>> debra alfarone is there. she's been listening to the sound checks all day. we think she can hear us. who are we listening to now? >> reporter: i'm not quite sure. i got to be really honest with you. it's either metallica or dave crowell. i heard jessie j, the british singer, earlier and jennifer hudson, one of my favorites and now i want you to listen as well. excited? >> yeah, yeah! [ screaming ] >> reporter: why are you excited? [ screaming ] >> reporter: i'm not sure if you can hear. we had british singer jessie j earlier. she was belting out her huge hit bang bang. if you looked a bit, you could see her behind the scaffolding. that was a big draw here today. she's probably the least known be hitting the mall. of course, bruce springsteen, carrie underwood, eminem, rihanna. it's enough to make all the people we spoke to including a bunch of tweens from chicago literally lose it. >> reporter: excited? >> oh, yeah! yeah! [ screaming ] >> reporter: why are you excited? [ screaming ] >> reporter: i'm sorry, guys. it is so hard to hear that i couldn't hear wha

debra alfarone, wusa9. >> that we are hoping that they would keep it safe out there. you can track the weather and the road conditions live by visiting the new and improved wusa9 app. >>> tonight the dc public high school teachers aid is facing some serious charges involving the student with the special needs. he joins us live from their superior court with more of the woman in question and the charges she will be facing. jim? >> reporter: hi. good evening. here is what we know that the teachers aid at eastern high school, allegedly was caught having sex with that 16-year- old special needs student. police say that last night they approached that car where the two females were allegedly having sex. now, we spoke to the victim's mother who did not want her face shown. >> they called me to the back and they explained to me everything that went on. the only thing that i could do is that tears came to my eyes that i did not knowwhat to say to her. today i'm angry and enough because i thought that, you know, she was protected in school, you know, that i feel like every chi

. >> as debra alfarone shows us, many of them are serving is our country in very special ways. >> two nights a week, knives and friendships are being forged. and there's one bond in particular that stands out. one between jonathan and shray. >> i think life would suck. >> 19-year-old, tray, first met jonathan at the uso center on base. >> i like talking to him. i have a question, actually. >> at first, the conversation centered around movies and trivia. >> they are relatedded to religion? >> and tray's dad, who served in afghanistan, and now assigned to fort brag in north carolina. >> here's an idea. >> this soon led to deeper discussions about jonathan's service in afghanistan. his traumatic brain injury and ptsd and tray living his life with cerebral palsy. >> without jonathan, i wouldn't feel quite as fulfilled as i do now. i like the fact when i talk to him, he seems to get what i was talking about. >> jonathan, who lets tray do all the talking, challenges the teenager, never lets him give up and exposed tray to a whole different world. >> i can't go to the friends that are my age

by the national mall, debra alfarone, wusa9. >> thanks, deb. and stephanie ramirez has more on how metro is holding up as people head to the mall. >> metro stations opened at 5:00 a.m. to accommodate commuters getting to their different veteran's day events. while it looked like this earlier this morning, down on the platforms, pretty much looked like a ghost town until the 2:00 hour rolled in. that's when police started seeing crowded platforms of concert of valor goers on the train. >> this is one big event we decided to experience the mall madness and take advantage of an opportunity down there. i'm 27 year air force veteran. still currently serving. this is fantastic. i would like to take my family down there and enjoy the day. >> you can see as it gets closer to traffic time, the foot traffic picks up. trains are running until midnight with those stations closest to the mall, making sure everyone gets home. make sure to flpack your patience. >> all right, stephanie, thank you. there is also a game tonight. a lot of people will be hitting

. >> reporter: i'm debra alfarone at the washington national cathedral where today was the first ever muslim prayer service. it went pretty smoothly with just one exception. >> jesus christ is our lord and savior. >> reporter: these pictures show security escorting a woman who is not a friend of this service. once outside she held this sign. >> we've allowed the muslims to put in mosques in our towns and cities. why can't they worship there? don't they have enough there? >> reporter: this service attended by about 150 muslims was born after south african ambassador ibrahim rasul met with city leaders while planning the service for mandela. >> there's a lot of conflict in the world and cop tension about religious issues right now. >> reporter: a peaceful day for the most part and for the one who interrupted and those who threatened to the ambassador says this. >> the provocation has not only come from the christian right, but also from the muslim right and i would feel that we had failed in the middle ground was not able to protect in the extremes. i think for the first time the middle

debra alfarone is live at police headquarters with the latest developments. what do we know about the mother? >> reporter: we know the mother told police she was overwhelmed, but i want to be clear that baby was never abandoned. that baby was never in danger. the mom simply said to police that she was overwhelmed and told them that she basically lied and found the baby in the backyard when in all reality apparently she gave birth to that baby inside that beltsville home. the good news, of course, is the baby is okay. the baby is still in child protective custody. police say the woman who called 911 is actually the little girl's mom. she questioned her yesterday. today she came clean and told them the little girl is hers. they say she's getting the help she needs. she will not face charges and here's why. >> in maryland there's a safe haven law where essentially any parent can relinquish their child or responsible adult within the first 10 days of the ion or hospital. so again in this case she sort of surreptitiously gets to that point and obviously we wish sh

