brad: brad bell, abc 7 news. kimberly: a state department official accused of soliciting a minor is free on bond. a fairfax county judge released daniel rosen friday, even though prosecutors argued he was a flight risk. investigators say that he exchanged explosive -- explicit online messages with a detective that he thought was a minor. the trials of its use child molester and local democratic party executive gardner will not proceed. he lost his legal representation earlier in the week full stop he is on trial for allegedly mustering a young female relative and two other famous. prosecutors said friday in court that he had made statements in jail raising concerns about his mental status. first, all hands on deck. when people in dce can expect to be trash free. eileen: ice may not be your only problem monday morning. the forecast coming up. kimberly: here is the news that you need to know in the week ahead --dzhokhar tsarnaev's trial will start this week in boston. he is accused of setting off two bombs at the b

brad bell reporting. leon: thank you, brad. today, the u.s. pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 28% in the next five years is part of a treaty expected to be finalized by december stemming from a climate conference in beijing last year. the white house says the plan will involve new fuel economy standards and energy efficiency measures for appliances and for billings. the news comes in the midst of extreme temperatures in an arc ti ka. yesterday's high temperature there, all time record high of 63 degrees antarctica. as our temperatures get warmer here cherry blossoms will start popping out along the tidal basin. metro says it will suspend track work so folks can get out there and see the flowers. national park service expects them to hit bloom 2 1/2 weeks from today. alison: almost there. weather is shaping up to be pretty nice. doug: used to be two steps forward and two steps back. now we're going three steps forward and one step back. we're getting there. rooftop camera in arlington on a tuesday, final day of march. and with tem

brad: brad bell abc 7 news. kimberly: local leaders are vowing to and homelessness across the nation. d.c. mayor muriel bowser, ike leggett, and baker signed a proclamation to that effect. mayor bowser talked about her pledge to close the shelter at d.c. general hospital and open 8 others across the city. mayor bowser: the idea is to have emergency shelter to house between 20 and 50. kimberly: we will keep you posted as we get more specific information on the plans for those shelters. spring is here, which means more people will be on streets and sidewalks. that is prompting a push to keep them safe. brianne carter shows us the spots getting the most attention. brianne: crossing the street is not only difficult but can be dangerous in the district. >> definitely a problem. brianne: watch during the lunch hour, cars in the crosswalk as pedestrians, who have the right away bash the right of way, try to get around. >> you take your life into your own hands for stop you try to make it safer, but you have somebody ru

maryland bureau chief brad bell is live near the scene with how this played out. brad? brad: the n.s.a. is such a secure place. we're not even allowed to point our cameras towards any of their buildings and we've been told we have to point at these trees but that gate is 1/4 mile on the other side of those woods and these guys in the stolen car, it was the wrong place to be. for the suspects in this incident it was the worst of wrong turns. the two men dressed as women, and riding in a stolen car mistakenly pull up to a guarded entry gate for one of the most secure facilities in the world. when they alleged lyly hear the officer's commands to turn around barricades pop up. in an effort to escape, they ram a police car and officers open fire. one suspect is killed on the spot. the other is seriously injured. the officer in the rammed cruiser also hurt. now, we know more about why the men may have panicked at the sight of police. the owner of the stolen car, 60-year-old baltimore tells our sister station that he met the men who are cross dressers as they walked a street i

brad bell, abc 7 news. >> d.c.'s crime lab is under scrutiny after some d.n.a. results were found to contain errors. prosecutors have been sending d.n.a. evidence to outside labs since january 12th while a review is conducted. the u.s. attorney's office insist there are no signs any errors led to convictions. still ahead on abc 7 news at 6:00, the accusations against the u.s. senator who may be facing federal corruption charges. plus, why a former federal prosecutor is drawing parallels between hillary clinton and richard nixon. and next, the status of the u.s. ambassador to south korea after a b >> new development tonight in a lawsuit over the 2013 government shutdown. the suit was filed on behalf of workers deemed essential who worked with no assurance of being paid. on monday workers will% receive a notice advising them they are welcome to join the case. the lawsuit claims the federal government violated the law by failing to pay essential workers during the shutdown. questions tonight over how security was handled for the u.s. ambassador seriously hurt in an

in baltimore, brad bell, abc 7 news. >> thank you, brad. among the senator mikulski's very unique accomplishments, she is credited with breaking the so-called wardrobe barrier fighting for women to be allowed to wear pantsuits on the senate floor. she also helped establish what's known as the women's club in congress. it includes a mentor program and regular bipartisan dinners. d.c. mayor muriel bowser has nominated gregory dean to be the district's next fire chief. dean spent 44 years with the seattle fire department. the past 10 as chief. dean will start on may 4th if the d.c. council approves his appointment. it comes after years of criticism of the department ranging from poor vehicle maintenance to slow response time. one year after the disappearance of relicia rudd a renewed search for the girl is under way. this evening volunteers are handing out flyers at the corner of new york avenue and bladensburg road in northeast. that's near the hotel where rudd was last seen. despite the passing of time volunteers aren't giving up hope the li

