a hearing. i nominated judge merrick garland to the supreme court more than three months ago, but most republicans so far have refused to even meet with them. they are allowing partisan politics to jeopardize something as fundamental as the im patientality and integrity of our justice system. this is an election year and in election years politicians use words like amnesty in hopes that it will whip up votes. keep in mind that millions of us, myself included, go back generations in this country. ancestors put in the painstaking effort to become citizens. we don't like the notion that anyone might get a free pass to american citizenship. here's the thing. millions of people who have come forward and worked to get right with the law under this policy, they've been living here for years, o.

so leaving the broken system the way it is, that's not a solution. in fact, that's the real amnesty, pretending we can deport 11 million people or build a wall without spending tens of billions of tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money isn't betting that is really just factually incorrect. it's not going to work. it's not good for this country. it's a feant that offers nothing to help the middle class and demeans our tradition of being both a nation of laws nd a nation of immigrants. in the end, it is my firm belief that immigration is not something to fear. we don't have to wall ourselves off from those who may not look like us right now or pray like we do or have a different last name, because being an american is about somet

l.a. makes us americans are our shared commitment to an ideal, all of us are created ideal, all of us have a chance to make of our lives what we will. and every study shows that whether it was the irish, the ls or the germans or the italians or the chinese or the the ese or the mexicans or kenyans, whoever showed up over time, by second generation, third generation, those kids are americans. they do look like us, because we don't look one way. we don't all have the same last names, but we all share a creed and we all share a commitment to the values that founded this nation. that's who we are. and that is what i believe most

so, here's the bottom line. we've got a very real choice that america faces right now. we will continue to implement the existing programs that are already in place. we're not going to be able to move forward with the expanded programs that we wanted to move forward on, because the supreme court was not able to issue a ruling at this stage. and now we've got a choice about who we're going to be as a country, what we want to teach our kids, and how we want to be represented in congress and in the white house. we're going to have to make a decision about people tolerate the hypocrisy of the system where the workers who pick our never make our beds have the chance to get right ith the law. we're going

the cruelty of ripping children from their parents' arms or whether we actually value families and keep them together for the sake of all of our communities. we're going to have to decide whether we're a people who continue to educate the world's brightest students in our high schools and universities, only to then send them away to compete against us or whether we encourage them to stay and create new jobs and new businesses right here in the united states. these are all the questions that voters now are going to have to ask themselves and are going to have to answer in november. these are the issues that are going to be debated by candidates across the country, most congressional candidates, as well as the presidential candidates, and in november americans are going to have to make a decision about what we care about and who we are. i promise you this, though -- sooner or later, immigration reform will get done. congress is not goi

it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when. and i can say that with confidence because we've seen our history. we get these spasms of politics around immigration and fear mongering, and then our traditions and our history, and our better impulses kick in. hat's how we all ended up here because i guarantee you at some point every one of us has somebody in our background who people didn't want coming here. and yet here we are. and that's what's going to happen this time. the question is, do we do it in a smart, rational, sensible way , or do we just keep kicking the can down the road? i believe that this country deserves an immigration policy

the american people, and i think we're going to get that. hopefully we're going to get it in november. all right? i'll take it. i'll take two questions. two questions. go ahead. reporter: thank you. realistically what do you see as the risk of deportation of four million people? we say you we can't deport 11 million, and there's a chunk of time here. president obama: well, let me be very clear, what was unaffected by today's ruling or lack of a ruling is the enforcement and priorities that we put in place, and our enforcement priorities that have been laid out by secretary jea johnson at the department of homeland security are pretty clear. we prioritize criminals. we prioritize gangbangers. we prioritize folks who have just come in. what we don't do is to prioritize people who have been here a long time who are otherwise

roots in connection in their communities, and so those enforcement priorities will continue. the work that we've done with the dream act is those policies remain in place. so what this has prevented us from doing is standing the scope of what we've done with the dream act kids. keep in mind, though, that even that was just a temporary measure. all it was doing was basically saying to these kids, you can have confidence that you are not going to be deported, but it does not resolve your ultimate status. that is going to require congressional action. although i'm disappointed by the lack of a decision today by the supreme court, a deadlock, this does not substantially change the status quo, and

it doesn't negate what has always been the case, which is, if we're really going to solve this problem effectively, we've got to have congress pass the law. i have pushed to the limits of my executive authority. we now have to have congress act. and hopefully we're going to have a vigorous cabet during this election. this is how democracy is supposed to work. and there will be a determination as to which direction we go in. as i said, over the long time i'm very confident about the direction this country is going, because we've seen this in the past. if we haven't seen it in the past, america would look very different than it does today. but whether we're going to get this done now, soon, so that this

