tv ABC7 News at 5 ABC February 16, 2016 5:00pm-6:01pm EST
5:00 pm
temperatures after days of bitter cold, snow and ice. federal workers came in late this morning avoiding the dangerous driving conditions outside. but tonight we are all facing a common foe. potholes. thousands of them. mike carter-conneen joins us live from arlington a look at the worst roads out there. hey, mike. mike: look at the pothole behind me. this is two feet wide. at least a foot deep. this is worth trying to go down but going around it means pulling into opposing traffic. a lot of drivers swerving to the left like this cab driver just did. when the cars are damaged by the potholes the local mechanics say prepares can host hundreds and sometimes thousands. beach drive is a hot hole horror show with -- pothole hor row show with sections gutted by the recent weather. >> coming through the park, hit a big one. i was scared
5:01 pm
tire. >> no matter where you drive potholes are difficult to avoid. >> coming down south to the pothole. that was it. >> between connecticut and nevada they call it "pothole hell." >> you have lanes going this way and this way and trying to avoid the pothole at the same time. >> two large potholes on the inner loop of the beltway created a mess of the commute and made many drivers mad. like other transportation agencies the maryland state highway association was asking drivers to report potholes and asking for patience. in the coming days motorists on i-95, 495, i-270 and other roads will be seeing the mobile pothole reprayer crew and improve ride quality for hundreds of thousands of motorists. for now, peter like peter seems to understand. >> it took time to get to the hos.
5:02 pm
perspective. >> you have to. no one was hurt. structural damage. that was it. >> local transportation officials say the priority today was making roads safe. clearing and the snow and ice off the surface. they say that the moisture from today would have made preparing the potholes difficult and dangerous for the road crews. to make the process happen faster by going to the website. we will find a list of all the local jurisdictions to report a pothole in your neighborhood. leon: thank you, mike. get back to the structural damage. it does add up fast. a.a.a. estimate a driver will spend $6 billion on repairs this year. the insurance company may help cover some of the damage. in virginia a place at the vdot website. in
5:03 pm
vermonttureer's office -- treasure's office. alison: it has been a wild 24 hours in this area. even the past 12 hours felt like different seasons. this is what it looked like before sunrise today. we had ice, cold, rain. compare it to what it looks like now. the sun is shining. it is warm outside. doug hill has been tracking this. it's warm now. are we at a risk of a refreeze once the sun sets tonight? >> not immediately. it takes a while for the temperatures to go down. but late night and overnight there a chance. let's get to the numbers. we are at 49. it's 40 in hagerstown. 50 in fredericksburg. the coldest part of the viewing area will be the western zones. overnight lows in the upper 20's. that is cold enough in a few hours there could be spots with ice and the glaze to deal with. by and large it will be much
5:04 pm
see the clear skies and storm system south and west will pass us by tonight. good to go. good forecast going forward. i will share in a couple of minutes. leon: kulbir schools a -- culpeper schools announce a two-hour delay for tomorrow. if any other makes a delays because of the ice risk you can be the first to know. sign up for the abc7 text alert and get the child school closing information sent to your phone. in ten minutes we'll break down the school closings that we have so far. break down the numbers and who is on vacation. alison: another problem we saw briefly as the rain fell and the snow melted was flooding. around noon we found a creek spilling over the bank in leesburg. most of the flooding is minor.
