which went down in southwest d.c. last december. now from the beginning the investigators said they believe the motive was robbery. today the chief echoes that sentiment. she said that 29-year-old charles sims and 17-year-old maurice bellamy are charged with first-degree murder. bellamy is the same that appeared in court charged with shooting washington, the 15-year-old killed at the deanwood metro station over easter weekend. the chief says witnesses coming forward were crucial to making these arrests. >> you are sick of the violence. the rumor that people won't corporate with the police is not the case. we get a lot from our community. we owe it to them to come back out and let everyone know.

had been suspended by the secret service. he had been in court shortly before his murder. stephen tschida, abc7 news. leon: thank you. also the interest of promoting safety, the d.c. public schools change the dismissal times of two high schools beginning monday. mckinley technological high school will end the day at 3:05. dunbar high school will send substitutes home -- send students home at 3:25 so fewer students heading home to the metro station at the same time. alison? [inaudible] [inaudible] >> what we are talking about here is the text messages and the phone calls we got a look at earlier today.

bateman's wife elsie telling a dispatcher she was punched in the face, had to talk down her husband. she claims he was drinking, violent and had guns everywhere. >> what is going on? >> he punched me in the eye. >> the voice you hear is elsie bateman talking to the 911 dispatcher claiming violence at the hands of her husband, a man with a recognizable name. joce: the newly released call flipping the script on what the sheriff and his wife previously said happened. >> i have never ever, ever assaulted elsie. joce: in a press conference bateman denied striking his wife and she put out a statement denying. joce: elsie bateman doing aboutface in text messages obtained by the i-team. after telling an anne arundel county detective she is s

heading to court for a protective order, one day later she says the sheriff, "never struck or hit me." i am not sure how i was injured. it all happened so fast. joce: the call and messaging are troubling and upsetting the county leaders who are calling for bateman to re-sign saying it threatens the public trust and bateman's ability to administer the sheriff's office. sheriff bateman's attorney says he has absolutely no intention of resigning and there is no reason for him to step down because he did not assault his wife. we called the sheriff office and were told the sheriff is on vacation this week. leon: a week after a firefighter was last seen there is new if

what mittendorff did. it centers on a phone call. kevin lewis tracking the case from the shenandoah national park where mittendorff's car was found this weekend. what can you tell us at this point? kevin: this is a complex search because of the mountains you terrain and the limited sunlight. take a look at the map. the map for the shenandoah national park. the scenic skyline drive runs atop the mountain ridge for a hundred miles. but this area circled is where the search crews are focusing the efforts. this is close to the skyland lodge. like you said, park ranger found mittendorff's car right here. next to the white oak canyon trail. that is where the crews are searching at this moment. nearly a hundred people are now scours steep shenandoah terrain in the search for missing fairfax county firefighter nicole mittendorff. many parking lots are full of police vehicles and a number of popular trails are blocked. the national park service launched a mobile command center, tracking searc

technology. >> it's tough. as an example, yesterday, we had a crew of special operations folks who were repelling the canyon. this is a very, very rough area. kevin: late this afternoon they confirmed search dogs made hit by smell but no one has yet to stumble on i physical evidence. >> she called in sick the first day. kevin: this morning, mittendorff's firefighting shift commander revealed that the 31-year-old called into work sick last wednesday. she wasn't scheduled to work on thursday. but then failed to report for duty on friday. by saturday evening a park ranger located her mini cooper in the lower parking lot near the white oak canyon trail head at shenandoah. authorities are keeping tight lipped but said foul play is not suspected. >> all i can say is if you can hear us, reach out to somebody. give us a call. your home is still here. we're

kevin: to recap. last wednesday was the last time anyone heard from mittendorff. today we learned it's the same day she called in to work sick. today a firefighter who would not speak on camera but had intimate knowledge of the case told me the virginia state police know more than they are sharing with the public right now. we are live in madison county, virginia, i'm kevin lewis abc7 news. leon: thank you, kevin. a lot of questions. we're continuing to follow breaking news out of montgomery county where the firefighters are battling a duplex fire. live pictures from news chopper 7. the smoke that we last checked in on this than 15 minutes ago. stay with us on abc7. we'll have new information about the breaking situation when we get it in. alison: we are following a developing story now in shenandoah national park. where firefighters there are battling that growing wildfire. so right now, 15 to 25 different fires are burning. consuming more than 5600 acres. it's affecting five counties