debra alfarone has been looking into the contractor's past and found even more allegations. >> reporter: this is the man police say groped a tween at john t. baker middle school last month, 44-year-old john edward epps, jr., the contractor hired by a temp agency for a company called net com had worked on security cameras, the same ones police say caught him touching a 12- year-old girl's buttocks as she walked past him ending in assault and sex assault charges. the school waited nearly a month before informing parents. today they held a meeting. >> they said it was an isolated incident. how do you know? >> reporter: wusa9 is learning it may not be. today the principal of damascus high school sent out a letter saying one of her students may have been touched inappropriately by epps during a visit to baker. we did a quick search and found epps was arrested for sex offenses and other charges in 2001 and 2010. he pled guilty to a second degree assault charge in 2010. he is not listed on maryland's sex offender registry which would have prohibited him from working in the school according to

debra alfarone got the metro area's take on the plummeting temperature. >> i'm debra alfarone in virginia where we took a tour of the dmv asking people that one burning question. fan of the cold or hater? >> no, i hate the cold. >> when windchills plummet, chili sales skyrocket. it's almost unanimous. cold stinks. >> well, i don't like freezing to death. >> i like the summertime. >> and now a different taste. >> being hot is being miserable. you can't get away from being hot. you can get away from being cold by putting on things. but you can't get away from the heat. >> next stop, prince georges county and college park bicycle. where the chili bowl is half empty. >> it's getting quiet, absolutely. we are definitely a seasonal business. >> last stop, roslynn, virginia, where i met two fair weather friends. >> i can do everything. i can do many things in winter. for example, i can go to ski, something like that. >> some other news we are following for you, he was a local hero. dr. martin salia died from ebola this morning at the university of nebraska's medical center. >> he was put on an e

debra alfarone was on the mall today when a few of those acts got fans pumped up. >> reporter: that's british singer jessie j belting out her huge hit bang bang. that's her behind the scaffolding in a black hat. it's enough to make a bunch of teens from chicago literally lose it. it's a sneak peek of what promises to be a star studded crowd pleasing concert done up washington style with the backdrop of the capitol. >> probably jessie j. >> taylor swift. >> reporter: i don't think taylor swift is going to be here. it doesn't matter, right? >> yeah. >> reporter: today lunch breaks turned into music breaks for many. >> i thought when it started, when the national anthem started, i thought it was going to be jennifer hudson and i was really excited to hear jennifer hudson. >> we started running down the mall when we heard her. >> reporter: who is your favorite? >> probably bruce springsteen. >> reporter: debra alfarone, wusa9. >> born to run. >> sing it, derek. wusa9 has your complete guide for the concert to valor on our new app. we have all the road closures and changes to metro service

. >> debra alfarone is the first meeting of the ask members about those billing issues. >> good morning everyone. >> reporter: she co-chairs a brand new committee, charged of making sure that rape victims don't get turned away from hospitals and don't get billed for medical services after submitting to the rape kit exam where they would comb their body for dna. >> the services will be taken care of by the state. again this will be a funded program under state general funds. >> reporter: but the victim advocates say that the victims still get bills. >> it is something that we hear fairly regularly that someone gets a random charge and they are getting bills and it is really, it stirs everything up. >> our office, they are not aware that it will be a frequent occurrence. occasionally we do get a call from an advocate on behalf of the victim. who has been billed. generally erroneously. >> reporter: when asked how the state is doing,dantzler gave them an a-minus. it will be on december 1, 2015. debra alfarone, wusa9. >>> a committee was formed due to the legislation push by state maryland d

all the family members and my heart goes out to the family. >> in rockville, debra alfarone, wusa9. >> well, no issues with the weather on this election day, but topper says there are changes on the way. he'll tell you about them >>> and now, the wusa9 restaurant alert. i'm investigative reporter, russ ptacek. track inspections, text food to 25543 for a link to restaurant alert. enter sweet green on bethesda avenue to see a december 17 report siting facility closed. montgomery county paper report, due to roaches on food contact services and food at improper temperatures. it passed reinspection and back in business. click suspended restaurants to see hundreds of others we covered, text food to 25543 for your own restaurant alert. >> in tonight's technology report, a brand-new app that can show you just how bad the flu is in your town. >> the app is called flu near you. but it relies on self- reporting. creators are hoping people who come down with the flu long gone report it. >> it tracks them based on blue dots for no symptoms, yellow for symptoms, but not a flu-like illness or red fo

debra alfarone is live in beltsville with how it all went down. >> reporter: police say the baby was never in danger and was never abandoned. the thing is the mom basically said that she felt overwhelmed and she lied saying she found that baby in her backyard. >> i stepped on my back porch to see what it was and i saw a baby laying in the grass. >> reporter: wusa9 interviewed this woman wednesday night who said she found the baby abandoned in her backyard. >> after i got her and cleaned her up first thing was call the police. >> reporter: police say the woman who called 911 is actually the baby's mother. she told police that she became overwhelmed and didn't know what to do. police say she is now getting the help she needs and will not face charge at this time. >> in maryland there's a safe haven law where essentially any parent can relinquish their i could, responsible adult, can re-- their child, responsible adult, can relinquish the child within 10 days of birth to any police station or hospital. she gets to that point and obviously we wish she'd been more forthcoming in the initi

