and the very latest information. two vehicles were involved in the accident. a pickup truck and a metro bus with several people on board. one person was killed, eight others hospitalized. two in critical condition with life threatening injuries. one of the critically injured was the metro bus driver who was extricated from the bus after being trapped for more than an hour. we spoke earlier with one of the passengers on the bus who told us what happened. >> cutting the bus off. that's what the bus driver told me. someone was cutting the bus off. i guess that green truck. next thing i know, bang. >> it felt scary. it was just, you weren't expecting it. >> once again, one person is dead, eight others hospitalized after a metro bus collides with a pickup truck here on rockville pike just north of nih. both directions of the road are closed right now. have been for several hours and i'm told will continue to be closed. >> we heard from the

eyewitness that the metro bus may have been cut off. any information on the involvement of the other possible vehicles involved in this accident? >> derek, here's what i'm being told. it's unconfirmed. the metro bus was heading southbound on rockville pike. the pickup truck was heading northbound and for some reason the pickup truck came into the southbound lane and cut off the metro bus. that is unconfirmed, but that is what some witnesses told the fire department and or the police department. >> all right, if that is true, that would account for the devastating nature of this crash. matt, thank you for that and we'll talk with you later on at 11:00. okay, moving on to this. how many parking tickets did you get this year? new figures out today say d.c. issued nearly 2 million parking tickets over the last 14 months. the only other cities with more, chicago and new york. delia reports aaa is calling it excessive and just an easy way for the city to make money.

>> even on a windy day, that parking ticket will not blow away. >> we have a problem here. >> aaa mid atlantic says district officers wrote 1.6 million parking tickets in fiscal year 2011 by may. the city collected $50 million and is on track to far surpass last year's revenue of $80.4 million and fiscal year 2009's $70.7. >> a lot of it is motivated by the profit margin. >> i understand it for safety purposes, but they are making a killing off of it. >> in fact, off meters alone, the city grossed $9.5 million in three months. money which goes to the district's general fund. >> if using the revenue of the tickets for the proper funding of other programs, then it's okay. >> many people complain about them being trigger happy. that's exactly what they are. in many cases, they start

writing the ticket before the meter expires. >> as we followed a parking enforcement officer, he appeared to do just that. enter a vehicle's tag number and walk away only to return and print the ticket the moment the meter ran out. while many are just doing their job, some get a bad rep. >> between baltimore and washington, i call them the ladies of hate. they aren't ambassadors for the city. they are going around just to raise revenue and charge you fines for parking. that's horrible. the more we can do to not give them that opportunity, i think the better it is for me and my family. >> his family takes public transportation from baltimore whenever they come visit d.c. let's break down 1.6 million tickets for you. that is about 5,000 tickets written a day. 350 an hour. five tickets every minute until 10:00 p.m. in georgetown, delia, 9news

now. >> one of those tickets come to a car near you. a band of home burglars caught in the act. a group of five people are going around ripping off homes, but as ken tells us, police believe they have dealt these suspects a significant setback. >> the kirk cam was roll on the first in a string of burglaries. this break in happened in the middle of november and since then, police say it happened about half a dozen times in the area. >> burglary is in my opinion, one of the worst invasion of privacies. >> in all the cases detective jones says the suspects enter homes during the day when no one is there. they knock on doors and when they realize it's empty, they smash windows and go inside. the burglars are taking electronics, jewelry, and credit cards. and now residents in the area are on high alert. >> it's unfortunate, but people look for the moments >> it's unfair.

this is not a very rich neighborhood. people are struggling just like everywhere else. >> police release this surveillance video. one of the suspects try to sell a laptop he had just stolen from a home. a different suspect believed to be part of the same group was picked up by surveillance cameras as he tried to withdraw money using a stolen atm card. now police are sending out a strong word of caution. >> anything that doesn't seem normal to you. anything that you have seen in the neighborhood before, anyone stake out a house or something, give us a call. >> according to police, 30-year- old keona is believed to be part of that group. she did turn herself into authorities earlier today and although she isn't being charged, she is being questioned by police. now of course, if you have anymore information regarding this investigation, the police ask you to give them a call. police are searching for a

