smoldering building. >> next cleaning up the mess to find out what started the fire. alison: this is one of the biggest in recent memory. jonathan: it was. brad bell is back out at burlinghouse road. this one is expensive as well. they were almost done with the building. brad: almost done with the building. people expected to move in, in july. it's still blocked by the fire trucks. and look at that. the ladder is extending up. you can see a firefighter coming down just now. they have been putting water on the fire all day long. this afternoon, fire investigators took the first look at the area where the fire started smile. five stories up in an area used as a construction elevator landing. the only access via a fire truck tower ladder. it's too early for them to know what started the fire which burned all day

night. the thick smoke enveloping all of college park. we do now know how much damage was done for the under construction building. this video taken by the county assistant fire chief pans across the roof. destroyed by the still burning blaze. >> the roof has burned and collapsed to the floor. the building is in the $40 million range for the damage just to that wing of the building. fire damage in the $15 million range for the fire damage to the upper level. brad: so decisions still need to be make, how much will be demolished for the rebuild. what you are looking live is the 2 x 4. one upthere on the seventh floor. when we come back, we will tell you how that is the subject of debate out here. would construction in an aparen

"lightweight construction" and the firefighters just don't like it. brad bell, abc7 news. alison: thank you. stay with abc7 for updates from college park if you have to step away log on to wjla.com/text. sign up for the instant updates right on your phone. all right. now to another developing story. the weather today. gray, cool, raining really for most of the day. but things are finally going to start changing soon we open. stormwatch7's brian van de graaff has enough of the forecast. enough of the rain already. brian: i know. i wish we could welcome you back with a sunshine-filled sky. tomorrow is the day it will improve. today we picked up less than an tenth inch of rain. closer to the bay, half an inch. but it's still a dizzily day. this is throwing the moisture to the vicinity. the heavier bands are lifting north. not h

drizzly and cool. winds kicking as well. northeasterly wind with a chill feel. raw and damp. we should be 70 out there today. not happening. through the evening, the temperatures are steady. misty, foggy, drizzly. a progressive change but it should clear out tomorrow and get to 70 which is the launching pad for the 80's coming up. jonathan: look at this. the same system is doing this raleigh. the entire neighborhoods are under water. water is rushing in. flooding the cars and homes. anything in its path. many of the areas hit by hurricanes the last hurricane season are again under water. in other news, updating in the murder investigation of pamela butler. nancy: eight years the man who they say killed her was in court. they believe he is responsible for another disappearance. new at 4:00, d.c. bureau

court. sam? sam: the preliminary hearing just ended and they denied bail for jose rodriguez-cruz saying he knows who the witnesses are, he knows where they are and he knows how to make bodies disappear. the only witness today was m.p.d.'s michael fulton, the detective who found out not only did pamela butler disappear eight years ago going out with the defendant but so had cruz's first wife, martha rodriguez 28 years ago. that led to his arrest. butler's family member today. >> he has a history of doing things to women. abusing them. taking advantage of them. sam: prosecutors are presenting evidence of rodriguez-cruz habitual ab

heard her begging for life when he had a gun to her show. and rodriguez-cruz did an interview after pamela butler's disappearance. i think something, i think like everybody else. something happened. >> detective fulton testified today that rodriguez cruise that the detective interviewed easy to get rid of a body. you dig a hole deep enough, nobody is going to find it. it also came out in court that fairfax county police reopened an investigation in the disappearance 28 years ago of rodriguez cruise first wife, marta rodriguez. at this time it was said she returned to puerto rico. after this case, they reopened the investigation. and they conducted a search warrant. they searched rodriguez-cruz apartment in virginia

friday. sam ford, abc7 news. nancy: thank you. a year ago we witnessed eulalio tordil and the shooting at a mall followed by a manhunt. he pled guilty but the charges are far from over. stephen tschida has the deal. stephen: 63-year-old eulalio tordil feeded guilty to four counts, to of first degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. he is charged with six counts in montgomery county. there was a shooting that started in prince george's county when he was charged and he pleaded guilty to killing his estranged wife gladys. that took place outside of a public high school in