. >> i'm debra alfarone, standing where the beltway meets i-95 north. if you're thinking about getting on the road, now is the time to do it. >> if you can, leave today. >> right now. >> this evening. right now. >> john townsend says there's proof behind this theory, right now is the busiest time to be driving. the second busiest -- >> tomorrow, starting at 11:00. and then it gets worse at 3:00. >> what makes tomorrow extra tricky is rain and snow making roads slippery. >> avoid the rain and snow tomorrow if it comes. >> john isn't the only one thinking that way on this line to pick up honey baked hams in silver spring. >> we were over in forestville, the line must have been a mile. >> the best day to drive is on the actual holiday. >> leave on thursday, anyway. so just wait it out, let the storm pass over. pass through. and then better be safe than sorry. >> well that was debra alfarone reporting, the virginia department of transportation says it's ready to hit the streets. 400 trucks throughout loudoun, prince william, and arlington counties early tom

. >> i'm debra alfarone in northwest d.c. where eight new automated enforcement cameras are going into effect. there are six speed cameras and two someone cameras. you won't be getting any tickets right away and only issuing warnings right now, but come december 3, that's three days from now, you could be getting a ticket if you do the wrong thing. >> this is the tipping point. inspector general's report outline every concern the motorists have about the program. >> back story, the inspector general issued a scathing report last night saying even though the cameras are meant to improve safety, a report proves people didn't overly speed through half the proposed speed camera locations. weeks later, the city council attacked that report. >> this is not a game. this is not an operation. i found some of the language used in this report troubling. >> do you believe they are about safety and not about revenue? >> i think they are about both. >> john townsend says that inspector general report ended allegations about revenue cannot

debra alfarone, wusa9. >> that's a lot of chicks. >> 15 in the mail? >> yeah. >> completely legal. >> apparently there were air holes and everything. all right folks, ina a november to remember. two states that won't get hit from the arctic blast. when we can expect those cold temperatures. this is your only local ♪ i thought it'd be bigger. ♪ ♪ (dad) there's nothing i can't reach in my subaru. (vo) introducing the all-new subaru outback. love. it's what makes a subaru,a subaru. just getting home, here's a check of the top national stories. two window washers are back on firm ground tonight after they were left dangling on the side of one world trade center. the cable malfunctioned. after about 90 minutes, new york city firefighters were able to break open a window pane and pull them in safely. the window washers suffered mild hyperthermia. >> the leaders of china reached a landmark agreement aimed at saving off global warming. president obama says under this new deal, the united states and china will move more quickly to cut greenhouse gas emiss

i'm debra alfarone with how you feel about the upcoming chill. >>> a witness describes the fatal shooting after 19-year- old in woodbridge as a gun battle that erupted over what you might call a bit of a family feud. good evening. i'm derek mcginty. >>> i'm lesli foster. christopher nathaniel weaver also called woody was killed. the witness tells peggy fox who pulled his gun first. >> reporter: we talked to a teenager who says he was one of several people who witnessed this fatal shooting. he said he saw four guns and that the person who drew his gun first was the person who was killed. this teenager who we are not identifying witnessed the fatal shooting of his friend's big brother 16-year-old chris weaver [ inaudible ] >> reporter: it happened just after midnight early sunday morning at weaver's home on keating drive which is shared by two families. the witness says two men came to the door upset over a decision by parents of a little girl to not let her spend the night at their home with their child. then the witness says chris weaver pulled a gun [ inaudible ] >> reporter: how many gu

as debra alfarone shows us, many of them are still serving our country in some very special ways. >> reporter: two night as week, -- nights a week, knives and friendship are being forged. and there's one bond in particular that stands out. , the one between jonathan porgis and tray matkins. >> if i didn't have jonathan, life would suck. >> reporter: 19-year-old tray first met jonathan at the uso center on base. >> i just liked talking to him. >> reporter: at first the conversation centered around movies and trivia. >> are they all related to religion? >> reporter: and tray's dad who served in afghanistan and is now assigned to fort bragg in north carolina. this soon led to deeper discussions about jonathan's service in afghanistan, his traumatic brain injury and ptsd and tray living his life with cerebral palsy. >> i would say without jonathan, i wouldn't feel quite as fulfilled as i do now. i like the fact that when i talk to him, he seemed to get what i was talking about. >> reporter: jonathan who prefers to let tray do all the talking challenges the teenager, never lets him give u

debra alfarone sorts it all out. >> you heard the riddle. the only piece we know, guy and girl in d.c. broke up, but wait. >> their exboyfriend mailed them a box of day old baby chicks with a note that said something, there's plenty of other chicks in the world. >> yeah, let that sink in. other chicks in the world. you're looking at revenge chicks. >> actors in his, you know, poorly thought out revenge scheme. >> bad enough, but then the apparently at a loss ex told the mailman she was going to throw them away. >> couldn't keep them, didn't want them and didn't know what to do them. >> so the mailmen brought the chicks to the humane society. six were sent to sanctuary in virginia and the other nine are now living it up here at poplar spring. a 400 plus acre farm animal sanctuary in poolsville, maryland. pigs, horses, a peacock, they take care of a lot. this is andy, a go-to who needed the cart to get around. >> abuse cases, neglect, all kinds of things. and everybody that comes here is going to get to spend the rest of their lives here being