man who abducted and sexually assaulted a woman in northwest d.c. that woman told investigators she was walking in the 900 block of emerson street when a masked man drove up in a white van, got out, forced her into that van at knife point. the suspect then drove to the 1200 block of delafield place where he sexually assaulted her and let her go. and we have new information tonight on the accused serial mall slasher in northern virginia. johnny fled to peru and now they are trying to extradite him back to northern virginia to stand trial. a police spokeswoman says he arrived in peru a couple weeks ago and is now believed to be in the capital city of lema. police issued a warrant back in september. they believe he used a raiser blade or a box cutter to slash nine women in their buttocks while they were out shopping. and we also have new information on those garages set on fire up in urbana early yesterday morning. tonight, police say they have four suspects in custody. investigators say the 16-year-

old boys used marine flairs to set the garages on fire on singleton terrace and addison woods road. they tracked them down using surveillance video from a wal- mart showing the boys shoplifting those flairs. the fires caused $130,000 in damage. the occupy protesters now have a permit to pitch their tents in freedom plaza through the end of february. the national park service spokesperson says the new permit runs from january 1 to february 28. the current permit expires on friday. the group camped out in freedom plaza since october. protesting corporate greed and the continued presence of u.s. troops in afghanistan. a similar larger camp is set up a few weeks away in mcfear son square. a bright, but crisp day has given way to a clear night. annny hong in for topper. how long will it go? >> lows into the 20s, derek. so definitely a cold nonet is in store for us with clear

skies and be breezy. the winds have calmed down a little bit. but they are acting up. here's a look at the wind gust. getting to 38 miles per hour. duelless 37 and martinsburg, west virginia, 40 miles per hour. windchill right now, feels like lower 30s. below freezing around downtown. 29 in gaiters burg. look at hagerstown. feels like 20. oakland way up to the far north, west of us. down to single digits. 9 degrees. now tonight, clear skies, still breezy and very cold. bundle up. make sure you bundle up. lows in the 20s with west wind at 10 to 15 miles per hour. we have milder air coming this way and then much colder air after that. we'll take a look at that and your new year's forecast when we come back. thank you, annny. anny. a mass casualty drill on a local college campus. a previous warning about the

popular blood thinner, plavix may not be warranted. we'll tell you about that.

a brand-new study about the popular blood thinner known as plavix. anita. >> suggests the fda may have jumped the gun by requiring a test to screen patients before they take plavix. the test looks for a certain gene. this latest study says plavix is safe and effective and no test is needed. >> when looked at over 32 studies, 40,000 patients while the gene actually affected the response of the drug. when you look at the things plavix prevents, such as heart attacks, strokes, and other events. it didn't matter whether you had a lot of the gene or a little of the gene.

it was the same. >> the black box warning for the medicine, about 40 million people still take plavix worldwide. derek. that aught to be a relief for some folks. smoke, gun shots. it was just a drill. designed to help emergency responders prepare for a mass casualty incident on campus. kristin fisher reports the exercise comes two years after a student upset over his grades opened fire on a teacher in the middle of class on the woodbridge campus. >> smoke coming from a car parked at garage on campus. it's the first sign something is wrong. but the drill takes on a much more erie feel when campus police officers respond to what they think is just a fire. shots fired, there's a shooter on campus. >> taking lessons from previous shootings and incidents and rolled them into this operation. >> the captain with fairfax capital police is overseeing four of the agencies in this

exercise. >> this is a functional exercise. which means you will see the moving parts. make sure we are testing the response personnel. >> armed with plastic guns, police officers converge on campus. there's three shooters on the loose. one is inside this building. >> we have multiple shooters on campus. so you are not focused in on one location. >> these officers are the people that would be responding if this drill were the real deal. but the shooters and their victims are volunteers. some already even theater students at nova. >> we are dealing with 95 simulated injuries and folks that will act as students on the campus. >> an hour into the exercise, one shooter is shot and killed. two others are taken into custody. the crime scene now turns into triage. seven people are pretending to be dead, including six students and a police officer. several others are injured. and rushed out in an ambulance. they are coming back. the drill may be done, but the

debrief is only the beginning. now people who live and work near this campus were alerted to today's drill to the county's emergency alert network. that's the same system that would be used in a real emergency and it was used today to make this drill as true to life as possible. kristin fisher, 9news now. >> still ahead tonight, behind the scenes with the local men and women who are bringing m and new year's eve light shows to life. anny. >> temperatures dropping overnight into the 20s. but we have milder air coming this way. i have your seven-day forecast, including new year's when i come back. >> a cautionary tail about the dangers of leaving your little ones alone with your smart phone. that's coming up.