skyline drive. the scenic highway and section of the appalachian trail are now closed. more than 250 firefighters have joined in on the fight. so the dry conditions are a cause for concern in the area. there is rain on the horizon, though. chief meteorologist doug hill can tell us what to expect. doug: we have a chance of rain across the area on friday. maybe a quarter to a half inch in a few spots. it's not going to make up the three, three and a half inch deficit but it is a start and will knock pollen out of the air. looking live on the weather bug camera at the campus of riverdale baptist school. beautiful afternoon. great day to be outside. low 70's across the area. comfortable reading. 70 in winchester. 69 in culpeper. 72 in luray. east side of town. 6 in annapolis. 69 in reagan national airport. by early tomorrow morning, the western zone in the suburbs are mid-40's to upper 40's in downtown washington. plean

the coast tomorrow to open the door for a warm front to form through kentucky and indiana and move north. we will be warmer and humid air to bring us showers and the afternoon thunderstorms for the day on friday. so the forecast for tomorrow looks nice. partly to mostly sunny. late in day. well west of the blue ridge. late day shower. we will check out the weekend in detail in a couple of minutes. leon: the fall-out from flint, michigan's water crisis resulting this charges filed three employees. attorney general says two regulators and a flint water supervisor now have to face charges, felony. alleging that they knowingly lied about the water test required on certain homes before the transition. leaving nearly 100,000 residents exposed for months. >> they failed in their responsibilities to protect the health and safeties of the families of flint. leon: all three are facing up to five years behind

michigan governor rick snyder suspended two of them. he described the charges as deeply troubles. alison: now to vote 2016 today where the big question after hillary clinton's big win in new york last night is whether ben bernanke has a shot at -- bernie sanders has a it shot at the democratic nomination. scott thuman following the campaign trail. is this the end of the road? scott t.: there is greater separation now between the front runners and the rest of the field on both parties at this point. but just because they are down doesn't mean they are out. >> the race for the democratic nomination in the home stretch. victory in sight. scott t.: it sounds like hillary clinton is saying the race is over and bernie sanders should drop out. he is not taking it to heart. sanders is still mathematically in the race with a possi

the time and the tallies aren't on his side. the light time there was no incumbent running for office was 2008. then senator barack obama didn't clinch until clinton conceded in june. john mccain hit the magic delicate in march. mike huckabee dropped out but paul stayed in until june. in 2012, gingrich and paul stuck around until may. >> i can't tell governor kasich what to do. >> or democrats. >> i don't think sanders should get out of the race. democracy is a good thing. >> it doesn't m

but the own gut. back to sanders there is a hint of uncertainty in the camp. after a senior adviser said they plan to sit back and assess where they are after they vote on tuesday. that includes maryland. alison: one more note about that. the next step in race to the white house is maryland. ted cruz held a campaign rally on monday. kasich held two events last night. we will take a closer look at "abc7 news at 6:00". leon: still ahead this hour. change for a 20. historic change that will oust andrew jackson and bring significant changes to other cash in your wallet as well. >> i'm glad figuretively i'm a bleeding heart.

gunpoint and why the owner says he isn't angry at the thief. >> what triggered a fire to pay tribute to fallen firefighter. alison: a plane crash in the shadow of the

i'm chris van hollen, and i approve this message. narrator: an attack ad from the campaign for donna edwards. so untrue. so outrageous that president obama said, "pull it down." the obama white house called the ad on chris van hollen and the nra "misleading." the sun says van hollen and president obama have the exact same position. the post praised van hollen

g champion on gun safety," and condemned the edwards ads that "mislead" voters. donna edwards. will she say anything to win an election?

