district. he sexually assaulted her before letting her go. now police are on the hunt for the man. >> description we have is a black male wearing dark clothing. he is described as having a mustache and medium complected with dark clothing and a mustache and he apparently talked with a southern drawl, southern accent is what we were told. >> now that 15 month old child was not hurt as a result of all of this. police are hoping once the woman is treated for the trauma that she is undergoing because of this experience, they are hoping they can get more specifics and details in this investigation. anyone who saw anything or heard anything is being asked to call police. back to you. >> very disturbing stuff. thank you, ken. despite this particular violent crime, d.c. police are poised to mark the lowest murder rate in nearly half a century. detectives say murders are down 18%. some critics say those statistics have been inflated. delia has more on the numbers game and what the cops are saying about them.

>> 108 murders in 2011. the lowest we have seen here in the district since 1963. >> as 2011 winds down, d.c. is a safer place to be. according to the mayor and police chief. >> when i started here in 1990, the two things that used to really bother me is that we were known as the murder capital of the world. and the city of unsolved homicides. our detectives and our police officers have done an amazing job in turning that around. >> 108 murders, down 18% and a 94% homicide closure rate that beats out the national average of 65%. but the president of the fop claims overall crime is on the rise. he blames the occupy d.c. movement for draining resources. >> in fact, there's been a double digit increase in violent crimes and overall crime in the city. >> do we see things go up and down? absolutely. based on the time of year. to blame that on occupy is crazy. >> the chief credits the

community for keeping those crime numbers low and is asking. police are rewriting district boundary lines because of the increase in population. >> so what that has done is made my police resources not evenly distributed. seven years since we have done this. >> hope springs eternal. this is going to be good for public safety. we had a respectful disagreement and we'll see what happens. >> the police chief says there continues to be a number of challenges. certain crimes are indeed on the rise. sexual assault among strangers. and robberies are on the rise throughout the cities. robberies of your small mobile devices like your phone. outside police headquarters in downtown washington, delia, 9news now. >> the city is safer and the census numbers prove it. additional 17,000 people moved into the district in the last

14 months. meanwhile, some occupy d.c. protesters are breaking away from the pack and then starting a new movement. they are calling themselves occupy the vote and they are fighting to have voting representation in the congress for the city. the group says until it happens, they will hold a hunger strike. >> 51 days allows us to symbolically show that dream for the 51st state for district of columbia, but to show 51 people are willing to give food up to give up substance for 24 hours. >> the group spent the day trying to get signatures supporting their cause and to recruit others to join that hunger strike. mayor vince gray who has been a supporter was not at today's rally. just days to go until iowa caucus, the republican presidential candidates are trying to make their last final case to those undecided voters. the latest polls show that mitt romney is still in the lead. that despite his campaign, having low expectations for

iowa. they suffered a tough loss there back in 2008. but it seems he is picking up momentum there now. while speaking to a crowd outside, romney taking a familiar jab at president obama. >> he's in hawaii right now. we're out in the cold and the rain and the wind, because we care about america. he's out there. he just finished his 90th round of golf. >> big crowds showed up for rick santorum. she made a visit to a nearly empty diner. newt gingrich, meanwhile, broke down in tears during his campaign stop as he was asked about his mother and her health problems toward the end of her life. without even knowing who the republican candidate will be in november, a new measure is aimed at making some of you vote a certain way right now in virginia. it is called the loyalty oath pledge and it is adopted by the republican party in the state and it would require voters who vote in the republican primary to promise they'll vote for the republican nominee in the general election. whoever that turns out to be.

delegate robert marshall is a conservative republican, but he says his party is wrong on this one. >> you tell people you got to right now decide on march 6, that whoever is nominated in june down in florida will be your choice. i don't think ronald reagan would have gotten the nomination under those circumstances. >> it would dissuade me from voting in primaries to make sure i'm making an educated decision. an educated vote is better than a hasty vote. >> i think it's a slippery slope if we start a loyalty oath. >> calls and e-mails went unanswered. in tonight's health alert, the first flu case of the season hit maryland. according to the maryland department of health, the first lab confirmed case of seasonal influenza is out of baltimore. last season, though, that first confirmed case was reported back in october. health experts want to remind everybody the flu can spread easily through coughing and sneezing and flu shots, still

not too late for those. maybe we'll see more folks get the through and soon. anny hong is here. >> in the immediate future, like tonight and tomorrow, temperatures not getting that cold. in fact, temperatures reached into the 50s today. well above our seasonal high. 54 reagan national at the high. average is 44. so ten degrees above average. the record high on this date, 70 in 1990. now, right now temperatures around 47 in downtown. mid 40s in gaithersburg. a lot of us will be staying in the 40s, not going down into the 30s over night. so tonight, what we are  expecting mostly cloudy, not as cold. a late shower possible. just really light stuff and scattered if you see it. lows in the 40s. south wind at 5 to 10 miles per hour. tomorrow is shaping up to be another mild day. blustery. new year's eve looking dry. i'll let you know how long the mild conditions last before the really cold air comes this way. derek, back to you.