maryland's bureau chief brad bell shows us how bad the problem is and what's being done to fix it. >> today it's not snow or ice or even an overturned tanker truck. the enemy of all commuters today, tires flattening potholes. >> i heard a bam or something. >> trina miller among nearly a dozen victims of a two lane wide chasm on route 50 near bowie. she called her husband for help. >> right there. and then it's two more further down. this is ridiculous. >> we're out here on the beltway with the mobile filling pothole crew. take a look at this crater. six inches deep. that's what's killing cars. the spokesman for the state highway administration says there's a simple explanation. >> it's science. >> as enduring the cold snap water works its way into cracks in the pavement. >> freezes and expands upward on the pavement while vehicles travel and press down on the pavement. that sort of weakens the pavement a little bit. >> and then warm weather and rains bring more expansion and contraction and this is the result. and for now, crews like this are the solution filling potholes a shovel ful

brad bell, abc 7 news. back to you. >> our team coverage continues rig now with diane cho also live near the scene. what are you seeing, diane? >> well, as you can imagine, it is causing major backups out here in this area near the scene. we are under the overpass here where the traffic is moving on to the ramps right now. you can see the tractor-trailer coming in our direction at the moment. they're going both directions of 200 in the southbound direction of 95 at the moment. we got into traffic going northbound on 95 earlier trying to get to scene and the lanes were blocked going northbound about half mile away from route 212, and emergency crews were rerouting traffic at that point on to the service road which is still open at the time. but all lanes of 95 northbound and southbound at route 198 are closed. southbound traffic is being diverted to route 198 and is backed up we're told about eight miles. and northbound traffic is being diverted to maryland 212 so if you can, you'll want to avoid this area a

brad bell has more on the speech and reaction oochlt. >> the israeli prime minister's speech had all the trappings of a presidential state of the union address. he used the vast majority of his time, as promised to blast a proposed u.s. nuclear bill with iran. >> it doesn't block iran's path to the bomb. it paves iran's path to the bomb. so why would anyone make this deal? >> the fact that the prime minister faces an election in two weeks are among the reasons that president obama blasted the congressional invitation for netanyahu to speak to congress. a number of democrats promised to boycott but the chamber was packed to standing room only. netanyahu frequently pausing for applause applause. >> stop threatening to annihilate my country, israel the one and only jewish state! >> a university of maryland study released today claims a majority of americans side with president obama on netanyahu's speech. 51% saying a speech without diplomatic invite is inappropriate and that 61% favor that nuclear deal with iran. one place where there was no controversy over netanyahu's speech here at

brad bell abc 7 news. >> moving on to the other big announcement today from the d.c. department of fire and e.m.s. that has a new leader. mike conneen has more on the change in leadership. >> calling it a fresh start for the d.c. mayor and e.m.s. department muriel bowser announced her selection as next fire chief. dean is 64 years old and spent 10 years as a chief in seattle, washington. he retired this winter after four decades with that department. after a couple of months, he said today, he decided he liked being busy and he wanted to get back to work. the two departments are similar in their structure, both provide fire and emergency medical responses. now, every department dean said today has challenges and he'll face several here in d.c. with accusations and allegations of staffing shortages, mismanaged malfunctioning equipment, delays in patient care notably death of the 77-year-old cecil mills who collapsed from a heart attack outside of a d.c. fire station and later died when firefighters didn't come to his aid despite pleas for help from bystanders. dean sai

in maryland brad bell, abc 7 news. alison: brad looked pretty comfortable snuggling up with that bear. now. leon: in a few years, the whole bear's paw will be that big. alison: warm tomorrow? doug: a little taste of spring. for one day, we'll take it for sure. let's get started with our coverage. let's look at current conditions. gray and damp out there. 54 degrees at reagan national airport. actually only four to five degrees below average for this time of year. making progress there. sotherly wind at 8. at the moment we have a couple of moments of light wind and showers moving across the potomac river into areas of southwestern and prince george's county. from mount vernon eastward and moving through brandywine crossing potomac into calvert county. a few more. that should be that. tomorrow morning, few more showers as the leading edge of the warm air arrives. with the cold air we've had and cold ground and warmer air coming, fog is a possibility through the overnight and early morning hours as well. as far as numbers

an audit -- an audit shows -- brad bell has a closer look at what went wrong. brad: remember the jingle? the 2013 commercial for the maryland health exchange, the promise of an easy online sign up for health coverage. the reality was far different. most got nothing but frustration. the website governor martin o'malley hoped would be a cornerstone of his legacy had to be scrapped. republics and that republican congress andy harris -- that hhs audit is now complete and found that maryland miss allocated $28.4 million in taxpayer money. >> it looks like the state was incompetent in handling the federal payments or they misled the federal government. brad: caroline's executive director of the maryland health exchange. she points out the audit found no evidence of crime or fraud. >> we chewed down too much from one pot and not enough for another. brad: the website is up and running. you can navigate around it quite easily. the open enrollment period for 2015 has ended. 300,000 people have now used website to successfully sign up for health insurance. brad bell, abc

