[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> from abc 7 news, this is a breaking news alert. jummy: we begin with our breaking news from the district, or the pepco-exelon merger has cleared its final hurdle. this after the d.c. public service condition rejected the deal.

northwest washington to explain. meeting tookis kind of an unexpected turn. initially, opponents to the merger were cheering loudly with the initial decision, but that quickly changed. they walked away unhappy with the final decision. the deal was rejected as it is now. pay close attention. for a few minutes, it seemed like this was the end of it, but the commission said it would be approved if and only if it meets a series of conditions. that is really the big deal here . those conditions must be met within 14 days, and one takes solar development out of exelon's hands. they are adamant there are so many significant fatal flaws in the deal and it is ultimately not in the public interest. councilwoman mary cheney is in full agreement. >>

fit and it is not in our favor. it is not in the public interest, and the people of the district of columbia were harmed today and will be harmed in the future by this deal. >> until we review the fine print it is hard to say. we believe it is in the public interest and we believe they supported it. askedtte: we just councilmember what happens next, and she said nothing, they have lost the fight. she was obviously not very happy about it. as soon as pepco-exelon meets the conditions, it seems like this will be a go. opponents are very unhappy, especially because initially they thought this was a win for them. jeannette reyes, abc 7 news. hasy: this massive merger been in the works for almost two years and was nearly derailed last year when d.c.'s

service commission rejected the deal. lifel bowser gave it new when she set certain conditions. you can learn more about the deal by searching pepco exelon on our website, wjla.com. some northget to breaking news, a pastor and former mpd officer convicted of sexually abusing young women at his church and even in his police office. he has been sentenced. stephen tschida is live outside the courtroom. ephen: the judge stating from the bench that he had serious concerns about the 18 year sentence for darrell vast. this former officer with the metropolitan police department. the judge called on prosecutors, and say what

he will continue to not be a danger for girls when he gets out of prison? the prosecutor said she agreed to the 18 year sentence so the victims would not be put through a painful trial. during the introduction of evidence, such as graphic photographs of one of the girls, for that reason the prosecutors agreed to 18 years. the judge believes he should be put away for life and should spend the rest of his life in prison, but in the best interest of the victims, the judge went along with the 18 year sentence. he will receive treatment for being a sexual predator, that he never work again in any capacity with children, and for the rest of his life he will be under court supervision. stephen tschida, abc 7 news. jummy: at least seven tornadoes touched down in virginia on wednesday.

are assisting and the recovery efforts, clearing roadways, distributing food and water, and assessing damage by the air. the death toll has risen to five. police recovered the body of a woman whose car was swept into the shenandoah river. almost a million gallons of wastewater was sent into broad creek. the wastewater pumping station was overwhelmed, but it is possible the leak was not as bad as they thought. signs are being posted in the affected areas. things are clear as we take a live look out at the nation's capital. warmer days are ahead. doug: definitely, milder temperatures for the weekend. look what is happening right now live at wintergreen resort. wind 20 degrees with gusty

, and people enjoying some late february skiing. skiing conditions at the highest elevations will be just fine. look at the temperatures as of , 38ay, 33 and hagerstown and andrews. the wind has been a factor today. we are doing better than 35 mile an hour gusts. andrews, 31 mile-per-hour gusts at the airport in manassas, and 33 in leesburg. thisind will stay up afternoon and will diminish as but itinto the evening, will be better for the weekend. we will climb up to about 42 degrees, and as we head through late-night, back to freezing. more on the weekend in just a few minutes. jummy:

learning more about a gun men andkilled three people wanted 14 others at a manufacturing plant in kansas. cedric ford received a protection from abuse order about 90 minutes before yesterday's shooting. he shot four people on the way to excel industries, a place where he worked. he went inside and opened fire. , butey said he was upset nothing greater than anybody else who gets served. jummy: the first deputy on the scene shot and killed ford. the protection from abuse order listed him as an alcoholic, islands, and depressed. they are looking into how he was able to get weapons with a criminal record. teenage --ld says a a group of teenagers robbed her using a stun gun.

