crimes. senator mccain called it a graver mistake. wikileaks founder julian assange said he would turn himself in the if president pardoned manning. in total, president obama shortened sentences for 209 inmates today. jonathan: president obama granted a pardon to james cartwright. the former chairman of the joints chiefs pleaded guilty in september to lying to the f.b.i. the lie is when cartwright denied reaking to the media details of the government computer virus used against iran. cartwright was due to be sentenced at the end of the month. >> the presidential pardons come three days ahead of the inauguration of trump as president. there are visible signs of the event. it will be lead atop of the canadian embassy with a view

today the crews found workers assembling the bleachers and the barricades. the barriers will include concrete trucks to prevent vehicle attacks like those in france and germany. >> as washington prepares for the presidential inauguration there are signs of a deeply divided nation. more than 50 members of congress all democrats are going to boycott the inauguration. a poll shows trump is entering office with the lowest approval rate the lowest in 40 years. but amidst signs of division there are calls for unity. the abc7 chief political correspondent scott thuman joins us with more on that. you talk to a lot of people today. >> they don't know what is con daneed in the

the other may be trying to tampdown whatever unease exist or is reflected reflected in thw survey numbers thoughing that trump will be the least popular incoming president in four decades. he debunked the numbers by proving he saw the same survey result prior to the election, yet he won. this will likely be put under the microscope. >> the only thing to fear -- >> ask what you can do for your country. >> we affirm old traditions and make new beginnings. >> soon it will trump's turn. when he takes the podium, he will take on the expectation of millions in the u.s. some expect it to echo the campaign trail theme. >> we will hear the same thing. make america great again. >> after a bitter and divisive race, the cam

caused some, specifically dozens of the democratic members of congress to skip the inaugural ceremonies. >> i decided that you can't look my wife and my daughters and my grandson in the eye. stand next to trump. >> there is bipartisan hope trump leaves behind the rhetoric. >> we have bad hombres here and we will get them out. >> in favor of a message of unity. >> we need to bring the community together. >> it's important for trump to say we need to be one nation. i will lead to us be one nation and i want us to work together as one nation. >> will unity dominate the speech? we don't know. we talked about don buyer from northern virginia is among those. we heard from those who haven't made up

gregory from new york saying he is still debating whether or not he wants to attend. we will keep tab on what takes place between now and then. and how many are considering the so-called boycott of the inauguration. maureen? maureen: thank you, scott. abc7 and the news channel 8 will have the biggest team of the local reporters on the ground at the inauguration. coverage begins 4:00 in the morning on friday and continues throughout the day on abc7 and newschannel8. jonathan: well, we are finally starting to dry out after the start of a wet day. on the heels of the rain comes the risk of fog. stormwatch7's chief meteorologist doug hill keeping an eye on that. it will get tough to see around here in some parts. doug: it could. but i don't think it will last long. late tonight a cold front will come through with the gusty winds. there are breaks in the overcast developing to the west.

they are rising in spots. 49 to 50. the winds could gust up 50 miles per hour. the mild day. but by inauguration day the rain is back in. we have the timing. you can track the weather on your phone at the app store. get it on the google play. back to you. >> thank you. confirmation hearings continue for president trump cabinet nominee. this is a live look at the hearing room for the education secretary pick betsy devos. expecting to face tough questioning from the democrats. confirmation hearings are underway for montana conman who will lead the interior departme.

upgrades from the national park and creating relationship between the department, the states and the local communities. four other cabinet nominees have the hearings tomorrow. >> up next at 6:00, $15 minimum wage in montgomery county. but there is a sign the pay boost may not be a reality. >> first, though, a grandmother shot to death on the way to the grocery store. the urgent call for help in