leon: the victims in yesterday's deadly plane crash in queen ann's county have been identified. maryland state police say richard hess was flying the plane and janet metz was a passenger. it happened yesterday afternoon. they're investigating the cause. alison: tierful goodbye in hollywood, maryland, as a firefighter who died trying to save a life was remembered. brad bell was there as hundreds said farewell to john ulmschneider. brad: under the bluest of skies in front of hundreds of formally dressed firefighters and police officers a formation called sea of blue. the casket of lieutenant john ulmschneider is carried from the wooden chap pel to the -- chapel to the fire truck he rode on hu

his wife dawn and little girl abigail walk behind. during the funeral mass at the country church where he and his wife were members there are words from the governor and the county executive. his friends say he was somebody worth knowing. >> absolutely the hardest working young man. farm boy style mentality. >> doubleday and ulmschneider became buddies years ago. >> i won't call him "john." he's "skillet." brad: he had to try to make sense of the death. >> we would have done the same thing he did. brad: skillet shot and killed on a medical call by a homeowner who claims he thought arriving firefighters were bad guys breaking into his home. the second firefighter remains hospitalized. the shooter under investigation. but free and not charged with a crime. skillet's friends say the system w

today, they just want to honor skillet as a father, farmer, and a firefighter. >> i know it will be a long, hard process. the one good thing is we are a family. >> 37-year-old lieutenant john skillet ulmschneider laid to rest today at a private ceremony. in st. mary's county, brad bell, abc7 news. alison: an apartment fire today in suitland became an example of local fire departments helping their colleagues in prince george's county. firefighters from d.c., baltimore, la plata, alexandria, and wheaton all responded to this fire at pembrook station apartments. those firefighters rescued several residents including a baby. no one was hurt. several people lost their homes in this. the fire is now blamed on malfunctioning electronics. leon: speaking of fire, we are still at high alert fire for brush fire

doug: no. the winds are much lower today. it's still exceptionally dry. more dry than yesterday. we will get rain coming here friday. this is bull run elementary school. late in the afternoon high clouds coming in. we will see more of that tomorrow in the way of cloudiness. especially tomorrow afternoon. now here is the latest on the rainfall deficit. this is the number sings march 1. the departure from average. reagan national, three inches below rainfall. three inches at dulles. it's eight consecutive dry day. more to come before the rain of friday arrive. as far as the numbers go, this is com

couple of days. we expected that. comfortable nonetheless. 72 in leesburg and manassas. annapolis at 64. 71 degrees in fredericksburg. pocket of the warm air in the west. a little warm front. not going to get all this air directly transported in. we will see the winds continue to turn south and southwesterly. tomorrow is a few degrees warm er than toad. mid-70's on friday. not the 80's. with friday's cold front. in the atmosphere, high pressure over quebec province in canada. we may have late day showers across the appalachians onioned. friday, the cold front will advance. more moisture ahead of the front. scattered showers on

in spots. can't rule out afternoon thunderstorms as well. we will see the future cast. tomorrow at this time will move through the area. showers overnight. scattered showers through the day. isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. the front should come across garrett county this time on friday. then after that, a little bit of the morning cloudiness on saturday. we will get back to clearing. the weekend looks nice. the forecast for the day tomorrow, plenty of sunshine through the midday. 68. more clouds in the afternoon. high of 74 degrees. then as we get through the day on saturday and sunday, expect a lot of sunshine in the area. saturday, morning cloudiness. with the morning cloudiness the possibility, just the possibility of little overcast lasting until 10:00 or 11:00.

let's talk about the rest of the period. a brief warmup on the day on monday. 80 and 81. another chance of the showers coming our way as early as next tuesday. so no hot stuff. alison: the only hot stuff is it's leon's birthday. leon: formerly hot stuff. alison: you're still hot stuff. leon: believe me the flame is out. alison: no, it isn't. stop it. leon: still ahead here -- who is going to replace andrew jackson on the $20 bill? why many are upset about the history-making move. >> folks who open a store to help the community find themselves staring down the barrel of a gun. i'm sam ford. that story is

kids: he came here from rocky married 27 years. raised 6 kids. including 5 boys. he had grandpa move in with us. glenn: we loved having him as part of the family. it's what you do. kids: in congress, dad will protect president obama's legacy. he'll fight for jobs and protect social security and medicare. glenn ivey will never quit on you;

glenn: i'm glenn ivey and i approve this message. i'll take on the republicans for all of us. thank you. ordering chinese food is a very predictable experience. i order b14. i get b14. no surprises. buying business internet, on the other hand, can be a roller coaster white knuckle thrill ride. you're promised one speed. but do you consistently get it? you do with comcast business. it's reliable. just like kung pao fish. thank you, ping. reliably fast internet starts at $59.95 a month. comcast business. built for business. stroand restoring aing a newbfather's faith. it's standing tall after one surgery...