stunned her on her hand before stealing her shoes and her money. police are looking for two boys and two girls. on 395, let'sion go right to jamie sullivan. northbound 395 at duke street, take a live look at some of this activity. the accident with possibly and overturn. , traffic ising by inching by over and the left shoulder, and they are letting some people get off this ramp to duke street, squeezing by to the right. everything is being maintained in the center lane. since this just happened, we are already seeing a backup. just south of duke street, to give you a better idea of what we have. bumper to bumper, and if you look on the side of the screen, it looks like a still shot that we know it is

everyone moving well on the other side. as we move to the maps, i want to talk about 95 heading southbound where you are in the single digits as of pothole patching in lorton. you see the solid red line heading northbound. the bigger picture, not too bad at all, mostly in the green and typical on metro with the scheduled track work on the blue and red lines. to votee want to get 2016 and the race for the white house. sensing what may be their last opportunity to stop donald trump after -- before super tuesday, ted cruz and marco rubio launched attack after attack on the front runner. businesstioned trump's record and his lack of specific policy proposals. >> you are the only person on the stage who has ever been fined for hiring people to work on your

>> i am the only one on the stage who has hired people. federal court found donald guilty of being part of a conspiracy to hire people illegally, and entered a $1 million judgment against him. hillary clinton maintains a 20 to 30 point lead in south carolina. voters head to the poll tomorrow for that primary. noon, up on abc 7 news at police launched a massive search for a missing unicorn. the story behind this ahead. to open,ally going what you need to know ahead of the d.c. streetcar opening. what is this burning tractor-trailer carrying that made firefighters' jobs even harder this morning? it is cold, but warmer days are coming.

jummy: take a look at this video right here. this was the source of a lot of headaches for commuters around baltimore this morning. a tractor-trailer hauling tires just burst into flavors -- into flames on northbound i-83. despite how dangerous it looked, no one was hurt. people riding metro this weekend will need a little bit of patience. all six lines will see some sort of service change. the green line sees the most delays with 24 minutes between trains. the silver and yellow lines will not be running their full route. the work begins at 10:00 tonight goes through closing on sunday. it has

since empty street began test runs up and down h street, and not a single passenger has written. that all changes tomorrow. suzanne kennedy shows us what to expect. making, years in the d.c. streetcars are about to start rolling on eight straight -- eight street. they are running some test runs. a ceremony will kick it off tomorrow, and the public will be allowed onto the system's first official ride. it cost $200 million. street ride down 8th from benning road to oklahoma avenue, with eight stops. people,city will be 150 bigger than a metro car or an articulated bus. people in this section of d.c. have mixed opinions about seeing the system running. >> if you

want to go to chinatown, you have to catch a trolley, get off right here by union station, and catch another bus to get wherever you are trying to go. >> how are they going to make money on it? they still did not seem to know. if it works, awesome. if not, whatever. -- the: the free streetcars will be free for about six months and then the department of transportation will announce a fair schedule. jummy: here is what the schedule will look like for the streetcar , monday through thursday from 6:00 a.m. until midnight. our brianne carter is about to take the first ride on the streetcar so you can watch on abc seven news at four clock. -- at four clock. -- at 4:00. doug:

but sunday will warm up nicely. a look outside from all the, virginia in loudoun county. we had a few snow showers in flurries blowing around briefly. not surprising with the gusty flow of cold wind out of the west. , andw the clouds break up the cloud cover will stay pushing off to the east and southeast. 39 at reagan national as we speak, 36 in frederick, baltimore is at 38. spotse of the warmer reported in fredericksburg. we have had wind gusts as high as 35 miles per hour in washington, 33 miles per hour in leesburg, so it is going to be augusta afternoon and that will drive the windchill temperatures down a little bit. the air temperatures will