this divisive force in our politics, and we can get down to the business of all pulling together to create jobs and educate our kids and protect urselves from external threats and do the things that, you know, we need to do to ensure a better future for the next generation, that's going to be the determining part by how voters turn out and who they vote for in november, all right? one more question. go ahead, mike. reporter: since going forward questions, number one, is this going to -- are you going to be able to do anything more at all for immigrants going forward in terms of executive action before the election of the next president? and number two, do you in any way take this as some republicans presented this as a slap at your use of executive authority of this t

circumscribe how aggressively or forcefully you use executive authority the remainder of your time in office? president obama: ok. i -- on the specifics of immigration, i don't anticipate that there are additional executive actions that we can take. we can implement what we've already put in place that is not affected by this decision, now what to follow has been ruled on in the fifth circuit, because the supreme court could not resolve the issue. and we're going to have to abide by that ruling until an of tion, and a confirmation a ninth justice of the supreme court so that they can break

this tie, because we've always said that we are going to do what we can lawfully through executive action, but we can't go beyond that. and we've butted up about as far as we can on this particular topic, and it does not have any impact, from our perspective orkt host of other issues that we're working on, because each one of these issues has a different analysis and is based on different statutes or different interpretations of our authority. so, for example, on climate change, that's based on the clean air act and the e.p.a. and previous supreme court rulings as opposed to a period of prosectorial discretion that in the past is every other president has exercised. and the supreme court wasn't definitive one way or the other this. the problem is, we don't have a ninth justice. so that will continue to be a problem.

with respect to the republicans, i think what it tells you is that if you keep on blocking judges from getting n the bench, then courts can issue decisions, and what that means is then you're going to have the status quo frozen, and we're not going to make progress on some very important issues. now, that may have been their strategy from the start, but it's not a sustainable strategy, and it's certainly a strategy that will be broken by this election, unless the basic theory is we will never confirmation judges again. hopefully that's not their theory, because that's not how a democracy is designed. it was a one opinion that said we can't come up with a decision. i think that would be a little bit of a stretch. maybe the next time they ca

if we have a full court issuing a full opinion on anything, then we take it seriously. this we have to abide by, but it wasn't any kind of value statement for a decision. all right? thank you, guys. >> center abc 7 news, this is a breaking news alert. >> we are following four big breaking news stories right now. a judge finds baltimore officer caesar goodson not guilty in the death of freddy gray. plus, as you just heard, the supreme court issues two major decisions this morning. and police respond to a gunman at a movie theater in germany. all while democrats here at home continue their sit-in on gun control and protesters gathered outside the capitol. but we begin right now in baltimore, with that breaking news, the judge

goodson jr. not guilty in the death of freddie gray. we have live team coverage for you, starting with our maryland bureau chief, brad bell, who was inside the courtroom when the judge made that ruling earlier today. brad? brad: jummy, a very different kind of giving of a verdict. normally we hear a jury come out and they ask him how do you find, and they say guilty or not guilty. this judge was the trier of the case, the trier of facts, and he laid out his reasoning for his not guilty verdict on each of the seven charges. you mentioned second degree depraved heart murder, there was also involuntary manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent manslaughter, reckless endangerment, as well as misconduct in office and assault. not guilty across the board, the judge said, because the evidence simply wasn't there of criminal activity. give you a live look outside the courtroom now, courthouse, this verdict coming down just about an hour and a half ago, and

front here. there is a zone where protesters are allowed to be, and that is over here, and i believe that if you did an official count you'd find more members of the media than actual protesters here, but there are a few people offering opinions about what happened here today. now, earlier, we had an opportunity to speak to the president of the baltimore chapter of the naacp, this was her reaction to hearing the verdict. >> i was disappointed as he went through it, because i see very clearly that the rules and regulations that the police have that they can do things, but it's not a criminal issue with the courts, so you can be wrong for doing some things, and it might be bad behavior, but when is it going to turn into a criminal act where we can get justice in the courtroom, especially if someone's been dead? i've seen where people have sued the police for taking them too many time or putting mayes in their face and they get $40,000 or

