>> an argument leads to a christmas morning tragedy. >> the grandmother tried to step in to stop the assault and became a victim of the crime also. >> the family's message to the suspect. countdown to 2011 while we prepare for the big ball drop. seven is on your side with a safety alert if you are going to be out tomorrow night. and could the winter classic be put on ice? >> is all still to be played out. >> forecasts and plan b and c. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- our breaking news is from prince george's county. a number of people haven't taken to the hospital due to an apparent hazardous materials leaked at an apartment complex. the apartment was in the 7000 block of high view terrace on the border of college park. investigators are not saying what led to the hazmat league and the illnesses. we have a crew on the way to the scene and will update you when we get more information. tonight, a disturbing story about the murder of a grandmother on christmas morning and the search for a suspect. police say the 84-year-old was killed, and they think a 34- year-old knows what happens. we are live up said prince george's county police headquarters with the latest on the investigation. >> police are going a step further. the thing to note who is responsible for this crime, a crime officers call brutal. christmas morning bought -- brought only tragedy to the family. the grandmother and great- grandmother was brutally murdered, stabbed multiple times along with her grandmother in this temple hill neighborhood. >> it was a close relationship. it became heated. he began to assault her. the grandmother stepped in to stop the assault and became a victim of the crime also. >> she paid with her life. >> it was very tragic. >> county police have identified the man they believe is responsible. he is 34-year-old ellen murphy, a district resident. the family says that are overwhelmed with grief as they prepare to bury the woman who raised three grandchildren after their mother died, and had 10 great grandchildren. the granddaughter asks murphy to turn yourself in. she was an innocent person who was killed tragically, and so many people loved her. >> it is hard to believe that and 84-year-old woman could do something to anger you that would cost as much pain. >> take another look at eldon murphy. he is 150 pounds. if you have seen him, help get this but -- this suspected killer off the streets. the 26-year-old survivor of the attack has been treated and released from an area hospital. we spoke with the granddaughter by phone. she told us she is shocked because the suspect "new my grandmother well." abc 7 news. >> yeah are also falling breaking news from montgomery county, where a special education teacher is one of two people arrested for possession of heroin. 25-year-old rebecca ebik had nine fullbacks of her when in her position. she and another person were arrested during a traffic stop in silver springs. both suspects have been released and the case remains under investigation. new at 11:00, crews in arlington are working on in water main break. it changed down 18th street at north ohio street. at last check, crews shut off the water at the source of the week. it is not known how long the repairs could take. the federal government stepped in to give metro a big financial boost. the will give the transit agency $150 million. that money will be used to buy 300 new rail cars to replace the 1000 series cars. the older cars were in use when two trains collided in last year's deadly matra crash. d.c., maryland, and virginia will have to match the money in order to get that federal grant. new at 11:00, how do you get around if you are under the influence of alcohol? the subject is back in the spotlight just before new year's eve. we are hearing some new and sobering numbers about drinking and driving. john gonzalez is live with the details. >> maureen, that is right. just in time for new year's eve, aaa has released startling numbers about drinking and driving. the fact that new year's eve falls on a friday this year -- officials say that is a dangerous mix. in adams morgan, we are told bars will be offering all you can drink deals. have you ever driven drunk? >> may be in my younger days i might have made a mistake or two. >> according to aaa, one out of 10 americans admits to driving under the influence in the past year, a sobering statistic as many plan on going out to ring in the new year's. >> not since i have been a legal age, actually, which is funny. i think that is even worse. >> new year's eve and they are more than 2.5 times more dangerous than an average day on the road. >> this time of year, most people tend to drink just to celebrate. >> mike comes from a small town in pennsylvania. he is not surprised with the findings. >> a lot of people drove drunk around town. you cannot get a cab or that sort of thing. >> an average of 80 people were killed in a coal-related crashes on new year's day, compared to an average of 32 on a normal night. >> i might do something stupid. >> the bar owner makes sure his staff keeps a close eye on clientele, tomorrow night especially. >> people are out drinking in adams morgan. we check them out and walk into a cab. >> the last time new year's eve fell on a saturday was in 2005. that year, 98 people died in alcohol-related accidents. john gonzalez, abc 7 news. >> it seems everything is in working order for the big ball drop on times square. crews took the ball on a practice run today. new york city police commissioner ray kelly says thousands of officers will be on the streets throughout the big apple. new yorkers have dropped the ball in times square every new year's eve since 1907. you can catch dick clark's prime-time new year's eve with ryan's the crest -- ryan seacrest starting at 10:00. the rocking eve continues at 11:30. also tomorrow night, you could start 2011 as a mega millionaire. tomorrow night's drawing of the mega millions jackpot now stands at $242 million. you can see the drawing tomorrow night during abc 7 news at 11:00. it appears our weather will be a winner for the start for 2011. the meteorologist is here with a first look of what we can expect. >> coming in like a lamb will be 2011, with warmer than normal temperatures. thank goodness. we have had a cold december. let us check some of our weather but temperatures around the area. 37 degrees at some of our neighbors. 