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i'm brad bell. coming up, how an $8 million mockup of the white house may better protect the president. leon: strong words out of an ohio courtroom today. cornell is accused of plotting to blow up the u.s. capitol building. prosecutors tried to block his phone usage saying he's a self-proclaimed supporter of isil and easy phone access poses a security risk. detectives call the motion overbroad and hypothetical. alison: the u.s. secret service has a plan for land $8 million and a fake white house. maryland bureau chief brad bell explains. brad: first, omar gonzalez jumps the fence. he's caught on camera but not by the secret service. early march, after leaving a party, two secret service agents in an agency car bump a barrier at a crime scene. >> going to take time to change maybe some of this culture. brad: that appraisal today from the new secret service director joseph clancy brought before a house committee to explain how he plans to better ensure the safety of the president. >> i have been away

in baltimore, brad bell, abc 7 news. kellye: while the early talks focused on martin o'malley, he said he will not run. instead, congressman chris became the first to say he will run for mikulski's senate seat in 2016. that set off a chain reaction, clearing the way for former abc 7 anchor kathleen matthews to run for congress. she said she will run for the congressional seat currently held by van hollen. she will run as a democrat. ahead, the national park service has announced when the cherry blossoms should reach peak bloom. find out if it is earlier or later than usual. kellye: february's wintry weather turned back to peak bloom forecast for the cherry blossoms. the park services they will hit peak bloom april 14, the last weekend of the cherry blossom festival. in the last five years, the initial prediction was right twice, including last year. so we will see. eileen: looking forward to it. when we talk about cherry blossoms, you know the spring is right around the corner. i cannot wait for tomorrow's weather becaus

brad bell, abc 7 news. kimberly: 7 on your side with a consumer alert -- bmw recalling 49,000 motorcycles in the u.s. and canada, covering multiple models, most from 2005 through 2011. bolts in the rear wheel can crack if they are too tight, causing the wheel to become disconnected from the bike. the recall will begin april 21 and dealers will fix the problem at no cost to wonder. a test of a new way to take a tour without leaving your house. this robot is being used at the seattle art museum to give virtual tours to people who cannot get there. this man is bedridden after a stroke, but the robot is giving him an experience he would ever otherwise not have been able to have. >> it has given me part of my life back. kimberly: the owner controls robot with keys on his laptop. a cost about $15,000 each and can run eight hours on a charge. you're being tested across the country, including at the smithsonian national museum that they are being tested across the country, including a decent sony and national museu

in millersville, at anne arundel police headquarters, brad bell abc 7 news. >> brad, police are also investigating two overnight shootings in northwest d.c. one involving a police officer. police say a man was shot around 11:30 last night at new jersey avenue and n street. now, just a short time later a d.c. police officer shot and wounded a man about a block away at kirby and n street. police say that man may, in fact, be the suspect from the first shooting. >> the supreme court is hearing oral arguments to the latest challenge against president obama's health care overhaul. and this one focuses on a single section of the law governing the establishment of so-called health exchanges. the justices have to decide whether people in all states are eligible for federal tax subsidies to reduce the costs or if that limits the states that set up their own insurance exchanges. >> not just a provider but also i was a patient. halfway through medical school, i got diagnosed with oral cancer and after medical school i lost my health insurance for six months until obamacare went into effect. >>

prince george's county police headquarters, brad bell abc 7 news. alison: ok brad. abc 7 has documented the struggles that rape victims face in maryland. last may, the abc 7 i-team learned only 26 of maryland's 45 hospitals are able to perform a rape kit. in some cases we found victims had to drive themselves to a second hospital for a forensic exam. a law passed last year aims to address that issue. leon: turning to the weather. we are in the final week of winter but the question is whether or not the weather outside will act like it. chief meteorologist doug hill here now to give us a look at what's ahead for us. doug: it feels like spring in many parts of our viewing area. 65 outside in arlington. we're looking live at chesapeake beach which is not that far from washington. by bird flies, probably 25 miles east of town as most. 74 degrees right now and sunshine on the shores of the chesapeake bay because the winds are right off the bay reflecting the air temperature of the bay water. but you get farther west in the bay and the temperatures jump, 82 in culpepper n