. >> but as debra alfarone reports in one such police department no such backlog exists thanks to a new grant, dna advances in technology and the hard work of detectives. justice may finally be served. >> i never expected to receive a call. >> reporter: january, 1992, an arlington apartment, a 25-year- old female grad student answers. a man dressed as a maintenance worker armed with a gun rapes her. >> i was devastated. i couldn't stay in my house because he raped me there. i couldn't leave the house because i was terrified of everything. >> reporter: she asked us not to show her face or use her name. >> this kind of unnerves people. >> reporter: enter detectives rosa ortiz and bob nicalari of the arlington police department one by one solving rape cases gone cold. the pair resent dna from the victim's rape kit to the state crime lab paid for by a new grant from the commonwealth. new technology means they can get a hit with a lot less material. they got a match. >> this individual was actually at large. >> reporter: 50-year-old stevie brinson admitted to the crime. >> he got life. >> re

debra alfarone, wusa9. >> what we could hear sounded pretty good. >> i know. those kids, hopefully won't hear that many screams tomorrow. >>> traffic around the mall will be a nightmare. there will be street closings. >> for a complete list of all the impacted roads check out our wusa9 mobile app. click on the you heard it on wusa9. now find it here category. download the wusa9 app or the upgrade for free. you can do this on your apple or android device. >>> new information tonight in a home invasion and stabbing that happened on spencer lane and mclean and tonight a middle aged couple is in the hospital. two attorneys are behind bars. peggy fox joins us with more on this bizarre story. >> reporter: this gray pickup truck back here is from the fairfax county crime scene unit. investigators are inside collecting evidence. i can tell you the man who owns this house is a corporate attorney and also has his own law practice. he is in the hospital in critical condition with knife wounds. his wife is also injured. now sources tell us that the two people charged are

live at prince george's county headquarters, debra alfarone, wusa9. >>> now on to another big story, today in court state officials filed a motion to have katherine hog am removed from -- catherine hoggle removed from the hospital and placed into the custody of the sheriff to show police where her missing children are. wusa9's stephanie ramirez is outside the maryland district courthouse in rockville where the judge had a pretty surprising response. >> reporter: the judge didn't completely throw it off the table, but he denied it today for reasons i'll explain coming up, but the sheriff, members of the police department and sheriff's department were all dressed in uniform ready to take hoggle out right there and then. i talked to the family of the judge's decision. >> just anything about it like they're putting the court date before finding my kid. >> reporter: 2-year-old jacob and 3-year-old sarah hoggle's father troy turner was shaking his head after a judge would not allow catherine hoggle to go into police custody even after family members said hoggle recently told them she wante

debra alfarone explains why the spirit of understanding was in the air coming up at 5:30. >> plus the head scratching set of blunders that allowed a white house jumper to barge into the first family's home. >> reporter: paying to get on the school bus in loudoun county could be a reality. i'm surae chinn with that controversia >>> right now loudoun county public schools could be the first in the state of virginia to charge students to ride the bus, but they need the okay of legislators in richmond. surae chinn is live on this story with a whole lot of reaction from parents. >> reporter: nobody thinks this is a popular idea, but school board members just want that option in tough economic time. some parents say this is a lesser of two evils. others say it's a slippery slope. >> i don't like that at all. i think that's a terrible idea. >> reporter: stephanie cole is picking up her 9-year-old daughter from ashburn elementary school today, but with three children paying for bus rides would add up quickly. >> i think we pay enough as it is. >> all we're asking them to do is sort of untie o

we're live here in college park tonight, debra alfarone, wusa9. >> all right, thank you so much. the coolest kids who have seen snow for the first time. bundled up out there. >> awesome. >>> all right, more now on the areas for the snow this season. airline travelers facing better than expected conditions in all three dc area airports. >> and reagan national and dulles would experience a few cancellations and delays. andrea mccarren is live at nationals with an update. >> and only a cold rain that will be falling right now. in fact we're told that anxiety over this thanksgiving evening storm prompted a lot of travelers to fly yesterday. and in fact that one air traveler has had a nice compliment come my photojournalist partner. >> reagan national airport looked like a ghost town. yesterday was one of the busiest days here in years. >> and i've watched them break -- i've been watching breaking bad. >> reporter: reunions and talk of thanksgiving traditions prevailed. we play football, then we go to sleep, play football, then eat some more. >> it just means to spend time with my fam

debra alfarone talked to some experts. what are they teaming you? >> reporter: -- telling you? >> reporter: if you're an anchor for wusa9, you're in pretty good shape because that means you're not on the road. this moment is the worst time of the travel week to be on the road, between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. tonight. the storm coming up absolutely is a game changer and it's absolutely a plan changer. >> i just heard a lady say she got the last -- certain certain. >> reporter: people are shopping. >> i'm getting it done today. >> reporter: drivers are changing plans. >> i'll probably delay my trip up to pennsylvania till thursday morning. >> reporter: all to avoid being on the road wednesday. >> if you can, leave today. >> reporter: right now? >> this evening, right now. >> reporter: john towson of aaa mid-atlantic says there's proof behind the theory. right now is the busiest time to be driving. the second busiest? >> tomorrow starting at 11:00. then it gets worse at 3:00. >> reporter: what makes tomorrow extra tricky is rain and snow making roads slippery. >> i want to avoid the ra

