so why is the discounters closing their doors for good? check it out. one of the major competitors across the street. the all-out crazy theme from running of the brides makes the basement a household name. but some only knew of its charm. >> i have my own charge card. i would never miss the president's day sale where they have all the designer stuff and literally, boxes of designer wear like this that would not even hit the bench. people were grabbing at it, going to the cash register because it was that great. >> reporter: for many, the basement is more than just a store. it was an experience. founded in boston in 1909 as a way to sell excess merchandise from their department store. the basement created the automatic markdown and the bargain shoppers. >> i specifically remember certain coats i still wear that brings back memories of even how i had to fight for it, but

i got it. >> reporter: but very little fighting for deals these days. shoppers are still rummaging the racks, many shelves are empty here in washington. >> it's very depressing. this is a job that, you know, i have been, well, here for about three months. i actually love this place. >> reporter: boston's department store was bought by macy's in 2006. the same year that hex here at home became macy's. a year later, the basement flagship store in boston shut its doors and the business has struggled to stay alive ever since. after three bankruptcies, new owner sims says they have finally had enough. blaming competition and the economy. >> we make it like this. but when we look at big pictures, it is very disturbing. >> reporter: and you know what's even more disturbing when you look at all the numbers when it is said and done? 46 stores will close down. of course, the folks that work in these stores, 2,600 people will be out of work by the end of this year. derek? >> that's the saddest thing of

all. thank you for that report. now, despite what seems likea bunch of businesses seeming to close down, we did learn that they are at an 8- month high. still not quite at the level indicating the economy is on solid ground. and with that said, today, we learned housing prices in most of the major u.s. cities that fell in october. the second straight month they have done that. and the drop comes after five straight months of increases. the standard areas said that it is an indicator that will recover from the housing crisis, which will not be a smooth road. in fact, it could be pretty bumpy. by all indications, the holiday shopping season was fairly strong. so in light of today's mixed numbers that we're getting from all the indicators on out there, surae chinn asked some experts whether or not the recession is really over. >> okay, derek. i hate to be the bearer of bad news. yes, it's officially over. but $470 billion in holiday spending, well, that sounds great. 4% up from last year. it sounds great. but the economist we talk to say hold on, let's not use it

as a witness test. people we talk to on the streets seem to agree. even though we're making the six figures, you can't afford a house or groceries. it's silly. >> you can't tell we're out of the recession. basie because every parking lot you see is full. >> they buy more stuff from china. >> reporter: the parking lots are filled with more spending. he has an explanation for that. he says that folks are spending faster than what their income is rising. >> we are very staggering. and it is very troubling. >> reporter: he says that the economy has to grow about 3% in order for the jobless rates to come down. the country is at 2% growth. but some families, they are feeling curiouslyoptimist -- feeling cautiously optimistic. >> it's been a good christmas for us. >> reporter: it took a year and a half for them to find the theater conductor job. five months for this woman to find hers in the nursing industry. >> and you know, for myself,

it's not that, but it was. >> reporter: these are some of the luckier families who have pulled through the great recessions. >> washington has been taking a bigger slice of a shrinking pie. and if you're not on wall street, living in georgetown or in the valley area, then the world is a much darker place. >> reporter: just ask this person from central, illinois, where they used a toy drive that was bleak. >> jobs are tough and a lot of people, they need, well, help for food and stuff like that during the holidays. >> reporter: but the take away? >> america has not forgotten how to grow. and americans have not lost faith in their country. but the problem is their leaders have given up. >> reporter: so they see four issues in the way of our great recovery. saying to address the trade deficit with china. the high price of imported oil. banks are not lending, and rising health care costs. he says until we see those improvements, we're still going to see that strangling growth. even more bad news, he says. he thinks that the economy will slow down in the first half of

2012. >> in other words it will get worse again? >> that's what he is saying. he's not alone. other economist are saying the same thing, unfortunately. >> all right, thank you for that. we'll go back to you in the studios. anita? >> okay, a bumpy road to recovery. just when you think that the battle over raising the debt ceiling is over, here is a new headline. this week, they plan to ask congress to raise the nation's borrowing limits by $1.2 trillion. one of the three steps negotiated earlier this summer. congress can eject the increase. they can veto that ejection. for the first time in five months, more people approve of the job that the president. that's according to the latest gallup poll with 47% of those asked giving president obama a thumbs up right now. 45% disapprove of his performance. today also marks one week until the first major vote heading into the campaign 2012. and as emily schmidt is telling