stronger is being a typical kid... despite a rare disorder. stronger is finding it earlier... and coming home sooner. stronger is seeking answers... and not giving up, until you find them. because we don't just want your kids to grow up, we want them to grow up stronger. alison: new research shows a drop in life expectancy of white women. overall life expectancy is 78.8 years. they lived 81.8 years in 2014. it's down from 81.2the year

the .1 drop gives them pause. research though earlier this year show americans die younger than in other high income countries because of the drug poisoning, gun injuries and car accidents. leon: a popular market held up at gunpoint. it was caught on video. get this. as the d.c. bureau chief sam ford reports the store's owner harbors no ill will. here is why. >> thank you very much. >> you're welcome. sam: good food market prides itself on being d.c. the coffee it sells is roosted at the shop two blocks away. the sandwiches are put together by the d.c. central kitchen. even the granola is made in d.c. but april 7, this robber didn't care about all of that. walked in off the rhode island avenue, gun out and marched general manager phillip around the store. >> it was very unexpected.

sam: d.c. police is asking for help to identify the robber. >> the community has come out to support us strongly this week. >> it provides food. >> it lets people get fresh produce and the same price as giant basically. >> the quality of the food is very, very good. if you are a senior you get special discounts. i like that. sam: the man rob said he is not angry with the robber but hopes that the man finds a job. >> that is the problem. people need opportunity to make a living by working full time. sam: do you think he would prefer to do that? >> we have employees here that have been incarcerated. i have friends that had been locked up. fun of them miss the stress and that life once they find a way to do things right. sam: in northeast washington, i'm sam ford, abc7 news. leon: good soul. alison: coming up here at 5:00 -- the capitals get rea

for the sweep. scott abraham with a live report from philadelphia coming up soon. leon: brooms tonight! plus, 17 years since columbine. the lessons learned that fateful day that may have prevented a tragedy at a school in our area. alison: first, though, making change for the 20. out is andrew jackson. so who will replace him? other changes coming to our cash and why some prominent women are fighting the move. that is next on "abc7 ne

i don't believe that big money can buy votes -- not in our district. and i won't claim to have single handily passed just about every bill in annapolis. we can't settle for the same old politics, not when our basic rights are being threatened by trump and cruz. i'll stand up to their bigotry and be a passionate voice for maryland women and families. in tv and in business, i built relationships. as a woman in the house, i'll do the same to get things done. i'm kathleen mathews and i approve this message.

brianne: secretary lew said the change to the $20 has been powerful. since he first announced to put a woman on the ten. now plans to change the $20. some are concerned about how long it could take. making a change when it comes to

tubman will be the face of $20 bill whose life was dedicated to fight for liberty will be the first woman on the u.s. currency. >> it's exciting. finally we have women in politics. why not on money? >> jackson's image moves to the back of the bill with a picture of the white house. modern money means changes for the $5 and $10. hamilton will stay on the front. the $10 will offer five heroes of the suffrage movement and the five honors event at the lincoln memorial. reaction tonight from people outside of the bureau of engraverring and printing. >> it's money. it has to change. it's not that big of a deal with the outside influences. >> i think it's more of a political, what you did and what you served. brianne: earlier today a group of women including ellen degeneres and katie couric wrote an open letter to lieu lie saying if

woman on the front of the currency it would be blow to advancement of women. no direct response now we know he has chosen the $20. we expect the $10 to go in circulation first but lew says the goal is have all three in the wallet as quickly as possible. alison: this is the first change to who is on the u.s. currency since the modern design began. that was in 1914. so jackson was on the $10. cleveland was on the $20,000. and then they were shuffled. jackson was on the $20 and cleveland moved to the $1000 bill since hasn't been printed since 1945. leon? leon: well, hamilton got kicked in the low rent district. new info coming to the newsroom. this is coming in from the district. police in the seventh district are