debra alfarone is live in damascus with the latest on this story. deb? >> reporter: this story certainly is complicated. i'll start at the beginning. the contractor in question inappropriately touched a girl at john t. baker middle school on october 6th. he was arrested october 7th. fast forward to monday, almost a month later, and that's when the school let parents know, but they sent a letter out and parents were upset and said the school kept them in the dark. that was monday. now we're standing here wednesday. the principal at damascus high school says that contractor may have actually touched one of the damascus high school students when that student was visiting baker. a letter was sent out today. we wanted to know what we could find out about this contractor. this is the man police say groped a tween at john t. baker middle school last month, 44- year-old john edward epps jr., a contractor hired by a temp agency by a company called net com worked on security cameras, police say also the same one that touched a 12-year-old girl's buttocks that ende

i'm debra alfarone in northeast d.c. asking those questions. >> reporter: the person with tuberculosis at potomac high school has now but did anyone else here catch the disease? i'm peggy fox in oxon hill. i'll have the answer. >>> but first here is a live look at the white house where in about two hours president obama will lay out his own plan on what to do with millions of undocumented illegal immigrants in the united states. good evening. i'm derek mcginty. >> i'm lesli foster. andrea mccarren is at the white house tonight with the latest. >> reporter: one congressional republican actually accused the president of picking a bar fight and provoking the gop into battle, but white house officials say it is imperative to fix an immigration system that is profoundly broken. >> part of staying competitive in a global economy is making sure that we have an immigration system that doesn't send away talent, but attracts it. >> reporter: as president obama honored top scientists at the white house, he alluded to his pending ac

. >> as debra alfarone shows us, many of them are still serving our country in some very special ways. >> reporter: two night as week, knives and friendships are being forged. and there's one bond in particular that stands out. >> jonathan? >> reporter: the one between jonathan and tray. >> if i didn't have jonathan, life would suck. >> reporter: 19-year-old tray first met jonathan at the uso center on base. >> i just like talking to him. >> reporter: at first the conversation centered around poafs and trivia. >> it all relate-- >> movies and trivia. >> it's all related -- >> reporter: and his dad who is now assigned to fort bragg, north carolina. this soon led to deeper disuftions about jonathan's service in afghanistan, his traumatic brain injury and ptsd and tray living his life with cerebral palsy. >> i say without jonathan, i wouldn't feel quite as fulfilled as i do now. i like the fact that when i talk to him, he seemed to get what i was talking about. >> reporter: jonathan who prefers to let tray do all the talking challenges the teenager never lets him give up and has expresse

debra alfarone is live in northwest d.c. with that part of our story. hey deb. >> hey there, jen. several people saw this camera right here onny avenue by wilson high school and they asked us about it. turns out, this is not listed on mpd's website. so we called them and they said this is just taking data. it's not one of those new ones and basically they want to see if people are speeding in this area. but one watchdog group says even if the district says this is a spot where people speed, well, the fact is, the drivers are losing confidence in what the district says. >> drive through the district and eight new automated enforcement cameras are activated and watching you. two watch you as you do the slow roll. they won't issue tickets right away. starting december 3, they can start issuing tickets to violators. >> the inspector general's report outline every concern a mother has had about the speed camera program in the district of columbia. >> back story, the inspector general issued a report saying even though the cameras are meant to improve safety, people didn't overly speed

>> reporter: debra alfarone, wusa9. >> barry! barry! barry! >> to see them paying it forward, that is priceless. >>> secretary of defense chuck hagel is stepping down. president obama joined hagel as he announced his retirement today at the white house. during his two years the former republican senator of nebraska oversaw the drawdown of u.s. forces in afghanistan and helped fight for the pentagon budget during tight fiscal times. >> it's been the greatest privilege of my life, greatest privilege of my life to lead and most important to serve. >> administration sources say the white house was not happy hagel was not more vocal of his position. >>> we are just getting started on wusa9 news at 5:00. there is more controversy over artwork at the smithsonian donated by bill cosby. this is more accusations surfaced against the comedian. bruce leshan will bring us that part of the story at 5:30. >> right after the break how a teenager was able to fend off a man she says tried to rape her on her way home from work in arlington. >> plus why temperatu

family members of 22-year-old khiani jackson of beltsville told our debra alfarone jackson attended a hearing today where it was determined she will be able to keep the five children she already had prior to giving birth to the baby this week. jackson told police she lied about the baby because she was overwhelmed. the question so many have now is what becomes of this little baby girl? prince george's county police spokesperson julie parker was on hlntv today talking about that. >> the department of social services now is in charge of the baby. they ultimately will decide with the court system who will get custody of that newborn girl. >> as of now, jackson faces no charges. police say she essentially complied with the maryland safe haven law which allows a parent or person responsible for a child to relinquish a child within 10 days of byrd to a police station, fire station or hospital -- birth to a police station, fire station or hospital and that baby was never in actual danger. >>> immigration reform is an issue that could drive a wide wedge between president obama and congress. t

. >> reporter: i'm debra alfarone in damascus where parents at a middle school and high school are learning troubling facts about a contractor who worked at the school. this is the man who police say groped a tween at john t. baker middle school last month, 44- year-old john edward epps, jr. the contractor was hired by a temp agency for a company called net com worked on security cameras, the same ones police say caught him touching a 12-year-old girl's buttocks as she walked past him, an act that ended in both assault and sex assault charges. the school waited nearly a month before informing parents and held a meeting today. >> they said it was an isolated indent. how do you know? >> reporter: wusa9 is learning it may not be. today the principal of damascus high school sent a letter out saying one of her students may have been touched inappropriately by epps during a visit to baker. we did a quick search and found epps was arrested for sex offenses and other charges in 2001 and 2010. he pled guilty to a second degree assault charge in 2010. he is not listed on maryland's sex offender regis