us, the presidential candidates are pulling out the stops ahead of all the iowa caucuses. >> reporter: five of the major republican candidates are in iowa on tuesday. it shows a combined trail. >> i appreciate the support that i have here in new hampshire. >> reporter: but they plan to be in iowa by the evening. by wednesday's schedule, they show every major candidate. and he will be in the state. >> and this is our opportunity. >> reporter: the candidates fill up the diners. their ads pack inboxes. his latest ad targets the anti- washington move. >> if washington is the problem, then why trust them to fix it? >> reporter: a new research group shows two people separating the top three candidates. they find 12% of the likely caucus goers say they are still undecided. leaving them going the extra mile to win the support. >> that's why i'll ask you to be with me. hoping it pays off down the long election road. in washington, i'm emily schmidt. right now, we've got the

video just in to our newsroom. a ride-on bus that caught fire this afternoon. this is out on the road here near massachusetts avenue. it's in bethesda and right after 4:00 p.m. take a look at that thing. not much left. luckily no passengers on it at the time. and the driver managed to get out without getting hurt. and what caused it? who knows. they are still looking. new at 6:00 tonight. metro says they have finished inspecting all of the 5,000 rail cars. the washington metropolitan transit authority, they tweeted today that they did not find any issues with any of those cars. those inspections began last week after a part of the brake fell off of the orange line transit between the plaza here and the smithsonian station. tonight, metro says they still don't know exactly why that brake failed. but coming up tonight on 9news now at 7:00, the last u.s. troops are out of iraq and headed for the home. wu do -- but do not count on a big parade welcoming them back. we'll tell you why. >> all right, that will be at 7:00. still ahead in this half hour before you grab your party hats for new years.

some advice to make sure you don't miss that in front of the co-workers. anny? anita, most of us are drying out tonight. the rain right now pushing off to the east of us. and the windy connections are headed this way. i've got your seven-day forecast including new year's eve when we come back. and up next, do you think he is buried under the meadowlands? think again what the labor leaders former driver is saying about his final mysterious resting place.

they learned what they were doing back in 1985. he disappeared 10 years before that. that will be on his way to meet two mafia guys. his body has never been found. it's the kind of things that really start to fly around the internet. at this time of the year, so could plenty of holiday photos on the social sites like facebook. but in this economy, you'll want to make sure you don't get caught on camera doing something that could cost you your job. >> reporter: how to survive those holiday company parties with some dos and don'ts to hang on to your job. certainly, watch how much you drink so you don't become the obnoxious guy at the party. and definitely, you know, know the party dress code. they have been the founder of

cmi. it is better to overdress instead of underdress for the party. >> you cannot go wrong. if you show up with a suit and tie and no one else is in a tie, you can take off the jacket and you'll be fine and loosen up the tie. but if you show up and you're wearing a v-neck t-shirt, then you'll feel pretty stupid. >> reporter: if your boss does invite you to a social gathering, you should go to build up some social credit. but if you know you're not capable of being on your best behavior, then you should probably stay at home in order to keep your job. 9news now. still to come on 9news now, a community on edge after two garages are set on fire. very close to each other overnight.

9news now update. police are still working on bringing murder charges against a richmond man. he is the 22-year-old where police say that one day after he got out of jail for another crime, he shot and killed two people at a house while trying to rob them. and then he stole an suv and it had a 2-year-old boy in the backseat. hours later that child was fortunately found unharmed. for now clemmons faces abduction, robbery, and gun charges. a community in the white oaks section of silver springs is badly shaken tonight after the local rapper who was murdered at a bus stop this morning. the 24-year-old of silver springs was shot to death near the direction of april lane and stuart just before 7:00 a.m. the victim's shattered family said he was on the way to work when he was attacked near his girlfriend's apartment. police are still investigating. >> we can't rule out that it

was not random. investigators are working every angle of the investigation right now. they can't focus on one thing of the other. they need to look at everything today. >> it's not like the place you hear all the time. you know, about your suv team. >> the victim had a criminal record that included drug, theft, assault charges that police have not announced a motive or a suspect in his death. in the last hour, they were concerned that two garage fires overnight were indeed cases of arson. i'm lindsey mastis in frederick county. two garages have caught fire at the same time here in the same neighborhood. the family was home when their garage on addison woods road caught fire. the entire garage inside of it was destroyed.

