"abc7 news at 6:00" starts now. >> now, "abc7 news at 6:00". on your side. maureen: this video of an electrical fire last week at metro federal center station nearly shut down the rail system. that revelation came from the transportation secretary who says he has serious concern about metro safety. this comes at the same time the metro general manager held unprecedented meeting with 650 of the system managers. abc7 transportation reporter brianne carter was at the site of the meeting and joins us live with what the general manager message was. brianne: today, paul wiedefeld pushing the message that safety has to come first. issuing this pamphlet to more than 650 metro managers. of the 13,000 employees. he says now that message has to be driven down to the bottom all the way back up to

the top. message tonight for the metro employees. put safety first or you may be out of a job. >> the reality is they know where i am coming from. i laid out specifically the things i am expecting. if they can manage that level, fine. if they can't it's not a good fit. >> the point was delivered today to 650 metro managers gathered for the first time altogether with paul wiedefeld. it comes days after this. an arcing ince slater on the track we learn -- insulator on the track that had anthony fox considering shutting down the entire rail system. friday the f.t.a. issued a safety directive to metro to prioritize safety but reduce fire and smoke. >> the issue in the past is that it wasn't clearly communicated as the primary focus for how we should conduct ourselves each day. >> riders getting ready to deal with the long-term single

of a maintenance overhaul. >> they aren't overly optimistic when it comes to change. >> it doesn't seem like it's changed so far. >> not happy to know they are meeting there. necessarily i'm not going to expect a lot from it either. >> riders are still saying they hope they are wrong. that there is change moving forward. today after the big meeting with more than 650 managers the general manager saying he felt like the message was driven home. tonight metro and the school agencies said we are catching inspiration from the meeting. brianne carter, abc7 news. maureen: thank you. metro is also coping with a drop in ridership. figures from metro show ridership dropped by 12 million trips in the latest quarter compared to the year

part is the shutdowns, one for a blizzard and the rail line in march for safety inspections. but it doesn't explain 9% drop in weekend travel.

misconduct in office and reckless endangerment. leon: calls for the culture change amongst the fairfax county police and elected officials. they charge the department is secretive. critics point to the 2013 shooting of john geer. that officer pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter but as jeff goldberg reports tonight the plea followed a year long fight for the information. >> lacking flavor and emotion, the fairfax county board of supervisors and police chief sent a powerful and a sobering message. >> there needs to be a sense of the board they will no longer play the came when it comes to the release of information. jess john geere was shot and killed by officer adam torres. the officer's name did not

after the incident. member of the police executive research forum recommend an officer's name and background be released after a deadly incident in two and a half days. >> i need thorough risk to provide an opportunity to protect officers. >> he witnessed the shooting. >> this is a valid piece of information at some point.

leon: a one-time aide for vincent gray is going to prison. hawkins sentenced six month in prison. he pled guilty to lying about a shadow campaign and he admitted to being involved in raising and spending illegal campaign funds. >> still ahead. training for disaster. what danger has firefighters at alert. >> steveing twisters in oklahoma. what we know about yesterday's proud break. >> the first look at trump versus clinton in three critical states. we have findings that are standing out.

>> not much rain today so far but we still have six hours left. we have the timing of the next batch of rain headed this way. still to come on "abc7 news at 6:00".

yeah. we love low prices. no bones about it. [ laughter ] thousands of blue tags. thousands of low prices. my giant. leon: the first presidential poll since trump secured the g.o.p. nomination shows to be in a dead heat with hillary

ohio, pennsylvania and florida, no one won the election since 1960 without carrying two of the state. hillary clinton had 62% unfavorable in ohio. that could explain why 70% of the voters said they would stay home on election day. that is what they say now. sanders led trump in all three states in poll and that is the argument that he made today speaking to voters in lzca. this is why democratic voters are going to the polls in west virginia. polls close at 7:30.

presidential race a week ago but ted cruz has not thrown in the towel on his campaign. the republican said he would re-enter the race if he sees a path to the victory. leon: president obama is going to become the first sitting president to visit hiroshima. the u.s. drops first atomic bomb. the white house announced today the president will visit hirryshyma this month -- hiroshima this month. this is seen as an effort reduce nuclear weapons and heal old wounds. the white house says he will not apologize for the bombing. maureen: up next at 6:00 -- hidden danger in the record setting rainfall. it has them training in the weather and the air. leon: this is two weeks of the daily rain. we could finally

streak beaten in doug's full forecast. erin: i'm erin hawksworth live in pittsburgh where the capitals will look to avoid elimination. coming up, hear why players say they like it when their backs are up against the wall.