brad bell has more on today's hearing. brad? >> this was the center of activity in this string of shootings. the first shooting was right here on this roadway and now maryland live casino that's over there has been found to be riddled with bullet holes and mr. young was arrested at the cost costco just over that way. tonight, he remains behind bars in large part because of what was found if his home. when police entered the home where he lives with his parents last week, they found 10 weapons including this semiautomatic pistol which fires high powered .223 caliber rounds. he also had armor piercing ammunition for that weapon and authorities say that's not all. >> defendant had a backpack that had essentials on it that would help him leave the jurisdiction if necessary. >> in that bag, allegedly toilet paper, ammunition a flare gun and young's passport. anne arundel county state's attorney told a judge that evidence backs up his request for young to stay behind bars until his trial. >> he had access to firearms. >> >> the invest

maryland bureau chief brad bell is live with the plans to reduce that backlog. brad? brad: this has been a problem for years. what happens is a woman suffers a rape. she goes to police and then is sent to the hospital where a specially trained forensic nurse looks for d.n.a. evidence. the woman's body actually becomes a crime scene. when they find evidence it's put in something called a rape kit. now, the problem is that in many cases, across the country, those rape kits sit for years so that's why today, the vice president of the united states along with senator barbara mikulski toured the maryland state police crime lab in pikesville to see what is going on there in the way of work but also to announce that they have secured $41 million out of the federal budget that can be used by jurisdictions across the country to improve their faculty to test to eliminate that backlog. senator mikulski says it is vital. senator mikulski: various jurisdictions have more resources than others. that's what this grant is if you need to update yourself police training prosecutor awar

brad bell, abc 7 news. alison: that's it for abc 7 news at 5:00. right now at 6:00, how the secret service is dealing with its own mistakes amidst new threats on the white house. plus -- >> it's appalling! we have to overhaul this system! alison: more problems with slow ambulance response. this time it was a police officer hurt and left waiting for help. and -- an item found in many homes explodes without warning. the simple test you can do to protect your family. abc 7 news at 6:00 starts right now. leon: and we start with an intense focus on white house security tonight on two fronts. one, an intercepted letter that may have contained cyanide. the second, congress demanding answers not only on recent scandals within the secret service but the agency's response to the threat of drone technology. senior political reporter scott thuman is tracking all this for us. scott? scott: leon the secret service says they are testing that material to see if it is cyanide. it is the third test. first one negative. second one presumptive positive. they're still

in silver spring, brad bell, abc 7 news. leon: update now on a massive project between prince george's and montgomery county. tonight, the sanitary commission announced they have finished a bicounty tunnel, an 84 inch water main that costs $146 million and decades to complete. it's wssc's first new tunnel in 35 years. metro's deactivating light handrails at five silver line stations. this comes after safety incidents last week at the greensboro and tysons corner stations. they'll be put back in place when deemed safe. it will install temporary lighting on those stairs until that happens.on: coming up on abc 7 news, odds are you'll sit in traffic on the way to and from work but maybe both. find out how our region stacks up when it comes to commuting. reporter: a battle continues to brew in prince george's county. we'll tell you where and what's happening next. jeanette: a royal meet and greet. who got a chance to talk to the duchess of cornwall? we'll tell you coming up. leon: "7 on your side" to answer your questions about l

in maryland brad bell, abc 7 news. autria: and that's it for abc 7 news at 5:00. kimberly: abc 7 news at 6:00 starts right now with new information from that breaking news from new york. anchor: new video just in shows a building collapsing after it triggered what's being called a seven alarm fire. we have been following this first since it broke out about two hours ago. this was in manhattan's east village. now, within the past 20 minutes, fire investigators blame the explosion on a gas leak. abc 7 has learned at least a dozen people are hurt. four of them critically. cadaver dogs have been brought in to help in the search for victims. once it is safe enough for them to enter. we are also following new developments in that deadly plane crash in the french alps that authorities there say was intentional. but first we're tracking possible storms heading into this area. and for the latest on that we'll go to chief meteorologist doug hill who is on storm watch. doug? doug: all right, thanks, scott. and they're definitely starting to pop up and no surprise, very warm

in baltimore, brad bell, abc 7 news. >> ok. thank you, brad. b-52 flyover took place at arlington's air force memorial to honor the first airman taken prisoner during the vietnam war. >> it was 50 years ago today that major hayden lockhart was taken captive in 1965. he was held until 1973. he was later awarded the distinguished flying cross for legion of merit and silver star for his bravery. the 76-year-old was unable to attend today's ceremony but he is in our thoughts today. coming up on abc 7 news at 4:00 we'll explain how the cold weather is setting a record as far as water main breaks around the area. >> the department of justice prepares to release its findings after an investigation into the ferguson police department. a look at what the report is expected to include. >> big announcements for the d.c. fire department and some optimism about big problems finally being solved. i'm stephen tschida. i'll have that story ftt2w>rxl] ú:o j# 9:, tt2w>rxl] ú:!!án i:d tt2w>rxl] ú:4!j# ?,0 tt2w>rxl] ú:x#á&ú:8"d tt2w>rxl] ú:t#j'ú:," tt2w>r

