witchhunt. the chairman insists is not partisan and it is holy but the truth. -- wholey about the truth. >> not a single member sign up to investigate you wore your e-mail. we signed up to investigate and therefore honor the lives of four people we sent into a dangerous country to represent us. can todo everything we prevent it from happening again -- to others. >> i have lost more sleep than all of you put together. i have been racking my brain about what more could of been done or should have been done. as i'm sure my predecessors did after beirut and after nairobi and after all the other attacks on our facilities. i'm sure all of them, republican and democrat alike, especially where the was loss of american

life said ok, what must we do better? reporter: that one of the more somber and emotional moments from today's testimony. there was a lot of fireworks and very heated, intense exchanges. -- it ismagine the exacerbated by the fact they are talking to the former secretary of state but the leading democratic contender for the white house. all that focus on that testimony. a lot of people using this opportunity to get in some swipes. we will have some of those it changes coming up in just about an hour. jonathan: i'm curious. listening to some of the testimony, when we heard the video messages that set this attack off every now is -- that we now know was completely bogus. she knew it was not a real story immediately. we are finding that out and the testimony. that was a big take away. what are some others? reporter: she was pushed hard on that particular issue. she said her initial stance was

putting out possibilities and she did not ascribe all the blame to that. that is a new once we we're a lot more on. todayt, the testimony some predicted would be eight length, the one day they have with hillary clinton, i was told by a staffer that some numbers on the committee were asking for 15 to 18 hours. they want this to go deep into the night. we don't know how long it will go but everyone has a very long list of questions. they have their own what you might call evidence, or whatever has led into the thought process they are now on. they want to go at it with her or they want to defend her to the hilt. we will see how long it will go but either way it is a difficult process regardless of what side you are on. jonathan: i think a lot of people feel they just wish it was not such a partisan issue. reporter: that is getting lost in the process. jonathan: how about this? mixedcnn poll have

emotions about the motive of the investigation. 72% of those surveyed do believe the panel is using this investigation for political advantage. then you change a couple of words around in the survey. the committee is actually handling the investigation appropriately. it's who you ask and when you ask them. stay with abc 7 for continuing coverage on benghazi. we will have more on this new cast and throughout the evening and on our website, wjla.com and news channel 8. 2011 anfirst time since american serviceman was killed in combat in iraq. the american was killed during a mission to rescue 70 kurdish hostages. the pentagon is saying the hostages face "eminent mass execution." all 70 were free. the name of the american killed is not been released. alison: there is a new gop front-runner in iowa.

the quinnipiac university opinion poll released today shows ben carson push past donald trump. talked toy topped -- 600 participants and 28% said they support cars and. that compared to 20% who said he back trump. jonathan: the alexandria murder trial continues today calling friends of defendant charles severance to the stand. it seems a lot is hinging on what they see in a target surveillance video. jeff goldberg just that of the courtroom. he joins us now. if everybody on the same page with this testimony? reporter: it certainly seems that way. as we have heard from eight witnesses for the defense, family members and friends of charles severance who say they have seen that target video surveillance from 2003 and say it is not charles severance as the man in that video. we started getting a much more

personal perspective on the life of charles severance. >>'s or any, you would like to make? reporter: one after the other old friends referred to him as charlie and talked about his love of history, games, and science fiction. this man spent time was severance in cumberland in 2001 and 2002. he said he would do anything to help his friend, and saying that arguing with him was like beating your head against the wall. susan cole and morgan bogart also said severance was upset after losing custody of his son but never spoke of murder or violence. each of the witnesses were shown the surveillance video from inside the alexandria target from the moment -- morning of nancy dunning's murder. he said the man was definitely not charles severance as the prosecution claims. >> absolutely not charles severance. that way -- man is way more

stocky his face of features are different -- reporter: we also heard testimony from his ex-wife in the early 90's. she said she asked for a divorce after less than a year of marriage due to repeated strange and erratic behavior from severance, furthering the defense's argument that he struggled with mental illness for decades. this afternoon testimony from charles severance's brother, ben, who talked about his brother's mental illness in the emetic impact it had on the severance family. on the stand now is a clinical psychologist who is analyzed and writing the extensive of charles severance and what sort of impact or prospective they give on his mental state. i'm going back inside the courtroom to have an update for you at 5:00. live in fairfax, jeff goldberg, abc 7 news. jonathan: stay with abc 7 for updates on the murder trial. he is heading back into court right now.

