they simply had -- in rockaway say they simply had enough. they're moving away forever. others say they'll stay and rebuild. our own reporter bruce leshan knows what it's like to have to start over. a tree crashed into his home during superstorm sandy forcing out him and his family and he's hoping what he's learning trying to rebuild will help others. >> reporter: i'm learning a lot about how to come back after a huge tree nearly destroyed my home and i'm hoping what i've learned is going to help some other people. a week ago i lived in a forest of tulip poplars, but all around the neighborhood now the chainsaws are buzzing, the cranes are lifting the logs out of people's backyards. my neighbors are all scared that what happened to me might happen to them. so they're taking out this tree now. later in the afternoon this one

will come down. luckily my wife had decided to ride out the storm down in the basement because this was my bedroom. this crisis has convinced me that my friends and neighbors are the best ever. they helped me move into this house just a few blocks away. my wife and my kids and i are all thinking that this sunroom is going to be a really nice place to spend the winter. in bethesda, bruce leshan, 9 news now. >> we will keep checking in with bruce as he rebuilts his home. his contractor says it may be a matter of months before it's all done. now topper shutt is here. what about our forecast? we know about that nor'easter. >> well, it's still giving us wind even though it's essentially off the new england coast, but the winds will die down slowly. let's talk about the scope of the winds. they're not as strong as superstorm sandy but still covers a pretty big area, 29 mile-per-hour wind gusts in boston, 24 mile-per-hour wind gusts here in the downtown area, even down toward hatteras 16 mile-per-hour wind gusts

with even gusts over 20 miles per hour in the mountains back into west virginia and extreme southwestern west virginia. closer to home they're dying down slowly. our highest wind gust was 34, down to 24 now in the last hour, 17 mile-per-hour wind gust in both gaithersburg and leesburg and frederick but still a 28 mile-per-hour wind gust in martinsburg. so it's chilly. if you head outside, dress for the 30s. it's 15 downtown, mainly in the 40s in leesburg, 36 in manassas. we'll come back and talk about when the winds will go away and when the temps will go back up. sentencing day today for the man who shot and killed six people and wounded 13 more including former arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords. today in tucson, arizona, jared loughner was sent to prison for the rest of his life. giffords faced her shooter for the first time in court today and her husband speaking for her told loughner, "you tried to create a world as dark as yours, but you failed." one by one those victims

addressed the gunman. >> i believe that i can find peace and closure in meaningful positive action and in compassion and forgiveness. >> loughner has been diagnosed with skits friend, why so it's unclear whether or not he'll serve -- schizophrenia, so it's unclear whether he'll serve his time in a prison facility or a medical federal lockup. fiscal cliff, it is the buzz phrase coming out of washington this week and as peggy fox tells us, if you don't think it could impact you, think again. >> reporter: when federal agencies are forced to cut 9% out of their budget, the washington area alone could see 65,000 federal jobs lost. 97,000 federal contractor jobs could disappear. add to that subcontractors and people who rely on all that and the total local job loss is nearly 500,000. >> you can't cut back the

federal government by 9% without finding some impact on every town on every individual across the country. >> reporter: george mason economist steven fuller says federal services and facilities could be shut down or cut back. the national zoo and smithsonian could cut back hours. you might not get that passport renewed in time for your trip. >> new york city is all but shut down. >> reporter: how about the next big storm? >> the weather guys will have to look out the window more often. >> reporter: meterologists were able to track hurricane sandy using federal satellites. will noaa be able to spend what it needs? >> satellite controlled navigation, that system won't be put in place. >> reporter: we could see slowdowns at some airports. >> the faa is going to have to take some controllers out of the towers. >> reporter: fuller says everybody will be inconvenienced but worse? >> just about everybody will see their tax goes up. >> reporter: people who work will see their payroll tax goes up and people who itemize won't be able to deduct child care

expenses because congress hasn't continued those reductions and small businesses will lose money because of changes in the inheritance tax. >> we lose most of the jobs that have been added and we're back to the depths of the recession again. >> reporter: peggy fox, 9 news now. >> nobody wants to go back there. now the governor of virginia is already making plans just in case we do fall off that fiscal cliff. he is ordering all his department heads to prepare to cut their budgets by 4%. that's transportation, health, the dmv, you name it. all this is according to a memo obtained by the associated press. wall street's worries about the fiscal cliff may be somewhat responsible for yet another dismal day on the markets. after yesterday's 300 point plunge the dow dropped another 121 points today. nearly two full days after barack obama was declared the winner of the presidential election, florida is still undecided, although there are some reports that say barack obama has been declared the winner. the sunshine state's 29 electoral votes are, of course,

irrelevant to the outcome are but some critics point out that this year's problems underscore ongoing issues with florida's voting process and a recount is not out of the question. 11 people mostly young women kidnapped, robbed and raped. tonight those accused attackers are behind bars. >> reporter: i'm scott broom at coffen state university in baltimore and neighbors say a pair of predators were stalking, raping and robbing victims including students off campus. they targeted the west baltimore neighborhood near koppen state university often targeting women at bus stops, forking them at gunpoint into a -- force them at gunpoint into a golded for explorer, then taking them -- gold ford explorer, then taking them away to be robbed and raped and dumping them off in parking lots. today police announced the arrests. >> the things they did and the way they treated these young ladies is an outrage.

