight on 9news now at 7:00, the position association calls for an investigation into the university of virginia. and we'll tell you what the school did that has the group complaining about animal

cruelty. matt? and still to come in this half hour, 'tis the season to open up your heart and your wallets. what happens if your message gets lost in the mail? i'm meteorologist topper shutt. some of the showers are still out to the west in the mountains, but i think they will stay to the west. that's about it. we'll come back and talk about the tense fallings and tell you how fast they will fall and what that means for your weekend forecast. but first it may have happened four months ago, but one of the biggest local stories in the year. what joins the earthquake and some of the most searched stories in 2011 next.

the end of the year comes with the best list. the best popular, the most searched. tonight at 5:00, we told you about the most searched terms on google. now we'll look at the word that had people reaching for the dictionary most often this year. well, at least logging on to the dictionary. according to the folks, problematic was the most searched word this year. the adjective means practical and logical. well i guess it makes it that choice. over at wusa9.com, we kept track of our own list of the most searched local stories. flooding from tropical storm lee came in at number 5, that was followed by the earthquake in august, and remember those kids forced to close their lemonade stands near the u.s. open? they were third on the list.

a girl fined $500 for saving a woodpecker was second, and the most searched story on our website this year was the lemon murder trial. you can see those stories and more on our list at wusa9.com. still ahead on 9news now, flying the friendly skies might be even friendlier. how one airline wants to let you choose who you are sitting next to based on social media. [ female announcer ] more people are using wireless devices...

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we have breaking news right now coming out of alexandria. right now the alexandria campus of northern virginia community

college is on lockdown. campus police tell us there's a suicidal person in the apartment just off campus. an alert has been sent out by the school warning students and faculty to remain in the buildings and away from the windows until otherwise notified. we'll of course bring you more on the story just as soon as more information becomes available. no one likes sending a letter, only to have it lost in the mail. but now imagine sending out 4,700 letters that were never seen again. that's what one group of realtors said happened to them to make the kids in need to pay the price. lindsey mastis joins us live and has done more to explain. >> reporter: hey matt. these are the fliers that will be including information about the toys for tots and the drive. now, what has happened is that the post office, they said they sent these out for the people here at the realtors that say no, they didn't. if you think about the numbers at this time last year, they had about 300 toys that they had collected this year, which is only 35. >> we only have 35 toys. >> reporter: she believes that

the donations at the avery real estate office are low because of the problem at the post office. she mailed 4,700 of these packets at the mailing facility on november 28. she said that the packets, they were never delivered. >> if i would have known that the post office would not have delivered that, then i probably would have taken the $2,000 that we spent on it and just got toys for the kids. >> reporter: this picture shows the donations that were received at this time last year. >> and last year, you know, we had right around 300. >> reporter: the post-office spokeswoman said that the employees had to look for the packets for two weeks, and they could only conclude that they were mailed out. she said that if that were the case, then she would have gotten the ones mailed to herself, the office, and her colleagues. >> and i definitely think that they need to reimburse that. >> reporter: but the most office has no plans to do that. >> reporter: now what they are doing here at the real estate office is that they are going to keep their doors open so

that they could continue to collect donations. and they will even be open on sunday, a day they are normally closed. they are doing this until tuesday. reporting live, back to you, matt. >> all right, thank you very much. now, we have more information as to how you can make a donation for toys for tots at wusa9.com. just click on toy drive nine. and a pep rally in minnesota is becoming viral video for you tonight, but not everyone is laughing. the staff at the school set it up for captains at the rose mount winter school team. they were told that they were being kissed by other students, but in fact, they were kissed by one of their own parents. >> i know that the people are upset about what they have seen. and as the principal, i'm responsible for what happens here. if all the people are genuinely offended, then you know, i owe them an apology.