shooting. three male victims dropped off at a hospital. they were sitting inside a vehicle on stan on the road southeast when someone came up and shot at them. all the wounds appear to be minor and the victims are expected to be okay. we will keep an eye on it. baltimore judge ruled another officer in the freddie gray case has to take the stand against two colleagues. officer miller has to testify against officer edward nero and brian rice. but the testimony can't be used against him in his case. last month a court of appeals ruled william porter must testify against his trial. alison: powerful aftershocks rattle ecuador as the death toll tops 500. stephanie ramos takes us inside the race against time to find survivors trapped under the rubble. reporter: today the mr

found underneath the rubble. locals risking their safety going back to the now badly damaged homes gathering whatever they can find. including photographs like this one. of a little boy birthday party. that boy in the photo is this man, santana. staring deeply at the aftermath of the ecuador's strongest earthquake in decades, santana says his wife, his 1-year-old daughter, his mother and two other family members were all inside. and are all dead. >> your wife and your baby? reporter: santana detailing how his wife was cradling his baby girl when he last saw them. a tragic loss but also story of survival. despite the grief, pablo cordova is thankful to be alive. he was pulled from collapsed hotel after 36 hours beneath the ruins. the death toll rising above 500 with hundreds missing. another quake measuring 6.1 shaking ecuador overnight.

interviewing the interior minister. it's disrupted by aftershocks. >> you can see that the windows are moving. this is an aftershock? >> yeah. >> across the pacific ocean more rescue efforts in japan following last week's twin earthquakes that left more than 100,000 people homeless. the death toll is likely to rise and it may take years to recover. alison: still ahead at 5:00 -- it was a tragedy that the nation wasn't ready for. now 17 years later we are learning the changes made after columbine that may have saved lives in our area. >> you can't take that. leon: how a program at montgomery county college is helping young black males beat odds and put them on a bass to success. that's coming up next in this week's "hastier'

york state. next up is maryland. coming up at 6:00, focus on the candidates and how maryland outcomes could have a big im

steve: looking forward to the upcoming weekend looks nice. d.c. united game, temperatures around 70. then moving through the early evening hours to drop to middle 60's. eventually the lower 60's by 8:00. you can watch the game right here on abc7. here is the weekend forecast for sunday. around 71 degrees. a few clouds here and there. but it will stay dry. going for a jog, or sporting events it's perfect for the upcoming weekend. stay with us. "abc7 ne but jamie raskin is the only abdemocrat for congress

only raskin took on the nra to ban military-style assault weapons. raskin: i'm jamie raskin, and i approve this message. ifor all the wrong reasons.gical you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin®. because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. try zyrtec®. muddle no more®.

leon: nationwide 42% of black males graduate from college. local college is boosting that. "harris' heroes." the montgomery college boys to men program.

going on. >> check. leon: but there are no losers. only winners. the students are part of a mentoring program called "boys to men." specifically aimed at young black males. >> f.y.i. gentlemen, the next meeting this thursday we will be talking about the summer. and the fall registration. the idea is make sure they stay in schoolment transfer, get a degree. leon: students meet weekly to discuss upcoming deadlines, services available to them and get academic help. the key is building relationships and providing students with a support system. >> like a safe haven. with people going through the same thing i have been through. >> with the program, i got the guidance if i need it and i can see what i really wanted. leon: for 2-year-old wes, boys to men allowed him to travel all the way to ethiopia. >> i didn't need the push. leon: university officials say they see success as boys to

mentor current students. >> for this organization, the ability to find a path and go forward. >> we don't have the luxury of letting anyone not to be successful. we need them all to be successful. leon: now at montgomery college there is an intense chess match going on as we told you about that. currently now 40 young men are in that program playing chess with their mentors. since boys to men started in 2008, close to 400 students have participated. many of you have gone on and coming back to mentor. a great program paying dividends. alison: creating a wonderful cycle of giving back. leon: awe a.m. so. nice going, guys. alison: coming up at 5:00, proposed change to the political statement that defines many d.c. license plates. >> on the 17th anniversary of the shooting at columbine we look at changes made to school security. i'