maryland bureau chief brad bell live in hanover with more. brad? >> well alison you know there were shootings in prince george's county howard county. but here around arundel mills mall. the first shooting was right here on arundel mills boulevard. bullet holes have been found in casino over there and hong young was arrested near the costco right over here. today, mr. young sits behind bars and he is going to stay there following a hearing in anne arundel county district court today. much discussion about the weaponry that was found in mr. young's home. 10 guns, a crossbow and a lot of ammunition as well as what's being described as a backpack that had his passport some ammunition and a roll of toilet paper is he was prepared to flee the area. the judge said that's the reason to keep the man locked up. >> multiple firearms that he possessed would present a danger to the community especially given the allegations in this case. with multiple random acts of shootings. >> now, another thing that was discussed today was mr. young's mental health. we kno

near laurel brad bell, abc 7 news. >> thank you, brad. crews are also cleaning up a haz-mat spill in manassas. petroleum was found this morning in a tributary of lake linden near copper mine road. environment officials say the leak causes no threat to the public and an investigation is under way into the source of the spill. route 1 is open in college park after a water main break snarled this morning's rush. it put out service to two dozen customers. all lanes reopened at 3:00 this afternoon. the big challenge for drivers tonight is wet roads. the rain moved in just before lunchtime and it's been constant ever since. chief meteorologist doug hill joins us with how much longer the rain will last. >> i think we're going to have periods of rain straight through the night, the overnight and through mid morning tomorrow and to complicate things now we have fog forming, some of it dense. let's go to a graphic and show you the dense fog advisory that's in effect until 10:00 tomorrow morning for southern maryland stafford king george spotsylvani

in green belt, brad bell, abc 7 news. >> all right, thanks, brad. most of the counties and towns in our area will let you report potholes by dialing 311 or filling out a form on line. you can call the virginia department of transportation at 1-800-4-road to find out if it's local or state roads. in maryland the state highway administration there has a form on its website for pothole lz and in d.c., fill out a form on the website or call 311. >> we had a damp start but today turned out to be pretty members an. chief meteorologist doug hill with the forecast. hi, doug. >> waiting all day for the skies to clear behind the rain this morning. let's give you a look at the belfort furniture weather center. skies look brighter than they have all day here. still a lot of clouds. the farther north and west you are, you're seeing sunshine right now. slow movement behind an area of low pressure that caused the rain lingering over southern maryland right now. farther north and west you are from the city, the more sunshine. temperatures have responded. 65 in hage

maryland bureau chief brad bell is live in palmer park with more on today's arrest. >> well, maureen, a man is undergoing questioning right now in police headquarters right here behind me. he is so far charged in one crime. considered a suspect in the second and a person of interest in two more. and there's a very real sense of relief here the police likely got potential serial rape suspects off the streets. police developed 48-year-old william diggs as a suspect just last night. they spent tonight and today hunting for them and finally at 2:30 this afternoon, they made the arrest. >> this individual, obviously, preyed on young women. the ages of the victims were between 16 and 23 years old. >> diggs is charged in connection with the rape that took place just two days ago along this stretch of 38th avenue in the cottage city brentwood area. it is alleged that he grabbed a woman, held a knife at her throat, pulled her into a ravine and committed the assault. just steps from this man's business. >> i'm really shocked that such a thing would happen here. >> this map shows the locations o

brad bell abc 7 news. >> brad, see you then. d.c. leaders are honoring the late mayor and councilman marion barry on what would have been his 79th birthday. a mural of barry was unveiled this morning at 2235 shannon place southeast. mayor muriel bowser formed a commission that will work on ideas and proposals to recognize barry. tonight at 5:30 79 balloons will be released at barry's grave site in congressional cemetery. our d.c. bureau chief sam ford will have more on that coming up at 5:00. >> maryland's house of delegates gave the green light to the bill to raise the speed limit from 65 to 70 miles an hour on state highways. the senate approved a similar bill last month. the two chambers have to pass the same bill to send it on to the governor for his signature. >> starting this spring it will cost more to join the region's bike sharing membership. they are raised their fee from $75 to $85. the first time they havex 8 raised fares since the 2010 launch. the price changes will impact casual access and members who pay on monthly ins

alison: brad bell did something today that few others have a chance to do. he held a two-month-old black bear cub. maryland department of wildlife resources were there checking on the mother. while they were there, they weighed and tagged the cub. the black bear population is growing and they are showing up in more populated areas as well. looks very comfortable. leon: exactly. wait until mom wakes up. alison: big trouble. steve: the snow on the ground over there, they had a little bit. for us, nothing like that. tomorrow will be great, daytime highs in the lower 70's. one more time, lower 70's, because i only get to say it one day, then it goes downhill from there. outside right now, mostly cloudy, the cloud stick around. we may have patchy fog later tonight into the early morning hours. the temperatures will pretty much hold steady. right now we are at 50 degrees at reagan national, the wind out of the south at five to 10 miles per hour. the wind will increase especially heading into the daytime hours tomorrow. 54 was the high earlier today, five degrees b

