nt 30 years working both sides of the aisle. i'm david trone and i approve this message. >> from abc 7 news, this is a breaking news alert. larry: president obama just announced his pick to fill the vacancy on the supreme court. merrick garland. more on him coming up. theegin with trouble on tracks. no metro trains are running today. we are almost halfway through the unprecedented 29 hour shutdown. commuters forced to find alt

resume until 5:00 tomorrow morning. the impact is being felt on the roads for the morning rush and is expected to be a problem again this evening. at thete reyes is live king street metro in alexandria. jeannette: we have been covering since this -- we have been covering this since this morning. take a look behind me. the gates are closed and it has been surprisingly slow. believe it or not, this is what it has looks like for most of the day. they have not been as crowded as we expect. take a look at the line of taxicabs. i have talked to them at the stop and others. -- this stop and others. they are telling me it has been slower today than it was yesterday. we have not seen that rush

all rail lines are closed in this unprecedented move that metro has taken to make things safer. we are talking over 700,000 people that take metrorail and many of them are federal workers and have the option of working from home. it seems many people decided to do that. but there were some frustrated writers earlier this morning. >> it's really messed up. >> how's it going to be today? >> long. >> my boss and i get along very well. he wants me to work, i said, ok, i will be there. that gentleman took a unique approach to get into work , calling on his boss. -- ahing we have noticed little bit of confusion. some people, it has been their first time getting on metro bus.

getting back to their normal routine tomorrow morning, hopefully at 5:00. i'm jeannette reyes. larry: some would be rail writers turned to metro buses to get to work today. crowds packing bus terminals and many of them have never used metro buses before. john gonzalez is at the silver print -- silver spring transit center with more. john: it has been a controlled chaos. not an overcrowding situation. it appears the system has worked today with the buses. metro has decided not to add extra buses. here's the situation. take a look at this man right here with his suitcase. he's walking up to the rail station and finds out there closed. that has been happening all day long here at the silver spring station. it has been so bad that a metro transit police officer is now parked right

the gate that is locked, telling people the station is closed. they have to quickly come over here and try to get on these free buses. it has been confusing. in virginia, you need to figure out where to get on the bus. >> i'm trying to get on the s bus to d.c. because i'm going to farragut north. john: and you never take the bus. >> not from here. john: when did you find out about the closures? >> right before i left to go home yesterday. john: so you had a little bit of time to plan. >> yes. i have no idea where to catch the bus. john: people have been getting on these buses to their destinations. it is hard to figure out what bus to get on when you do not normally ride the bus service. people are saying their commutes have been doubled if not triple today. larry:

a lot of people deciding to just drive in and that is causing big backups on the roads. jamie: the heaviest time was this morning and it will be this afternoon when everyone is trying to leave at the same time. take a look at 270. we are clear and it looks great. no issues once you get on the capital beltway. i want to move to virginia and focus on falls church. .e have a water main break 395 is clear getting into d.c.. no problems approaching the 14th street bridge. i'm so happy to see this much green. let's talk about the issue with the metro shutdown. commuting options for this

with how to take the metro bus. if you don't take the bus, you are not sure. ask people. we have a lot more people today who are being accommodating and helpful. bike share is a good option for you. that is 24 hours. they have said it will be free. codes thater have you can use. i just tweeted all of that. hill will come up in a little bit and talk about the impact if you are walking this afternoon. stay tuned for that. larry: stay with abc 7 throughout the day. we will have continuing coverage. and an also find updates full list of ways to get around at wjla.com. or biking walking this afternoon, the

we are tracking showers and thunderstorms expected later today. it's a gorgeous day. doug hill is here to tell us if it will stay that way. doug: we have a few more hours like this. later this afternoon, showers. maybe a rumble of thunder. 71 degrees in centreville. a few high clouds and plenty of sunshine. temperatures warming quickly in some spots. 59 in culpeper and manassas. everybody else is warming up nicely. 68 at reagan national. we will see sunshine for a few more hours. around 3:30, clouds increase. it will cause some showers to develop across the region. clearing out late tonight. there is a cold front and lots of rain to the north.