>> thank you, anny. after the break. why the police are investigating a woman who says she is dying of cancer. plus -- >> what was that? a baby doll with a bit of a potty mouth? what is this toy really trying to say? that's coming up. the washington, d.c. veteran's affairs medical center and wusa9 salute all who serve at home and abroad this season. >> stationed here in afghanistan. i want to say happy holidays to my mom, my dad, and my sister in silver spring, maryland. happy holidays and i love you.

is she really dying of cancer or is it all a scam to get cash? that is what the sheriff's office is investigating tonight. an employee at the bakerfield elementary school says one of her coworkers said she was struggling with cancer and that's when six of the women's coworkers decided they would help her out and pay for her rent, groceries, even flights for various treatments. now they think she was faking it the whole time. >> it was identified to the sheriff's office there the victim that these types of activities were happening to help raise money for this

coworker that alleged she had cancer. >> the woman told her coworkers that the cancer was at stage 4 and spread to her lungs and heart. the chances of survival was slim. overall, her coworkers raised about $10,000 on this woman's behalf. >> there is drunk and there is super drunk. and michigan police say allen blake was super drunk. parked, but still running. they say blake had his foot on the pedal and the pedal was literally to the metal. that kind of thing caught the engine on fire. passing police officer pulled blake out just in time, because moments later, the whole car burst into flames. the law which sets stiffer penalties that tops .17. right after the break, a look at your new year's eve forecast. but first, the latest on the search for an arsonist after several fires set in hollywood overnight. stay with us.

tonight, l.a. police are looking for whomever set at least a dozen fires over night. in nearly every case, the fire started in a parked car. the flames spread to nearby homes and apartment buildings in hollywood and west hollywood. one witness said he heard explosions and saw flames 30 feet high from the deck of a house once occupied by the late singer, jim morrison. police think the arsonist is

using some sort of device to start those fires. cursing baby dolls? some mothers say the toy not only giggles and cries, but says a word that rhymes with witch. >> oh. >> what did it sound like to you? >> very nasty word. >> yeah, see those dolls? they are called you and me interactive triplets and supposed to be for kids two years old and up. a lot of parents don't want the toys anywhere near their children. >> it was pretty plain and clear, i think. >> that's horrible for a baby to have something in their hand saying something like that. >> according to a spokeswoman, they say quote, we would never sell any doll that uses profanity. what you are hearing is baby babble. if someone hears something other than baby babble, they are more than welcome to return it for a full refund. if you are looking for love on the internet, right now is your time. traffic at online dating sites

have been peeking for the last several days and scott broom reports, this is an annual phenomenon that happens right before new year's eve. >> you've heard of cybermonday for online shopping. call this cyber friday for online dating. traffic at online dating sites is up between 15 and 20% in the days and hours before new year's eve. simply put, there are a lot of people who don't want to party in the new year alone. >> it is helpful, because it gets you out of your circles. >> susan stern is a certified life coach who says the new year can be charged for people looking for love. >> it's not surprising. i think people think new year, new beginnings, kind of new attitude. you are sort of, let's get rid of the past. past relationships, and you know, people are pretty hopeful. >> period between christmas and valentine's day is the busiest time of year for online dating, according to match.com.

eharmony is using this weekend to promote a free communication weekend looking for new customers to try it out. and then there's craigslist where new postings appear by the minute like this one. please, someone, make my new year's happy. which is where the certified life coach says be careful about your expectations. >> some people think oh, if i'm in a relationship, i'm going to be happy. it's really not the best approach to take. you want to be in a good, happy, healthy spot in your life before you go really looking for that relationship. because you're going to attract where you are. whatever it is you are is what you're going to be attracting back. >> even so, if you consider that online dating is a numbers game, right now the numbers are up, which means so are your chances for success. scott broom, 9news now. >> all right, well hopefully somebody will get a date on match.com who didn't have one for new year's eve because it will be so nice out there. >> we're talking mild

temperatures, derek. so ladies and men, you can get dressed up for those big parties because it's going be a nice and mild weekend. especially for those new year's eve celebrations. i think the cold air definitely holding off until after the weekend. that's the good news. here's a look at the national satellite and radar picture. the biggest rainmaker is an area of low pressure circulating just around the upper midwest and the great lakes region. we are looking at a rainmaker. you can see just on the northern western fringes of the system, we are seeing snow. it's dropping rain into detroit, parts of chicago, down through cincinnati as well. because of this system, we have a slight chance we may get moisture and a slight chance for showers overnight and into early tomorrow morning. right now, we are looking at cloudy conditions outside. temperatures are holding in the mid 40s. 47 in arlington. same in downtown. 45 in college park. we are not going it be cooling much more from these numbers overnight. in fact, all of us should be in the 40s through early tomorrow