5:05 pm
the driver lost control and hit an office on rally avenue. two adults were taken to the hospital. but the injuries are not life threatening. the builds sustained minor structural damage. leon: prince george's county firefighters hurt battling a morning fire. i broke out around 9:00 this morning in hyattsville. we are told a firefighter hurt his ankle badly enough to be hospitalized. five people were displaced and they are getting assistance now from the red cross. alison: just over a year ago a horrific fire killed four children and their grand parents inside the annapolis mansion. in the aftermath we were told that the sprinklers would have changed the outcome. despite that, there is now a fight to loosen sprinkler regulations. so that fewer buildings require them. suzanne kennedy is following the developing story. what is behind this? >> this is a lot, i
5:06 pm
hardship for some home buyers and for the communities say they had new construction before the law. law on the books since october of 2012 and requires newly constructed town houses will be equipped with the fire sprinkler systems. a delegate says the counties should make their own decision but this woman disagrees. her brother was killed along with other family members in a house fire in january of last year. >> like in a car seat belts and air bags. they are mandated now. mandated for a good reason. sometimes the technology is available and when the need is there and great, the government needs to step in and make a law to save lives. alison: coming up at 6:00, we will hear more on the grieving sister on the fight for her
5:07 pm
live in the newsroom, suzanne kennedy, abc7 news. leon: thank you. new charges tied to the disappearance of lyons sisters who gathered in 1975 from the wheaton plaza mall. lloyd welch was charged in connection with the incident and today his brother-in-law pleaded no contest to perjury. alison: funeral plans are being finalized now for supreme court justice antonin scalia. the conservative icon died saturday while on a hunting trip in texas. justice scalia's death in an election year set off a political firestorm in washington. but at the center of all of the political fighting the man who served the nation for 30 years who is now, of course, being remembered. today his seat on the court was draped in black dating back to 1873 as part of the tradition. justice scalia will lie in repose a
5:08 pm
to get an honor since chief justice renquist in 2005. traditionally the other justices stand on the steps of the court as the body is carried inside. a funeral will be saturday at the basilica of the national shrine of the immaculate conception in northeast washington. leon: don't maze live your voice, your future round table on millennials and politics. catch it tonight at 7:00. i will be streaming on wjla.com. our sister station in columbus, ohio. a key swing state this election year. will be discussing the challenges facing the generation. alison: still ahead on "abc7 news at 5:00" -- more redskins drama? can it be? we tell you about the dispute between the team and the starting quarterback kirk cousins. leon: friends remember a university of maryland freshman killed in
5:09 pm
tv-commercial
5:10 pm
tv-commercial
5:11 pm
5:12 pm
leon: okay. but know the reason the blimp got loose in maryland. it didn't have batteries. "l.a. times" reports no one replaced the battery in the automatic deflation on board the blimp and that is why it floated away a hundred miles and not just two, as it was designed to. it escaped last october. the dangling line used to secure it caused downed power lines from here to pennsylvania. alison: such a simple reason. all right. happening right now. protesters are taking positions outside the fairfax board of supervisors meeting today. their message that the school system needs more money. this comes as county leaders debate proposed $4 billion spending plan for next year. the problem is the school leaders say despite a tax
5:13 pm
school system only gets a 3% funding increase. they were seeking a 7% increase. ahead at 6:00, what the big difference in spending could cost students and their parent s in fairfax county. leon: schools across the area shut their doors today or opened up two hours late. for some it means tapping in the summer break. alison: that's right. our amy aubert spoke with several school systems and breaks down the numbers. amy: what normally would have been a bustling tuesday, montgomery county public schools sat quiet. this snow day makes six. that is two days over what they allotted for the beginning of the year. >> we weren't sure if it is taken away from the spring break or vacation. >> mtg
5:14 pm
day to the end of the school year. so the last day of school in june is two days later. >> the way they push school in kids is crazy. the kids are already done with school. >> if it means safety, they don't mind. >> we have the extra snow days. >> each school system has their own plan. they are building in ten snow days to the calendar. so far they have used eight. alexandria city public school allotted eight days and used seven. prince george's county planned for four but have used seven so far. they have already made up one of those days. some school system say they are waiting until winter passes. if they have gone over the board of education and the superintendent will come up with a plan. some are suggesting adding mite
5:15 pm
applying for a waiver. amy aubert, abc7 news. alison: wow! leon: so the last thing we need is stuff melting today and refreezing tonight. doug: there is a little bit of that but it's not widespread. this time of year you can't take chances. if it looks wet, treat it as ice. we have had enough sunshine? spots and enough of a breeze to dry it up. great time lapse here. they will show you how the icy spots will be. this is cardinal ridge elementary school in centreville. 43 now. this morning they were snow covered across the area. watch what happens in the day. even before the sun comes out, things start to melt. skies clear. sun comes up. the snow disappears. look what we have right now in the bottom the screen, the puddles and the water at the low-lying areas in the parking lot. so that stuff that doesn't evaporate are the areas likely to have the icy patches in the morning. the major highways will be fine. but every now and then you hi
5:16 pm
across the area. that is what you want to look like. if you see have pavement and think it looks wet treat it with ice. after tonight we are in good shape and good to go. share a picture from gwyn. look at this. beautiful snowflake. closeup. gorgeous. all the detail you can keep. the snow or the ice on top of the railing melting, too. the temperatures are a big story. we expect the coldest areas north and west. i took longer to warm up. at this hour there is colder areas south and east of town 40. in hagerstown. 43 in winchester and martinsburg. 49 at the airport.