there is $135,000 worth of damages to both garages. >> hopefully they feel bad, you know? for what they did, i just hope they feel remorseful as to what they did. >> this is not a joke. just a serious stop. you could have killed people. tonight, they are looking into reports of the pieces of plaster that is starting to fall down from the coliseum. reports from the european newspaper said that staff are on alert after pieces fell over the last couple of days. the 2,000-year-old attraction is just 30 days away from a $2 million restoration project. it looks like they need it. and now to australia where they tossed around a freight train like it was a toy. look at that, the cyclone dropped torrential rain on australia's northern territories. and the engineers of the train tried to cross the bridge despite the high water. it collapsed. the train derailed. the engineers are okay, but the

train was hauling some toxic stuff and now that it has been swept all over that region in some water. what a mess. >> yeah. well, we had plenty of water here. nothing important to the violent rain all day. >> yeah, we sure did. it is very soggy. kind of a washout for much of today. hope you had the umbrellas, heading back to school. the showers have moved well off to the east now. so for most of the d.c. area, we're now drying out. take a look at live doppler radar. we're still seeing the light rain taking place here. some of the heavier amounts here in basically southern maryland. and they have now moved offshore. right now temperatures, still in the 50s downtown. 52 at college park. 46 in bethesda. rockville at 44. reston 43. we'll be cooling down into the 30s once again, but not as cold compared to the last couple of nights. the rain ends, then we're fairly quiet for the rest of the week and the year. coastal flood advisories in effect for low-lying areas until 1:00 in the morning to

watch for the minor flooding. windy and cooler for your wednesday. chilly for thursday. and a dry new year's weekend for you. well, it's looking pretty good here. tonight, mostly cloudy and breezy with the rain ending. not asked cold. lows in the 30s. the west wind at 10 to 15. overnight cooling down to the upper 30s downtown. 40 in annapolis. 37 at culpepper and 34 degrees in frederick. now for tomorrow morning as you're heading out the door, bundle up for a chilly day. and because it will be a partly cloudy windy time. temperatures are starting in the 30s. winds will be with northwest. 15 to 25 miles per hour. those are the sustained winds. our gusts will be going up to 35 miles per hour. some locations might be even 40 miles per hour. the farther east you are. highs will be 42 to 46 degrees. we'll see lots of sunshine. but yeah, you need to factor in the windchills. here are your highs. 40 in cumberland. in the lower 40s. leesburg at 43. warrenton, 45 degrees.

manassas is in the near 40s. around downtown, 42 degrees. 41 in gaithersburg. lower 40s in annapolis. lower 40s here as well. and the rivers around 44 degrees. here is how your wednesday breaks down. so it will be a dry start for you tomorrow morning. no problems in the commute, but breezy, windy by noon. lots of sunshine. they will be whipping up all day tomorrow. here's a look at your seven-day forecast. a little milder on thursday and then friday, look at that, near the mid-50s on saturday. and 50, we're ending the year. really nicely here. then for the weekend, i think on new year's eve, we should be dry for you. temperatures around near 50 once again on sunday to start off 2012. monday, tuesday offering much cooler temperatures, upper 30s by tuesday. >> yeah, it will feel like winter. >> yeah. >> finally. >> finally. >> so now a great start for the wizards. is that a nice way to say it? >> yes. that's a very nice way to put it. now, here we go again.

blowing a 21-point lead. then they will get the worse. and they will be walking papers. and a sight for sore eyes. i'll explain that next.

all right, here's what

frustrates people about this man. he's a 6-11 power forward. he is a physical guy steam rolling the defenders, getting the easy bucket living in the lower post. all too often, he does not steam roll anybody. in fact, he plays like a small forward at times. now, let's go back to last night. and they were firing away from the perimeter. and they never established themselves. all the while washington gave back a 21-point lead. he lost, afterwards, the coach is accusing him of this. here is a taste. >> you start playing more individuals, not letting the system take over. they will be pressurizing. >> all right, afterwards, they responded about talking with me. it sounds like they are blaming that there today and they are tweeting everybody needs to shut up, that i did not call my coach or teammate.

i had a bad game. i needed it in the post. these two have had history before, so we shall see. the playoffs began the day where they would not make it. and let that sink in. they would not make it. this is normally the time of the year when they say the redskins are done. but at least we have the catch. not. this year they have a losing time. they took over 5, 6, 1. the last couple of games, especially frustrating. only to see the late comebacks fall short. what's going on? nicholas backstrom candid and blatant. that's a little embarrassing coming forward. we made too many mistakes. >> will there you go. mike green practicing fully for the first time since mid- november, after missing 20 games with a groin strain. all right, redskins fans, what do you remember most about october 2? that day, the redskins meet the rams. you probably remember that they

busted in for 135 near with 9 touchdowns. the skins have released the runningbacks. he was a guy in '08 where they started here last night. that will be 65 yards since the rams lost. somewhat of a surprising end to the tenure here in washington. >> it just seems like our city, we need to have a team really coming together to have a great winning season. >> no. normally the wizards have not done it in a while. >> you missed some of the college students struggling right now. >> they give us hope. >> there you go. >> you see, we'll end on a positive note. that's all for 9news now at 6:00. stay with wusa9.com for the cbs evening news next. of course at 7:00, derek is here with our area's only local newscast at that hour. don't forget to join our morning teams. 4:25 a.m. they will get you going out the door. i'll be back at 11:00 with

these guys. we'll see you later.