you can follow along on twitter because he is live tweeting. we have breaking news right now out of southeast washington where there are reports of smoke inside the mechanical room at the anacostia metro station. we hear the trains are bypassing the station. no reports of any injuries. stay with abc 7. we will have updates on this story when they are available. jonathan: darrell best is a d.c. officer and he is due in court right now. he was also a pastor at the d.c. and accused of abusing two teenage girls. child porno charges followed and that is what today's hearing is expected to address. this in as we get an update, we will bring it to you here. alison: a family of five out of their home after a fire in gaithersburg. if road -- broke out along damascus road, causing part of the roof to collapse. it took about 75 firefighters to put it out. investigators say the fire

started in the garage and they are still looking into the cause. jonathan: there is a warning from vra service that he could stop at the end of the year. it boils down to a new safety measure called "positive train control." it must be installed on every train in real before december 31, no exceptions. right now it is. look like vre will make the deadline. they say there are finishing their work but norfolk southern, they operate portions of the lines, and they have not finished the systems. share a ride, save some money. that is behind uber's car service that launched today. uber pool with customers share a ride in the nice but the fair. according to a customer spokesperson, a pool ride will cost each dollars five dollars minimum. it extends from the district to alexandria, reagan, national, and dulles airports.

alison: a crime alert in washington. five robberies in a 30 minute span. look at the map and you will see four of the five were in southeast and the other one in northeast. police have not said if all were related. up to three suspects confronted a victim, showed a gun, took a phone in money. an 18-year-old girl was killed in a horrific crash. michelle hoya was hit on route 29 at new hampshire 29 and white oak. she was a montgomery college student. this is the third deadly wreck in 24 hours in our area. a 14-year-old boy hit by a car while riding his bike to class. that boy's father is speaking out, demanding answers from a runaway driver. kevin lewis is live in germantown. it is a dangerous time of year. we have the sun setting earlier each day. reporter: certainly. the less daylight there is, the more alert you have to be behind the wheel.

this crash happened after sunrise. in this case it was a high school freshman biking along this well marked crosswalk when a woman driving a minivan hit him. that woman then sped off, leaving the scene injured and in the middle of this busy intersection. police held a press conference where his bike was on display. his father is now on a mission to find the woman responsible. he has printed more than 50 flyers, pending them to large trees and placing them in the halls of seneca valley high school. the boy suffered a sprained ankle and a bruised chin. his injuries minimize because he was wearing a helmet. >> full gear. helmet. he was writing a helmet. he was embarrassed to use it. >> there are people out there that probably drove to the intersection at that point who have some bit of information.

they may not think it is much but it could really help. police say they are looking for an african-american woman in her 50's. she was wearing glasses and driving a minivan. great are in the area of seneca highway on the morning of tuesday, october 6 and saw anything unusual, give police a call. live in germantown this afternoon, kevin lewis, abc 7 news. jonathan: there is a new study that shows even when you are youowing hands-free laws, are still not paying enough attention to the road. coming up on abc 7 at 5:00, a look at the newer features and cars and for your phones it actually take your eyes off the road. alison: a terrifying cap right to the district. a man tells abc seven he was concerned the driver was drunk and pulled out his cell phone to get the whole thing on tape. stephen tschida has the story you will see only on seven.

reporter: yesterday afternoon, right here, a man hailed a cab. he says almost the moment after he closed the door he realized this was not going to be a typical cab ride. for the entire ride the cap tarver talked incoherently, slamming on the brakes and then accelerating. >> i didn't think he was intoxicated until we were speaking and we were already en route. >> whatever percentage -- reporter: he was so stunned to begin recording the driver. he went only a short distance. still he was anxious to get out. he says he has never experienced anything like it before. he says he is the next rate of determining intoxication. >> i've been doing security in bars for 24 years. i know it. his eyes were swimming, his words were slurring. reporter: a spokesperson asked us to for the video to him. he says once it is reviewed, the commission likely will launch a parliamentary investigation.

