governor chris christie put it in perspective today pointing out that federal aid took just 10 days in the wake of hurricane katrina, 17 days after hurricanes gustav and ike and 31 days after hurricane andrew, but those impacted by sandy in several state including maryland are still waiting and as tory dunnan reports, tonight the house speaker says they won't get any help from the 112th congress. >> we've had no help from anyone. you see the pile of garbage there? it's been there since the first week. >> reporter: now another potential setback for the region. >> 66 days and counting, shame on you. shame on congress. new jerseyians and new yorkers are tired of being treated like second class citizens. >> reporter: the senate passed a package last week to provide more than $60 billion in aid to the region, but on tuesday the house failed to act before wrapping up this session of congress. >> now i am dismayed and really

saddened that the house of representatives walked away last night, didn't even touch this after we spent so much time here on the floor doing something to help the beleaguered part of our country. >> reporter: republican congressman peter king who represents part of long island called it a disgrace and blasted leaders of his own party. >> we cannot believe that this cruel knife in the back was delivered to our region. >> reporter: the president called for immediate action saying when tragedy strikes, americans come together to support those in need. i urge republicans in the house of representatives to do the same. house speaker john boehner said he will make the sandy aid package a top priority in the new congress, a new congress sworn in thursday which means it's back to square one when it comes to drafting this sandy recovery legislation. i'm tory dunnan reporting. >> speaker boehner says he will schedule two votes on aid, one for this friday and a second for january 15th. the lack of action on sandy

relief and the last minute nature of the fiscal cliff deal are just two reasons three in four americans think the way politics works in washington is harming the nation. that's according to a new poll by usa today and gallup. the house did approve the senate's plan to back away from the fiscal cliff late last night, but politicians are already looking to the next three chasms. here's bruce leshan. >> we'll look back on this night and regret it. the problem is we set up three more fiscal cliffs. >> reporter: just months into the new year we may yet see more partisan pitched battles over the debt ceiling, over those big across the board spending cuts which were temporarily put off and over the federal budget which is running short term now on what's called a continuing resolution. the majority leader and every other virginia republican in

the house voted no and the gop is openly planning to leverage a debt ceiling vote in a few months to extract re spending cuts than they got in the fiscal cliff deal. >> not only does it not cut spending, it increases spending by a little bit and we're borrowing a trillion. >> reporter: the president is refusing to bargain over the debt creel. >> i will not have -- debt ceiling. >> i will not have another debt over this congress over whether or not they should pay the bills they've already racked up. >> reporter: and maryland's chris van hollen, the ranking member of the democrats on the budget committee, expects the president will stand firm. >> we should not be playing any political games with the debt ceiling. that is the economic equivalent of a nuclear weapon. it would make this whole idea going over the fiscal cliff look like a cake walk. >> reporter: but many republicans think it is the next best chance to control the cost of medicare and social security. bruce leshan, 9 news now. wall street showed its

approval of the bill with a big gain today. the dow closed up 308 points. among the provisions tucked into the 150 page bill, an estimated $222 million in extended excise taxes for the rum industries in puerto rico and the assever engine islands and an estimated 4 -- and the u.s. virgin islands and an estimated $400 million intax deductions for the u.s. film and tv industries. a piece of the federal transit benefit is restored to 240 bucks a month. the pretax version had been lowered last year, but this boost is only temporary through the end of the year. you can learn more about some of the pork in the fiscal cliff deal at www.wusa9.com. what sounded like gunfire stopped firefighters in their tracks in maryland city this morning. they were responding to a trailer fire along zoner street just outside laurel. >> reporter: i'm ott broom in player city where a man died

in a tragic fire this morning and the rescuers are hampered by the sound of ammunition going off. >> i was standing down there and i heard the bullets going on. >> reporter: sky 9 captured this scene just after 8:30 this morning moments after neighbors tried to rescue the disabled man who lived there. >> my next-door neighbor when he was going to the house walking in two bullets went by his head pretty sure. >> as the neighbors attempted to make the rescue, they heard several shots from ammunition inside. >> reporter: it was a scary reminder of the christmas eve sniper attack in webster, new york, where two volunteer firefighters were killed, but here firefighters said they quickly determined they were not under attack. they believed it was hunting ammunition stored in the house that was exploding. by the time they could get inside there was no hope for the disabled man everyone wanted to save. his body was found inside. the fire apparently was an accident. >> shows you how firefighters put their life in danger more ways than one. >> reporter: scott broom, 9 news now.

the funeral plans have been set for a prince william county police officer who died in the line of duty. 35-year-old chris yung, a wake will be held thursday at hilton memorial chap nell woodbridge. the funeral will -- chapel in woodbridge. the funeral will take place there on friday. officer yung was responding to a traffic accident when he collided with a minivan in bristow on new year's day. the defendant in a high profile capital murder case could be out of jail by tomorrow. justin wolfe's family celebrated today outside the prince william county courthouse after a judge ruled he'd be released tomorrow. that judge said that the case against wolfe was irrevocably tainted by the prosecution's misconduct. he also threw out wolfe's murder for hire conviction and death sentence. >> he has told the same story from day one for 12 years and his story has never wavered. i know my son even as a young child. i could tell if he was lying. he was never lying.