showers in time for rush hour. if you are walking or biking today, find an umbrella. we will talk about the weekend in a couple of minutes. larry: president obama has made his pick for the u.s. supreme court. he calls appeals court judge merrick garland one of america's sharpest legal minds. scott thuman is live at the capitol hill bureau with what we know about him and his chances of becoming the next justice. >> he is well-liked on both sides of the aisle. he has an impressive resume. he has been on the bench since 1997 and the chief since 2013. that is not what is up for debate right now. the issue is whether or not president

forward with a nominee in an election year. right, republicans, even those who like judge garland are saying, absolutely not, it's about the policy, the president should not appoint someone, we have to wait until after the elections in november. obviously this is a partisan issue. as he you to hear him talks about the potential for a republican blockade on the hill. >> to go down that path would be wrong. it would be a betrayal of our best traditions. vision ofayal of the our founding documents. at a time when our politics are so polarized, at a time when norms and customs of political rhetoric and courtesy and comedy are so often treated like they are

precisely the time when we should play it straight. >> republican leaders insist while the president has every right to put forward a name, they have every right on the senate side to deny the confirmation process. now we have what it shaping up to be quite a showdown. the president is saying merrick garland will make the rounds on the hill, which is traditional the day after someone is mentioned as a nominee. they go and curry favor and answer questions with members of the senate who will be voting in the confirmation process. whether that gets beyond the front door, we don't know. this is a bit of uncharted territory in recent history. we will have to wait and see if republicans are even willing to entertain this idea of talking to merrick garland or if he's going to be locked out. times 17

supreme court justice. five times in the 20th century. so there is some history here. >> president obama is saying, it would be crazy for me as a president to wait an entire year and not act. he says, if you are a member of the senate, are you such a lame duck in your final year that you do not work? larry: and here we go. the battle of words continues. we will talk to you later this afternoon. coming up, continuing coverage of the metro shutdown. alternative ways to get around and the scramble for some commuters today. plus, the field narrows again. the latest on last night's big primary wins and losses. plus, adjust your calendars again. the newly announced peak bloom dates for the cherry blossoms.

larry: continuing coverage of the metro shutdown as commuters scramble to find alternate rides to work today. many slow drivers in northern virginia waited longer to find writers -- riders. in: a very unique morning northern virginia. cars waited 30 minutes to pick up writers. those looking for a ride into the city were able to jump in and work on within second. , you are probably in and out within five minutes. sam: with metro shutdown, many federal workers just stayed home. >>

around this time there is usually a long line. at the warner commuter lot, the 5:00 and 6:00 hours went smooth. by 7:00, drivers lined up and waited and waited some more. >> a lot of people are teleworking. i would be doing the same, but i have school at nighttime. sam: in order to drive in the hov lane you must have at least three people in the car. by late morning the weight was so long, many just gave in and left empty-handed. >> i've been in the line maybe 30 minutes. am: if you are looking for ride back to northern virginia tonight, there should be a surplus of cars. reporting in woodbridge, sam sweeney. larry: there are other ways to get around today.

ridesharing across the region. are offering lyft discounts. capital bike share is offering a free 24 hour membership. if you're going to carpool, remember hov restrictions are 66, 267,place for 395, and 270. some major changes following last night primaries. one candidate calling it quits, narrowing the republican field to three. hillary clinton inching closer to the nomination. the latest from the campaign trail. situation for both donald trump and hillary clinton. afterictorious last night voters made their choice during super tuesday number three. trumps focus

party. >> there's a tremendous fervor. the republican should grasp it. the third guarantees that the democrats will win. his overwhelming win in the sunshine state was devastating enough to suspend the campaign of marco rubio. >> while we are on the right side, this year, we will not be on the winning side. >> while rubio dropped out, john kasich pushing forward with full steam ahead after taking all 66 delegates in his home state of ohio. >> we are going to go all the way to cleveland and secure the republican nomination. >> hillary clinton swept four of the five states up for grabs. the democratic front-runner now has a laser focus on donald trump. >> when we hear a candidate for president call for rounding up 12 million immigrants, that doesn't make him s

