rob, kill, or rape. 179 assaults were reported on metrobuses last year, including 41 involving a deadly weapon. 34 assaults happened in metro parking lots, and metrobus stops weren't immune to violence. 18 assaults took place there, in 2010. so far this year, between january 1 and july 19, 300 assaults have been reported on metro trains. another 80 on metrobuses. to put all this in context, a metro spokesman says the current crime rate on metro rail is just over 5 in 1 million riders. the current crime rate on metrobus, less than 1 in a million. both numbers he says are down from last year. now we thought it might be helpful and we put the records online so you can see where the crimes are happening. just go to wusa9.com. a 70-year-old woman is in

the hospital tonight after an intruder beat her and beat her seriously while she slept. police say the attack happened sometime between midnight and 6 this morning. that intruder ransacked the house but then didn't take anything valuable. neighbors say this was the second break-in at that house. >> the first occurrence she proceeded to hide her pocketbook, and i think because of them not finding it upset them, and they took vengeance out on her. >> she's right now suffers from a broken nose, fractured eye socket and also bleeding on the brain. >> that woman 70-year-old is in critical condition. she is expected to recover, however. police are asking anybody who knows anything to please call them. 160 million americans will not see their taxes go up come january 1. >> want to thank all the members of congress for ending the stalemate and making this

happen. >> today president obama signed the payroll tax cut extension after congress passed a short- term bill this morning. the bill extends unemployment benefits also through the ends of february, after house republicans bowed to the pressure from both parties. >> seems everything we've done this last year has been a knockdown, dragout fight. there's no reason to do that. >> we knew when we got into this fight that the politics were against us. but that it was the right thing to do. it remains the right thing to do. >> the measure also prevents the cut in the payments doctors receive for treating medicare patients. a christmas wish comes true for d.c. fire and ems. three firefighters missing in a burning home have all been fun to and they are live. you sigh the firefighters lost communications with the supervisors white battling a fire this morning on congress street. one woman was still inside when the fire broke out in the basement. she managed to get out without getting hurt but her home is a total loss.

>> stressed out. her nerves are bad. so we just trying to get her in better spirits, especially because we're going to have about 30 to 40 people at our house for christmas dinner. so everything is in the house. >> very tough situation. one firefighter had to be taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. as was an elderly next door. a cause of fire is under investigation. the economy is taking a toll on the generosity and the spirit of giving this holiday season. right now the area's salvation army is behind in its kettle bell ringing program. jonathan tells us if you have plans to give to your neighborhood bell ringer, you have just tonight and tomorrow to make it happen. >> reporter: the salvation army sidewalk kettle bell ringers seem to go hand in hand with the holiday season. as the year sweeps by the bell ringers will retire for the season from your neighborhood

sidewalks saturday night. the season in the bells are used to stress to her sons the importance of giving. >> because of this time of year, we've got so much that we can go grocery shopping and take care of everything we need. it's important we give back to other people and i want them to know that. >> with just a little more over a week before the new year rolls in, the salvation army is about 25% short in giving to help local families without interruption. >> the salvation army never wants to be in the position to turn someone away because we don't have the funds. we do have the other programs in place, transitional housing for women and children. that requires a great deal of money for us to be able to take a young family and put them in a dwelling. >> salvation army communications merriken forsyth says his holiday charity does much more than give help to parents on their luck to purchase toys for they're children during the christmas season, and right now the kettle bell program is about 400,000 dollars behind its targeted goal. >> we have the programs that

help with heating, there are a number of other programs, some in the summer that send kids to camp. so it's a broad reach with some of these kettle dollars going. >> for whom the salvation army bells toll will end saturday night but you can still donate online or with a check. it's been a remarkably smooth day future air travelers and it's shaping up to be within of most chaos-free periods in a long time. one reason, the weather is cooperative, and in addition there are 1% fewer people crowdingth airports this christmas season. fares are up 16%. that might be part of the reason. but it's all worth it, according to the families we saw having happy reunions at the bwi airport in maryland. >> he looks like a little elf! >> it's nerve-wracking. it's exciting. but it's also sad because we don't get to see them every day.

