in their freshman algebra class when students began complaining. several abreactions. 90 work non--- none were life- threatening. >> it really stunk. so we all laughed. >> hazmat official said initial tests were not picking up anything. it remains something of a mystery what caused the reaction. >> pretty much, they are the ones that will try to detect the attack with chemical liquid, vapors, what ever it was. >> the students are relieved that the reactions were not more severe. >> i just saw my friend a while ago and he seems fine. so thank god. >> some hazmat officers followed the kids to the hospital to get more information from them to shed light on what precipitated all of this. they told us they would not leave the school until they were

confident they have cleared the room and it will be thoroughly cleaned before is reopened to students next week. >> thank you. an investigation under way in vienna tonight. a baby became unresponsive while in the care of his baby sitter and died a short time later. this is being called a suspicious death. we have the latest. >> the baby sitter is not here. the house has been condemned by county officials. but she left here on wednesday with the baby. by the time they got to rest and, the baby was not even moving. >> the child arrived at the mother's location. they found the child unresponsive. the call 911. they took the child to rest and hospital center. -- reston hospital center.

>> the death is being called suspicious. >> is it incumbent for the police officer to find out why this happened. >> the baby sitter's house is right here on late would drive. there were confiscating items from her home. >> i woke up in the morning. there were still there. >> the baby sitter's house is in serious disrepair. yesterday the fairfax county fire department declared an on save for occupancy notice on the front door. >> light suits. yes. >> the police do not know how the baby died. >> yes, it is tragic. >> i am so sorry for his love once. >> and 11-month-old baby. they hope to have a cause look up now. they're not releasing the name

of the baby or the baby sitter. >> thank you. be former president of the u.s. football league has been charged with embezzling but he thousand dollars from the group. raymond taylor was arrested yesterday. loudon county sheriff's deputies got wind of this last month when irregularities were spotted in accounts. >> a lot of people are looking or to the weekend. >> absolutely. what can we expect? >> you're going to like tomorrow, love sunday, and by monday you will probably be wondering what is going on around here? take a look. we are up one degree at 73 for reagan national. heading to west virginia, they are at 75. the air pressure over ahead that will dominate.

we of dense fog to the west of the region. evening temperatures in the 60's to mid-70's. what can we look forward to for the rest of the weekend? a hint of sunshine. we do have some rain in the extended outlook. >> thank you. dc is still packed with protesters and they are not going anywhere soon. we have more about where hundreds of people have been gathering in the district. >> they were on the march again today, people from all over america, all fed up. >> no. >> the ronald reagan building posted protests for the pipeline from canada to texas. >> they probably even on the president. >> members of occupied d.c. have

taken over freedom plaza. >> is unfair what they are doing. they are stealing. they're just taking. constantly taking. >> they even signed a new bill of rights for a new society. >> capitalism has to go. yes. capitalism has to go. >> some like james volk, are palma's. >> i cannot find a job. >> this is all the power we have. people. >> these are the issues. >> some gathered at the martin luther king memorial in a peaceful anti-war protest. >> we're letting the world know what the people want. that is the best we can do. >> to see more pictures of the protest here in d.c. and new york, does go to war website --

go to our website. >> you have tens of thousands of people heading to the district, and with the metro shutting down expect extra traffic as well. with more. -- we are live with more. officials are not exactly putting out a stay away from downtown d.c. warning but definitely there is a warning of road closures. if you are planning to head downtown for work or leisure traffic delays could be there to greet you, thanks to a number of large events and closures. >> i get here at 6:00 in the morning. i probably will get here earlier. >> the pentagon's annual army 10-mile marathon and the occupied d.c. protests will shut

down several routes for the next two days. >> out-of-towners alike the blanket family from michigan. >> i saw that this one particular street was going to be closed. then i saw the signs. we are hoping for the best. >> a long holiday weekend usually means major traffic and repairs for matra. three stations -- the green and yellow lines -- will be closed. >> this weekend, a plan to drive. is a long commute. >> metro says buses will replace trains, but writers are advised to add about reachingriders -- but riders are advised to add 20 minutes to their commute. >> in is going to ride my bike. >> lanes on route 110 will be

