captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live and in hd, this is abc 7 news "washington weekly." >> we began with the secret service scandal. >> we now know it was a high- ranking local woman at the agency who got wind of what was going on in colombia. she blew the whistle. she was there when the scandal broke and has been following every development. >> we are learning today fast action by the female secret service chief is being credited by helping to uncover and contain the scandal. she is described as a rising star who was recently promoted for the miami field office and

all of south america. she was -- she heard about a prostitute complaining she was not paid by one of the secret service agents. she quickly notified washington and rounded up the 11 agents involved. they were then sent home a day before the president arrived. today, american officials are asking if the culture needs to be reexamined. >> i can help but wonder if there have been -- if there had been more women as part of the detail, at this would have happened. >> there are plenty of women in the the ranks. she was once the number 2 highest-ranking official and a secret service. >> in my experience, it has not been condoned. when an issue comes to their attention, they react swiftly and decisively.

>> we may learn more this week about the fate of the five remaining agents under investigation. one agent is planning to fight back. congress is getting closer to a formal investigation. >> joining us now to talk about the secret service and scandals that have rocked washington is abbie phillips. this has not been good for president obama. >> every scandal is another thing that is distracting from what the president wants to say to the american people about his reelection efforts. the secret service scandal has been really drawn out. it seems like it will only continue. part of the problem with the scandal is that we do not know where things are going to end up. we do not know how bad is going to get. we have had a handful of officials resigned. many are still calling for the

head of the agency to step down. luckily, for the president there are some republicans who are coming to his aid. this is not exactly his fault but there are others out there who are looking at this as an opportunity to put a magnifying glass on leadership at the federal level. >> what do you think the president can do to deflect the criticism? >> one of the key things is going to be getting a different story in the headlines bridge between the secret service and the problems at the gsa the white house has had a lot of unpleasant stories coming out of the federal government. it will take quite a bit to get another story to push some of this out of the way. hopefully, that story will not be a scandal. the problem was handled again is that they stick in the

headlines. -- the problem with a scandal again, is that the stick in the headlines. >> let's talk about the vice president's nomination. marco rubio is dodging speculation that he could be a candidate. >> canal is the time for mitt romney to be looking closely -- now is the time for mitt romney to be looking at some of these options for a running mate. you have some people out there like marco rubio, mitch daniels, they were out in public talking to the media. they were asked about whether or not they would accept a vice presidential -- tradition is to say he would not accept. right now there is a very critical period. marco rubio is out front as being a leader on immigration issues. that may or may not help mitt

romney. >> ok, sounds good. thank you. >> virginia state police have arrested more than three dozen people for voter fraud. investigation stems from 400 complaints. 26 of the cases have resulted in arrests and remain under investigation. the city with the most fraud cases -- >> president obama will speak tomorrow at the holocaust museum. he will also discuss how the u.s. is developing a strategy to prevent and respond to mass killings. >> this past week marks one year since floodwaters -- since then, it has been an uphill battle to get back in business. >> it was a year ago that flood

walls were left open at washington harbour allowing the rise in potomac river to flood the high-end plaza. 12 feet of water rushed into the area, shutting down half a dozen restaurants. >> the will had elevated sitting up there. >> the rebuilding process is finally in full swing. it has been a long and costly year of waiting to get back in business. >> data the operations will never recover. -- day to day operations, we will never recover. if we open by december, we will minimize the overall losses. >> these two restaurants hope to open for memorial day. a $20 million renovation is taking place in the plaza which will include a fountain.

during the winter months, it will be an ice skating rink. people are eager to see this popular destination and vibrant again. >> i hope they get back open as quickly as possible. there is no one down here. hopefully, it will be revitalized and folks will come back out again. >> much more ahead on "washington weekly." >> the health of the chesapeake gets a shockingly low grade. >> can you believe we are talking about a winter storm warning for western