the washington, d.c. veteran's affairs medical center salute all who serve at home and abroad this holiday season. this is sergeant first

class andrew stationed in korea. i would like to wish my wife, christina, my daughters caitlin and megan and my two sons nicholas and zachary a merry christmas and a happy new year. retailers are reporting a healthy increase in holiday sales this year. all thanks to shoppers who turned out after thanksgiving and those who waited until the last minute. according to shopper track. the shoppers spent 4.1% more than last year. a 4% increase is considered a successful season. economists say there was a deeper than usually lull following black friday this year, but the surge during the final two weeks before christmas made up for the decline. now, we have a word of warning for all of you parents of tech savvy tolders. the terrible two's took a whole new meaning for an oklahoma city couple after their toddler racked up $200. she does not play with dolls,

however, he has a pension for iphone apps and with two tiny thumb clicks at nearly $100 a pop. london stuck her parents with a hefty big bill. >> i just stood there with my mouth open. i didn't know whether to laugh or cry. >> you have to be impressed with her ability to problem solve and to work her way through things. but ultimately, i mean, you feel, you feel suckered a little bit. >> now, the halls say they will password protect their phones. but the warning is that many apps are desired to lure your children. the halls have a friend at apple who helped them remove the charges as a one-time courtesy. so don't do this again. all right, now to ohio where this family was so desperate for snow, they drove 500 miles just to see it. javier and her family came from puerto rico. they flew to d.c. and they rented a car just going out looking for snow.

they drove up and down the ohio turnpike, driving through cleveland to toledo and back and they were using their smart phone to track the snow. they got to strongsville. >> the snowfalling, see the trees? the trees with snow? it's something very beautiful. >> i love my kids enjoying this experience here. it's amazing. >> is there anyone named topper in that family? javier married his bride in november. this is their honeymoon. >> oh wow. that's an idea. >> like i said, are we sure nobody named topper in that family? >> yeah, it's been a terrible ski season so far. so it's been a tough, we are trying to get that snow making machine going. i have snow on the seven-day forecast. nothing crazy. nothing to panic about. but we have still breezy conditions out there. the winds came howling this afternoon. the wind gusts are still acting up. it's 23 out of the north in the

d.c. downtown area. wind gusts at leesburg out of the west at 16 miles per hour. head out toward the water. wind gusts of 28 in pax river. 23 for annapolis. so the blustery conditions will continue. a nice night to stay inside, watch a movie, have some hot cocoa. windchill, yup, below freezing already in downtown. look at gaithersburg. feels like 24 degrees. 29 in manassas. 20 in hagerstown. andrews air force base 28. let's head out north and west. oakland feels like 9 degrees. so yeah, we have cold air in place. we have high pressure which is going to keep us dry overnight and through tomorrow. we'll see the skies clear. so that means the temperatures will just plummet into the 20s. it's going to be a cold night compared to this morning's low of the lower 40s. so, mild over the next few days. then get ready for some much colder air. for tonight, breezy and colder. pleasant and chilly for

tomorrow. friday is going to be the mild day with some clouds moving in and new year's weekend also not looking bad. it will be fairly mimed around the d.c. area. the clouds moving in tomorrow afternoon, i think we will see some sunshine. we'll stay dry, but you can see we have a couple disturbances coming through friday, mostly to the west and north of us. we get a little chance for some showers around the d.c. area. the further north you are. again, small chance and a very light passing shower. tonight, what can you expect? clear skies. it will be breezy. very cold. that windchill factor will feel in the 20s once we get lows into the 20s. overnight lows, 29 in downtown. 26 in leesburg. and out in pax river in the lower 30s. the water helping moderate temperatures a little bit. thursday morning, mostly sunny and cold. bundle up. again, 20s and 30s. afternoon, partly cloudy and chilly. highs 44 to 49 degrees.