>> as for bernie sanders, a disappointing night. his path to the nomination looks extremely grim. presidential candidates don't have scheduled events today, except for john kasich who is in pennsylvania. the next debate is scheduled for monday in utah. it is a debate donald trump says he did not know about and will likely not participate in. larry: the popular court show judge judy is at the center of its own legal drama. a talent agency is suing cbs television. the agency claims the media giant failed to pay millions in profits and now the show is losing money because of judge judy's $47 million annual salary. in the statement, she calls the complaint "hilarious." severe storms brought several

overnight. at least nine reported twisters spinning through i was and illinois -- iowa and illinois. semi-oninds knocked a its side and ripped apart a barn. hammeringsized hail cars. peak bloom for the cherry blossoms has been pushed back. the national park service now predicts it will start march 23 and 24th. last week because of the warm weather, the dates moved up. 7 is proud to be a sponsor of this year's cherry blossom festival. we are still kind of ahead of the curve. doug: we had a stretch a very warm days and then it got very chilly. we will cool off tomorrow and get really chilly again for the weekend. i think they are right on target.

thursday and friday of next week. have an hdinia, we weatherbug camera. fogng the morning, the lifted briefly and then it came back. still heavy cloud cover. in those areas, temperatures running near 60. you will break out of the clouds briefly and warm up before this front comes through with showers later on. 68 gaithersburg. 60 in college park. 69 in fredericksburg. clouds will increase. highs generally 73, 74 across the metro area. showers as early as

or 4:00 and then it will clear for the evening. showers in pennsylvania. this segment of the front will come through later this afternoon with showers and a couple of thunderstorms. there is a possibility of maybe having a few very heavy isolated thunderstorms with hail and high wind gusts. the entire region could see isolated thunderstorms as well. we have several models. this is the most aggressive model. it shows the highest number and concentration of showers and storms. this is the worst it could be. , showers and storms forming west of the metro by 3:30 and quickly moving off to the east by 4:30 or 5:00. we are looking at improving conditions

the 70's. for st.es tomorrow patrick's day. maybe an isolated shower. isolated shower friday and 58. the weekend, great outdoor weather saturday at 51. rain developing on sunday. larry: coming now at havertys furniture, it's our spring home event, where you can create the perfect home. from now until march twenty-first... you'll find huge savings on stylish pieces, plus you'll save an extra one hundred dollars, on every thousand you spend. and, we're offering twenty-four month, no interest financing. come in today for storewide savings. with havertys, your home can be perfect. even when life isn't. [thwack] the spring home event. from classic to contemporary, havertys. when i was sidelined with blood clots in my lung,h.

fortunately, my doctor had a game plan. treatment with xarelto®. hey guys! hey, finally, somebody i can look up to... ...besides arnie. xarelto® is proven to treat and help reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots. xarelto® is also proven to reduce the risk of stroke in people with afib, not caused by a heart valve problem. for people with afib currently well managed on warfarin, there's limited information on how xarelto® and warfarin compare in reducing the risk of stroke. you know, i tried warfarin, but the blood testing and dietary restrictions... don't get me started on that. i didn't have to. we started on xarelto®. nice pass. safety first. like all blood thinners, don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase your risk of a blood clot or stroke. while taking, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. xarelto® may increase your sk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you have had spinal anesthesia while on xarelto®, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle related

do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. you know xarelto® is the #1 prescribed blood thinner in its class. that's a big win. it is for me. with xarelto® there is no regular blood monitoring and no known dietary strictions. treatment with xarelto®. ...was the right move for us. ask your doctor about xarelto®. larry: the cdc has issued new craneines for prescribing killers. they say the risks for the drugs outweigh the benefits for most people. to prescribedvised the lowest dose possible for the shortest amo

it's the first time the cdc has issued guidelines for opiate painkillers. kathleen matthews: if we want to be heard, we need women in congress. it was the women who forced republicans to include women's health and contraceptive coverage in the affordable care act. in congress, i'll fight for pay equity,

gun safety laws. and, as an environmentalist, i'll work combat climate change. i know as a journalist and as a senior executive in business that when women are at the table, we get things done. i'm kathleen mathews and i approve this message.

doug: sunshine and mild temperatures for a couple more hours. after 3:30 or so, showers and storms likely. larry: thank you for joining us. be sure to watch abc 7 news at 4:00. have a great day.

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