beltsville. there was a power point of numerous evidence that included video of the actual killing of gladys tordil. we also heard the 911 call. that her daughter made. there were writings that he made to apologize to the victim before the shooting spree. murph problems, estrangement from his wife, loss of his job and pending sexual abuse allegation against a minor contributed to tordil a lifetime law enforcement officer and the federal protective services agency to go rogue and become a malicious serial killer. he is looking at the possibility of life in prison without parole. we will be back to bring you the compelling evidence

court. jonathan: the subject of russia dominating the first 100 days of the trump presidency and it continues today. the white house refusing to give documents related to michael flynn security clearance. also requested the documents related to the payment from the organizations tied to the russian and the turkish governments. in the meantime, former acting attorney general sally yates and clapper will testify before the committee. >> outside the white house today, protests over what may or may not end up in federal budget proposal. it's organized by people action that resulted in a dozen arrests out there. meanwhile, less than four days until the government could shut down.

11:59:59 on friday night and the feds won't be able to spend. so that has us wonder dog you believe there will be a shut down? go weigh in. let's turn to scott thuman who is on the hill and a look at what to look out for in the next few days. >> three things to consider. president trump would like funding specific to construction of the ball in the budget. that is a nonstarter. they could have border construction that not directly to cause so they could have some wiggle room. but the democrats say if you pit in that it is going to the actual construction we will not pass this one. secondarily, we talk about t

something that we see often. we could work in the wing on a longer term pan. this is a phrase common here. it costs the u.s. taxpayers $2 billion in the lost productivity. in the last few minutes we heard the president saying the wall will get built. don't worry about it. but he is not using definitive language if it's not in this fiscal budget it won't happen. a lot of gray area and am big guty and in -- ambiguity. and four days is a lifetime

alison: who needs this at the end of the day? democrats or republicans? scott: they need to pass the budget. if the republicans have the white house but also the senate and the house and they don't get it passed, it will look worse for them. this would also fall on trump's 100th day in office. jonathan: why a fitbit is a key piece of evidence in a murder case. nancy: why they are warning parents about a popular netflix series. alison: jeff, what are you working on? jeff: the fairfax county police trying to get answers about a murder that took place last year. they are hitting the streets and passing out this

coming up at "abc7 news at 4:00" and we continue after the break.

jonathan: a 7-year-old man killed in a retire ill village. alison: they are looking for clues. nancy: this was in the little river glen senior center and jeff goldberg is live now at eden center in falls church. why are the police there tonight? jeff: this was a popular destination for cong nguyen. this very popular. he was here all the tile. so they continue to ask for the help to solve the murder. the police, the personnel is engaging visitors to the english center. in vietnamese in an effort to find out any information that may

who last week but found murdered inside the little river glen senior community in fairfax. >> everybody is upset about it. >> he would visit the center at noon. well known and well liked. >> a nice personality. >> investigators say he suffered upper body drama but no idea who could have done it or why. from we don't have suspect information. and no motive. >> he continues to hear about the warmth and the kindness. but nothing about the enemies or the issues. >> no problem?

>> no. >> they is still trying to get answers for the murder. we did speak to those who did know him. that's coming up. jeff goldberg, abc7 news >> thank you. a key piece of evidence could be the woman's fitbit. the man said an intruder killed her but they didn't buy it. so they look at the electronic record of the couple including the fitbit. and his story didn't match the electronic headlines. he is free but the next court day is friday. jonathan: a fix for galaxy aid customers that complained the display had red tint.

but now they are rolling out a software update to fix the issue. >> getting outside is good for the soul. now some of the sickest children will get a chance to be on the open air. we have more on the healing center that is about to open. >> they can't wait to get in the garden. >> on a rainy day, the 5-year-old stays inside children national medical center to get treatment she needs for the throat cancer. >> good. >> anyone treated here can thank a patient from four years ago who had a dying wish. >> she was so thick. her last wish was to

outside. the do donor funding added up to $7 million. the flowers are going up and they are ready to go play outside. >> this helps to reground us. the doors are wide enough for the equipment to fit through. >> there are no limits to being outside. first lady melania trump brought the rose bush in march. there is a guest list of people who will come to the healing garden her. in northwest washington, cheryl conner, abc7 news. brian: outside now. 4:19.