33 degrees during the course of the afternoon. the low this morning was 26 degrees. partly cloudy skies overnight. somewhat chilly. tomorrow is 47 to 32. low pressure. the main storm system goes up toward the great lakes. that blue line indicates cooler air. that will move in here by saturday afternoon are saturday evening. maybe some light scattered showers saturday. after that, it is nice. all of the headlines in just a minute. >> it looks like this weather might not be so great for washington caps fans. they cannot wait to cheer on their team in the winter classic, but the mild temperatures and chance of rain -- the nhl could change the start time of the game or postpone it altogether. it would break a few hearts if that happens. >> we might as well send all our meteorologist up there to cover this game, because it may come down to that. the winter classic is the biggest game of the year, next to stanley cup. it is the capitol's first appearance. tonight, nhl officials are optimistic but still realistic they may have to come up with a plan b. >> the home of the pittsburgh steelers is just about ready to host the nhl's biggest stars. the lines are getting a fresh coat of paint. all that is left is mother nature's cooperation. alex and sydney prepared to do battle again. the question is when it will happen. >> we do not know what the weather is going to be. "when to classic is scheduled for 1:00 saturday. the temperature at hyde field is expected to be in the high forties, with an 80% chance of rain. nhl officials are looking at either moving the game to endicott new year's night, or they could play sunday afternoon. but the league will try to avoid the last scenario so it doesn't go up against the nfl. >> it is all stuff we are talking about amongst ourselves and with the clubs, with the steelers. at the end of the day, it is all still to be played out. >> with saturday fast approaching, sports stars of past and present are starting to arrive in pittsburgh for hockey's crown jewel event. >> restated all the time. like riding a bike. >> the capitals are keeping a close eye on the situation. before they had up to pittsburgh, we will have much more on what they are saying, coming up later in sports. a big upset coming up in sports. >> that was franco harris and making that comment. -- frank harrison making that comment. coming up, a new storm and a lot of snow. >> you are watching abc news at 11:00, with leon harris, caroline lyders, meteorologist bob ryan, and tim brant sports. on your side. police are investigating whether a deadly car wash accident was mechanical or human area. if 48-year-old was killed and another employee injured when there were dragged and pinned beneath a runaway jeep at the flagship car wash center yesterday. another employee was driving the car when he suddenly accelerated. today, a flag was lowered to half staff in memory of the lost worker. >> a lot of us get up and put on these uniforms to come to work and do the job. this is unfortunate that our brother will not be able to do that anymore. >> the other victim is in critical condition tonight. the 27-year-old driver of the jeep was not injured. police say a similar accident happened at the same car wash last year. some catholic school students get the chance to sing for pope benedict xvi. the students from the school in bethesda were part of an international group that traveled to rome. the students are also scheduled to sing at a papal mass at st. peter's basilica on new year's day. 7 is on your side with a major crackdown brewing at starbucks. the coffee giant is enforcing the previously blacked refill policy at its stores. if it has been two hours since to purchase your brewed coffee, or if you leave the store with your starbucks cup and return, you cannot get a 50 cent refill, only a 10 cent discount off the regular price. we remain on storm watch due to wild weather causing problems across the nation. the east coast is still struggling in its cleanup, while the west coast struggles with mudslides and snow of its own. >> a storm continues to swirl around new york's mayor. >> the cannot get to our block. what is the problem? what should we do? >> officials insist they plowed every street at least once by 7:00 a.m. this morning, but we found several streets in brooklyn that still appeared untouched. >> nobody is satisfied. we are accountable. i am accountable. >> there are rumors of a protest plot by plow operators refusing to work after job cuts and cutbacks. the sanitation commissioner denies that was the issue. >> we manage the storm first. we worry about the budget later. the three major airports are back in business, but a huge backlog of passengers are still waiting to travel in or out. more than 10 dozen flights were cancelled out of the last three days. because of the blizzard, this woman and her husband