>> the young women were forced into the suv at gunpoint and driven to a nearby apartment complex where she was forced at gunpoint to perform several sex acts. >> reporter: scott broom, 9 news now. he is the bus driver who fell asleep at the wheel on i- 95 in 7 and then crashed and killed four passengers. today a judge found kin yiu cheung guilty of involuntary manslaughter. that skyexpress bus was on its way from greensboro to new york city. cheung now faces 40 years in prison when he is sentenced in january. new signs tonight about possibly escalating tensions with iran. today we are learning that two iranian jets fired on a u.s. drone in the persian gulf last week. >> our aircraft was never in iranian airspace. it was always flying in international airspace. >> the drone which was unarmed was not hit, but that incident raises some fresh concerns within the obama administration

about iranian military aggression in crucial gulf oil shipping lanes. coming up what the post office wants you to know about holiday a match yup, it's that time of year -- mail. up, it's that time of year ago. >> plus how the cops took out the water canon to beat back protesters in greece. >> and you want to keep foods from packing on the pounds? there is some advice out there for you.

well, this what is it looked like in greece and as you can see, it is not looking good. riot teams having to use water canons on protesters 100,000 demonstrators furious over $17 billion in budget cuts passed by lawmakers just to keep that country from going bankrupt. now leaders say they had to do it just to get that much needed cash from the other eu countries. santa's helpers want you to know neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night will keep them

from delivering your holiday packages. the u.s. postal service employees decked out the friendship heights branch today announcing this year's pickup and delivery services for the holiday season. i know, it's just the first week of november, too bad. the postal service is forecasting a record breaking year for door to door mailing and shipments. >> the postal service this year will deliver over 365 million packages this holiday season and that's up 20% over last year. >> here's some dates. the usps wants you to keep these in mind. december 17th, busiest shipping day of the year. december 22nd is the last day to send something via express mail and have it get there in time for the christmas holiday. now a live look outside, pretty cold today but just you wait till the weekend. topper joins me in a few minutes with a look at that forecast. right after the break why keeping fido fit might just save his life. maybe yours, too.

remind you of anything? people walking by the national portrait gallery got to see something pretty unique out there. the youngsters treated their parents and onlookers to a flash mob version of yup, the thriller dance, michael jackson and all that. school officials say it was a great opportunity for students to learn about the connections

of dance, music, theater and film. in tonight's health alert our waistlines are growing worldwide and our pets are packing on the pounds as well. an estimated 54% of dogs and cats in this country are overweight or even obese, but over in britain pet owners are fighting back. reporter monica viamezar report from london. >> reporter: 7-year-old jack was out of breath and overweight. the super sized spaniel was so big he could barely move when mack and rose welsh adopted him. >> he couldn't close his legs at all. they were that wide apart. >> reporter: so they signed up their dog who they nicknamed jumbo jack for britain's fitness club. with more than 1/3 of dogs obese or overweight in england the group is helping pets transform their bodies as part of a six month fitness program. doctors say just like people obese pets are more likely to have heart problems are diabetes and other

complications. veterinarian elaine penderberry says you should be able to feel the animal's ribs through their skin. >> the ideal shape is to have the waist coming up like this. you have that svelte appearance there. >> reporter: she says one of the biggest mistakes people make is overfeeding their pets. >> it's ideal if you're a couch potato. you have one biscuit for me, one for the dog. when you think about it, the calorie requirement for a dog is much less than ours. >> reporter: one treat alone can give a dog or cat 1/4 of the calories it needs each day. jack's measurements and weight are taken each month. 10 months later he has lost nearly half of his body weight. >> well done. good boy. >> reporter: he was even crowned champion of the program's diet competition. >> jack looks great, out he's really, really hungry. all right. vets say obese pets do tend to die a couple years sooner. so whether they're hungry or not, perhaps there is incentive to slim your pet down and the

good news if you're a dog, somebody else is controlling it, right? so you can't go get some cookies if they won't give you any. you're not raiding the fridge. if you, could that would be some dog. >> it would be. we're looking at a little breezy tonight. winds die down tomorrow. temps start going up and keep going up through the weekend. let's start with live look outside from our live weather cam brought to you by michael and son. high was 56. right now we're down to 50, clear skies. look at the dew points in the teens. that is some dry, dry air, good hair day but dry, dry air. winds out of the northwest still at 15, gusting over 20 and the pressure continues to rise at 30.01 inches of mercury. satellite picture radar combined, big storm in the west. that's where it's going to be stormy the next three, four days. we're fine in the east, finally getting rid of that nor'easter. it is still hammering parts of the coast of maine and also parts of martha's vineyard and