. >> reporter: i'm debra alfarone working on getting answers from the d.c. board of nursing. we want to know how 37-year-old nurse jared kline was able to get job after job at hospitals even with sex allegations mounting against him over a year. court documents say kline allegedly touched a female patient inappropriately at gw hospital in may, 2013. they say he had similarly groped and placed three other female patients' hands on his clothes penis at three other hospitals in 15 months, but it takes until december of 2014 to suspend kline's license, more than 16 months after that first incident at gw. despite our repeated requests the board did not answer our question. >> besides gw hospital, police say the alleged incidents happened at united medical center and medstar hospital center. >>> a prince george's county man facing charges after police say he tried to kill his own mom. prosecutors charged omari brown with first and second degree attempted murder. the shooting happened around lunchtime yesterday in largo. brown's mother is in critical condition but stable. police say

. >> debra alfarone is near the mall tonight and she is checking on the crowds. deb, you got a lot of company? what's going on? >> i do have a lot of company. you can see a couple people walking past me. everyone is making their way to the check points. it's three blocks still. it's really tough to get near it. we are hearing reports, the mall is filling up. there are lots of people at this point. we are hearing it's getting so busy that some people are deciding to jump fences. maybe that guy is going to be one, hopefully, if you do. watch out. because you're going to end up being contained like the people we saw on twitter. now we have been here all day. and how early do you have to get there to get a good seat? well, let's take a look. >> oh, woke around 3:00 this morning. about 6:50 a.m. >> what time did i get up? 4:30. >> you've got to get up early if you want to stand, sit, or sleep front row. >> i came here to see the boss. >> what is your favorite song? >> born in the u.s.a. >> metallica, definitely. >> i came here for eminem. >> bruce. so excited. i am so

today debra alfarone set out to learn more about the woman herself. >> family members of 23-year- old khiani jackson told me at a hearing today it was determined jackson can keep the five children that she had prior to giving birth to the newborn baby. what's going to happen with the baby remains unclear and that baby has captured so many hearts. >> she told investigators that she felt overwhelmed after the birth of the child. >> a sentiment echoed to us this afternoon by 23-year-old khiani jackson's stepmom who confirmed khiani has five children previously and after a hearing today will be allowed to keep custody of those children. what will become of this little baby girl? prince george's county police spokesperson julie parker was on hlntv today along with wusa9's video. >> of course, the department of social services right now is in charge of the baby. they ultimately will decide with the court system who will get custody of that newborn girl. >> reporter: it was a bizarre twist to find out the woman who gave interviews on tv saying she found the baby in her backyard was actually

. >> reporter: i'm debrai'm debra alfarone. if you're home, you're one of the lucky ones. right now is the busiest travel time of the thanksgiving week, despite the cars moving like they're -- cars looking like they're moving just final. >> if you can, leave today. >> reporter: right now? >> this evening, right now. >> reporter: john towson of aaa mid-atlantic says there's proof behind his theory. right now is the busiest time to be driving. the second bestiest? >> tomorrow starting at 11:00. then it gets worse at 3:00. >> reporter: what makes tomorrow extra tricky is rain and snow making roads slippery. >> i want to avoid the rain and snow tomorrow if it comes. >> reporter: john isn't the only one thinking that way on this line to pick up honey baked hams in silver spring. >> we were in forestville. the mile must have been a mile -- line must have been a mile down the way. >> leave on thursday anyway. just wait it out and let the storm pass over, pass through, and then it's better to be safe than sorry. >>> that's good advice. if you have to leave tomorrow action if you c

. >> reporter: i'm debra alfarone in the wusa9 satellite center with the latest on the uva fallout after the rolling stone article. the school wanted to appoint an independent counsel to review how sexual assault cases are reported, but the choice of council may not be that appropriate since that person was a member of the same fraternity involved with the alleged gang rape. the article tells the tale of jackie, a freshman who says she was gang raped at a frat house the first few weeks of school in 2012. liz securro says it happened to her nearly 30 years ago there. >> it was the same story in the same house in the same nameless -- and the same nameless faceless people. >> reporter: securro was drugged and raped three times in one night in 1984 when she was 17 years old and was a freshman. she said the dean's response was appalling. >> he said are you sure you just didn't have sex with that boy and you don't want your mom and dadton you're not a good girl? >> reporter: -- dadton you're not a good girl? >> reporter: uva is already part of an investigation for inadequately handling sexual