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announcer: you're watching "abc7 news at 6:00". on your side. jonathan: police say yesterday's shooting and the hostage situation in herndon started because of an argument between a man and his girlfriend. according to the fairfax county police, did eveni and his girlfriend got in a fight when she called his brothers to calm him down. the argument escalated and that is when he shot his brothers. they were able to escape with a girlfriend and the roommate was trapped upstairs. the roommate took the roommate and lit the place on fire. when the police confronted him, he lunged at them with a knife and they shot him. he later died at the hospital. the others are expected to be okay. maureen: d.c. police are looking for a person who killed a beloved grand mother in southeast. vivian was caught in a shooting monday on elvin's

heading to the store when she was hit. >> she believes she knows what happened and the person responsible. >> a man was wounded in yesterday's shooting. the police have not said if he was the intended target. >> a prince george's county police officer suspended, accused of taking photographs under women's skirts pleaded guilty. james sims recorded several unsuspecting women, some in the traffic stops. the investigation began last summer when an off-duty officer said sims took upskirt photo of her in a store in bowie. maureen: still ahead at 6:00 -- >> a piece of legislation that the workers seem to love but the business

could cripple them. a closer look is coming up. jonathan: some rain on inauguration day? stormwatch7's chief meteorologist doug hill breaks down the possible timing to plan ahead. ja first, julie wright has a look at what is coming up tomorrow on "good morning washington." >> tomorrow on "good morning washington." final preparations for trump inauguration is underway. a look of the who is performing on the big day. >> how to score a great deal on the last-minute get-away if you are skipping the inauguration. >> stay with us for traffic and wea

maureen: two maryland state troopers were hurt after a crash on i-270. the officer was standing beside the trooper patrol car. they were rushed to the hospital and all are expected to survive. it's not clear what caused the accident. >> the man who prosecuted vice presidenting spiro agnew has

sunday. he spent months to build a case against agnew that pleaded no contest to tax evasion. following that, gerald ford was appointed vice president and went on to be president when nixon re-signed. maureen: montgomery county leaders approved a plan to increase minimum page in the county to $is a an hour. as the montgomery county reporter tells us there is no guarantee the change will go into effect. >> there is no denying that the washington area oppressively expensive place to live. in montgomery county, the current minimum wage is 10.75 that translates to $22,000 a year working full-time. but this morning, the county council voted 5-4 to hike the minimum wage to $15 an hour. by 2020.

they claim the money will be reinvested in the local economy. those against argue it puts montgomery at risk as the jurisdictions min mum wages. another critique is the research on an impact of the steep and the sudden hike. ike leggett must now sign it into law. that is no means an guarantee as he is an open critic of the idea. he fears that it casts montgomery county unplace to do business and may negatively impact the workers that the bill intends to help. >> this is true that we have low rage earners. if we pass a $15 minimum wage the small businesses will suffer and the people will lose jobs as well as lose shifts. >> this is worth pointing out the bill has a provision to allow the companies with 25 or fewer

rolling out the 15 minimum wage by two years. other words, 2022. reporting in rockville, i'm kevin lewis. abc7 news. jonathan: "7 on your side" now with a consumer alert. after a cyber security breach affecting northern virginia locations of a hospital chain. sentara healthcare said somebody breached a vendor computer system. 5,400 people were affected. all were patients between 2012-2015. information includes names, birth dates, social security numbers, the medical procedure and prescription history. those affected are now notify ied by mail. >> a frightening scene outside of atlanta. sink hole swallowed 55,000 pound truck. the crews are making it

jonathan: talking about the problems on the road. check this out. this is a video from utah. this is how not to drive in the winter. watch on the right side of the screen. the car coming in, thinking it will merge. hit a slick spot. 180. back the other way and doesn't hit a thing. that driver is sitting there hyperventilation going on. my gosh! nobody was hurt. but this is a good illustration of how not to drive when the road is slick. slow down. maureen: slow down. jonathan: that is it. maureen: exactly. deals with a lot of things. doug: we have fog tonight. but the gusty winds will make it go away. look at the capital wheel.