coming down. we will see the light showers tonight. look at the camera lens. dulles international airport. you can't even see. the winds are as high as 20 to 25 miles per hour at times. it's windy out there. it makes it feel worse. mid-to-upper 50's for the west. the temperatures have been steady throughout the day. notice winds at the north/northeast at 10 to 15 miles per hour. we need the winds to shift direction. tomorrow we will start to transition. tomorrow the system will

away. we will have clouds and fog in the morning. there will be drying from the west to east. we will get the sunshine. that will get the stage for tomorrow. the weekend we have question marks. thursday is stellar. we are talking about this for the weekend. there is a summer like feel but now they are saying we could get a northeasterly wind. the next chance of rain is monday and then to the low to mid-70's. there are several nice days headed to our way. nancy: we're l

to that. next at 4:00, talk about a golden parachute. the incredible money meyer is getting to leave yahoo!. jonathan: later, a popular series on netflix but now comes with a warning and why schools are sending letters home about "13

national d.n.a. day. alison: okay. how do you celebrate that? jonathan: cupcakes are always good. alison: one way to mark the occasion, the nasa astronaut answered questions on social media. nancy: interested to hear how they go together. >> this is including on social media, especially for the kids interested in science. you can use the hashtag d.n.a. chat or watching the live stream on facebook. an naught answered all kind of questions. she became the first to sequence d.n.a. in space. she talked about how to get the kids excited about science. >> what got me interested is the d.n.a. conference. the national d

intriguing and an attractive for students. >> so they teamed up with the genome research institute to talk about how it impacts us. this is nice to know that the days like this can inspire the next generation of the astronauts. we want cake. jonathan: anything fires kids up, that is great. >> ahead for us at 7:00, consumer alert. if you ready for home improvement season, there is a something too close to miss. >> and we have a live report for an urgent warning. >> high fashion can cause plenty but find out how many people are willing to pa

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announcer: you're watching "abc7 news at 4:00". on your side. nancy: abc7 on storm watch. the weather has to get better soon. hopefully it will mov

brian: oh, c'mon! the yellow stuff is not over d.c. this is dreary. let's look outside. the capital is gloomy. as we go through the evening the temperatures will drop back, 40's and 50's tonight. this is not heavy but this is impactful. one thing to point out, there are a lot of ups and downs in the near-term future. notice tomorrow once you get through the clouds in the morning and the midday, we will warm. but it will take warmer. if you live in midrow east, it's later in the day. west of town is earlier. 70's is doable for tomorrow afternoon. thursday and f

it should be pleasant. partly sunny. heats up. the touch of humidity. this weekend is the first 90 degree of the season. there could be days to watch. it's a warm one to start the weekend. michelle: a lot of people are binge watching "13 reasons why" about a girl who kills herself and leaves behind 13 tapes about why she did it. some are raising concerns about the kids watching it, including the school administrators in virginia. richard reeve is live. what are they saying today? richard: that the film is graphic in nature. this is the letter sent out. there has been criticism that the show g

this series isn't part of the curriculum but the students and the teachers are talking about it. we spoke with several parents. one does not allow his son watch it and another is considering watching it with his child. the school district sent home letters to help the children process what they see in the program. one mother said this is making the hard choices and keeping lines of the communication open. >> i would warn him beforehand. let him know this is what it is. this is what you might feel. >> the letter to the parents home says in part while the story touches on the important topics the content is very graphic. we do not encourage viewing

children and the youth to process information with the trusted adult if they watch the series. a lot of folks are talking about this. we will see what the students think of this. >> thank you. show of force. uss michigan arriving in south korea. the navy describes this as routine. this is when they are celebrating the 58 birthday of the army. tomorrow all the senators are invited to the white house for top-level briefing regarding north korea.