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>> tomorrow, opening statements are expected to begin in john edwards. >> he pleaded not guilty to six criminal counts. >> good morning, how are you? >> at the case is sure to be one of the most scandalous political trials in years. on the witness list, the candidate mistress, the mother of edwards' four-year-old daughter. also set to testify the oldest

daughter. she has been standing by your father since he was arrested. prosecutors said the case is simple. edwards was so determined to hide his relationship with hunter, and so intent on keeping his presidential campaign going even after hunter got pregnant he's listed hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign cash to cover up the affair. it is a high-stakes criminal trial that could send and birds to prison for up to 30 years. -- edwards to prison for up to 30 years. >> i did not violate campaign laws. i never believed i was violating campaign laws. >> he never touched the money, his lawyers say and they will argue he was trying to fight the affair from his wife, not the voters. the prosecution's key witness

andrew young. he said edwards was in on the plan every step of the way. >> he knew about the money, he knew about the methodology. >> edwards lawyer says that he has a vendetta against his former boss. >> they will go after his credibility. and how effective the defense is in cross-examination could make or break the case. >> also in court tomorrow, opening statements in the case of the estranged husband of jennifer hudson sister. he is charged with first-degree murder in the october 2008 slayings of hudson's mother, brother, and nephew. " friday marks the difficult anniversary for the people of tuscaloosa, alabama. a tornado devastated the town.

at these 47 people were killed. the twister was part of the storm system that spawned more than 350th tornadoes over a two- day period. >> its is earth day. see south some of your neighbors braved the bad weather to pay tribute to the planet. >> we have a look

what's the rainy weather did not dampen the spirits of folks celebrating a birthday today. >> musical groups entertained the crowd. people also heard speeches from the reverend jesse jackson. earth day was founded in 1970 to embrace the environmental movement. they have those umbrellas out for good reason. >> of buffalo, new york, is preparing for the spring snow. the city is bringing out the snowplows. heavy snow could last until tuesday. up to 9 inches of snow is expected for western new york and parts of western pennsylvania. >> those are some snowplows. wow. we have some changes on the way. a rain event for the district and surrounding counties. farther off to the west, allegheny county, western pennsylvania, that is going to look like a winter wonderland. for the day on monday into

tuesday morning. you can see the clouds quickly moving. when gusts around 30 miles per hour. -- wind gusts around 30 miles per hour. those are sustained winds at 20 miles per hour. an inch of rain in arlington. george washington university, downtown d.c., at 46 degrees. the wind will start to pick up as we move through the overnight hours. temperatures in the lower 40's. winchester, 41. fredericksburg 48. look at the colder air getting pulled in from this area of low pressure. that is what is going to feed the cold air and moisture. western maryland, western pennsylvania all this moisture

moving inland. already beginning to switch over to snow. this note eventually will make its way to allegheny county. the heaviest snow will be at the higher elevations. that is in effect until tuesday morning. 8:00 the areas shaded in pink macy allport's of four to 8 inches of snow. this -- may see upwards of 4 to 8 inches of snow. look at the heavier amounts. they may be looking at more than a foot of snow. heavy, wet snow for the day tomorrow. 50 degrees for a daytime high. and then the temperatures will slowly rebound.

60's by mid-week. 38 to 45 degrees tonight. waking up tomorrow morning, it is going to be windy, 45 to 50 degrees. extended outlook. back into the 60's on wednesday. thursday lower 60's for the upcoming weekend. in a good deal of sunshine if you were unable to mow your lawn. you will have plenty of time later in the the week. >> all right. it seems like the worst is over with. >> before the rain. >> thank you. next a setback for the task -- chesapeake bay is recovery.

>> some not so good grades tonight for the condition of the chesapeake bay. >> it is the worst rate since 2003. mother nature is to blame for the bad report card. >> like a lot of people who grew up around the chesapeake, she can tell you that it has changed, and not for the better. >> it is not as a clean as it was when i was growing up.

the water is not as clear. >> the university of maryland's center for environmental science has now given the bay a d + for 2011. it is the second lowest score ever. think back to last september. remember the historic trains? all of that water ran straight to the bay with everything it picked up on land. this marine biologist -- >> heavy rains from tropical storm lee. >> she is caught -- cautiously encouraged by our dry spring. a dry summer could also be bad for the ecosystem. the meeting of the adult is obvious. >> i think we can do better. predict the meaning of it all is

obvious. >> i think we can do better. >> a decrease in the number of dead zones. some large grass beds did survive. experts say this points out the lot of work needs to be done to save the chesapeake. >>