maryland bureau chief brad bell is live near the scene with how this played out. brad? brad: the n.s.a. is such a secure place. we're not even allowed to point our cameras towards any of their buildings and we've been told we have to point at these trees but that gate is 1/4 mile on the other side of those woods and these guys in the stolen car, it was the wrong place to be. for the suspects in this incident it was the worst of wrong turns. the two men dressed as women, and riding in a stolen car mistakenly pull up to a guarded entry gate for one of the most secure facilities in the world. when they alleged lyly hear the officer's commands to turn around barricades pop up. in an effort to escape, they ram a police car and officers open fire. one suspect is killed on the spot. the other is seriously injured. the officer in the rammed cruiser also hurt. now, we know more about why the men may have panicked at the sight of police.

maryland's bureau chief brad bell has the latest in the investigation. >> the shooting begins last week when someone in this blue lincoln towncar opens fire on another vehicle near the mall. 61-year-old victim grazed. monday morning, people hear shots at this laurel wal-mart. there's a bullet hole in the glass and the same car caught on camera. two hours later the bullet hole appears in a glass in a movie theater in columbia. >> terrifies me. like what does that need to be in columbia? >> again, police spot the vehicle on video and recovers the bullet. it matches the one from the other shooting. they realize a serial shooter is at work and they hope it's not another sniper case. >> didn't appear to be hiding. it didn't appear to be something like we saw 15 years ago when they were lying in wait. >> yesterday, more gunfire. this truck hit twice in the windshield while driving the i.c.c. and again two hours later, a building near the n.s.a. campus hit. >> could have hit somebody's mother or kids you know. >> police double up their patrols and within hours, two officers spot that lincoln a

in laurel brad bell abc 7 news. >> all right. thanks. >> and as you know this morning's accident really made trips around town a lot longer for many drivers who were stuck in that miles long backup. >> our diane cho spoke with some of the those drivers dealing with that. she continues our team coverage live from laurel. hi diane. >> good afternoon to both of you and drivers we talked to told us they were sitting in backups today anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour causing a lot of headaches for people who were trying to get around this mess. >> pretty bad. >> depending on who you ask -- >> going like five miles an hour maybe. and this happened and then i had to merge. so i had to be out of that. >> 95 south or north usually is a very you know very heavy. so this is it just a few stops. so that's really bad. >> which direction they were going on 95. >> wasn't really that bad. less than an hour. we just stayed on some people got off. we stayed on. >> drivers dealt with backups for miles going in this southbound direction after a

maryland bureau chief brad bell shows us how that young officer is being remembered. [bagpipes playing] >> most of the hundreds of police officers standing at attention never knew officer brennan rabain but they gathered at their funeral because of the brotherhood and the vulnerability they all feel and to let his family including his little daughter know that rabain won't be forgotten. >> his memory will illuminate our lives for years to come. >> prince george's county executive baker among the speakers at the packed ceremony at the victory christian ministries. less than a year into his police career rabain died when he lost control of his cruiser on ice early sunday morning. a female passenger survived the wreck which happened just as the off-duty officer flipped on his lights to slow down a speeder. >> one of his last statements was i have to stop this guy before he kills somebody. to the end, he was serving his community with no concern of his own safety. >> much is said of the 26-year-old's passion for policing. his grief stricken father shares this story. >> he

maryland bureau chief brad bell is live in laurel with a check on the weather there. hi brad. >> hey alison. you know just a little while ago, we got teased. the snow absolutely stopped. there was nothing falling down and now we're getting this light flurry. but nothing compared to what we've been seeing all day long. how much snow did we get? it's five inches. it started out as a heavy packing snow but turned into that fluffy snow. as for the road this is route 1 through laurel a little while ago, five minutes ago, about five plows came through here and they came with the plows down on the ground. they were moving slowly and they've gotten down to just wet pavement. a lot of people have been working really hard today. in the laurel center shopping center we met a father-son team hard at work. eddie in the big loader and his 12-year-old son tyler plowing on his little a.t.v. they've been busy since about noon and the snow got deep enough to plow. >> small snows but a lot of them. >> my job is to plow the sidewalks. >> are you good at it? >> yeah. >> what's the secret

brad bell goes along with the annual tagging of the bears. alison: tonight, french investigators are trying to get some of the audio from the cockpit voice recorder of that plane that crashed in the alps tuesday. as we learn there were two northern virginia women on board. leon: 150 people died when germanwings flight 9525 from barcelona to dusseldorf crashed into a mountain. they all hailed from at least 15 different countries. bulk of them 72 from germany. another 35 were spanish. four countries had three citizens on board including the u.s. kevin lewis live in prince william county tonight where yvonne and emily selke lived. kevin? kevin: well, leon and alison this international story has become very local. very real for residents along this wooded cul-de-sac. the long black top driveway behind me leads to the selke family home. tonight, there are a number of cars parked near the garage. loved ones grieving inside at this hour. yvonne selke worked at booz allen hamilton for the last 23 years. she was a government contractor assigned to the