will make it feel colder as we head through the afternoon and evening hours. futurecast, we can check out the feels-like temperature's. right now chills are running in that early 20's. late this afternoon, it is going to stay on the chilly side. late tonight, early tomorrow morning, chills will be in the 20's. the wind direction will start to change. that is how we will get a little bit of a warm-up into the upper 40's tomorrow, and milder on sunday. we have a flow of cold northwesterly wind over the lakes. the mountains will pick up an inch or two of snow. east of the mountains, plenty of sunshine. tomorrow, lots of sunshine, still a bit of a breeze but definitely not gusty, 48

sunday. we will keep the mild temperatures for a while. we will hit the 60 degree mark on sunday, and let's head to monday, tuesday, wednesday. low 60's. a cold front will come to town wednesday evening. jummy: i love that stretch. doug: it is a little more springlike. before long, pollen counts will start to go up. jummy: still here at noon -- >> the calls were coming in, there is a unicorn running around outside the roadway. jummy: the real-life search for what we have been told is a fictional creature. taking a look at the red carpet for the last minu

jummy: the oscars are now just two days away, and that means hollywood is moving full speed to be ready. us what is shows happening from the red carpet. kidd: good afternoon from the red carpet, where it is covered in plastic ahead of sunday's oscars, and people in hollywood are excited for the big show. some will watch the oscars for the entertainment. excitement, like carmen who came all the way from spain. >> we wanted to come to california, but it has to be on the oscars week. i made it. kidd: what do you think of beautiful hollywood? >> it is awesome. kidd:

because she has a goal to someday be at the oscars. so you want to be an actress or writer or director? >> act. kidd: she might be on her way. she was on her way from a photo shoot. who is it for? >> forever 21. kidd: you are on your way. the interview now, let's pretend you won the oscar. how does it feel to win an oscar? >> awesome. kidd: whatever your region -- reason for watching, it is sure to be a night you do not forget. press from around the world already broadcasting ahead of sunday's oscars. i am kidd o'shea, abc 7 news. jummy: of course he will be giving us live reports from the red carpet all weekend long. watch f h

seven news starting at 4:00. it is being called the holy grail of beatles memorabilia, one of the most rare albums is hitting the auction block. it is credited with getting them their first record contract. hello,side is a song, it'll girl. pianist found the album in his home. next, the real-life search for a missing uniform -- unicorn. doug has the timing for the forecast.

jummy: it might be one of the oddest 911 calls ever received, reports of a unicorn running in traffic. a was a pony that appears as unicorn at children's parties and other events. juliet somehow escaped her barn. a manhunt incorporated a police helicopter before the unicorn was safely rounded up. >> the call came out that the uniform -- unicorn was in custody. as tense as the situation was, that was the comedic release that was needed at the time, and i laughed and cried and thanked god here it -- thanked god. >>

was being a bad pony. hurt, noliet was not one else was hurt, and the unicorn is now safe and sound. doug: for many more little girls' birthday parties. look at the potomac river. looking live national harbor, it is just brown and monday from all of the rain we have had. it will clear up, the settlement -- sediment will settle down. today, 35 miles per hour last check at reagan national. seven or eight degrees below average and with the wind it will feel somewhat cooler. look at sunday, lots of sunshine, up to 61. jummy: thank you for watching. have a great weekend.

for a cup of coffee just because you're a woman. so why does congress think it's ok that women get paid 20% less than a man for doing the same job?

choice for women, and expand paid and family leave. now some politicians will belittle this as a women's agenda. more proof that we just need more women in congress. i'm kathleen mathews and i approve this message.

>> welcome to movie week. in honor of the oscars, we're playing our game today with some of the biggest movie fans in the country, and it's showtime. let's play "who wants to be a millionaire." [dramatic music] ♪ hello, everybody. i'm chris harrison, welcome to the show. are you guys ready to keep playing millionaire movie week? [audience cheering] this has been an absolute blast. our returning contestant is a high school teacher who's inspiring a new generation of movie buffs. from watertown, massachusetts, give it up for dave weintraub. hey, dave, welcome back. >> hey, great to see you again. >> good to see you, as well. >> all right. >> well, you're doing great, and by the way, we're gonna jump ahead, 'cause you have three lifelines remaining. >> yeah. >> one of em