generally temperatures will be up into the mid 40s around town. we're going with 47 in downtown. 46 in college park. arlington in the upper 40s. we should be around 44 for this time of year. here's how your thursday breaks down. 20s in the morning. cold start, chilly at noon. by 5:00, 44 to 49 degrees. here's a look at your next seven days. a little milder on friday. that's going to feel nice. mid 50s on friday under partly sunny conditions. a slight chance for a shower. i wouldn't worry about it. weekend looks good. partly sunny right now and mild. in the 50s. enjoy that. by monday and tuesday, cold air comes in. a chance for a snow shower on monday. nothing major at this point. good weekend to get rid of that christmas tree. >> thank you anny. from the weird news file. it is the sort of stunt you can only see done in hollywood movies. no one would be fool enough to try this in real life. or would they? through the home of most of our weird news, the uk where they

just held the british car jumping championship. no, you heard me right, it's cars up over a ramp. and often not quite making it. the only other requirement is a crazy person behind the wheel and as you can see, it can be painful. >> basically you hold on and just make sure, you see the cars in front of you. it damages the engine. >> george, i don't quite know what that fellow was talking about. >> by the way, that's dan archer. he won, didn't quite clear all the cars. but he got the big applause from the audience. apparently, that counts. plus, he was still alive, which in almost every sport counts. many people know about the annual new year's eve light show, what they don't know is that the amazing five minute video and laser adventure is created by maryland natives are

now making their mark here in d.c. and all across the country. mike takes us behind the scenes. >> it takes six of the most powerful projectors in the world to make this building damp. but none of this would happen without the artist and technicians here in a nondescript warehouse in south baltimore. >> let's say it took a total of three solid weeks. >> nights and weekends, too, for artist to bring this to life. >> you have a great job. >> it's fun. it certainly is. >> at image engineering, dream of ways to make things look cool. the ravens loved this idea. red eyes, smoke and fire surrounding the players. how about the monument lighting? it's a big hit. here's a hometown company spreading its wings far beyond baltimore. how about three super bowls? and more big name concerts than you can count. joe and his two brothers own the business. >> we do a lot of fun,

creative things. we have a talented team of people that pull this magical stuff off. >> people like phil payne who due to the nba lockout, had a couple of days to build this sign for the wizards. sorry, did i forget to tell you about the fire? >> we are the little hidden gem in baltimore that does really cool things. >> just 15 years old, they are now the most versatile company of his kind in the country. >> we like to pride ourselves not being super big, but not small. we can tackle any job. >> you get to stay a 13-year- old boy. how can i do something cool with flames, maybe fireworks and led's? >> and lasers. can't forget the lasers. >> indeed. >> in south baltimore, mike shoe, wjz eyewitness news. or job is to make stuff look cool. the light show at the baltimore power plant runs on the hour starting at 6:00 p.m.

we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mail bag. the address, mailbag@wusa9.com. 9news now will be right back.

in the mail bag, regarding the montgomery county version of the bag tax about to go into effect for anybody that shops in the county. it's a nickel a bag. it starts january 1. and paul is already sick of it. it's a ripoff. at the rate of all these taxes, pretty soon we'll find ourselves for breathing air. listen to eric mccain. so, as of next month, d.c. will have had the tax in place for two years. can anyone show me where this money has gone, what it's used for and how much was collected? please show me it works and some good is coming from it. to be fair, we reported on those number. a lot fewer plastic bags out there and more money for anacostia river cleanup. steven speier says that is what

it's all about. plastic bags are horrible. if the only good things come is that people use less of them, then it was a good idea. i really don't think it has anything to do with the environment. it's another tax and way to make money off of people because regardless, i recycle my bags. i have four big recycle bins in my backyard and they get used. and somebody calling himself or herself prairie stream said this. taxpayers are paying now to clean up litter caused by disposable plastic bags. let the cost of cleanup be picked up by people who take disposable bags. it makes a lot of sense. you know what? perhaps it does make sense, but here's the deal. i believe the objections are not really about the money. a nickel a bag isn't going to make or break anybody. it has a feel of literally being nickel and dimed at a time when most of us are not in the mood. even if the bag tax is the right thing to do for the environment, that does not

alter the fact that it is annoying. something else we have to put up with. your e-mails and comments are never any trouble. keep them coming. the address is mailbag@wusa9.com. that is our report. i'll be back here at 11:00. don't forget, log on any time you like. have a great evening. we'll see you then. bye bye.

now, "entertainment tonight," the most-watched entertainment news magazine in the world. arnold and maria, the timeline. are they getting back together? plus is beyonce about to give birth? why her baby could be here before the new year. then hollywood's older women with younger men. >> i am cher, after all. >> cher's boys club, val kilmer, rob, tom cruise. >> i loved him. he was amazing. >> halle berry and the ugly custody fight. >> mariah carey and nick cannon. >> this is my best friend. frm soulmates. >> madonna's string of boy toys. >> we understand each other. >> which may/december romances stood the test of time and which fizzled out? we're counting down the top five. now, "in depth" on the biggest entertainment stories from