and spoke at a woman's empowerment discussion with german chance lor angela merkel. the moderator asking her what her role in the white house is. >> i am rather unfamiliar with the role as well as it's new to me. nancy: people started to his at her after she called her father supporter of the families. michelle: president trump vowed to crackdown on the antisemitism. he gave a speech as part of the u.s. holocaust memorial museum national days of remembrance. >> those who deny the holocaust, are an accomplice to the horrible evil and will never be ileapt. we just won't.

michelle: he reiterated the support over israel on display earlier when benjamin netanyahu visited the white house. jonathan: we have breaking news. we are following out of los angeles, this is not something you see in the rush hour traffic in los angeles. interstate five closed down in each direction. all five laned closed. this is a horrible crash that involved a semi, truck and a van. we understand ten people have been seriously hurt. again, interstate 5 closed in both directions unclear exactly how this happened and when it will be reopened. now to the war on terror. a better look at raqqa. satellite images capturing a

checkpoints, even damage to a bridge from airstrike. nancy: police on anti-terror raid. at least one suspect believed to be connected to the in brussels. this is a result of the eight-month long investigation. most of the men had the previous run ins with the law. >> the outgoing c.e.o. of yahoo! will get $186 million when she walks out the door. verizon buying it for $4.5 billion. she had been c.e.o. for five years but has come up short to turn around the company.

the reason this is headed to court. jonathan: the company calls this a flying car. i don't know but it will be on sale. when you can buy it and how much is up next. nancy: kidd o'shea with the look at the mid-week wakeup with "good morning washington" kidd: nancy, thank you. tomorrow on "good morning washington," short term rental websites keeping you getting an apartment in d.c.? what is done now. >> and the white house gearing up to brief the senate on north korea. what to expect. >> and keep it here for traffic and weather every ten minutes tomorrowing starting at 4:25 on " fios is not cable. we're wired differently. maybe that's why we've been nked highest in customer satisfaction by jd power 4 years in a row. and now you can love fios too. get 150 meg internet, tv and phone. all for $79.99 per month online, for the first year with a two-year agreement. it's the only internet with equal upload and download speeds. cable only offers upload speeds

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michelle: a florida couple beefing with the neighbor over pigs because the pigs are their pets and the neighbors wants them gone. city says the animals have to go but the couple refuses saying they're like family members not farm animals. >> me and mike can't have kids. this is closest we will have to children. so this completes our family. >> the city says the farm animals can't be in the residential areas. the couple will make their way

only the water. this is the kitty hawk flyer. electric aircraft. this version goes over water. jonathan: little e., dale earnhardt jr. is going to retire at the end of this season. he is 40 years old and he struggled this year but he has won more than 24 races at the highest level including two daytona 500's. little e. carved out a career of his own following the death of his father and both will go down in the annals of racing. coming up, freebie too good to catch up. but there is a catch. we explain coming up. nancy: new incident of

[car engine failing to start] [wind blows] yo- wh- ah- he- [gas pouring] [slurps loudly] [engine starting] [loud slurping continues]

jonathan: new video from o'hare airport of dr. david dao. this is him boarding here. as well as the crew.

a video that shows a different picture of what happened on board. in the video shows dao is starting problems with the officer but in the report it says he said he was going home. this viral video went everywhere. dao hasn't sued yet but he has hired an attorney and hinted he might do that. what are you getting your mom for mother's day? nancy: are you using the coupon on facebook? nancy: we have more. >> i wish it this was true. i am looking for a president for mom but this is not a deal. it's not a real coupon. if you did click on it somebody just wants your private information. it's called phishing. we are here to help protect you. this shows up as a shared

and only wants you to click to fill out a survey. don't do it. the coupons are not offers extended by lowell's. this is a scam. two years ago the score was hit with a $100 fake coupon on facebook, too. here is advice from the better business bureau. real businesses never ask for your banking information on survey. never, ever. the biggest red flag when is the last time you saw lowe's or home depot or wal-mart was giving you $50 for anything? it doesn't happen. michelle: thank you. people ran for their lives as the earthquake rocked chile. no deaths or serious damage have been reported. earthquake falls on the two-year anniversary of more