here someone's dead and no one is accountable for it. brad: now, she did go on to say that she felt that justice is happening in this case. she says it's history that police officers were charged and brought to court, and she can certainly respect the findings of the judge in this case. the judge, again, simply saying that the officer may have made a mistake. there may have been an error in judgment when he did not seat belt freddie gray in the back of his transport van, but that does not rise to the livel of a correct act. the judge also saying that this officer was the driver of the police van, that this officer couldn't have known that freddie gray needed medical attention, because it was not outwardly visible. essentially repudiating everything the state had alleged in this case. now, we said at the outset, we've got team coverage on this

matter. we want to go to my colleague, sam sweeney, who's been sampling opinion for those who did come to the courthouse today. sam? sam: brad, of all of the trials and the motions in the cases that we have heard dealing with the six police officers, this actually has been the comment. as you mentioned, there's more members of the media than protesters. take a live look up this sidewalk. it's very calm out here. typically there's marches, there's demonstrators that line the streets. sometimes they actually have closed this road here in front of the courthouse. but really, nothing like that has happened here, but that still hasn't stopped the disappointment from some of the people in the community, especially those who live in west baltimore. that's freddie gray's neighborhood. one of them is right here. he's an elder -- you are here. you're here every time, you work and live in the community. how upset were you when you found out the verdict? >> we were completely devastated, quite frankly. we feel that the local criminal justice system has failed us, just as the im

system is failing black and brown and poor working class people all over the country when these type of cases happen. sam: you often have protesters out here, sometimes -- that many people out here. why a no-show? jummy: all right, we're having issues -- >> i think people are so consumed with poverty, unemployment. they are so consumed about the day-to-day that people are just trying to keep their heads above water and trying to make ends meet for their families, and the city is stricken by poverty. but i think that people are devastated by this decision because they care about their sons and their daughters who are ultimately the prey of the police. and clearly when the police kill unarmed african-american men and increasingly women, nobody is held accountable. i think that people are angry. it's just that people are so consumed with the day-to-day of trying to make and trying to provide ends meet and trying put food on the table for their families.

jummy: all right. we're still having problems with sam sweeney's life shot. there are still upcoming cases in this trial. brian sandrace garrett mill her stand trial in july. we know the retrial is set for september. the final trial for alicia white is scheduled for october 13. and make sure you stay with us right here on abc up as we follow every development in these trials. we'll have more reaction from baltimore coming up on abc 7 news at 4:00, and as always, on our website, wjla.com. also breaking right now -- we know a man is dead after police say he showed up to a movie theater in western germany with a gun. authorities say he was heavily armed no. police inside the theater were injured. police shot and killed him. we'll continue to following this developing story as we await new information. also happening right now, a handful of democrats continuing their protest on the house floor. it's the subject of our abc 7

grab your phone, your laptop right now, and head to wjla.com/votenow. the question of the day is, do you support the members of congress staging this sit-in for gun control? let's head over to our suzanne kennedy. she is in the newsroom with the latest on this. suzanne, this has been going on for more than 24 hours. suzanne: it has, jummy. it started around 11:30 yesterday. the house adjourned at 3:15 this morning, but house democrats are still continuing their action in congress at this hour. we want to show you a live scene being provided through the facebook page of congressman ben o'rourke. since the cameras are currently turned off in the house, this is the only way to show what's happening on the hill. house minority leader nancy pelosi has called for the republican majority to turn the cameras back on, but as of yet, that has not happened. the protest starred at 11:30 yesterday t. lasted through the night and on into the early morning hours. 168 members of the house have either been present or have spoken. around 10:00 last night, house speaker paul ryan attempted to gavelth

session, but angry democrats chanted no bill, no break. house democratic whip steny hoyer spoke just before 4:00 this morning and vowed to continue this fight. representative hoyer: the republicans shut down people's house. the republicans are leaving town after working here for approximately six hours this week. with unfinished business of the american people. the american people should not be happy about that. i don't think they will be appy about that. suzanne: speaker of the house paul ryan is calling this a publicity stunt, because these gun control measures were voted down last week. house is officially adjourned until after the fourth of july break. we have just learned that at 12:30, all of the house democrats are going to be called back into chambers, and they're going to figure out what their next step is going to be r. they going to continue this fight and straight through fourth of july to the fifth of

will they table it for now and resume after the break? we'll keep you posted. suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. jummy: thank you. right now, thousands of protesters are outside the capitol in a sit-in, demanding action on gun control. our kimberly suitor is there live. quite a show of support there. kimberly: yes, it's not thousands, jummy, at this hour. it's probably up to about 200 right now. let's show you the group that's gathered here. we'll take you inside the circle. we've got about three different pro-gun control groups gathered here, and as different members of congress make their way outside, the group is looking to them and cheering them on. you can see a member of congress here, and you can see the reverend jesse jackson standing in the wings here on your left. we are presuming he is about to speak. the group behind him with the sign is there with the brady campaign, and in many other