he always told the truth. he was willing to accept responsibility for anything that he had any part of. that's why he turned himself in 12 years ago thinking that if he told the truth it, would set him free. >> virginia's attorney general is asking the federal appeals court in richmond to stop to 12's release. if the court refuses -- stop wolfe's release. if the court refuses, wolfe will be released by 5 p.m. tomorrow. the police are asking for help to find a clarkbsurg man who disappeared new year's day last seen at shenanigans bar in adams morgan 30 minutes after the ball dropped with a group of friends, but they separated and he never returned home. if you have any information, please contact montgomery county police. a father and daughter from olney are warning redskins fans be careful about the tickets you buy for the big playoff game sunday. jeff loewenthal paid $550 to a guy on craigslist for this

sunday's redskins/cowboys game. in the 2nd quarter he and his daughter were told they had to vacate the seats. the tickets were already sold online making their ticketings valid. >> sold his tickets twice and made double the money knowing this was such a big game and that he could make a lot of money off. it. >> now local ticket brokers warn there could be a lot of scams going on for sunday's game since all the particulars will be electronic tickets and therefore -- tickets will be electronic tickets and therefore harder to crow. only buy from somebody you know -- control. only buy from somebody you know or a reputable broker. they were all divided over the fiscal cliff, then superstorm sandy's aid bill. so what's happening now inside the republican party? at 7:00 i'll talk to a gop strategist to try and make sense of all this interesting warfare. >> good luck with that. still to come this half hour a new year and some new faces on the d.c. council, a

look at the embattled body as it tries for a fresh start. >> pretty cold today, but it was an average day. here are the numbers. the high was 40. the low so far today 34. that will probably change as colder air moves in tonight. a look at the average 43 and 28. 71 and 1 below are the records. we'll come back, talk about how cold it's going to stay the rest of the week and look ahead to the all important weekend forecast. >> up next the latest on that tanker that ran aground off the coast of alaska.

welcome back. over the last four years the bay has proved 10%. >> the chesapeake bay foundation credits cooperation between individual people, businesses and local governments for this improvement, but it notes the

bay still has a way to go despite the percentage improvement. the bay only scored 32 on the foundation's scale of 100. you can read the full report at www.wusa9.com. click on living green. the health of d.c.'s water and sewer authority means money back for you. the agency says customers can expect a one time rebate of about $9. that comes at a larger cost of about $4.2 million, but the gm for the agency says that's something they can afford because it reduced its cost over the past year. also upcoming rate hikes are canceled for now. expect that money to trickle your way between now and april. still ahead the first day may have been the chapel, but the second is the courthouse. you'll meet one of the same sex couples tying the knot in maryland.

start the new year with a new app for your favorite tablet. the 9 news app is a great way to stay updated on the latest news and weather. it's free on itunes and it's compatible with more tablets like the ipad and kindle fire. six members of the d.c. council were sworn into office today. the city's legislators are

trying to rebound from major scandals last year that saw two members forced from office and as bruce johnson reports, a few council members may have their sights on higher office. >> i'm marion barry, jr. >> reporter: lots of questions surrounding the d.c. council, including that this could be marion barry's last four years in public office. >> i am so proud to be serving a third term. >> reporter: independent grade grasso is the lone new face sworn in today. his no. 1 issue is a thriving community college. >> i'm looking forward to working with chairman mendelson to move that out and make it thriving. >> reporter: it was a small gathering, maybe 200 people conspicuously absent. former council chairman kwame brown and ward 5 councilman harry thomas both forced out of office last year by federal investigations. >> there's not a dramatic move, a single bill we can pass or

code of conduct that's all of a sudden going to make everything right, no. it's going to take time to rebuild the trust that we lost over the last couple years. >> reporter: jack evans, muriel bowser were also sworn in today in a ceremony that i had the honor of serving as emcee. bowser haze made it no secret she wants -- has made it no secret she wants to be mayor. >> it went to mean anything if people get taxed out or pushed out of the step. >> reporter: evans wants the job as well. >> education is critical. we're spending so much money and the results are not there. jobs, we have too many unemployed people in the step. >> reporter: gone since pent michael brown. he lost -- gone is independence michael brown. he lost his seat to grasso, but brown picked up petitions to run in a special election for phil mendelson's vacant seat. already there are 14 candidates vying for that seat. it's just possible the winner would could cool out with only a few thousand votes.

this is bruce -- come out with only a few thousand votes. this is bruce johnson reporting from northwest washington for 9 news. >> anita bonds was appointed to fill mendelson's council seat until special election. she is a candidate as well in the april contest. today is the first day courthouses in maryland were officially open for business since the state's same sex marriage law took effect and in montgomery county six couples officially tied the knot at the judicial center. the first was jeff averly and joe rue. they've been together nearly 14 years and are in the process of adopting their 2-month-old niece. >> the first day they said i could get the license i ran over here. i work across the street. they're asking me when do you want to get married and i'm like as soon as possible and this was the first time and we took. it >> maryland is one of nine states in the u.s. now where same sex marriage is legal. they're also performed in the district. welcome back. >> thank you.