5:17 pm
looking south how beautiful it is. 56 at ral lay and charlotte. we are going to see the temperatures cooler tomorrow than today. noticeably cooler thursday and friday. the weekend will promise a huge warmup. i will tell you what it will happen. the heavy and the rain and winds moved offshore. high pressure building in to protect us from this area of the rain and the storms through nashville. that will run in the high pressure and dissipate late tonight. we'll pick up cloudiness from it and that is it. the next couple of days we will feature sunshine. watch what happens in the future cast overnight. it disappeared. we pick up cloudiness. tomorrow is partly sunny. upper 40's and partly sunny for thursday. over the weekend good stuff is coming after a front goes through. it will bible is. winds are lighter, too. out of nor
5:18 pm
miles per hour. now we look to the next seven days and it will turn colder on thursday. breezy at times. 40. get to below freezing at night. friday it will change. we have a high of 45. but a frontal system will go through. notice friday night's low is only 39. milder pattern. look what the weekend brings. sunshine 60 to 63 on saturday. close to 60 with the sunshine on sunday. monday is mild in 50's. we hit tuesday and wednesday. alison: uh-oh. doug: computer models suggest another storm may be developing. we may be dealing with the rain, snow, who knows? turn colder tuesday and wednesday. too early to say how much of what kind of anything we will get. out on the horizon, tuesday, wednesday, something to keep busy. that is why i turned all gray at 32 years old. the constant -- alison: the stress! doug: crazy. alison: at least we have this weekend to look forward to. doug: it will be nice. alison: nice break. leon: break from the snow and
5:19 pm
ice melt. coming up at 5:00 -- >> my view on the drug war was wrong. leon: why a longtime narcotics police officer says the war on drugs must change and how he is fighting back after losing a daughter to the drug he fought on the streets. >> a freshman killed in a valentine's day crash. up next what one of her friends says hurt the most. alison: a look at primetime line-up today. remember to get special information on shows on the abc7 fan blast. sign up on wjla.com. leon: tomorrow morning, join the one and the only alex trebeck for "good morning -- alex trebek for "good morning, washington." he's co-hosting and that beginning at 4:30 on abc7
tv-commercial
5:21 pm
i lead the 11 o'clock news with stories of gun violence. and like many of you, my family lived through the beltway sniper crisis. in congress, i'll fight to expand background checks on guns and ammunition, ban assault weapons, and mandate gun safety locks, because too many kids die from accidental shootings. let's show the nra we're not afraid of them; as democrats, as americans, as parents. i'm kathleen matthews and i approve this message. hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon... then quickly fell back to earth landing on the roof of a dutch colonial. luckily geico recently helped the residents
5:22 pm
they were able to get the roof repaired like new. they later sold the cow because they had all become lactose intolerant. call geico and see how much you could save on homeowners insurance. leon: this just in. president obama just addressed the vacancy on the supreme court caused by the death of justice antonin scalia. the president said it is his responsibility to lect a responsibility and the senate's responsibility to give that person a fair hearing. president obama: there is no unwritten law that says it can only be done on off
5:23 pm
that is not in the constitutional text. leon: if confirmed it would be president obama's third. the last president to nominate that many justices was ronald reagan. antonin scalia died over the weekend at the age of 79 and will lie in repose at the supreme court on friday ahead of his funeral saturday. alison: well, tonight, friends are remembering a university of maryland freshman killed in a horrific valentine's day crash. police say a sports car fueled by speed may be to blame. kevin lewis joins us live from college park with the latest. kevin: hi there. christina koutsoukos was a freshman biology major and she aspired to become a doctor. this evening fellow teenagers are trying to make sense of her sudden loss. >> honestly i'm still in shock. kevin: until sunday, samantha walker shared a