is down to 1.3 at leesburg. .3 at thurgood. the nothing could get denser. this is limited because the winds turn northwest the cold front comes through to clear it up quickly. the temperatures drop only a little after midnight. most areas will do great. front will come through and we'll have mostly to sunny skies and the temperatures are upper 50's. a very nice wednesday ahead. the highs are still with us. winds are not as strong. high overhead of 54. a couple degrees cooler. partly cloudy. more cloudiness returns late

the question is when? it's likely after friday. but most coming up with the similar solutions. of any stead derain after 12:00 noon. the forecast tomorrow, looks great. some sunny breaks and the gusty winds and the mild temperatures. 57, 58 for a high across the region. it should be partly cloudy with the temperatures on the lower 50's. that is looking good as well. we look to the inaugural outlook for noon on friday. it's going to be cloudy and houston. we think we will hit 50. we think the rain will hold off until after the noon hour. period of rain through the afternoon and the evening. beyond that, the extended outlook shows mild weather. 55 on saturday. 52 on sunday. clouds

the day. good chance of rain on monday. tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, check it out. partly sunny skies. highs in the mid-to-upper 50's. back to you. maureen: that is good. thank you, doug. jonathan: not much to complain about. erin: it is unbelievable. >> redskins ares are busy alrea. erin: they are. a lot to do. the search for the defensive coordinator continues. plus he may be the best receiver in football but antonio brown is in hot water with the steelers. we have the details straight ahead. i mess around in the garage. i want to pay more to file my taxes. i want my tax software to charge me at the last second. paying $60 to file my taxes was the highlight of my day. and you just saw footage of me flipping burgers. want to charge me extra to itemize my deductions? no problem. i literally have too much money. said no one ever. file for free with credit karma tax. free to start, free to finish. creditkarma.com/tax. a big tax company needs that $50 way more than me.

erin: the redskins search for a new defensive coordinator continued today. this time the team interviewed an interim candidate outside linebacker coach menusky. he has experience. 12 years in d.c. and various spots around the league. the fourth knownandidate to interview for the position. former bills d coordinator rob ryan interviewed yesterday. former jaguars head coach gus bradley and mike petine of the browns interviewed. next up they are expecting to interview the 49ers linebacker coach jason tarver. that should take place thursday. this is an example of what not to do. pittsburgh steelers wide receiver antonio brown will be punished for a fa

over the chiefs on sunday. he broadcasted head coach mike tomlin's post game speech. a big no-no. tomlin could be heard swearing in the video. the steelers head coach is not pleased. >> it was foolish of him to do that. there are the consequences to be dealt with from his perspective. we will punish him, not us. don't believe everything you read. that is what jerry jones said. he was talkingabout the fatherture of the quarterback tony romo. rumors are rampant since dallas lost to packers on what they will do with him in the off-season. in a radio interview jones says he and h

decide romo's fate in dallas and he has not made a decision yet. the local tennis star from hyattsville won the first grand slam match today at the australian open. >> there is one question about cowboys and rmom. are they going to pay him? >> probably not. they have a lot of respect for him in dallas. jonathan: thanks. maureen: what is the latest? doug: fog tonight. check out the next few days. partly sunny, breezy. 58 tomorrow. 54 on thursday. cloudy near 50 on friday, raug -- inauguration day. maureen: "world news tonight" with david muir up next. jonathan: thank you for watching. see you at 11:00.

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tonight, breaking news. president obama commutes chelsea manning's sentence. the army private serving 35 years convicted after being accused of leaking classified military secrets. manning,s a transgender woman behind bars. the outrain on capitol hill. the countdown tonight. three days until the inauguration, and this evening, vladimir putin in his own words defending president-elect donald trump. and at home, the boycott of the inauguration growing. also tonight, mr. trump's pick for health and human services under fire. tom price and his controversial stock buy, and the new report. 18 million americans could lose health insurance in the first year after the appeal.