closed from 5:30 saturday morning until 1:30 in the afternoon. the show will go on until tuesday morning. for more news on all the closures, log on to our website, wjla.com. >> good deal. thank you, john. the plan to build the metro line between bethesda and montgomery county just got approval from the government. they say the project can now move to the preliminary engineering phase. the leaders will go to the federal government to get the funding to make it all happen, and it goes according to plan, the metro line will open in 2020. >> a construction worker hurt after falling into law whole on a construction site. it happened in gaithersburg early this morning. a dozen firefighters took half an hour to rescue the construction worker from a 10-

foot hole. he was taken to the hospital. a funeral was held for apple ceo and could-rounders the jobs. he died at the age of 56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer and liver transplant. the new chief executive tim cook says the company is planning a celebration of his extraordinary life. coming up, three nobel peace prize winners have one big thing in common. >> and controversy for these officials. >> anything to get her home. we will do a. >> and emotional mother and a failed polygraph test. latest. >> and hear dr. conrad murray's own words after michael jackson's beth.

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atms at any bank. show's over folks. make your way to capital one bank. what's in your wallet? were you crying? yeah. >> of fiery train deal remnant forest entire town of evacuate. the explosion shot up fluorines and smote the could be seen for miles. authorities had to evacuate the

small town to a nearby high school. no one was hurt. now to dr. conrad murray's trial. >> today in court prosecutors played his interview with police conducted two days after michael jackson's death. we have the latest from los angeles. >> i am robert murray. >> it is the first time the jury is hearing from the famous defendant. the prosecution began playing the two-hour 20 minute interview with the lease conducted two days after michael jackson died. he is heard telling police that he worked with jackson on and off for two years, most recently for two months. >> i was called by mr. jackson 's assistant, and he said mr. jackson wanted to speak with me

and they're going to be doing concert tours in england's. and he wanted me to be there for this concert. so, i agree to that. >> earlier in the day, the defense turned over an investigator from the coroner's office. they seem to suggest there were inconsistencies in her testimony and the evidence could have been tampered with. finally a toxicologist testified range of drugs were pumped into jackson's system. but there was one in particular that was of concern. >> propofol in any amount is dangerous. more than any of the other drugs to deal with. >> jackson's that is attributed to an overdose of propofol. >> it was marie's attorney that

contacted police to set up their meeting. the newest nobel peace prize winners was split between liberian president ellen johnson-sirleaf, liberia and women's rights activist leymah gbowee and tawakkul karman of yemen. sirleaf became of liberia's first female elected leader in 2005. >> wonderful accomplishments. >> great. we are a couple weeks away from the fall season. if you have to go to the slopes, you have to go to colorado. the first ski resort to open up this year -- they can think mother nature for the early opening. yes, they had a snowstorm. 3 feet of new snore -- newt snow. the opening record?

october 26. >> better them and us. >> yes, absolutely. >> we will keep going as we move into the holiday weekend. last beacon, the temperatures were only in the 40's. >> alright. take a look at annapolis right now. out on the boat. looking at clear skies. hardly any clouds. temperatures in the 40's and a little bit of frost it develops in the early morning hours. 73 degrees. the wind it definitely not a problem. george washington university -- no rain to speak of. not at least for four days now. 75 in alexandria. a high of 78. look at the low. we will head out to oakland maryland where last week, they were looking out for snow. of seven days later --

temperatures quite comfortable. they are holding throughout the area. 72 degrees at dulles. indianapolis, lewis temperatures lower in the mid- 80's. this is what is on the way into columbus day monday. temperatures lower. temperature change compared to yesterday at this time. 5 degrees warmer and we will keep the trend going for the next couple of days with the dew point in the mid 40's. it will be dry and comfortable. the satellite and radar -- hardly anything going on in the mid-atlantic. clear skies. clear skies will stay with us tonight. the only problem, the visibility. right now -- dense fog advisory's go into effect from 3:00 a.m. tomorrow morning until

10:00 tomorrow morning. the immediate metro not under advisory. we still could have patchy fog across the area. the next 48 hours -- it is quiet. lots overhead. clear skies for tonight. sunshine tomorrow. and the next best chance for showers will not come until wednesday and thursday of next week. here is our forecast. mainly clear and cool. temperatures in the 40's, around 50 degrees as you head closer to the district. tomorrow, it looks fantastic. temperatures are high. with the extended outlook, i promised some showers. there you have it. temperatures only in the lower 70's. that is where we should be for this time of year. a look at the forecast.