5:24 pm
christina koutsoukos. >> it's so surreal. you are just like in disbelief. all her stuff is there. waiting for her to come home. kevin: christina koutsoukos spent valentine's day with her boyfriend brandon bussard. but at 3:00 p.m., bussard lost control of the dodge viper sports car and crashed into a concrete wall. the wreckage is horrible. >> i read one thing online it talked about how she was trapped for 45 minutes. all i can think about how scared she could have been in that time. if i could do anything to take that pain away from her. so she wouldn't experience it. kevin: koutsoukos grew up in rockville and received sacraments here. and had been a altar server. police say bussard may have been speeding. he is expected to be okay. >> she had a positive impct
5:25 pm
kevin: friends say she looked to celebrate valentine's day. she got her boyfriend chocolate and took him to the u.m.d. men's basketball game. she was only 18 years old. live in college park i'm kevin lewis, abc7 news. leon: thank you, kevin. there is a new prince george's county police chief in maryland. hank stawinski was sworn in today. his confirmation heark took place today. he had been the interim chief since the former chief mark magaw stepped down to take another county position. alison: at 5:00 the redskins might have found the starting q.b. in kirk cousins but now the trouble is re-signing him. the new twist to get the q.b. signature on a
5:26 pm
just ahead. leon: scare in the air. the source of the smoke on the plane. jennifer: a police sergeant that everyone turned to for help. then came heroin. the soul-shattering story. the series "heroin highway" continues after this. alison: what a difference a day can make on the weather. the roads are dry, the sun is out. but it doesn't mean we are finished with the snow. the day doug hill is keeping
5:29 pm
alison: an epidemic is destroying families across our area. the devastation caused by heroin addiction is alarmingly pronounced in communities along what is known as the "heroin highway." the route stretches from the supply source which is baltimore along interstate 70 and south on interstate 81 through western maryland. west virginia and virginia. tonight, "7 on your side" fighting back against crime investigator jennifer donelan continues the special report with the story of a hagerstown police officer and the tragedy that struck his family. ♪ ♪ >> i was right downtown. everyone knew me.
5:30 pm
face of law enforcement in washington county. jennifer: former police sergeant kevin simmers spent two decade in drug war and then came heroin. >> it's unlike any drug or epidemic i have seen in my career. jennifer: it changed him. >> my view on the drug war was wrong. jennifer: after it struck the smiling love of his life. >> got in my own house and my own daughter got addicted. i couldn't help her. jennifer: his daughter brook had grown into a beautiful athletic teenager, defiant, determined to fly on her own. >> she finished with high school that summer and she started to take pills. jennifer: prescription narcotic pills/oids, the cheaper, deadlier version is heroin. >> it robbed her of her soul. my daughter meant everything in the world. she come to me asking me to help h
5:31 pm
jennifer: simmers and her wife looked near and far for treatment centers. >> we took her to a halfway house and dropped her off. a place i wouldn't drop my dog off to. jennifer: brook continued to relapse. >> i caught her sneaking out. she was on the front lawn in the fetal position begging me to shoot her, because she couldn't stop using. jennifer: she was sent to jail for possession of needles. three and a half months. that meant no heroin. >> if you go back, try to use a gram now it is toxic. >> she went to her dealer's house ten days after getting out of jail. heroin's hold wasn't finished. >> they get her more heroin. two or three hours later shoot her up again. this time she overdoses again and they threw her out of the house. jennifer: she got in her car and managed to drive to a church where she used to play basketball. >> on the church parking lot, she crawled in the backseat of her car an