>> gang is all together again for 2013. >> yes, it is. >> ready for a great new year. >> and a cool start. i was tweeting when i was on vacation how nervous i was with the philadelphia game and dallas game. >> are you nervous again? >> i'm really nervous now. >> you need to take a deep breath. >> nervous excitement. >> which is kind of nice. there's the best christmas presently, redskins in the playoffs. let's -- present i had, redskins in the playoffs. temperatures falling pretty fast, 35 downtown, dew points still in the mid-teens, pressure up now 30.19 and the winds are quiet north, northwest at 7. when you have dew points in the teens, it's going to be a chilly night. a lot of showers and rain along the gulf coast. that will stay to our south. the precipitation part of it, but the high and midlevel clouds will move northeastward all night and tomorrow. so some of our friends in southern maryland, charles

county, st. mary's county will probably have high and midlevel clouds all day and more sunshine to the north, gaithersburg and leesburg. temps, 32 in rockville, 28 in gaithersburg, a water main break off 255, 31 in great falls, 33 in college park and 29 in bowie. so it's going to stay cold and chilly a while, need your heavy coat tomorrow. some clouds south of town, in fact, more clouds south of town and keep your sunglasses handy for the next several days. for tonight partly cloudy, cold, a two to three blanket night, low temps in the 20s, winds northwest at 10. next three days our 9 weather alerts are green. 40 tomorrow, 42, breezy friday and then just chilly saturday, temperatures in the mid-40s. next seven days sunday looks great for football, baltimore and at fedex, mid-40s, but dress for the 30s and we're looking at mid-40s monday, near 50 tuesday and low 50s with

sunshine on wednesday. heck, that's golfable. back to you. >> golfable, all right. >> really it's just footballable really. that's all we're thinking about. >> that's all that matters. it's another week, another game, that's how the redskins are looking at it, not necessarily as a playoff game. what they've been doing for the last seven weeks, but what's been the key to their success? rg3 weighs in. >> plus the face of the ravens is hanging up his cleats. hear from ray lewis next in sports.

and now 9 sports with kristen berset. >> many thought it couldn't be done. several reacted netigavely when mike shanahan drafted away three first round draft picks for robert griffin, iii, but rg3 and the redskins have quieted the critics. at the bye week the rookie basically said i don't want to lose anymore and since then the skins have been on a mission, a successful one that's landed them their first home playoff game since '99. rg3 has broken numerous records along the way but says it wouldn't be possible without everyone in the organization. >> it comes down to the guys around you and the coaches and the one thing our coaches did was they didn't baby me. they weren't going to make it baby steps. they threw everything at me and made me learn on-the-fly. they were really hard on me in otas and training camp and it's

paid off. >> you can tune in after sunday's game for a complete wrapup of the redskins/seahawks game. we'll have postgame reaction live from fedex field plus highlights and expert analysis at 8:00 sunday right here on wusa9. i covered the baltimore ravens before coming here to d.c. linebacker ray lewis was my first ever interview there. the one moment i remember clearly is ray lewis playing corn hole in the ravens locker room, a little known rookie as his teammate, never thought i'd see the day ray lewis tossing bags of corn around amongst his teammates, but it gave me some insight into the fierce linebacker. he truly is a team leader helping teammates no matter how much playing time they got. today lewis announced this will be his final ride. he's retiring after 17 seasons to spend more time as a leader for his kids. >> my children have made the ultimate sacrifice for their father, the ultimate, you know, for 17 years and whether it's

jump on a plane, jump right back go, to school and i don't want to see them do that no more. >> the face of the ravens franchise had a hall of fame career, the only player in nfl with at least 40 career sacks and 30 interceptions. the announcement sparks of sparked responses from players all over the league. today fellow miami hurricane santana moss reacted. >> i thought he'd have about four more in him, you know what i mean? he's one of the greats and to be from the same place i'm from, it's just making me little teary. we've got several good high school games to choose from, mcgruder from quint orchard go. to usatodayhighschoolsports/dc to vote. >> that's it for us. >> derek is back with the only local newscast at 7:00. we'll see you again at 11:00.

excuse me, sir i'm gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. i think your friends will understand. oh no, it's actually my geico app...see? ...i just uh paid my bill. did you really? from the plane? yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24/7. sounds a little too good to be true sir. i'll believe that when pigs fly. ok, did she seriously just say that?