>> he was barely paying attention to the road. the was being too careful, going too slow, too fast. says he recorded the driver and is putting the video out there because he wants other potential passengers of this cab driver to know they could be getting a ride from a drunk driver. stephen tschida, abc 7 news. alison: still ahead on abc seven news at 4:00 we have the results for the big spelling the. -- spelling bee. jonathan: more trouble for volkswagen. taking matters into their own hands over the emissions test cheating scandal. the new internal investigation is for your. -- is up next for you. alison: julia, sesame street's newest character. who she may help, coming up on abc 7 at 4:00. to hand to plant a couple of as alias rubs. could up, how doing this

cost you $1000. did you have a chance to enjoy the beautiful weather this afternoon? better enjoy it now. big changes on the way. my full forecast is coming up.

jonathan: remember "the monuments men?" these other real guys. they saved countless artifacts from destruction overseas. . they were on it today on the hill leaders from both parties honor them with congressional gold medals. congratulations to them. alison: terrifying moments for two parents in chicago. their one-year-old daughter was left behind at a day care, for gotten on the floor and alone in the dark. her father, cornelius jones recorded the rescue on his cell phone. he says he came to pick up his daughter 15 minutes before the dat -- day care was supposed to close. he said he could hear his daughter crying inside. here is the firefighters breaking down the door of the daycare. black and police had flashlights. the only thing i could see was my baby crawling on the floor. --son: she was ok but she is

she was crying but she is all right now. they say they mistook the girl for a doll. her parents say from now on they will keep her at home. the department of children and family services now investigating the incident. jonathan: who does that? is a simple thing a lot of homeowners do. you dig a small hole and put in a big plant. what happens if he hit a utility line in the process? man's costlyas one mistake in how you can avoid making it. reporter: a very costly mistake. it was just a couple of months ago that the men who lived in this house was using these two hand shovels to plant a couple of as alias in his front yard. s in hisias -- azalia front yard. he hit a verizon files line. that cost almost $1000 in a repair bill.

in maryland, if you dig you have to call 811 to find out whether -- where the utility lines are. he only have to call that if you are a contractor or using machinery to dig into the ground. if you're a homeowner and just putting in bush's in your front yard and using hand shovels or a spade or another type of shovel, he do not have a legal obligation to call 811 to find out where utility lines are. you might want to do that because if you get one, you would have to pay to -- the repair charge. marylandny people in who are digging in their yard, no major digging as you can see, and hit a cable line or a coaxial line and are billed an exorbitant amount like this? the bill this man got was for $854.

coming we will tell you what happened with the bill when 7 on your side got involved. we will tell you how common this is. chris papst, abc 7 news. alison: thanks. a reminder that our best 7 on your side stories come from you. if you have something you want our team to look into, give us a call. withhan: 7 on your side this consumer alert, the investigation with volkswagen's emissions scandal is growing. the estimate 11 million of its diesel cars of software designed will emissions tests. the new investigation looking into older vehicles with a different engine has been issued worldwide because of this. lets get a look at the traffic situation. there is joy ponds. joy: i am much better than the beltway. keep thinking it is a most five and let's go live to the camera

and check out the beltway at the american legion bridge it looks pretty much like a parking lot. we have accidents on gw parkway wrapping up. tyson towards connecticut avenue. they are jammed on the outer loop as you make your way to 270. we are looking with. another -- we are looking live. it's not moving at a great pace. you might want to wait this one out. let's check i-95. dale city through fredericksburg, you can see the slowing starting. not a pretty thick. you -- not a pretty picture. now back to you. jonathan: thank you. i think things are about to change for us. steve: a little bit. things were beautiful out there today. tomorrow you will see a big change with the cooler air in the weekend. not 1, 2, but three cold front of the next seven days. i will give you the timing and