5:32 pm
from an overdose of heroin. jennifer: brook was 19 years old. >> listen, i am very proud of my daughter, i'm proud of the fight she put up. she lost a fight and died as a heroin addict. i'm here to tell you she is not a bad person. i think about the end goal. jennifer: he holds on oh to his now firm belief -- >> for 25 years as police officer working narcotics, i feel like i was wrong. i locked up people that were in the same shape as my daughter. they needed help. jennifer: simmers is raising money now and building a 5,000 square foot home in hagerstown for women in substance abuse recovery. appropriately called's "brook's house." >> even though she is gone, we are trying to do right b
5:33 pm
like i say she didn't want to be a drug addict. jennifer: a tough story to watch and tough to tell. i applaud kevin simmers for his courage telling the story. three people pleaded guilty for the role in delivering brook the fatal doses of heroin. if you want more information about his quest to build the recovery center in her honor visit the website wjla.com. tomorrow at 5:00, we start to visit the towns along the heroin highway to see the devastation for ourselves. we are starting in virginia. that is tomorrow. leon: i don't think there is anyone i root harder for than kevin simmers. amazing. thank you for letting us share the story. all right. check today's top stories now. associate justice antonin scalia will lie in repose at the great hall of the supreme court on friday. public can pay respects from 10:30 in the morning until 8:00 p.m. scalia's funeral scheduled for saturday at
5:34 pm
shrine of the immaculate conception. alison: a fight is underway whether to keep a maryland law requiring sprinklers in certain buildings. critics of the 2012 law say it is slowing construction. supporters say requiring sprinklers saves lives. leon: repeating freezing and thaws created thousands of potholes on the region. several cars damaged by potholes on the betway this morning. widespread fixes will be warm in the spring. alison: a college swimming coach arrested accused of having child pornography. andre barbins arrested friday. police say they found child pornography on his computer. and they say he showed some of it to a minor. barbins has been the men's swimming coach at st. mary's college of maryland for 18 years. the school released a statement that reads in part
5:35 pm
steps necessary to protect the safety of its campus and community and is cooperating fully with law enforcement. the school assistant switch coach has taken over the coaching duties." leon: this sounds like from a movie but police in fulton county, georgia, searching for convicted killer who escaped from the courtroom in his trial. prosecutors asked a judge to revoke bond for shane woods because he tamperedered with a witness. woods was involved in a deadly shooting in a drug deal in 2013. while the judge was preparing his ruling, woods ran out of the courtroom. after fleeing the scene the judge sentenced him to life in prison plus five years. just ahead at 5:00 -- american airlines wants faster internet speeds. alison: and pilots in a gas mask to make a desperate can be to land at dulles after taking off from reagan. the scare in the air coming up next. leon: then tonight on abc7 at 6:00 --
5:37 pm
gone. sunshine for several days. wednesday, thursday, friday temperatures will be in the 40's. talk about the upcoming weekend. it looks fantastic. saturday looking at mostly to partly sunny skies. temperatures in the lower 60's. if you have outdoor plans to exercise go to the farm ears market or take a long walk, saturday is the day. a little cooler on sunday. but still high temperatures are well above average for this time of year in the upper 50's. stay with us. "abc7 news at 5:00" continues after this.