our maryland bureau chief brad bell is following all the latest developments this noon. he is live right near that scene with the bizarre details and brad, we understand the men were dressed up as women. brad: that's what we're hearing at this point. to recap, we have one suspect dead. we have another suspect shot and wounded and we have an n.s.a. police officer injured. and we can show you the helicopter scene. it's the only way to see it because n.s.a. is such a secure facility. we can't show you on the ground. what we believe happened after 9:00 a.m. this morning, two men. we believe they were in fact dressed as women in a stolen s.u.v. rammed into an n.s.a. police officer at their gate, at their secure barricade. gunshots were fired by the police. one of the suspects killed. the other, as we said injured. that person being treat in the shock trauma center. one of the police officers also injured. we'll have much more on that coming up in a minute from suzanne kennedy. now, n.s.a. very secure facilities. this is essentially america's front line against terror. this is

our brad bell was the only reporter to talk to the suspect's mother and sister at their homes just hours agthe two were understandably very emotional to hear the news. >> >> and he's a very good brother! >> the suspect's sister tells abc 7 news that his wife recently left him and moved to california. we do expect to learn more in a press conference set to get under way in just one hour. we'll have a full report coming up on abc 7 news at 4:00. reporting in anne arundel county, jeanette reyes, abc 7 news. >> police are investigating several shootings overnight in northwest d.c. two shootings to be specific. a man was shot around 11:30 last night at new jersey avenue and n street and then a short time later, a d.c. police officer was shot and wounded a man about a block away at kirby and n street. police say that man may be the suspect from the first shooting. >> virginia state police say a small plane crashed killed three people. that plane was approaching the airport landing when it lost contact with the control tower earlier this morning. searchers discovered the wreckage in the norfolk

brad bell joins us from the event in san francisco. we have discovered most of what the watch can do for now, at least the basics. brad: actually, tim cook is on stage now talking to developers discussing in more detail about what the watch can do. there have not been many surprises so far. we know the watch runs siri. and we know we can send our heartbeats to each other. you can receive a phone call and talk to another watch. of course, it would be through your iphone in your back pocket and stop but we are definitely getting more news on the apple watch right now. the other news today is the redesigned macbook, 24% thinner. they also reduced the price of the apple tv from $99 to $69. and it also supports the hbo streaming service. map: none of the details about the watch yet have been surprising. i cannot imagine surprising at all. the macbook seems to have stolen the show. the thinness of the new macbook seems to be the big detail of the entire event. radical and so far, but there is still a little bit to go. we will get price point

maryland bureau chief brad bell has been there at the scene of the crash all afternoon. brad checks it now live. things look like they're moving outside finally, brad? >> they're moving a little bit, leon. it is still a mess out there. what's moving is all lanes northbound slowly and two lanes southbound creeping by what remains of the scene. right now, you can see that there is still some cleanup going on of that fuel oil but it is an improvement over what it was like earlier today. we can show you some video of this crash out here. tractor-trailer was southbound carrying biodiesel fuel. we're told that it has to swerve to avoid a collision that was happening in front of it. that made the truck go on its side. a little oil on the pavement. a golf ball sized hole appeared in one of the tanks on the truck. it was carrying 7500 gallons of as we said biodiesel. it is a compartmentalized tanker and one was ruptured. it spilled 700 gallons. those who had deal with it say better than gasoline. >> it's a biodiesel, ver

coming up at 6:00 tonight, maryland bureau chief brad bell looks at some of the people that could fill her seat. alison? >> the troubled d.c. fire department is getting a new chief. former head of seattle washington's department is taking the same job in washington, d.c. stephen tschida joins us with more on the new chief and the challenges he faces here. stephen? >> alison the mayor made her announcement at this fire station today. now, in selecting a new chief, she went outside the department outside the area all the way to the west coast. >> today, i'm pleased to announce that leader gregory dean, the next fire chief for the district of columbia. >> yes mayor muriel bowser touted her choice for fire chief as a man of accomplishment, action. she cited his 10 years leading seattle's department. >> i am pleased to be here and excited about the challenges and look forward to working with the men and women of this department. >> dean assumes the lead of a troubled department. last year cedric mills died feet from a fire station where emergency medical technicians failed to respond to his

brad bell is live at the school with the details of what happened here. brad? >> yeah alison what we're seeing now is a very orderly dismissal of the school. we believe the police car is here just to help with traffic. we can show you video of what it was like just one hour ago. it was actually declared a mass casualty scene as a precaution. you're looking at a white bus right now. that's a bus ambulance. on board that vehicle, 15 students seventh graders from the caesar chavez school for public policy here. what we are now being told by parents who have come out of the school and have a letter from the principal is that this morning, a student was going through items in the student's desk and accidentally touched off a slight discharge from what is being described as a miniature pepper spray tube. very slight discharge. we're told from this letter that the students were removed from that classroom and some experienced a little bit of trauma and difficulty breathing and that sort of thing and that ultimately, the fire department was called. we've only gotten th

