coverage at the verizon center. scott? >> you are right about that. the crowd is growing in anticipation for donald trump's speech. i spoke earlier today with former presidential candidate senator lindsey graham. i asked him about the importance of the speech. is this a make or a break type scenario? >> he said look, this is one of the top four or five events to perform well at if you are going to win the white house. this is not just pro-israel voters and the sun pores -- supporters. evangelicals keep a close ear on what they hear today. we want to play a clip from hillary clinton who spoke this morning and kasich at the podium now as they talk about the unwavering support for israel. >> if you see bigry, oppose it. if you sigh violence, condemn. if you see bully, stand up to him. >> i re

support for the jewish state and the unique partnership between the united states and israel. >> meanwhile we want to give you a live pick of the crowd sizable to say the least. all the candidates except for bernie sanders speaking to the crowd. he had a conflict with the schedule. he is campaigning out west. we have full coverage coming up on newschannel8 at 10:00 and abc7 at 11:00, including comments from donald trump when he takes the podium. back to you. leon: a lot of comments made outside the verizon center. roz plater continues our coverage from aipac. what are you hearing and seeing down there?

this crowd has in spite of all of that getting louder and chanting the drums being beaten right now. you can see they are all keep behind barricades in front of the verizon center. the police presence heavy here. they have shut down the block between six and seventh street on f street. this is a mixed bag of to protesters and issues protesting anything from the war to anti-civil rights. for those who don't support donald trump. that is the largest group of protesters. there are interesting protests. signs and banners, along with the costumes. that is their message. the folks aren't part of the conference and they can't get inside to protest mr. trump. but they hope by the numbers on the outside, they can send a message loud and clear.

he has nod ideas or policies. he just says trust me. i'm amazing. so listen to the facts. get the facts. come to conclusions. the slogan is bring back america but he is talking one existed in racism and denying the fundamental rights. >> now there is a massive police presence here. you can see some of them here. in front of the verizon center and at each intersection for several block radius around the protest group and the verizon center here. so far, things here as you can see have been relatively -- well, not quiet but peaceful. we hope it continues. live in d.c., roz plater. leon: this man may be the most popular republican in town. house speaker paul ryan in front of the aipac crowd

we expect when he wraps up donald trump will begin remarks. we will keep our eyes and ears on that scene there. we will be at aipac for the duration of the convention of the conference and we are coverage at newschannel8 and abc7 news at 11:00 and a complete wrap-up on wjla.com. maureen: president obama is sounding and optimistic tone about the future of the u.s.-cuba relations in historic trip to cuba. he shook hands with president castro today. followed by a face-to-face meeting and joint news conference. a big issue is the u.s. trade embargo. the president said he believes it will be lifted but not before he leaves office. >> i am confident we will deliver brighter future for the cuban and the

people. maureen: tomorrow, mr. obama will talk to the cuban people in a televised speech. leon: a trooper is facing charges after he allegedly shot and killed a dog. campbell based in springfield is charged with animal cruelty and discharging a firearm after allegedly shooting a pitbull on march 8. tonight an arlington tow truck driver facing charges and is charged with stealing from the vehicles he towed. police say 35-year-old phillip pierce stole thousands of dollars worth of items out of three vehicles. the items include electronics, wallet and purses. fellow drivers say they noticed pierce going back and forth from the truck in an unusual number of times. they called the police and he is now charged with grand larceny, burglary and marijuana possession.

maureen: still ahead at 6:00 -- how you can get a close look fiat pope francis traveled, in during his historic trip to the district. leon: flipping houses can be lucrative if you pick the right neighborhood. the beg neighborhood to buy and flip. number one is in our area. >> they ride on the coattail of the men. >> what he had to say about the female tennis players that is creating a fire sorm. doug: this is the coolest day of the week. we will warm up. but how much? is it going to feel like spring? i will let you know at "abc7 news at 6:00". a look at the eaglets a it the national arboretum. they are now caring for both of the chicks at the arboretum. check in on the nests when you want to

stream at wjla.com.

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announcer: you're watching "abc7 news at 6:00". on your side. leon: a giant tree took out power lines and damaged a parked car in arlington. no one was hurt, though. 28 streets south near gunston middle school was blocked for several hours untith

way and restore services in the area. maureen: a developing story from california. raymond moore director of the bnp paribas open tournament made statements before the women's final yesterday. he said women players are riding on the codetail of male players. >> in my next life i want to come back to be somebody in the w.t.a. they ride on the coat tail of the men. if i was a lady player i would go down every night on my knees to thank god that roger federer and nadal were born because they have carried the sport. maureen: current and former women players including serena williams and billii jean king denounced the comments. what do you think of th

tennis? join the conversation on the facebook page. leon: a lot of folks disagree with him. no more betting on the sites. they had a long lawsuit. they are considering legislation to regulate the online fantasy sports site that will address both futures in new york. >> coming up, where you may want to consider flipping a house to make hundreds of thousands of dollars. >> this is pope francis' fiat. i will tell you why it's here next. erin: i'm erin hawksworth. coming up in sports the men re0ed warm welcome home and the maryland women are getting ready to host washington tonight. kathleen matthews: if we

o 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, family leave and tougher 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.