we'll give you a real-life example. leon: tonight the issue of the freedom of speech and express will be the focus of the next town hall. at 7:00, the panel of experts will gather at the theater for the performing arts. watc

i'm chris van hollen, and i approve this message. narrator: an attack ad from the campaign for donna edwards. so untrue. so outrageous that president obama said, "pull it down." the obama white house called the ad on chris van hollen and the nra "misleading." the sun says van hollen and president obama have the exact same position. the post praised van hollen as a "leading champion on gun safety," and condemned the edwards ads that "mislead" voters. donna edwards. will she say anything to win an election?

leon: on this day 17 years ago we watched events at columbine high school unfold. two students killed a dozen students and a teacher there in the first of too many deadly shootings across the country. today cheryl conner tells us about some of the security changes in place now since that day. cheryl: river bend high school is described as friendly and safe but the target of the most serious school threat the county had seen for years. >> we kept the kids out for a week after the situation here. not worth the risk. >> six months ago the county prosecutor said two young people planned call in a bomb threat and shoot people as they came out of the building. >> that is when we started having more police presence.

the officers have been added to the school since columbine. >> the school resource officers have to go through the alert training. active shooter training. don has two kids at riverbend. his daughter was scared to go to school after the threat. >> i'm not friends with them and i feel like could be a target. cheryl: they have been impressed with the quick communication. >> we get e-mails. >> we don't know the tactics but the sheriff office say they are different from 17 years ago. when two students shot and killed a dozen classmates. and teacher before killing

themselves. alison: a busy day for "good morning washington's" julie wright. >> this has been an eyesore all morning long for the motorists out of northbound 95 and 395. the struck is real for those coming northbound. you are looking at a 25-mile backup. a lot of folks are bailing out on route 1. alison: brutal. this is the reason. the dump truck overturned. spilling gravel all the way across southbound 695. one crash sent ripple effect through the area and took until noon for the lanes to all reopen. let's see how it looks now.

jamie: this is 66. the traffic is heading outbound passing by 123 continuing to centreville. that is where you are going to get a break. let's move to the map. 66 slow. we had an earlier crash still averaging in the teens. we are seeing the inner loop and the outer loop of the beltway delays in both virginia and of course on the inner loop as you continue to maryland closer to bethesda. we have single tracking and you may see delays in both directions because of the earlier activity at capital south. that is a look at traffic. back to you. leon: you might have something new to look at stuck in traffic next time

even on the presidential limo. the license plates reading "taxation without representation." d.c. councilman charles allen wants to change that. he says it should say this instead -- "end taxation without representation." all right? if approved residents who order the new plates would pay $51 fee. we want to know what you think. we will bring you results in 31 minutes. $51 bucks for three extra letters. alison: expensive letters. can i buy an e? n and a d? let's check the weather. beautiful but we need the rain. doug: we will get a little rain here on friday. right now more sunshine.

if you have outdoor plans take a jacket or a sweater because it will cool down. 69 in reagan national. humidity is 18%. that is dry for this part of the country. 64 in manassas. mostly clear skies. the temperatures will slowly drop to 50's. the winds are not strong so it will be comfortable. the sun sets at 7:50. tomorrow morning the metro area temperatures are in mid-to-upper 40's. 45 in georgetown. 45 in fairfax. dale city at 46. largo at 45. 48 in brentwood neighborhood of the city. high pressure controlling the weather today to keep it gorgeous. that will move offshore tomorrow. slightly warmer air moves in. moisture in the air to lead isolated shower late tomorrow night. better ch