only 59 seconds were posted on youtube. the principal said that the 59 seconds are not completely indicative as to what exactly took place. match making with their seating arrangements. klm are starting to let passengers select their seat mates according to facebook. and the facebook seating policy will access other social media information when they check in to find the neighbor with similar interests. and you'll also be able to opt out of the program if you so choose. what do you think? >> well, we have some upsides and the downsides. like anything else. it might work. >> yeah, i would want somebody to sit next to that likes 50- degree weather in the middle of december. do you know anyone like that? >> well, not me. but most of you do like temperatures in the 50s and the 60s. we like 63 degrees today. and still, you know, a treat for mid-december. all right, we'll start with the bigger picture. the frontal system is still to our west. we have a second of the wave of the lower pressure on this

front that will develop and roll south of us tomorrow. and first, there will be clouds our way tomorrow afternoon, that will keep the moisture hire just south of us as you are headed to richmond. it will be raining down there. the front is just about to enter maryland and west virginia. rolling on through tonight. where i think the high temperatures will be deceiving tomorrow. it will be the midnight temperature tonight. we'll end up in the books as the high temperature for friday. now, mostly showers are pretty much history. we're in pretty good shape. the clouds will be slow to clear. we'll see some of the partial clearing overnight. temperatures still around 60 in bethesda 62 in articlington and arlington. and 61 in reston. and even 60 out here and laurel. and that's a real treat for you. all right, we're going to be cooling down for you though, slowly. breezy and mild tonight. with the sunglasses here tomorrow. at least for the morning anyway. and cooler on friday. another chilly weekend for you, but a pretty nice weekend. and a few flakes on sunday. all right, here is the future cast. we'll put this into motion. by tomorrow morning, generally partly cloudy skies. the clouds are down to the

south. that's why you need the sunglasses in the morning. and then by the lunchtime, the clouds are coming back at us with the system that will be traveling just to the south of us. so i think we'll see the rain, fredericksburg south. this may be a little aggressive on the northern fringe, but you get the picture. they will be coming back, cloudy once again and a little cooler, but nothing crazy in terms of cold. and by saturday, it will be clearing out nicely. skies will be partly cloudy. showers ending early. just about over now. partial clearing. lows in the 40s. the winds are in the southwest. by the morning, partly cloudy, breezy, chilly. you'll need a light coat. temperatures only in the 40s though. the winds are northwest at 10 to 20. then by the afternoon, temperatures don't go up too much. increasing cloudiness, pleasant, yes, but cooler. you still need a coat. high temperatures are around 50. all right, next seven days. and we'll get rid of this system on saturday and the residual clouds on friday. colder on sunday. we might see the flurries on

sunday. that would be festive. temperatures in the lower 40s. it does not stay very cold for very long. we're back in the low 50s on monday and tuesday and showers on wednesday. take a look at the low 50s that will be returning again next thursday. >> all right, topper. thank you very much. they might not be the best team in the leagues, but the most among injured. >> yes. they could hold the trophy on that one probably. and the injuries have plagued them all season long and a bit once more today, find out who has been done for the rest of the season. and plus, they are starting the pre-season play tomorrow night. you'll hear from the guys on their expectations -- expectations for the next coming season. that's coming up next.

b for a second year in the row, he is finishing the season on the injured reserve. he announced today that they are lingering the achilles problem that will not go away, requiring surgery in the off season, so that means that they will be starting in the safety position for them on sunday against new york and the redskins look for the first season sweep. the first day will be rocking. to go up there and get a win, that will be great for them. >> they will be playing for each other, playing to

establish the identities for the special teams. they missed a second day of injuries. he hopes that they could play on sunday, but of course, that remains to be seen on game day. also, they are announcing that he will be inducted into the redskins at fedex field. he was a part of all three super bowl titles. he will be playing under george allen before finally retiring from the nfl. all right, with training camp done in their first pre- season game just 24 hours away. they took some time to chat with the media today about their expectations for the season. and after winning just 23 games last year, you know, continuing the rebuilding process, the wizards are feeling like they have the talent and the maturity this year to take some big steps forward. >> the guys come in trying to win. i think that all of them, you know, a lot of teams that have made that right there. >> we need to change the whole

atmosphere from losing and people are used to it losing and winning. >> we want to compete every day. we want to play as hard as you can. and for the team, for the city, for the fans. and if we do that, then i think that we will have success. >> and the first-round pick, they said that it has been a big adjustment for them. more physical style of play. they are also working on who shot that and what we saw today and they still have a lot more work to do. yes. this week's game of the week involves a good play to prove the games out here on the undefeated potomac falls for them. and we've got elma roosevelt. you can vote on the high school sports. and we'll announce that tonight at 11:00. >> yes. and that's what we love about it. yes, that will be a little short. thank you, chris. that's all for 9news now at 6:00. stay with us for wusa9.com for the cbs evening news next. and then at 7:00, derek will be here with our only local newscast. don't forget to join all of us

tomorrow morning starting at 4:25 a.m.