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leon: once again a peak at the centreville. house

addressing the crowd there. with will coverage throughout newschannel8 and on abc7 as well. maureen: "7 on your side" about consumer alert for grass prices. in time for spring break, the gas prices continue to go up. the national average is $1.98 a gallon. virginia is well below the national average at $1.83. the district is higher at $2.09. d.c. is a good place to flip a house. according to redfin, threed neighborhoods are in the top ten nationwide for best places to flip a

alexandria del ray neighborhood also made the list. leon: a property that could make you a penny if you could flip them. the images of d.c. in the fiat. he used two in town and one is on display for st. matthews in northwest washington. >> i am outside st. matthews cathedral. this is one of the two fiats donated by a car company that pope francis used in his famous visit. in the visit last september the pope received attention riding around d.c. in the humble fiat while the others

cars. the archdiocese plans to use the car to promote the various events around the city. it is using the #drivewithfrancis. this is one of eight that the car company donated and brought for the pope's use. the two others were given the organizations. among those who took a look at today was the cardinal of washington. >> we hope it reminds everybody of the visit he had here and the great time for us in washington.

>> the blessing to the holy oil will be used throughout the city throughout the year and the fiat will be here for another hour. but it will be promoting various causes that the catholic church has. reporting live from northwest washington, sam ford, abc7 news. you know you are big if the car you rode in one time turns into a celebrity. maureen: and it's valuable. a cool weekend. it has not affected the cherry blossoms. doug: no. cold. nasty. but didn't do any damage. didn't have problems for the roads. today we have the sun back. tomorrow we get warmth back. a lot of ground to cover here. let's get started a live look right now at the capital wheel. chop on the water from northwesterly winds gusting up at times. 52 at

north/northwesterly wind at 13. dew point at 18 degrees. that tells us the air is dry. with the mostly clear skies. diminishing wind and dry air to tell us it will get chilly. check out numbers for monday in the area. official high of 53. average is up to 58. 37 is the morning low. 39 in the average morning low. norm we will do better with the high and the lows as we continue to see a warming trend underway. 52 in manassas. frederick at 46. 42 in hagerstown. the winds will diminish tonight. gusty. the wind speeds at the last check, sustained. 25 miles per hour at the airport in leesburg. 13 at reagan national. 21 in andrew. they are down a little bit from a few hours ago. later tonight they will drop more. the atmospheric conditions i describe will contribute to the temperatures between 29 and 37 degrees. by early tomorrow morning the skies will be partly cloudy or mostly clear. by the early morning the winds are lighter. out of the southwest at 2 to 5. that sou

right now they are still out of the west northwest. to bring snowshowers across the great lakes. the final end of the new england storm moving to sea. instead of low 50's, it is 70, 75 by thursday. side-by-side for a look another of what the change in the wind direction does. we look at the peak blooms with the cherry blossom. friday morning the cold front will bring us clouds and showers.

>> last week we thought they were falling apart. leon: where has this been? they will extend the win streak to 5:00. and they have

announcer: now the toyota sports desk, brought to you by your local toyota dealer. erin: it was just last week when the wizards were plummeting from the playoff race. they have come back to life and tied a season high wind streak and they will look to build off the success tonight in atlanta. the wizards have won four straight games and are only a game and a half behind chicago for that final playoff spot. not to mention the defense improved. they are only giving up 90 points opposed to the 110 in a five game losing streak last week. the maryland men basketball team is back in college park after the trip to spokane for the ncaa tournament. a welcome back rally held on the front steps of the xfinity center this afternoon. they defeated hawaii on sunday in second round to advance to the first tweet 16 in

the 14th sweet 16 berth in program history. >> what do you make of this? >> this is awesome. great to see the fans supporting us. >> you are a senior. what better way to do it than this. >> yeah. wi want to keep winning. erin: the maryland women's team host the washington huskies tonight in the second with a spot in the sweet 16 on the line. the terps seek to reach the third straight final four and hope the up tempo style will help them go deep in the tournament. >> we want to continue to out lese the depth. we want to be uptempo and get up and down the floor. make it an up tempo game for 40 minutes. the depth allows us to play that way. erin: we wish them all the luck tonight

leon's cleveland browns reportedly working on signing robert griffin iii. how do you feel about that? >> i don't know. go from johnny manziel to robert griffin iii? >> they like drama. like the new cowboys. leon: yes they are. cowboys north. maureen: hear from doug. doug: clear skies and chilly temperatures. 29 to 37 by morning. the warming trend begins tomorrow. 60 degrees on tuesday. wednesday and thursday in the 70's. the best temperatures of the week will match the time of the peak bloom. brian is in for steve rudin tonight to talk about rebounding temperature and look at easter sunday. leon: sounds good. maureen: and "world news tonight" with david muir is coming up next.

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glenn:threateningicans: gofederal workers;ns over 60 votes to repeal obamacare. now they're refusing to even consider president obama's nominee for the supreme court. it disrespects the president and all of us -- and we won't put up with it. in congress, i'll protect president obama's legacy, defend obamacare, and stand up for social security and medicare. i'm glenn ivey and i approve this message. i'll take on republicans - for all of us.

tonight, a special edition of "world news tonight" from cuba. the president making history here, proclaiming the united states and cuba are no longer enemies. standing side by side with raul castro. the extraordinary moment. castro taking questions from reporters. pressed on human rights. and the uncomfortable moment with president obama. and right after, my exclusive interview with the president. we asked, what was said inside that room with raul castro. you were in that room, do you trust president castro? do you believe that he truly wants change here? we also asked the president about criticism back home and the arrest of disdepartments right here in cuba, even as he arrived, as he now prepares for his historic speech to the people of cuba. tonight, donald trump wi