on friday. warming in the 70's. a beautiful weekend. before that 80 degrees. partly sunny skies. chance of showers on tuesday. clearing out on wednesday. that is it for the moment. back to you. alison: okay. thank you. leon: no need for umbrellas right now. how about need for a broom? alison: i knew that is where you were going. leon: all right. alison: well, let's check in with scott abraham. live in philadelphia. we have a big game tonight. game four. leon: no bracelets, just brooks. that is all we need up there, right? scott a.: get the brooms ready. the momentum is on the side of the capitals. terrific opportunity for the caps to complete a four-game sweep of the flier flier right here in their own building. now there were questions going into tonight's game four as to whether caps' goalie braden holtby would be starting in net. i think holtby answered

skate. braden holtby walking on to the ice allowing caps nation to breathe sigh of relief. >> one of those things. it happened in practice. just want to be cautious with it. not going too far. it's main focus of getting forward. >> caps nation is freaking out a little bit. good to see him on the ice? >> definitely. holtby is a warrior. i think a minor thing happened. scott: changes on d. orpik is out. orfey in. >> get out there and take hits and get in some hits to jump right into it. there will be no time, no feeling out. you just have to go. scott: an opportunity to end the flyers' season to get extra days off. >> sense of urgency to finish the deal and know the

you will get some rest here? >> a huge part. coming in playoff. make sure you take it as much as they will give you. create a window for ourselves after the game. >> caps on the verge of a series sweep in philadelphia. just like on monday the caps can expect a raucous atmosphere here in philly. the flyers a desperate team will be throwing everything at the capitals tonight. this won't be the only arena rocking tonight, my friend. the caps are hosting a viewing party at the verizon center. the doors will open there in five minutes. fans can come and watch tonight's game on the jumbotran. free admission. head over to the verizon center and rock the red. no matter where you are. it should be another fun game to watch. reporting in philadelphia, scott thuman, abc7 -- scott abraham, abc7 sports. leon: we'll see what happens tonight. >> sounds good. thanks a lot. up n

fighting back. how he is trying to take a stand to try to protect you from a crime that is on the kids: he came here from rocky mount, north carolina. married 27 years. raised 6 kids.

he had grandpa move in with us. glenn: we loved having him as part of the family. it's what you do. kids: in congress, dad will protect president obama's legacy. he'll fight for jobs and protect social security and medicare. glenn ivey will never quit on you; and we should know, we're his kids. glenn: i'm glenn ivey and i approve this message. i'll take on the republicans for all of us.

kevin: born in the 1940's, john bostic preferred to pay the bills by mail. >> that is my signature. kevin: recently a thief stole an outgoing check from his mailbox made out for $599. supposed to go to the monthly car payment. >> this is the check altered. kevin: instead a woman added her moniker to the check and upped the value by $2,000. successfully cashed the check vi

questions asked. >> 40 years i have been taking mail to the mailbox, not worrying about it. i won't do it anymore. i'll take my mail to the post office. >> he is one of the roughly 97,000 americans that the u.s. postal inspector says report stolen mail each year. due to a lack of evidence majority of the kates go unsolved. >> i didn't lose any money. money was reinstated but i just think the principle for me was somebody got away with cashing a check for almost $2600. and has not been held accountable. kevin: i'm kevin lewis, abc7 news. alison: that is it for us at 5:00. but right now, on "abc7 news at 6:00". a firefighter just vanished. she was last seen a week ago. now friends and family coming to

intensifies. an emotional goodbye. funeral of a firefighter shot to death trying to save a life. and -- >> with new york in the rer view mirror. the presidential candidates turn the attention to the free state. i'm mike carter-conneen outside of silver spring. early voting center coming up. preview of the maryland primary. leon: up first at 6:00, a young firefighter missing and was l.a. heard from a week ago. maureen: search crews are scouring shenandoah national park for nicole mittendorff. leon: jay korff with more on how the community is showing support today. >> the men and women who worked closely with firefighter nicole mittendorff will gather with the family and friends for what will

the focus remains on hope and finding nicole who hasn't been heard from in a week. the 31-year-old called in sick wednesday morning. she did not work thursday and friday she did not report to work. that is when she was reported missing. the search and the rescue team have been combing the areas for days and they continue it today in a ruggedded landscape but with no luck. >> it's tough. yesterday we had a crew of special operations folks repelling the canyon. this is a rough area. white oak canyon. it's called a canyon for a region. we're searching the canyon area and it's very rough terrain.