all three coming up in just a minute. we have 75 degrees at reagan national. with the default color change just earning a little bit on capitol hill. it will get a hold of better as you move through the next week or so. downtown d.c., 81 degrees. here we are. late october and we are talking temperatures of the upper 70's to lower 80's. how much longer can this last? hour times running out. we have a cold front to the north of us. you can see where it is located north of pittsburgh. that is where temperatures are beginning to fall into the 60's. this will be the weather as it of the day tomorrow with cooler air and sunshine to enjoy. a few showers trying to pop up across southern pennsylvania. really not going to make it to our area. this frontal system will move through dry. we will see more sunshine, early tomorrow morning. it may bring traffic delays with the glare. 50 degrees for an overnight low. this is our futurecast.

we move through the next couple of days and there was the cold front across the mid-atlantic. cable drift towards the south as we move through the day on friday. cooler air over the region on saturday and then a bump in temperatures for the day on sunday. tomorrow shows daytime highs only in the middle 60's. over the next seven days, 54 degrees and don't forget about the marine corps marathon early sunday morning. temperatures around 50. high on sunday afternoon around 70. much cooler on sunday. looks like monday and tuesday with another cold front on wednesday. cold front tonight, sunday, wednesday. alison: we are ready. jonathan: as long as it is only chilly temperatures, that is good. alison: still ahead on abc 7 news at 4:00, a chihuahua comes to congress. with the puppy is lobbying for next. jonathan: it's bad enough to try

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alison: from puppy mills to capitol hill. harlame is hardly the -- .y the chihuahua

they are here to attend a congressional briefing about substandard dog breeding facilities. we know them as puppy mills. harley survived 10 years in a puppy mill. breederhis eye when a used a power washer to clean the cages. >> people need to know in these puppies come from. he will tell the story and he will tell it well. >> this isn't really about harley, it's about millions of puppy mill dogs. alison: a youtube video featuring harley requested a visit with president obama while he is here. no word on if the president has responded. jonathan: it is a common phrase by meteorologist, get a lot of rain, "turn around, don't drown." there was always a knucklehead that ignores it. one man drove around a roadblock. he drove around it in new river, arizona and he drove right into it. a swiftwater rescue team had to rush in and rescue this guy.

the sheriff's office says this man willfinds. in arizona they have a stupid motorist law, is on the books. this one qualifies. he will have to pay for his own rescue and supplies. doc and marty are saying we have to go back today because of the cubs. alison: i just now saw this. jonathan: this is "usa today." you see the front part. that looks like a real "usa today." in this part which is cool you see in the upper left it says se cubs win in a sweet -- weep. you have youth jailed, that is marty mcfly. they predicted the cubs would win in 2015. they fell flat. look at the body language of the folks coming out of wrigley field. they are not happy. the mets celebrated a sweep with beer and champagne.

the cubs have to go back and fix this one. maybe marty can five can -- maybe marty mcfly can figure out a new time to come back. alison: we talked about this yesterday. congress versus the press. don byron took the title from a fellow virginian, senator tim kaine. --ginia winning again "apostasy." beyer may have been the best speller but the press one the team competition. jonathan: it was a split. coming up at 4:00 with of the back to the hill for something much more serious. hillary clinton is the for the benghazi select committee and she is the near -- she has been there since 10:00 this morning. we will have some of the heated exchanges next. reporter: in less than 20 minutes we were in gq to "sesame

street's" newest character. how she will

>> you're watching abc 7 news at 4:00, on your side. imagine i have thought more about what happened than all of you put together. alison: keller clinton testifying for hours right now on the hill. at times disappointed, frustrated.

other times of use at some the questioning. jonathan: kenneth takes us inside the hearing which is got he can -- which is gotten heated. >> i clearly says it was an attack. >> that like saying the sky is blue, of course it is an attack. reporter: there were heated exchanges between secretary of state clinton and the republican-led committee. >> meeting to make sure the entire record -- >> that is exactly what i'm going to do. clinton is under fire again about her actions before, during, and after the 2012 attack on a u.s. diplomatic post in benghazi. four americans were killed. horro of the hours after the attackrs was our failure to be able to find where the ambassador was. reporter: that issue throughout the day. e-mails stevens sent to the state department asking for more security before the attacks.