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♪ i'm passionately waiting ♪ i'm laughing in the face leon: one of the hoddest show on broad -- hottest show in broadway maybe in world coming to washington. kennedy center says "hamilton" will be part of the 2017-2018 season. information on show dates and how to purchase tickets will be announced later. "hamilton" won the pulitzer prize for drama and nominated for record breaking 16 tony awards. maureen? maureen: it seems stoned driving is a big problem in washington state. where recently marijuana was legalized according to a study by the triple-a foundation of traffic safety. the foundation says fatal accident involving drivers high on marijuana have soared in the state since pot was legalized. marijuana was involved in 8% of the fatal crashes in

washington state in 2013. in 2014, following legalization the number more than doubled to 17%. leon: we have two different images showing destruction in oklahoma. the scene from the air after the tornado there outbreak that killed two people and damaged dozens of homes across the state. it's after scenes like yesterday. >> a large tornado. possibly the other direction. leon: something we have seen live. the national weather service found the damage consistent with the ef-3 tornado in two different counties. maureen: nearing a record after two weeks of relentless rain. first responders are concern about the rising water and strong river current. today, our michael went behind the scenes under a helicopter to experience first-hand d.c. fire rescue -- river rescue

training. >> on land in anacostia park or water along the potomac the d.c. firefighters prepare for the next rescue. >> we are drilling to stay sharp on the skills. >> the fire department regularly holds the training to practice with unique tools to hoist victims up and out. >> it's not just a moving river. they must deal with the noise and the wind generated by the powerful rotors. >> we have radio system and intercom systems but we train with the hand signals so if all else fails, we have an effective way to communicate in the emergency. >> after all the recent rain, they are closely monitoring the potomac and warn about the dangerous undertow. >> we expect it to read flood stage in 24 to 48 hours answer remain there for a couple of days to takings in the weekend. >> if we handle today if someone is in trouble we can hopefully handle them at any

it can be risky. when deployed it's usually the only option left. in the floodwater, and the forest environment the risks will go up dramatically. >> the trains give crews more confident and more practice working together as a team. >> wi want to make sure we are ready and familiar with each other before an event happens. >> on the potomac, michael, abc7 news. maureen: rough waters these days. leon: the rain has to go somewhere. doug: most of is it river-oriented now. in the next few days the ground will soak up we could get localized flooding issues. hope it doesn't happen. get into and tell you the story. day 13. if we pick up .01 between now and midnight at reagan national it will be 14 consecutive days of rain. this is prince george's county across the river to virginia.

nice today. low down on the record. we stand at 13 days. 3.61 inches of rain fell between 27th and 9th. we will see the possibility of adding another day today and tomorrow. sun up tomorrow straight up at 6:00 a.m. will we see it at sunrise in no. cloudy. 63 in leesburg and manassas. 63 in reagan national. 60 in martinsburg. kentucky is a hotbed of severe weather. there is a tornado watch across kentucky. just

metro. it will stay west of the mountains. the energy and the atmosphere focus here. spin in the atmosphere. we will stay quiet. but rain opportunities through the day tomorrow as we get through the late evening hours. thursday, patchy light rain and drizzle. the warm sector air to the west. the temperatures might rise. friday with the cold front and chance of widespread heavy rain and the isolated thunderstorms. second cold front comes in on saturday. 40% chance of rain. especially in the morning at

66. mild on friday. showers and storms possible on saturday. clearing and cooler on sunday and monday. leon: all right. maureen: well, it's cold enough for hockey. right? leon: it is in pittsburgh. we don't want the caps to be cold tonight. they have to be hot. it depends on what happens tonight. right, erin? erin: that is absolutely correct! puck drop in two hours. coming up, find out who said that the caps play with more swagger when the pressure is on. leon: coming your way tonight at newschannel8 at 10:00 --

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erin: well, we all know the history of the capitals trying to get past the second round. tonight in game six will not be easy. now the difference between the two teams is razor thin. listen to some of the stats. so far in this series, they have all b

except for game five. where the caps beat the penguins 3-1. both of the teams have both scored 12 goals so far in the series. the peng wings haven't -- penguins haven't lost back-to-back game since january. but capitals love it when their backs are up against the wall. >> yeah, there is nothing like it. the feeling wise in sports. everyone loves that situation. fans love it. not ideal to be up against the wall. but that is when you see the character of the team. you just go out and get the job done and live to see another day. erin: at home we have nationals news. stephen strasburg has signed a seven-year, $175 million extension.

he spoke to the media and said it was important for him to stay in washington. >> i trusted my gut and with my heart. i prayed about it. grass isn't always greener on the other side. not much else i was really needing that what has been given to me in this organization. e. back live in pittsburgh, oshie said the capitals play with more swagger when the pressure is on. it couldn't get bigger than this. they are fating elimination tonight -- they are facing elimination tonight. hopefully they respond to the pressure. leon: been the best team all year. got to be one more time. doug: quick look at the satellite and the radar that shows more showers coming in later this evening. we will le y

or not. leon: all right. maureen: "world news tonight" with david muir is next.

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several breaking stories as we come on. a state of emergency just declared. another tornado touching down late today. the pictures coming in now, as the tornado emergency now turns deadly. >> oh, my god. >> more than 20 reported twisters across seven states. homes destroyed. >> that's a tree! >> the new warnings right now for millions as we're on the air. also breaking, the battleground bombshell. the new polls tonight in key battleground states. donald trump closing in on hillary clinton. the trump headline breaking tonight, did his campaign choose a well-known white supremacist as a delegate? and the abc news exclusive tonight, joe biden. what the vice president is now saying about hillary clinton. the hunt for a fugitive mother at this hour, after leading police on a dangerous high speed chase