24 hours a day -- head over to wjla.com. >> what about the weather at the outer banks? >> fantastic. >> ellum make somebody very happy. >> and outer banks get away. >> a two-night stay. after thousands of entries, the winner is -- jana morris. next week, we will have another big prize to give away. we will of the vip trip to national on november 9. >> great trip. here is a look at what is coming up tonight on prime time. in eighth grade classroom turns into a murder scene. >> i remember the screaming. "kids, get through this door."

that is when i started screaming. >> tonight, why the students were on a collision course, plus jurors in the case on "20/20." coming up, the fda approves a new bill that will take care of some of the most common ailments -- i new pill that will take care of common ailments. >> and serious allegations from of former washington gas co. employee. why he says homeowner safety is at risk. >> and a search for a 10-month- old in missouri has taken a terrible turn.

>> three days after she went missing, i baby girl's parents say they have nothing to do with her disappearance, the police and not so sure. >> they are searching on land fell. >> four days after the 10-month old disappeared from her parents' home, police are searching a nearby landfill. they say the parents of stopped cooperating. >> i have no idea what they're going through. but it makes you wonder. >> speculation has begun to swirl around parents is a disney

did a break after three days of what they call tough police tactics. mother said police told her she failed a polygraph test. >> i kept saying, i do not know, i do not know, i do not know. >> the baby's father said the questioning was too much. >> we were in interrogation for a very long time. i could not take it anymore. >> the parents say the infant was the victim of a rare crime that a stranger to occur from her crib in the middle of the knights. >> everything is on the table. nothing has changed. >> the parents say they have nothing to do with the kidnapping and are still cooperating with detectives. >> what ever i have got to do to get her home, i will do it. >> the fbi says this is the

second time investigators have gone through that landfill. a spokeswoman confirms the search is related to the disappearance would -- but would not provide any other details. the accused tucson shooter will return to court in missouri. he has pled guilty to -- used but not guilty to charges. defense lawyers say his rights were violated. >> coming up, controversy over new recommendation to not get screened early for prostate cancer. >> plus, a statue in the capitol. the debate is on. >> the dustup

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>> you are watching abc7 news at 5:00 with leon harris, alison starling chief meteorologist doug hill with weather, and tambrands with sports. -- tim brant with sports. >> investigators want to get to the bottom of the mayor canceling a grass mowing contract. >> mark c. graves is live from northwest washington with details. mark? >> that is bright. the washington post ran editorials blasting the great administration -- the gra administrationy . he says he wants the contract to go to local companies. the question is, what is a local company? denis sharpton argues that hurt

company is a d.c.-based business. she waited -- she wasted no time making it clear her company is a local company. >> approximately 70% of our labor house -- our labor force lives in the district. this in -- this means we pay employment tax for each employee. >> once that issue was a result the focus turned to whether or not local businesses should have to hire d.c. residents. city regulations only require the owner of the business to live and pay taxes in d.c. there are no requirements they hired d.c. residents. >> i do not think it is a bad mandate. >> locals should be first

priority. >> a d.c. council member said he would oppose legislation. but other council members were upset to hear how hard it is to do business with the city. >> it is expensive, heavily regulated to start a business with the city. >> the issue is jobs. >> part of the government's job is to give people working in the city, raise the quality of life. >> other council members say the one the city to do a better job of ensuring local companies that get these contracts are in fact local and not shell companies are out of state groups. we talked a lot of people down here who are upset they're not getting the jobs and that is what they are concerned about. local jobs going to local residents. reporting live, abc7 is. a fight at a restaurant ended with one person shot.

in happened on dallas drive around 2:30 this morning. the victim is expected to survive. two people a been arrested, but others may have been involved. >> time to updated ninth top stories. a rash of allergic reactions force the local school to evacuate. by students that went to edison high school had to go the hospital after the developed some kind of rash. rash occurred after a chemical odor began to spread. police in vienna want to know how and 11-month-old baby died keeping the child became unresponsive wednesday between the time the baby sitter left your home and when the sitter and child arrived at the mother's home keeping the child died last night. yesterday, the baby sitter's home was deemed unsafe for

occupancy. demonstrators rallied against everything from a new oil pipeline in texas to the wars in iraq and afghanistan. a new proposal in congress would bring the district one step closer to recognition as a state. it would allow the city to put a statue of a d.c. native inside the halls of the capitol. some call it a distraction. >> de la statues, one of abolitionist frederick douglass, and another of an architect. >> we are paying taxes here. cracks in the capitol building where each of the 50 states has tattoos of the rahm. -- >> in the capitol building -- the 50 states has statues of

their own. >> i knew legislation would give each of the states and territories once said to each. >> while the states each of two under the congressional proposal, d.c. would have one, so they would have to choose. republicans claim that giving the district two statues improperly acquitted the district with a state. >> we should have the respect of the state. and we do not. >> and while some say is a step in the right direction others call it a distraction. >> it is a distraction. give us a statue and then we will not be clamoring about voters' rights, and we have to. >> abc7 news. in prince george's county all warning -- a warning.