one of her friends had a private e-mail address while stevens did not. >> he had unfettered access to you. >> i don't know what this line of questioning is to help us get to the bottom of the deaths of four americans. reporter: this committee is expected to release a final report on the benghazi attack, but the republicans i begin to get without the five democrats on the panel who threatens to walk away over with a cold partisan politics. -- with what they called partisan politics. alison: stay with us for continuing coverage. this is a live picture right now. they are taking a break for a vote. the hearing room is empty. we will have much more throughout the evening right here on abc 7. you can go online at wjla.com and news channel 8. jonathan: thousands of people, runners specifically are in town. they are starting to do the carbo burn.

they are looking for a big, nice, beautiful day. steve: if you're looking at something like we had today which is beautiful, it is not going to happen on saturday or sunday. it's going to be cold out there. i know they don't like it hot. this would be a bad day for a marathon. 81 in leesburg. if you have not been outside for a couple of hours, get out there right now and enjoy it and come back and watch us at 5:00. just a little bit of cloud cover across the montgomery county into frederick county, western loudoun. not going to amount to a whole lot. winds out of the south at a 5-15 miles per hour. a little breezy at times. they will begin to ease. light -- lows, morning wake up temperatures in the 40's and 50's. 52 in college park. woodridge around 53 degrees. middle 50's for the recess our.

lots of sunshine dropping the kids off tomorrow afternoon. it will be a lot cooler than we have today, only in the 60's. a look at the next seven days calling for six he for degrees on saturday. seven days, calling for 64 degrees on sunday. the actual temperature when we start the game, temperature around 53 at 7:00 in the morning. jonathan: thanks. and item level behind in a car is not being credited with saving a grandmother's life. emily apple disappeared monday night after driving behind her sister on i-295 in mechanicsville, virginia. five hours later her sister realize she left her cell phone in her sister's car. thece were able to ping phone and find her alive. her car was in a field. she says a large truck foerster off the road. road.ced her off the >> she was smiling from year to

year. jonathan: apple was taken to the hospital for testing but is excited to be ok. alison: the man charged in the brokerage shooting death of a four-year-old girl in new mexico is now behind bars. police say tony tourist s confessed toorrex= the shooting of the little girl. a sedan pulled up next to them and opened fire. it allegedly started before -- because torres and garcia's father kept cutting each other off. jonathan: some family fun ahead this weekend. we set our own eileen out for this. how you can get up close and personal with "disney on ice." reporter: a big lineup tonight. follow from bolivia's confession -- o

alison: think god it is thursday. that means it is "scandal" night. >> is time for your "scandal" scoop were given exclusive sneak preview of what is coming up on tonight's show. this week, fitz will type it

talks of impeachment at rest after olivia went public last week. he is not like it. >> you need a lawyer. >> i have done nothing wrong and of not committed any impeachable offenses. >> do know that is? you don't need to spend time thinking about that because you don't and i don't mean that disrespectfully. no one does. gerald ford once it in a peaceful defense is one of the majority of congress considers it to be at a given moment in history. this is not a normal trial. is a political trial. is his judge and jury. if you survive the hearings you are so president. if you don't, you are not. unique to talk to a lawyer now. >> it's going to be good. grab a glass of wine and watch "scandal" tonight at 9:00 you're on abc 7. i'm kidd o'shea and that is your "scandal" scoop.

alison: before he gets started, don't miss "grey's anatomy." and then "scandal" and then abc 7 news it 11:00. coming up here on abc 7 news at 4:00, if you are looking for a new home, good luck. why it is difficult this fall for househunting. am live in manassas park where a massive renovation process is underway. why these crews are doing all this for free. jonathan: here is our pic of the day. barbara sent this in of meteors streaking across the sky. she spent two hours out in the cold this morning and tells us she will try to get more pictures tonight. if you do, ship them to us. we are hoping for clear skies in virginia tonight. if you see it, send it to pics@wjla.com.