but seeing them when you do makes it more special. >> once you get here, you just forget about all the crying and screaming and crackers all over the seat. >> looks like a little elf! about 43 million folks are expected to travel via area this season. we had it nice for a while but it's apparently all over tonight. meteorologist annie is in the weather center where the temperatures are getting cold. >> it's not over! it is colder, that's for sure. we've got high pressure though in control and we definitely are feeling the difference in that air temperature. right now got high pressure, here's your satellite radar. it's fairly quiet. not in just mid-atlantic but the east coast. maybe a few snowshowers in southeastern mass, but overall it's going to be a quiet weekend. right now temperatures around downtown 46 degrees, gaithersburg colder at 39. win chester 43. all of us will get down into

the 30s. now tonight, partly cloudy and cold. yep, add an extra blanket tonight. lows down to mid-30s around town. low 30s around freezing out in the suburbs, and the winds will be light so definitely not as breezy compared to earlier today. i'll talk about the holiday forecast and including your red science and christmas forecast when we come back. back to. thank you. two candy bars and water from melted snow. that's what an arizona state university student ate to stay alive after she became trapped in her car for nine days. 23-year-old lauren wienberg got strand indeed a mountainous area less then a mile from her ranch. but her car could not be seen from the road. the area has cell phone service but her phone wasn't working. and when the emergency crews fun to her, they had to plow through 10 inches of snow to get her out. a expert said she did the best thing she could, and that is stay put. >> if you do get stuck, stay where you are. you have shelter of your

vehicle. and it's much easier to find a car than it is an individual walking through say a forest. >> she's out the hospital tonight and will enjoy the holidays safe at home with her family. coming up after the break, pushing and shoving, arrests, what caused the shopping frenzy here and everywhere else? plus, it shouldn't matter if you're a guy or a girl. you should be able to wear whatever you want. >> a student's choice of footwear sparks controversy. hear both sides coming up. stay with us.

chaos and mayhem over basketball shoes. overnight, people all over the country lined up just to get their hands on a pair of those brand-new air jordans. at least four people were arrested at montgomery mall during all that commotion. three for disorderly conduct, one other for assaulting a police officer. and despite social media, abuzz with the rumors about one

teenager dying in the shopping frenzy, police say they've got no information confirming that one. after all the madness settled down, 9news caught up with one of lucky customers who was able to get his hands on the hot item. he says he paid about $190 for those air jordan concords. >> what time did you get here? >> since 4 in the morning. >> and why are these so special? why did you have to stay out here and get these shoes? >> man, these are number one jordans, everyone wants these. these come out about every six years or say. and i needed these. >> everybody wants them! of course they do. 81 like most shoe purchases, he will never actually wear his new air jordans, he wants to keep them in mint condition. down in pineville, north carolina are dozens of officers and have to brake up fights to restore order after hundreds of people came out for the very same shoes. outside one footlocker witnesses said some shoppers started jumping the line and

that caused a lot of folks to get angry and they got unruly. two women were even spotted throwing punches. neither was immediately arrested, however. right after the break let's look at the weekend holiday forecast. could we be up for not a muddy christmas? i don't know. but first if you still have nor presents to buy, we'll show you which stores will be open extra late to help out all you last- meant shoppers. stay with us. [ terri ] my husband, hank, was always fun.

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a pair every high heels prompted a small protest at a new york high school. the issue, a male student was wearing them. >> i'lli'm gay, of course. >> he is being discriminated for expressing himself he says. he says the administrator made him take them off while the female students are free to wear them. >> i didn't even last a period because i went to breakfast and they told me to fake them off. and i told him, tell the girls to take them off. and he said no. you take yours off. then i'll teenager her. i says that's not fair. >> at first he said no he wouldn't tack them off. but then he was threated with suspension to he gave in. school says the decision was at least partly a safety issue. they say those shoes pose a risk if there's a fire in the building. yesterday, he held a from tested outside the school and

had other students on his side. now the school agrees he can wear heels of a lower height. so what do you think has the right, the student or the school? is this a violation of his freedom of expression or a legitimate safety issue and do the girls have to obey as well then? senn your thoughts. by the way, you can also post on our facebook page where i'm sure the conversation is already getting started. ready, set, stop! down to the wire, just one more day until santa shows up. so, are you all done with your christmas shopping yet? the stores are burning the midnight oil to accommodate all the procrastinators. >> these last minute shoppers browsed the aisles all night long, taking advantage of the special extended hours at the macy's center. it's one of just 14 macy's around the country to stay open from wednesday all the way through until 6 p.m. christmas eve.