and extra 20 officers will be on the road in marked and unmarked cars. be careful out there. let's check out the other roads to. mike how does it look this friday? >> well, leon, a lot of people trying to get out of town this weekend. we have the usual delays and that goes double for the beltway. 95 to college park backed up. the good news, the accident on the legion bridge has been taken out of the way. the inner loop a solid from route 50 all the way to 66. then you are very slow on the dulles toll road. traffic flow from the third street tunnel to the 14th street

bridge. -- traffic slowed from the third street tunnel. travel lanes are all open, but very heavy delays all the way down and the parkway looking good as we head to fredricksburg. back in the studio. serious allegations from a former washington gas employee. is your safety at risk? >> white some men are being told not to get early screening for prostate cancer -- why some men are being told not to get early screening for prostate cancer? [ speaking french ] [ speaking french ] movie buffs! this film is tres bien, ut the interest rate on your checking account is le pew. interest on your checking? earn more with new high yield free checking at

capital one bank. your interest rate will be five times the national averagage. five times the interest! and free atms at any bank. show's over folks. make your way to capital one bank. what's in your wallet? were you crying? yeah.

>> 7 is on your side with important news for the parents of student athletes. children are added to the emergency room with sports- related injuries according to a study. more students were taken to the er with sports injuries in 2009, up from 2000 to. researchers say the increase is because parents and coaches are better educated and more cautious.

a major reversal in medical testing. for 20 years the psa test has been used to check for prostate cancer. as a result of a positive diagnosis, many men receive treatment they do not need. the treatments can cause incontinence impotence, and in some cases death. for the first time americans can take a pill that treats as diabetes and cholesterol. the food and drug administration approved the drug that treats a dangerous combination of diseases that affects millions of americans. it will be available in six different districts. up next, find out what the chicago bears are doing with

ditka. >>

>> we have heard the stories and seen incredible pictures. natural gas explosions exploding homes, shattering families, and leaving is neighborhoods in fearing devastation. >> we have a look at whether the pipeline and in our area are safe. >> for years, employees of washington gas quietly questioned whether the company had gone too far whether it neglected serious gas leaks. tonight, they make their concerns public for the first time. we began with the story of a family in fairfax county. before last christmas a home exploded in chantilly va.. by the time firefighters arrived, the blast burned the home to the ground. >> it was a good thing we were out.

is really tough. >> first generation americans they say the foam -- the home represented the american dream. >> see what else you can find. >> according to the fire marshal, the explosion was most likely due to the ignition of natural gas. official said gas leaking from the street vibrated into the home. >> it was a leak that infiltrated the house and it was an explosion. >> we cannot tell you more because washington gas will not release its investigation. >> they do not want to pay any money. >> but we did obtain a surprising internal memo from a different case regarding how to address a leak in prince george's county. it reads -- and now, former employees of

washington gas have come forward for the first time to share their run recollections. >> i am concerned about the general safety of the public. i think it has been jeopardized. i think that it is all due to profiteering by the oil and gas company. >> 3 former employees describe these evaluations as moot. they found a number of so- called great ones, the most dangerous kind. washington gas argued and replaced them. >> i strongly felts if i found a leak i would turn it in as a grade 1. only to find out someone else would come behind me and they would say, well, this is actually a two. >> if they do not fix a leak immediately, this could happen.