every town for gun safety, also moms demand action for gun sense in america. when the members of congress aren't organically stepping outside and addressing the crowd about their concerns, they nil with their own members, and they talk about surviving gun violence and that sort of thing. so as suzanne mentioned, the cameras inside the house not showing what's happening there, and so people are using the pulpit outside of the u.s. capitol right now. so, again, about 200 pro gun control advocates gathered here in the wake of the orlando shooting, and they are asking for the hash tag, the social media campaign, #nobillnobreak to continue to be perpetuated. we'll see if they get what they're looking for. but this is not really a plan. there's no schedule. this is organic. members of the house and senate

crowd, then going back outside this. crowd, as you know, has been out here since last night. it waned overnight, and they returned here, and it's been growing over the last hour. reporting live on capitol hill, kimberly, now back to you. jummy? jummy: kimberly, thank you. stay or go, those are the options for voters in britain today as they decide whether the country should remain in the european union. more than 46 million people have registered to vote. opinion polls suggest this will be a tight race, but will likely end with voters deciding to stay in the e.u. many conside leaving the e.u. because they believe the organization has changed its focus. we just heard the president talking about the supreme court's decision on immigration, but the justice has made another important decision earlier this morning. the supreme court upheld the affirmative action policy at the university of texas in austin by a -3 vote. the institution -- by a 4-3 vote. the institution considers race when admitting incoming freshman, but guarantees admission for students who

their texas high school class. also tracking storms moving through the region torked the rain from this morning wrapping up, but we can see around 2:00 later on this afternoon, let's get to our meteorologist tracking that you will for us. josh, will this be as severe as tuesday? josh: the good news is it looks like most of the severe weather, the stronger thunderstorms are going to stay farther to the south. let me show what you moved through this morning. in case you were still asleep earlier as these pushed through, bringing about an inch of rain to a lot of places and gusty winds, but nothing quite to that severe criteria. temperature-wise, hanging in the mid 70's. we are looking for a few breaks there in the sunshine. now we switch over and you're looking at the same thing, but basically from radar as all the heavy rain pushed right across the region. what pops up later today, really going to favor areas like charleston and then more so into central sandrrg southwestern virginia. for us, we've actually lost some of that storm risk from the storm prediction center. now they're putting us just in that marginal category. so a change in a better direction for us as we head

thunderstorms are going to stay in the forecast. that's what we're going to watch as we head out later on today, and we're starting to find sunshine, and general temperatures make their way up into the 80's. up to the get outside now that we're drying out? we're about 7959 1:00. when those thunderstorms start to pop up, i'm expecting about 4:00, and then through the evening. i'll time those out by you, and we'll look at a much prettier weekend forecast. oh, that's in just a few minutes. jummy? jummy: josh, thank you. stay with abc 7 weather team. we have you covered around the clock on air, online, and on your smartphone with our free storm watch weather app. come up on abc 7 news at noon -- an update on the water main break and a huge hole that opened up last night in alexandria and how long those repairs are expected to take. plus a scare for passengers midair, why f-18's had to escort a delta flight in an emergency landing. plus a new report shows certain s.u.v.'s m

front seat passenger safety.

jummy: right now crews are still working to clean up a water main break in add. it's at edsall road and van dorn street. our transportation reporter has been on the scene all morning, and she has more on how much longer these repairs are xpected to last. >> it was a lot of weather coming. the road was blocked. >> this morning, hundreds of residents in this nearby apartment complex woke up to find dry faucets. >> they're nothing. just we hear the sound of water kind of thing, but they're

reporter: the residents that live in this building tell us in addition to no water, they're also left in the heat. they tell us that the air conditioner runs off the boiler, so without the water, there's just no a.c. throughout the day, crews worked to repair two valves along two different sections of the pipe. but midday, pieces of the 12-inch water main have been removed, but this afternoon additional valves and the main still need to be replaced. >> when i went through, maybe -- reporter: the ongoing repairs kept the busy road blocked, tying up traffic during the morning rush. virginia american water says it will likely be this afternoon before the water starts flowing for everyone once again. >> we just plant. reporter: in alexandria, bring anne carter, abc 7 news. jummy: that obviously causing traffic issues there. let's get a check on the roadways right now. jamie sullivan has our traffic