>> we got here early, last night around 9:30, 10. and we've been shopping all night and shopped all day. >> i work long hours, so i wait until last minute to shop. >> this year retailers have been stretching out their hours to draw in as many shoppers as possible, in a first toys-r-us is staying open 112 hours straight until 10 p.m. christmas eve. and shopes at macy's are still finding plenty of options and discounts from 20 to 70% off. >> these were actually kut by my wife but hanging out so i grabbed them before i went out this morning. >> with the clock ticking the hard to buy for person can feel even harder to buy for. so here are some last minute gift ideas. >> pajamas, always a nice gift. gift of fragrance. every woman loves a special treat at this time of year. and if you really want a very special treat, diamond stud earrings. a shirt and new slim tie to update any suit, a casual

sweater. and these new single serve coffee makeers. >> the biggest gifts this year, the deep discounts that extra saturday to shop, and of course, the extended hours that so many stores offer because shopping early in the morning or late at night means you're not really fighting the crowds for parking spaces, or for the register. and there's some good dead time about 9 a.m. christmas eve morning. if you sneak in there, probably okay. if you did wait until the last minute, don't feel bad. you have a lot of company. consumer reports estimates as of last sunday, 25% of us hadn't even started the shopping yet. >> and it's mostly you moan are always the last-minute shoppers. >> yeah. >> are you all done? >> no, i'm not going to out. i'm finished. i think. i think! you know how sometimes pop up and you don't realize -- it could happen. >> you got me some chocolate, nice every you! we're talking about christmas holiday weather if you're

shopping tomorrow or tonight, bundle up. it's going to be cold once again. we do still see lots of sunshine out there. so hey, you kids, santa should have no problem delivering presents for you christmas morning. here's a look amount the national picture. in fact, really it's quiet for the holiday weekend. got a couple areas of snowshowers, not a lot though. it's here and there. we do have some falling in and around new mexico, albuquerque and then maybe some flurries falling in the northern great lakes, also southeastern massachusetts, and mid-atlantic it's quiet thanks to high pressure. and it's cooler we definitely felt the breezy conditions coming in today and you can see we have quiet conditions tonight. couple clouds rolling in, but overall it will be dry over the next few days here. temperatures feels himy, 46 in downtown. 44 andrews air force base. 40 in laurel. rockville 43. sterling 44. manassas down to 43 degrees. all of us down into the 30s overnight. so chilly tomorrow, then it

becomes milder. dry and cold tonight. saturday sunny and chilly. chilly for the redskins game saturday afternoon. 1:00 kickoff. christmas day is dry. and even a little milder. no white christmas. now, saturday morning partly cloudy, no tonight, partly cloudy and cold. two blanket night. lows down into the 30s. and the winds will be light. should not be as breezy compared to earlier today. surround downtown 35. annapolis, 36. culpeper 34. winchester, all of you down to low 30s right around that freezing mark. now, saturday morning doing some shopping, partly cloudy and cold. you'll need your jacket. temperatures will be in the 30s. afternoon it will look beautiful outside. lots of sunshine, but it's going to be a chilly day. highs will be only around 45 degrees. northwest wind at 5 to 10. so here's your zone forecast. start west, cumberland 40 degrees, and 43 in hagerstown.

warrenton 44. leesburg near mid-40s. culpeper warmer at 47. all right. and for downtown, temperatures around 46 degrees annapolis. lots of sunshine in store. so don't forget your sunglasses as you're out driving around town. here's your day planner. a coal start, still chilly at noon. 38 to 43 degrees. but lots of sunshine. here's your redskins forecast. they're playing the vikings tomorrow afternoon. mostly sunny and cold. i hope you're in the sun. temperatures near 45 for the afternoon kickoff. so definitely bundle up and those kids. here's your 7-day. chilly tomorrow, little milder for christmas. monday is dry. tuesday we're watching a system to the south of us. temperatures pretty mild in the low 50s. raindrop on there because right now models showing a 30% chance for showers so we'llwatch. that system. wednesday, thursday, high pressure back in control. lots of sunshine. it will be dry and we'll be seasonal in the mid-40s by

thursday, and then friday back into the 50s. so i'm sorry to say, we're not talking about a white christmas this weekend. at least milder. >> we're good with that! i love that pulsating star over christmas that you have. >> ornament. >> look at it. doesn't it -- kind of -- >> always thought it looks like a spaceship. >> like a want to hear somebody say, you know, the force is with you. all right. we'll be right back with e- mails. stay with us.

in the mailbag tonight, volatile mixture of race and politic. yesterday i castigated congressman in my let's be real commentary for his comments regarding michelle obama's big butt. betty takes the outrage to a whole in her level. but carl from royal oaks, maryland says this!

you know what, you've got a point there, except i argue no lawmaker ever called president bush a liar to his face. congressman joe wilson did that too president obama. nor did laura bush ever endure assaults on her behind, an issue which carries a lot of racial baggage. no pun intended. that's our broadcasted for this evening. we will be back tonight at 11. see you then. bye-bye.

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