5:39 pm
alison: we are learning more about a midair scare that forced emergency landing yesterday afternoon. alaska airlines flight headed to seattle. but a few minutes after take off, smoke poured in the cockpit and the pilots had to put on gas masks. >> declare an emergency. in the airplane. >> maybe five or ten minutes into the flight i felt the engine slow
5:40 pm
>> the plane made an emergency landing miles away at dulles international. six crew members were taken to the hospital. they believe the smoke came from the motor. 161 people on board rebooked onto other flights. leon: okay. much less troublesome flight information. starting today u.s. airlines can apply for more air routes to cuba. as many as a hundred flights a day which is a big jump from the current 10 to 15. lines have 15 days to submit proposals to the transportation department. alison: if you think that wi-fi on american airlines is too slow, you are not alone. now the airline is filing a lawsuit over it. american says it has a better offer from a competitor. and wants out of the go-go contract, which actually is supposed to last through 2018. is it request a counter offer from go-go to persuade the airline to stay. they have new technology to
5:41 pm
experience for flyers. however, rollout will be slow. leon: wait a second. airline upset with available on a plane? alison: i know. leon: talk about turn-about. alison: exactly. leon: coming up at "abc7 news at 5:00" -- >> the police of the equipment is high these days and it's difficult for the low-income families to do it. leon: leveling the playing field. find out how a local group is getting families in gear to play. alison: ahead at 5:00, meeting of the minds
5:44 pm
leon: medical experts are in town for a workshop on how to limit the zika virus. it's held at the national academy of sciences building. sam ford fills us in on the plan to stop the virus' spread. sam: they called together to bring together the best minds on zika. >> the mosquitoes tra transmits the virus in latin america is present in
5:45 pm
united states. sam: with people returning to the u.s. and bringing the virus with them, the images like these from brazil, microcephaly, baines with small heads and other birth defects that cause the most concern. researcher albert coe of yale university zika was unknown a year ago where yale has a public health branch. then -- >> we had a large outbreak of people coming down with extremely itchy rash. sam: only later do they suspect it's more serious for the pregnant women. >> the women were exposed early in 2015 now giving birth to babies with the birth defects. sam: a year ago it wasn't happening. there are questions. the zika virus comes from africa and researchers haven't linked small-head babies to it there, yet brazil has gone from zero to 4,000 such babies in less than a year. >> this is all a work in progress. what we do know is we are seeing babies where we can defect the vi
5:46 pm
what we don't know is that all of those 4,000 are due to that virus. >> just about everybody agreed what happens here in the united states will not be nearly as bad as what is happened in brazil, they want to make sure that they minimize the impact whatever happens. >> reporting from northwest washington, sam ford, abc7 news. alison: having a warrant against you could cost you more in maryland. comptroller is pushing the lawmakers to expand a program to allow the state to withhold tax return from anyone with an outstanding warrant against them. right in out it only applies to baltimore city and anne arundel county and washington county. the legislature would have to approve the change. leon: no ice to worry about tonight. jamie: we don't have any ice to worry about. standing water in some areas but we are mainly dry. this is a look at
5:47 pm
near new hampshire avenue. let's move to the maps 39 it 5 -- 395 is a much different story. if you leave on 395 heading south from d.c. area toward virginia. the problem is right near the mixing bowl a crash. two lanes are blocked. this has you down to 11 miles per hour. that delay will start before the pentagon. there are speed restrictions near the stadium armory. orange, blue, silver line. expect delays. in maryland, top side of the beltway is the only slow stretch on the inner loop to bethesda. that is a look at traffic this afternoon. again, much more dry than earlier today and yesterday. alison: collaboration between two musical giants who were
5:48 pm
for the first time in 230 years we can hear it. ♪ ♪ this was a piece composed by wolfgang amadeus mozart and his rival composure salieri. it was in 1785 and it was apparently a tribute to singer nancy storis and thought to be lost to history but was found in a prague museum last year. when we say "rivals" the rumor was that salieri poisoned mozart. leon: that is right. alison: i think they have said it was proven wrong. but "rivals" might be a euphemism here. leon: she just saw the movie "ammedeus." coming up, marine attacked outside d.c. mcdonald's and surveillance video that may show what happened to him and why he believes it's a hate crime. budget in fairfax
5:49 pm