but by calling it a grade two they had 18 months to fix it. a document from the virginia state commission shows how dangerous this can be. in 2008, a high concentration of gas was found, but nothing was done. there was a 90% gas grade 1 leek, and it was downgraded to a de la. over a two-year period, washington gas change orders for repairs, despite the fact that a high concentration of gas was still recorded. washington gas claimed they were justified. >> i've never wanted to be responsible for someone's death. >> the company would not give as an interview. aid as a statement. --

these reckless -- meanwhile, back in chantilly they live in a rental because insurance will not pay enough to rebuild. while they worry about paying for their kids' college they say washington gas will not even tell them what happened to their home and five months later the company says is still investigating what caused the explosion. >> if they have nothing to hide, it is not their fault, they can come forward and tell us what happened to our home. >> classifying leaks is

difficult and involves some degree of such activity. still, as the result of our reporting, the virginia state corporation commission has indicated it will investigate these matters. to check out the documents resided on our website wjla.com as well as to share your experiences with washington gas. >> good job. here's a look at what is coming up at 6:00 tonight. the jobs picture has improved slightly, but more needs to be done. we will be getting more local jobs soon and the latest debate over the president's job bill. and republican candidates will have to step up for both. the primary calendar has changed again. the easiest job in town tonight. the easiest job. the most beautiful job we have had. >> absolutely.

>> how quickly we forget what it was like two weeks ago. hey, we will take the nice weather now that we can get it. the beautiful days will continue into the upcoming weekend and early next week. 73 beautiful degrees, reagan national airport head out to dulles. satellite and radar -- leon nailed it. clear skies. this is thanks to an area of low pressure over head. patchy or dense fog advisory's in the early morning hours and a quick update on tropical storm phillippe. it is moving to the east northeast at 12 to 11 miles per hour. tonight, look for areas of fog

to the west. will look at the seven-day, coming up during the 6:00 hour. >> alright. you got it. a woman in new jersey get some regular business in our backyard hammock from time to time. >> she photographed two bear cubs climbing into her hammock. they appear to be having a great time. they both fell out of the hammock. they come up to hang out in the hammock often. or hang over them. >> they hang through it. [laughter] >> like in florida. they were flipping over -- there were clubs flipping over today thanks to tiger woods. october means a lot of things in the sports world. we're talking football. it is not usually the time to talk about tiger woods. his prime to climb back into

golf with the rocky performance and in danger of missing the cut with his opening. 34 of his first seven holes today. tiger is 7 of the lead, but he will make the cut and play the weekend. he is now one over par. and a golfer who was having better luck -- yes the unusual prize he won after making a whole and one at the madrid masters, ham. he won his weight in ham. he weighs two under 35 pounds. -- 235 pounds. >> so far the biggest noise at busch stadium is the school.

there been two appearances. you saw this little guy sprinting across the field. the ground squirrel is now trying -- the ground crew is trying to find the squirrel. he has more than 10,000 followers on twitter. more than any of us. sadly. and finally a trip to the white house. there you go. the bears beat the patriots to become world champions. then the challenger exploded killing the entire crew. there they are. the bears and president obama and the chicago family meeting with the players. >> that's a good trip. >> they got their trip. >> there you go. >> all rights.

>> leer celebrating a big anniversary. it was this date in 1991 our sister station news channel 8 -- news channel 8, went on here for the first time. >> 20 years of the 11:00 news, weather and sports. >> 20 years ago today. >> welcome to our coverage. >> that meant you could get news whenever you wanted it in the washington area. our first time -- a studio in a suburban office park in springfield where we turned out newscasts from early in the morning until late at night. >> more and more people work from home, work different hours. having the news on 24 hours a day makes it a gigantic difference. >> news channel 8 also secured a

foothold by going deeper, covering issues like transportation and politics, and going more in depth and other stations. >> we have the ability to zoom in deeper and in a more hyper local fashion. >> some of the journalists who launched the station and sports coast are still here today. >> happy anniversary, news channel 8. >> other personalities have moved on to national sports. in to a dozen to come up news channel emerged with our sister station -- and in 2002 when merge with our sister station. >> we signed new 10-year agreements with local cable providers and our engineers are currently hard work upgrading our control room so we will be broadcasting and hd. down the road, plans to partner

with satellite providers direct tv, and dish network. >> congratulations all around. >> happy birthday. it is great to see some of those folks. unfortunately, they're not with us. >> that is right. [laughter] i am going to give it to him later. all right, that is that for abc7 news at 5:00. >> up next, local jobs are coming and why some say there is much work to be done. >> the candidates for president pile into the area for the weekend. while -- why they are here. >> and we take a look at the war that is not quite over for our troops in afghanistan. not 6:00. >> live and in hd, this is abc 7 news at 6:00, on your side.