had to take separate routes home. >> i do not know where he is now. >> it is the western half of the u.s. the conductor by winter storms. southern california is more than 4 feet deep after a second illusion of rain. there is still snow in arizona from yesterday. it is around the grand canyon and flagstaff. a blizzard warning remains in effect there and in four other states. blinding conditions and icy roads resulted in a 100 car pileup on i-94 in north dakota. louisiana also saw extreme rain and reported wind gusts of 85 miles per hour. on new year's eve, snow will be in minnesota as the storm out west moves east. abc news, new york. >> can we count our blessings or not? >> it may be a little cold, but at least it is dry and not when the. mother nature is giving as a treat in 2010. take a look at some of the weatherbug cameras. it is 53 degrees, but dry at the elementary school and a few of the other spots. the are all pretty much the same. mid 30's around the area. >> 47 degrees officially at reagan national from a high of 44. look what happened in 1880. seven degrees below zero. that was a cold morning. temperatures around the area are in the upper 20's and low 30's, pretty close to seasonable this time of year. great falls is - 3. denver is 5. a big drop in the temperatures out west. within the last 24 hours, denver has dropped 22 degrees. for us, a breath of fresh air. temperatures 14 degrees warmer than yesterday at this time. the warm air is lighting in this year and would give us tonight's little break. moisture is evaporating as it moves into the high pressure dry area over us. tomorrow, one little impulse starts to move this way. there is the big storm going to minnesota into canada. there will be blizzard conditions there tomorrow. tomorrow afternoon, that will stay way off to the west. as the final system slides this way, it will run into dry air and lose a lot of that range. but we still have to put rain in the forecast for late tomorrow. a chilly start. 47 to 32. cold but not all that cold. seasonally cold. for new year's eve, we are looking for partly cloudy skies and a dry new year's eve. temperatures will be in the low 40's with high winds. the best way to bring in the new year ♪ stinky ♪ hefty ♪ stinky ♪ hefty ♪ stinky, stinky ♪ hefty, hefty, hefty [ announcer ] hefty bags with unscented odor block technology... help neutralize odors and stop the stinkies. ♪ stinky, stinky, stinky ♪ hefty, hefty, hefty >> tonight on "nightline," an inside look at beyonce during her year-long tour. a busy night in sports. the winter classic might be sort of a warm classic. >> the weather could be a problem in a huge upset tonight. the winter classic may be a washout, literally, and indoors again. a huge upset in women's basketball. we will have the latest. come celebrate exciting cars that are stunning to look at, exhilarating to drive and worry free to own. celebrate this holiday season with the gift of platinum. jaguar platinum coverage: five years or 50,000 miles of complimentary scheduled maintenance, and no cost replacement of wear and tear items. visit your dc area jaguar dealer during the platinum celebration for a $599 lease offer on the 2011 xf. >> the toyota sports desk, brought to you by your local toyota dealers, moving forward. >> we have already gotten a taste of one of, if not the, biggest sports or rivalries -- the caps and penguins. washington lost indoors, but now they are out for outdoor revenge. the caps left for saturday's winter classic. here is some bad news. recent forecasts show and 80% chance of rain around the 1:00 start of the game. the nhl said it will keep things as scheduled, even if it means pushing back the start time. but not even mother nature can distract the capitals on their next face-off. >> what can you do? it is not like i am going to sit and lose sleep. because if it doesn't happen, and make contingency plans of my own. they will tell us what to do. we are either going to play or we are not going to play. >> let us go to charlottesville. uvi hosts iowa state. the and the night with 24 points and eight rebounds. not one cavalier hits double figures. cardinals win 16--- 60-47. a monumental upset. the yukon huskies lose the game and their record-setting winning streak comes to an end. stanford was the last team to beat you come during the 2008 final four. no one's job is safe. shanahan suspended the highest paid at league defensive end and benched the franchise quarterback. if you think sunday's game against the giants is meaningless, think again. the giants need a win and the packers need a -- and the packers cannot advance to the playoffs. the skins are spoilers once again. many will be free agents very soon. everyone is playing for next year's roster. >> this is our playoff game. this is all we have got. it is the last game of the season. there are good to be guys crying. there are going to be guys who do not have a job. there are going to be guys who cannot wait for to start up again. you'll see a lot of guys playing their hearts out for the last game. >> now we hear the former texas tech coach interviewed at maryland today. it is still unclear whether a formal offer was made. he is a leading candidate. we will have to see in the next couple of days. happy new year. >> and end of 2010. here is your with the forecast. tomorrow morning, 30 degrees. partly cloudy skies. check this out for saturday. 2011 starts saturday. it is going to be basically mild. 50 degrees. that is almost short sleeve level. you got to exercise without any problem with a 30% chance of scattered showers. >> you are very optimistic. have a good night.