i'm brad bell in annapolis. last night, police had a checkpoint set up here monitoring people leaving town. when a man ran through their barriers. there was a pursuit and this fiery crash. when we come back at 5:00 we'll have the full story including the exclusive video and you'll hear from the alison: a man is challenging officials after his social security number was given to himself. kimberly: now he wants a new number but the social security administration won't give him one. chris papst joins us with this story. chris: two people being issued the same social security number is so rare, the social security administration doesn't keep statistics on how often it happens. when it does happen it creates all sorts of problems. for 19 years, these two men shared a social security number. one is named kendrick williams jr., a native of d.c. the other is kendall williamson jr. of kilene texas. not only do they have very similar names, they also have the same birth date, march 21 1989. now, the error was first discov

brad bell was one of the first reporters on the scene and he's there live now with how this may have begun with a stolen car and a wrong turn. brad? brad: yeah wrong turn is right. you know, this began with an awful lot of violence. our first reports, was it a car that was ramming the gate at n.s.a. and police returned fire. the only vantage point from news chopper 7 and we want to get to that video. when you see that video, you'll see a police cruiser bashed up and you'll see another s.u.v. nearby and you'll see a white sheet on the ground. that's one of the suspects from the car. what we understand happened is this car approaches the gate to one of the most heavily guarded, most secure facilities in the world. officers tell the driver to turn around. but the driver does not obey those commands. barricades pop up and the driver tries to ram that police car. that is when officers opened fire. one of the suspects killed on the spot. the others seriously injured. one of the police officers injured in the car crash. and then this back story that you talked about. police looked at the su

leon: now we turn to a story that maryland bureau chief brad bell broke first on twitter. a grand jury has indicted the prince george's county police officer jencheski santiago with assault. santiago is accused of putting a gun to a man's head in bowie last year. the incident reportedly was caught on video but the prosecutor not releasing that imagery because the case is ongoing. in addition to assault charges, officer santiago is also looking at charges of using a gun in the commission of a violent crime and misconduct in office. a man is dead after a police chase ended with a crash in prince george's county and the man it turns out had nothing to do with that chase. this happened along branch avenue near the mailer road metro station in temple hills where tom roussey is live. we understand that police have just announced an arrest in this case. tom: they have. they caught this suspect late last night leon. they say he was going away from them here on branch avenue. he was coming towards us in the right lanes when he hit a car, according to police. then he hit the median

our maryland bureau chief brad bell is live in laurel with the latest conditions there. brad? brad: good morning, jummy. it changed over to all snow at about 7:30 this morning. we got my 75 inches of snow. it is a heavy, -- we got .75 inches of snow. it is a heavy, wet, sticky snow. as for the roadways, we are at the intersection of route 1 south and

chuck bell looking at what you'll face tonight and (brad) my friends, i give you... ...the apartminternet. the new apartments-dot-com is bigger. stronger. faster. and bigger. it's got so many more apartments than on, on that old internet. how do we do it? we're powerd by web five-point-o. what about web three-point-o and 4-point-o? we skipped them. 'cause they're not good enough. the new apartments-dot-com. change your apartment. change the world. >>> welcome back. someone used pepper spray on a metro train causing passengers to rush off the train. metro tells the "washington post" a passenger on the yellow line strain used the spray as they approached the shaw station. one rider says two groups appeared to be arguing when one person sprayed someone in the other group. some forms of pepper spray are legal in the district but it must be registered with the police department. >>> if you live in maryland a new report says more of you are opting out of public transit. public ridership dropped by 4.6% across the state in the last fiscal year. that includes marc and metro riders. the maryland t

we might have found worst episode of "jeopardy" ever. >> brad. >> what is sim maron? >> no. >> stephanie. >> what is giant. >> no. >> kristin? >> what is, sorry. >> nothing. no. and, bad news for brad and stephanie. this was not one of our greatest days. both of you figuring in the red. and, at the end of double jeopardy. that means you're not around to play in fine jeopardy. you all by yourself, cris. i think you will win the game. melissa: this is worst ever. only one in final jeopardy, got that wrong. he said this is not one of our finest days. like my kids really misbehave. i'm like we had a tough day at school, didn't we? i heard we didn't stand in line where we supposed to. >> that was worse than watching ackman cry about herbalife. >> alex gets big bucks. >> major failure. subprime mortgages. melissa: ackman really? we did "jeopardy" and whipped right back to bill ackman. >> because ackman cried once when he was talking about herbalife. melissa: i will cry myself. thanks, guys. >>> leaving money on the table, millions of americans are not getting the most out o