. >> i'm debra alfarone in northwest d.c. where eight new automated enforcement cameras are going into effect. there are six speed cameras and two someone cameras. now you won't be getting any tickets right away. they are only issuing warnings to violators, but coming december 3, that's 30 days from now, you could be getting a ticket if you do the wrong thing. >> the inspector general's report outline every concern the motorists have about the speed camera. >> back story, the inspector general issued a report saying the cameras are meant to improve safety, rather than generate revenue, a report proves people didn't overly speed through half the proposed speed camera locations. weeks later, the city council attacked that report. >> this is not a game. this is not a gotcha operation. >> do you believe that they are about safety and not about revenue? >> i think they are about above. >> inspector general report and its allegations about revenue cannot be cast aside. >> these cameras will reduce the number of speeding incidents i

debra alfarone interviewed zebra attack survivor today. for the entire interview, go to our new news app. >>> trolleys won't be trolling arlington county. up next, the reason officials axed the project. >>> and it is looking to be the coldest night since march. topper is tracking how chilly it's going to be and when we can expect a warmup. you're watching wusa9 and your only local news at 7:00. >>> the plan to bring streetcars to the roads of arlington county won't happen afterall. >> stephanie ramirez reports the 7 1/2 mile streetcar route would have connected several communities. >> the multimillion dollar arlington streetcar project that has been in the works for years got the ax today, especially here on columbia pike. >> the corridors were the first portion of the project was supposed to begin, connecting all the way to fairfax county. the arlington county board chair made the announcement today saying they had no choice but to ax the estimated $550 million project due to the mounting opposition of those in the area. the project has b

. >> reporter: i'm debra alfarone outside the d.c. board of nursing where we want to know how 37-year-old traveling nurse jared kline was able to get job after job in hospitals around this area even as sex abuse allegations against him were mounting. court documents say kline allegedly touched a female patient in may, 2013 inappropriately and say he similarly groped and placed three other female patients' hands on his clothed penis at three other local hospitals in 15 months, but it takes until september, 2014 for the d.c. nursing board to suspend kline's license, 16 months after that first incident. despite our requests, the board did not answer our question. >>> next up the latest on that tuberculosis case at a prince george's high school. we'll tell you whether anybody is getting sick. >> reporter: coming up we'll tell you why communities like this one in riverdale will soon become hot commodities in prince george's county. >> here's your chance to get $500 worth of groceries from giant food to win the wusa9 thanksgiving grocery ca

. >> i'm debra alfarone. our jim osman reports from suitland on the scary moments and a man who got his family to safety first and then jumped into action to help some others. >> reporter: it's a thanksgiving folks in this apartment complex in suitland won't soon forget. at 5:00 this thanksgiving night when people in this apartment building were about to eat thanksgiving dinner flames started to pour out of a corner unit in the 3100 block of good hope road, an eight-story building. >> they were swinging from the fifth floor balcony into the fourth floor balcony kind of like spider-man. from there they were swinging from the fourth to the third and there was a silver toyota tundra pickup truck that pulled up under the balcony. >> reporter: david gomez was the driver and helped those residents to safety, a humble hero this night. >> not me. i thank god, you know. he's the one that gave me the idea to get the truck. >> reporter: residents say the unit where the fire started was occupied by someone described as a

. >> i'm debra alfarone. and that winter storm that gave us the first dusting yesterday, long gone at the coast, hammering new england. and the real concern will be when people would hit the roads to head home. today, the roads were treacherous as they would turn highways in to the ice rink. over 700 plows were dispatched to help clear up the mess as they were slammed with some of the highest snow totals as much as 18 inches. >> and in may, chopping the bread crumbs by the flashlights, cook turkeys on the grill, watching netflix on phone. they woke up this morning to find their lights out. two of the biggest power companies in the state would report 80,000 customers without power. the outage is being blamed on a nor'easter that would blow them onto trees and power lines this week. and they said that they were bringing in crews from canada to help get everyone back online. but back here in that metro area, shoppers are camping out tonight, expecting the windchills, possibly in the teens? >> we'll get right to

today debra alfarone set out to learn more about the woman herself. >> family members of 23-year- old khiani jackson told me at a hearing today it was determined jackson can keep the five children that she had prior to giving birth to the newborn baby. what's going to happen with the baby remains unclear and that baby has captured so many hearts. >> she told investigators that she felt overwhelmed after the birth of the child. >> a sentiment echoed to us this afternoon by 23-year-old khiani jackson's stepmom who confirmed khiani has five children previously and after a hearing today will be allowed to keep custody of those children. what will become of this little baby girl? prince george's county police spokesperson julie parker was on hlntv today along with wusa9's video. >> of course

. >> i'm debra alfarone. the former ravens running back now a free agent eligible to play. the question, is anyone going to consider signing him? >> our diane roberts joins us live from the sports center with the likelihood of rice getting onto a new roster. >> who knew there was something that could knock robert griffin, iii's benching off the radar, but, in fact, something happened today when ray rice won his appeal of the indefinite suspension. he's been reinstated to the nfl. now whether he signs with another team might not have anything to do with the domestic violence case. however, the problem is that rice had not been performing well prior to his suspension. the three time pro bowl are had been one of the most productive running backs in the league prior to 2013. he struggled in 2013 the last season that he played. assuming that he stayed in shape, that he's ready to play and that teams feel he can bounce back from those struggles, he could land on a team that needs a running back and is in contention for post season play. could be the broncos. they have two running

debra alfarone is live in beltsville with how it all went down. >> reporter: police say the baby was never in danger and was never abandoned. the thing is the mom basically said that she felt overwhelmed and she lied saying she found that baby in her backyard. >> i stepped on my back porch to see what it was and i saw a baby laying in the grass. >> reporter: wusa9 interviewed this woman wednesday night who said she found the baby abandoned in her backyard. >> after i got her and cleaned her up first thing was call the police. >> reporter: police say the woman who called 911 is actually the baby's mother. she told police that she became overwhelmed and didn't know what to do. police say she is now getting the help she needs and will not face charge at this time. >> in maryland there's a safe haven law where essentially any parent