battle over it. we can tell you how to impact the schools at 6:00. alison: a quick reminder. think about spring. deadline approaching to enter the white house easter egg roll lottery. apply by noon tomorrow. this year's easter egg roll is march 28. lottery results are released february 25. leon: hopefully there won't be ice by then. check in with mr. president and the first lady on the eagle cam. the babies should be hatching in a month. find it by going to wjla.com. click on the story. alison: look at the size of the
5:50 pm
they're not twigs. leon: they could pick up a deer. see what happens tonight weather wise. we have an eye out there on what may happen with the refreeze. doug: possibility but it's limited. this morning we had snow and icy glaze on top. look at the warming wind and sunshine will do. got through the day and the clouds are lifted out. sun came out and things melted off. amazing. most of the snow is gone from area. the temperatures are above freezing. 52 in lexington park. some area of cloudiness will build in. in the metro we have few spots. mainly west of town to be in th
5:51 pm
5:52 pm
according to adam schefter the source claims it is not a foregone conclusion that the redskins would use the franchise tag on cousins. over the weekend team president bruise allen asked -- bruce allen asked about the slow progress on a contract for kirk. >> we feel comfortable with it. we have some time. erin: i have feeling it will get done. there are benefits for young kids playing sports mentally, physically and psychologically. what happens if an athlete can't afford to play? that is a problem a local non-profit set to solve. erin: for these students soccer is life. if it weren't for the warehouse
5:53 pm
many kids wouldn't get a chance to play. morales works for identity, a youth program that serves latino families and has partnered with leveling the playing field, a non-profit to donate sporting equipment to underprivileged children. >> the price of equipment is so high it is difficult for the low-income families to do it. erin: that is how leveling the playing field was born founded by max levitt. here they collapse thousands of items to donate. >> there is nothing negative about playing soccer or baseball. why would a parent say no to that? >> how important is it to be involved with sports? >> it's important. there are gangs and they are more like. erin: what is it l
5:54 pm
had no soccer ball and no net. >> i'd be home doing nothing. >> they would be so grateful to play and have the equipment there. erin: at the volleyball event i did leveling the playing field, they donated a hundred volleyballs to them. anyone who has sporting equipment and collecting dust can get in touch and donate. leon: great idea. erin: i should have thought of that. leon: get it next time! leon: all rig
5:57 pm
alison: $75 billion, that is the amount of wasteful spending outlined in a new report out today by oklahoma congressman steve russell's office. we break it down. reporter: when it comes to all the interesting places our tax dollars go, how about government funded moonshine? a distillery in virginia got $250,000 from the u.s. department of agriculture to process and market the extra potent whiskey. that is just one of many findings outlining in the waste watch report
5:58 pm
congressman steve russell. >> it's sad. borderline on criminality. >> other highlight are billion in federal funds with new farmers with little oversight. $16 billion excess in ammunition and explosives slated to be destroyed by the department of defense and $16 billion for hilltary space launch program -- military space launch program many say are failing. >> it would be three, two, one, ripoff. reporter: this isn't the only waste book but they almost all come from the republicans. why hasn't it been stopped? >> there is talking about the government waste. but very little action being taken. but they are the ones in charge. they should be able to deliver on it. there is a veto pen in the white house but the
5:59 pm
wasting taxpayers dollars. reporter: some call it waste and others say it boosts the economy like $35,000 in solar power that senator debbie stabenow says will help build jobs. russell says it's about priority. >> there are good ideas and nice to haves and then there are crazy stuff that gets funded that just should not. alison: that is all for us at 5:00. right now on "abc7 news at 6:00" -- >> i knew they were trying to intimidate me and trying to scare me. >> a marine attacked outside of a local mcdonald's. tonight was it a hate crime? and the key item that could help investigators. honoring supreme court justice antonin scalia and when the public be able to pay respects. >> the budget for this year and many parents and teach rer
6:00 pm
back. live report coming up. leon: tonight the d.c. police are trying to track down group of people attacked a marine outside mcdonald's. maureen: we are told that there is video from the victim. stephen tschida is live from the scene of the attack with the latest development in the investigation. stephen? stephen: the assault went down in front of the mcdonald's as the victim walked out. he said moments before his assailants were yelling about black lives matter. he doesn't know if they belong to an organization or a group but he is convinced they use this movement.
117 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
WJLA (ABC)Uploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=1268108712)