morning. so, we have a mild weather pattern. then crazy cold weather coming this way. tonight, however, not as cold. saturday is mild, but breezy. dry for new year's eve and all those parties and get ready for the arctic air to settle in after the holiday weekend. the arctic air is cold already in bismarck, minneapolis, we are going to taste this air monday and tuesday. along with that, temperatures will feel very brisk. right now in d.c. mid to upper 40s. it will be a nice start to the morning. overnight, mostly cloudy and not as cold. lows in the 40s in downtown. mid 40s. but 41 in leesburg. 40 in winchester. no major 30s or 20s on this map. now in the morning, dress in layers, partly cloudy and chilly. an early shower possible. temperatures starting in the 40s. afternoon will be in the mid to upper 50s. partly sunny, but brisk and mild. gusts up to 25 miles per hour. they will be out of the west at

10 to 15. highs for your saturday afternoon, look at these numbers. upper 50s in downtown. 58 for andrews. near 60 for annapolis. 58 also in springfield. fairfax 57. leesburg, manassas, all warming up into the mid 50s. we should be mid 40s this time of year. your saturday breaks down like this. a slight chance of showers in the morning. temperatures in the 40s. so not too bad to start off your saturday. it will be brisk in the afternoon. 48 to 53 degrees by noon and at 5:00, still mild. 55 to 60 is our range for our highs. here's a look at your new year's eve forecast. it's going to be dry and temperatures cooling down into the 40s for all the parties and celebrations. and on new year's day, lots of sunshine. another mild one. mid 50s. here's your next seven days. enjoy the mild weather. good weekend to get down those holiday decorations because it won't be too cold. it will be mild and looks like monday and tuesday.

that's when the big changes come this way. it's going to be a lot colder and derek, when you factor in the blustery conditions coming with it, it's going to feel like in the 20s and teens. come especially tuesday, wednesday, look at the overnight lows later in the week. 20s. a little snow flake for some flurries. that's it. >> thank you anny. >> sure. >> in the weird news, something so totally cruel, it could make us change the name of the segment to the totally cruel news. to vegas, invented something he calls the fly board. we call it really, really awesome. it's sort of a jet pack kind of a thing. but instead of rockets, he has water pressure. you go down into the water, you come back up. you zoom around, i'm telling you, back flips not out of the question with this thing. very, very cool. believe it or not, this is expected in your store shelves sometime this spring. the cost, about $5,000. the purpose of the whole thing,

if total coolness isn't enough for you, buy a jet ski. >> i want one. 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 tonight, reaction to last night's story involving a fellow who left his job, but then took his thousands of twitter followers that he gained on that job with him. now, his old company is demanding hundreds and thousands of dollars from what they dubbed a customer list. in' though the fellow -- brandi from maryland says i can't help but think even though you're working for a company, usually are not under contract in these businesses and so it isn't quite like you are stealing from company clientele. however, if you broadcast that you are leaving and take other clientele and workers you didn't work to gain, that's a different story. i wonder what are the legal precedents here or so often the case nowadays, are we in totally new territory with all this social media? then there was this from our good friend, craig, in king george, virginia, reacting to

the phase out of incon descent lightbulbs. they are used for incubators, cheap electric fences, besides dimable lighting. do not pollute our dumps or ground water and are cheap to make. on top of that, the savings are negligent compared to the pollution threat. job well done, congress. craig, you do have a point regarding that pollution. those bulbs do have mercury and disposed of properly. however, that could be handled. my question is, is this like recycling our garbage, which was never going to happen if the local government didn't make everyone do it or lightbulbs are really that great, would the free market have most of us switching without uncle sam making us do it? i wonder what you think. the address to let me know is mailbag@wusa9.com. that is our report. i'll be back here tonight at

11:00 along with anita brikman. log on any time you like to wusa9.com. have a happy new year. we'll see you later. bye bye.

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tonight," the most watched entertainment newsmagazine in the world. kattier perry and russell brand. call it quits. inside the divorce papers just filed. the truth behind the shocking split. beyonce baby rumors explode online. is she in labor? did she give birth? or is this baby buzz bogus? we sift through the latest reports. plus, is arnold out with his wedding ring? what this new vacation photo reveals? then -- "entertainment tonight" is counting down hollywood's most shocking love triangles. sandra bullock, jesse james and the stripper. j. lo husband chris and ben affleck. >> christie brinkley. >> i'm looking forward to my independence day.