nantucket and that area, a little snow but mainly just rain now, heaviest rain up into maine. anywhere from 6 to 8 inches of snow fell in the suburbs of new york. that was insult to injury. we have clear skies now. winds will still be with us tonight but not as strong. we had 30 mile-per-hour wins today. they'll be like 20 overnight. temperatures are in the 40s, 46 in rockville, 43 in laytonsville and gaithersburg, 47 great falls, 44 in fairfax and 47 down toward burke, 47 in old town and look at that, 47 in college park. if you factor in the winds, it feels like it's 37 in gaithersburg, feels like it's 38 in leesburg. if you're going out early tonight, dress for the 30s and 40s. if you're going out late, dress for the 20s and 30s. winds diminish slowly, breezy to windy tonight. chilly start tomorrow, jacket good idea for the kids as well and a milder finish friday. so for tonight clear, breezy,

cold, a one to two blanket night, lows in the 30s. given the dew point if the winds were not strong, we would be in the teens and 20s tonight. so in some respects the wind is kind of doing us a favor, winds northwest 10 to 20 overnight. we're looking at lows in the low 30s, gaithersburg around the freezing mark, rockville 32, 32 reston and fairfax, 36 downtown and 33 in college park. tomorrow morning sunny with a chilly start, a little breezy early friday morning, 30s and 40s. by afternoon great, mostly sunny, milder, winds diminish, highs near 60. that is pretty much on the button in terms of average temperatures wind northwest at 10. next three days our 9 weather alerts all green and why wouldn't they be? cool but nice friday, 60, 65 saturday and 70 with sunshine on sunday. next seven days got the heart walk, too, on saturday, also the boy scouts coming back around to pick up -- they

dropped off bags last saturday. they'll pick it up hopefully with food. stuff it with food, put it on your door knob. a little cooler next week but nothing crazy. >> i might even go get my car washed. i could do that. we'll be back. >> we want to hear what you think. send your e-mails to mcginty's mailbag. the address is mailbag@wusa9.com. 9 news now will be right back.

in the mailbag tonight more reaction to the election day results from yesterday.

one viewer suggesting yesterday that president obama ought to give mitt romney a big job in his administration all in the interest of bipartisanship. i agreed with that. i suggested perhaps tax reform and michelle in hyattsville is with us. i think you have a great idea about including romney in some sort of position in this second government given how divisive the politics of the race were. this would go a long way to creating genuine bipartisanship to solve the serious economic problems this country faces. romney's business experience would be invaluable and silence the racial and class bigots. then there was this on a story i did last night at 11:00 chatting with an elections expert who argues that those fancy new touchscreen voting machines are the real reason behind those long voting lines. he says we need to go back to the paper ballots and our good friend deb from arlington believes him. well, now live in arlington and voted with ease with a paper ballot. i had never done one before, but they told me the line was shorter than for the voting gizmos. i was in and out in five

minutes. like the voting machine fellow said, machines have glitches. sometimes older is better. that's right, deb. sometimes it is. finally this pet peeve from cynthia who writes, "i find it appalling that during his first administration president obama was constantly referred to as mr. obama. i saw this as a lack of respect for him and the position that he held. when was a sitting president referred to as mr. anything? even former presidents are not referred to as. mr. i know why one group of people would do that. simply put, they do not want to acknowledge that he's the president, but my concern is that the media has bought into it through their reporting. ". >> hear me out on this. there are many cases of disrespect regarding this president. this is not one of them. keep in mind in the news business, we almost never use honorifics at all. mr. johnson just becomes johnson, but the president is different. is he president obama on first

reference and then mr. obama after that and we give similar respect to every president. we also respect your opinion and your ideas. the address here? mailbag@wusa9.com. well, that is our report. i'll be right back here at 11:00 along with anita brikman and topper shutt and don't forget we've got one of russ ptacek's food investigations tonight. you don't want to miss it. log on any time at www.wusa9.com. we'll see you a bit later. bye bye.

♪ "e.t." um, i got my results back and they were not good. "dancing with the stars'" co-host brooke burke charvet is battling cancer. how serious is the diagnosis? >> i'm going to have a nice, big scar right here across my neck. >> "e.t." with the first reactions from her dancing family. >> my heart goes out to her. i know that she's going be fine. she's a strong girl. the stage mom under fire. new video of the troubled teen. and what the court documents reveal. then -- >> justin bieber and the victoria's secret angels bring storm relief to new york city. we're behind the scenes with rihanna in her underwear. kirstie alley's new patrick swayze relationship revelations. >> patrick was drinking a lot.