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if you have signs of pancreatitis such as severe pain that will not go away in your abdomen reporter: do you feel the magic. "disney on ice" is celebrating 100 years of magic. we are excited to be joined by matt winstead, one of the

performers. thank you for being with us. you guys are doing something a little different. you are getting the audience involved. >> at the start of the show we are doing something called the mouse bounce. you come out and get used -- introduce to the whole audience and talking about healthy eating. than we do a song called the "mouse bounce." let me start. hands above your head. let's see those mouse years -- ears. do the mouse bounce. if you're bouncing, give a cheer. boom. bounce really little. bounce looking silly. bounce while you wiggle. bounce with the mouse. mickey's in the house. reporter: what he did.

how fun? how long are you performing in fairfax?/ >> until sunday. reporter:, so the magical stories you will be telling. >> you have pinocchio, moulin, lion king. truly something for everybody. it is an amazing show. thank you so much. we'll hope to see you here to enjoy the magic. jonathan: got a get my kids to go see that show. alison: that would be fun. today it feels a little bit more summer-like than winter-like. steve: the changes are underway for the upcoming weekend. you will feel it tomorrow and then by saturday morning you are really going to feel it. 54 degrees for a high on saturday. on sunday a lot going on. the redskins game in the marine corps marathon. temperatures will eventually make it to the upper 60's, just around 70 degrees.

start time for the marathon is around 6:56 devin booker the 8:00, 10:00 hour. rebounding to the middle 60's by about 2:00 in the afternoon. everything will be over with at that point. . he gearing up for the redskins game. how will they see the weather and how the forecast look? not so bad. to 68 degrees. less than a 30% chance. more than likely will not see anything at all. a look at the next seven days. peak conditions well to the west of us. getting closer around the beltway. it is tough, ugly. we will look at a live camera at the american legion bridge. an earlier incident has not recovered. i am looking. it looks like crawling tight towards bethesda.

the eisenhower connector towards the woodrow wilson bridge and it -- looking live there. we had an accident at the beltway at 50. we are seeing delays on the inner and outer loop. the accident was on the outer loop. accident reported northbound to 70 new the beltway. 270re seeing -- northbound near the beltway. southbound 395, don't get excited. pentagon towards duke street. i'm seeing delays everywhere. hopefully things will improve. now back to jonathan and allison. jonathan: thanks to dozens of volunteers, a veterans home is getting a major renovation. alison: mike carter-conneen join is -- joins us live from that project. he will see all these changes when he gets home. reporter: this is not a surprise.

he knew this project will be happening today. but having just started a new job but not able to be here for all this work, all this progress on his home. this is a home depot service project that the are all -- they are all volunteering on the day off. their home is become a construction zone. >> what better way to show the people who sacrifice all that we are appreciative of what they do. reporter: after 11 years in the army and nine years in the air force, michael is now retired. his wife says a spinal injury was exasperated during a south korean deployment. >> he has no feeling in his entire right leg. he suffered an injury to his neck. because of the injuries he doesn't have the ability to safely get out of the house. reporter: this overhaul will make your house wheelchair accessible, a ramp in the backyard, new cabinets, wider doorways. >> this was originally 30 inches and now it is 36. reporter: with nearly a $10,000

grant, 80 volunteers helped on the project. >> the army says never leave anybody behind. >> it's definitely a good workout but it is nice we can do it. reporter: michael will have more mobility and independence. agnes says he is actually excited. >> i said happy anniversary honey. i had you a deck in a ramp. he said happy anniversary, i'm getting a new kitchen cabinets. reporter: how romantic. a lot of progress today and he just got him minutes ago. here is his reaction. >> i was surprised on what they have gotten done already. i figured how are they going to do this in today's? f -- two days? i can't wait. i can get this thing up stair so i can relax of their it when she