. >> i'm debra alfarone in northwest d.c. where eight new automated cameras are going into effect. >> we'll talk about just how cool it's going to be to start on election day and how warm it will be. also looking ahead to another cold front on thursday. >> good evening, i'm jan jeffcoat. >> and i'm derek mcginty. nobody is in custody for the death of a one month old baby in southeast d.c. >> the medical examiner says a boy died from an apparent beating. it happened in trenton place. bruce johnson reveals some of the details not given in a public report and we want to warn you they are disturbing. >> it's horrible. it's terrible. it's heartbreaking. >> give him life. even people afraid to give their names or show their faces wanted to weigh in on the slain. that took place last wednesday morning inside 1769 trenton place in southeast. >> it was crazy. i mean, why would somebody do that to a child? >> it was after 11:00 in the morning on october 29, that a 7th district police officer and paramedics responded to a report that on

i'm debra alfarone asking people, how about that weather? >> we're not going to track showers anymore. no, we're going to track strong winds. tomorrow, we'll talk about what that means for the windchill and how long it will stay cold. >> the rain moved out. the bitter cold air moving in. good evening, i'm jan jeffcoat. >> today's rain could turn into ice overnight. >> let's check in with our chief meteorologist who says it's beginning to look a lot like january. >> dealing with intensely cold temperatures. >> it really is. if it were january, we would be saying it is cold air, let alone november standards. thankfully it's dropping slowly. the roads will have time to evaporate before they become frozen. we are okay in terms of black ice. temperatures, well above freezing. 51 downtown. mainly in the 40s. 46 in college park. and 45 in rockville. several hours before we have to worry about frozen temperatures. by 9:00, it's above freezing on the future cast. 39 manassas. 37 in leesburg. and gaithersburg and 42 downtown. even by 10:00, want to wa

debra alfarone, wusa9. >>> it is a part of their push, fighting for exams to be done at the hospital with the emergency rooms so no victim would ever be turned away. >> seeing the results of last winter's cold snap. >>> and right after the break, why this crowd of protesters have gotten mad at >>> yeah, the crowd in massachusetts would begin protesting with the proposed ban on tobacco sales last night. they had to be escorted out by police. if it passes, it would be the first of its kind in the nation according to the american lung association. >> to me it is a little town. >> you went up there early. no one is expecting the ground rules. >> reporter: it's not going to affect people smoking. >> reporter: shop owners from the woman you heard from relies heavily on tobacco sales. it's been a close call as his plane lost a hat as it was coming in for a landing yesterday in berlin. now apparently he was never, bono excuse me was apparently never in any danger. the plane did land safely and he's in berlin for today's bambie media award. >>> a little media fun. he responded to a tweet from

. >> let's get to debra alfaron who has the latest from the headquarters there, mark warner. debra. >> no one thought it was going to be this close. so close, in fact, that maybe an election -- maybe they would have to have a recount, perhaps. that is certainly something not off the table at this point. we have heard that senator mark warner is going to come out at any moment and going to speak. what he's going to say, we really don't know at this point. but let's go over to jim osmond who's at gillespie's headquarters. >> reporter: things are breaking now. we're hearing from speakers and told that gillespie was supposed to be out here five minutes ago. that's kind of typically of politicians, five minutes is 10 minutes. we don't know what he'll say tonight with the race so close and the potential for a recount. and i'm sure ed gillespie is probably as shocked as the rest of the political world is tonight. remember, folks, one of the polls only had him seven points behind, but that was the best poll for gillespie. the rest of the polls had him behind 27 points. we will get ba

. >> here is wusa9's debra alfarone to tell us how fired up people got. >> this gets graphic if your kids are nearby. the exchange occurred right after tarshish explained in 1969 when she was 19 years old, she told cosby she had an std to fend him off from having sex with her and then she said the mega star forced her to have oral sex. >> there are ways not to perform oral sex if you don't want to do. >> i was kind of stoned at the time and quite honestly that didn't even enter my mind. now i wish it would have. >> right. meaning the using of the teeth? >> while cosby accuser didn't miss a beat in the interview, the anchor is taking a beating today for suggesting the once a spiring actress could have done more to defend -- aspiring actress could have done more to defend herself. to be clear the story is not about bill cosby's guilt or innocence. it's about shining a light on how alleged sexual assault victims are treated and the obstacles to fighting back and reporting it. we played the video for former d.c. rape crisis center director and current psychotherapist marlene marshall. >>

i'm debra alfarone with how you feel about the upcoming chill. >>> a witness describes the fatal shooting after 19-year- old in woodbridge as a gun battle that erupted over what you might call a bit of a family feud. good evening. i'm derek mcginty. >>> i'm lesli foster. christopher nathaniel weaver also called woody was killed. the witness tells peggy fox who pulled his gun first. >> reporter: we talked to a teenager who says he was one of several people who witnessed this fatal shooting. he said he saw four guns and that the person who drew his gun first was the person who was killed. this teenager who we are not identifying witnessed the fatal shooting of his friend's big brother 16-year-old chris weaver [ inaudible ] >> reporter: it happened just after midnight early sunday morning at weaver's home on keating drive which is shared by