leaves the house she is enough to call me every five minutes worrying. that will be the best part. reporter: this is not a one-day job. they hope to wrap up the project i tomorrow afternoon. mike carter-conneen, abc 7 news. jonathan: the home depot foundation does it amazing work. i have worked on two projects for veterans and that is so rewarding. you are out there and it feels great. but when you see the reaction of people coming home and they see the changes, fantastic. no question. alison: maybe you are looking for a home. it looks like pickings are slim after the september. the national association of realtors say existing home sales were up almost 5% after some regression in august. helping move homes faster, historically low mortgage rates and a recovering job market. experts caution against expecting further growth. he will are for sale right now. jonathan: many of us face a lot of pressure at work and at home but psychologists a there are ways to deal with the stress.

they include exercise, watching your salt and sugar intake, and getting more vitamin d. also, find ways to relax like a joke a class of meditation. if those things don't help, they say seek professional help. that always seems to help. alison: coming up at 5:00 tonight, beyond the surface. the new technology that could revolutionize not only medical care but how you do your grocery shopping. jonathan: the gardening mistake costing him him big time. by not only cost him money but set up a war of words over where things should be very and how deep. reporter: still ahead at 4:00, "sesame street" has a new character. jonathan: the creators hope she will help

narrator: puerto rico's economy is in a death spiral. to make matters worse, washington has plans to cut another $3 billion from the island's healthcare budget. puerto ricans pay the same medicare taxes, but receive less than half the funding of mainland states, aving the system on life support. more cuts will push the economy to the edge of disaster and put

every puerto rican's carere in jeopardy. washington needs to act now to save healthcare for the three and a half million us cizens of puerto rico. jonathan: somewhat new is moving

to sesame street. julia will be the first muppet with autism. alison: they hope she will help children and parents helping us understand the challenges of those living with autism. ♪ the street, this street, is getting this new phase. julia with hair of orange, isa green, and what you cannot see right off, autism. >> she has some behaviors night -- like not looking you directly in the eye and she is sensitive to noise is an light. when she comes together with elmo, she shares these challenges but also which he shares in common. reporter: introducing a girl with autism they can speak it is not all -- into sesame street's digital programming and a storybook is well in keeping with the tv show's mission. different but the same, old news on sesame street.

a lot of kids with autism have always loved to watch it. >> the campaign is helping them see that they are not alone. for kids they don't have autism in their family, they are learning about what autism is and how kids with autism are not that dissimilar to themselves. reporter: is important because bullying is so common. >> kids on the autism spectrum are believed five times more often. bullied fivet -- times more often. it's ok if you be accepting and understandable of one another. reporter: girls with autism are outnumbered roughly four 215 boys and their challenges give us attention. this little muppet may help change that. if she does, a few years from now we can be thinking of julia as just plain julia, part of the gang. john donvan, abc news, washington. police officer in

passer goes in front of a judge and details emerge about elected sex crimes committed inside a police station. a pile of problems and buried secrets. >> how about reimbursement? solves an your side 30-year-long mystery. the hyper cam. x-ray vision that sees under the skin and it is coming to cell phones centered and you might think. >> you're watching abc 7 news at 5:00, on your side. a former d.c. police officer and pastor admits to unspeakable crimes against underage children. darrell best faces a federal judgments ago. stephen tschida is live with what unfolded in the courtroom. reporter: just 20 minutes ago inside a courtroom here in federal court, darrell best a veteran d.c. police officer and even that spent decades fighting

crime and the nation's capital, a man who worked tirelessly with underprivileged children and a man who ascended to the pulpit, pastor of his own church, pleaded guilty to making child born into sexually abusing two underaged girls. >> how are the hamburgers? this is the only meal some of them receive. reporter: we did a story on him over 15 years ago. he eventually took the helm of his own church. he faced charges of sexually abusing two girls ages 16 and 17. both of them said they attended his god of a second chance ministry church in southeast d.c. that, ad investigators 25 year veteran assaulted one of them inside his office and the other in his church. 's child for not the charges stem from new photos they found on his cell phone. prosecutors say he took the photos of the girl insi