devastating quake in nepal. the crews helped out with the rescue efforts. >> covering metro now at 4:00, the largest union is calling on the transit authority to stop contracting out the paraservices. gathering outside they cused the contractors of arriving late and missing trips booked in advance. it was a weeking that the wiedefeld unveiled a plan calling to contract out new job for services. 11% of

units are for sale and the others are for respect. the trump condo is three times higher than the similar building downtown. trump tower is sitting on the river. furious wells fargo shareholders yelling out of turn. it got ugly. everyone with the banks handling it, the account scand that cost so much money, all the board members seeking re-election won enough votes. they are going back. >> spirit airlines has become the latest airline to stop passenger service to cuba. they will sent out the fort lauderdale flight schedule in may before ending the service by next month. this is the third to

year following frontier. jet blue reduced the capacity to change frequency of the flights. >> you know how everyone in the office groans when i.t. comes around to upgrade your computer? we can relate. that is why the l.l.b. customers see a delay in the system. the system upgrade is messing with the order processing system. so to make up for the delay they are offering 20% discount for those still waiting. nancy: we love our i.t. guy. tender has a new eligible bachelor. they added the last dating app to find a mate. the profile says he performing well under pressure. plus he can't cheat because he can't mate with the last two females of his suspicious. he may

they are raising money to research proceeding methods. but performs women under pressure. >> stop it. stop it. jonathan: we'll just move right along. nancy: from a mate to having a baby. michelle: when you go to the zoo you would expect a panda or a giraffe to have a baby. but this was a human. the little one wasn't due until mother's day but the baby drea had other plans. she went into labor around it was dad who delivered his daughter in a crowd of people. >> crying and cooing.

could see. a truly blessed experience. >> they are all healthy. jonathan: that is the viral video. the dad says i got this, i got this. back away! and they can rest. baby is a good sleeper. a 17-year-old north dakota high school player got to play for the varsity. when the head coach made concerted effort to get him in the game, and he called him in, that is a hit! he finished with two hits and an r.b.i. >> hard not to tear up.

>> my goal! jonathan: nice job. nancy: m.v.p.! >> we need him for our softball team. nancy: the one that was rained out. >> we will playing saturday. winning saturday. brian: it will be hot. hydrate! we are also going to have humidity in the mix. look at this camera here. unfocused. the rain is not heavy but it is enough to make for a damp feel out there. there is a third of an inch in arlington.

.5 and we are seeing the rain that is piling up. but outside it's light and misty. the system in the carolina will lift up. and pull away from the coast. there will be improving conditions. not tonight but for tomorrow. in the afternoon the clouds break to give way to sunshine. 70's tomorrow. the weekend, everyone wants to talk about the weekend. the weekend looks interesting for sunday. we have been watching this weekend. but saturday is the hot and sticky sun-filled day. hopefully not sticky. but sunday we could get extra clouds and

believe you me the weekend is something to watch carefully. saturday is looking for hot day and sunday could be cooler. jonathan: thank you. want to see the wizards play in game five? who doesn't? watch "good morning washington" tomorrow for a chance to win tickets. they will be up for grabs. we'll be right back.

announcer: from abc7 news this is a breaking news alert. jonathan: a judge blocking the order to cut funding to cities that limit cooperation with the immigration authorities. the district is one of the so-called sanctuary cities. judge says that the president does not have the authority to attach new conditions to federal spending. that temporary ruling will stay in place until the lawsuit works its way through the court system. michelle: break news regarding metro. a possible sick-out call from workers. brianne carter at the "live desk." what are you hearing about that? brianne: they need to take some action but there will not a be a sick out. they are looking into a hostile work environment. the mechanicsment

staffing -- management is staffing to ensure the delivery of the service to customers. for more on that and what we continue to follow at this hour, brianne carter at the "live desk." "abc7 news at 5:00" starts now. larry: tonight the 8-year-old pamela butler mystery. a detective tells the court why he arrested her ex-boyfriend and why he is worried about another woman. college park fire in the second day and now people are starting to rethink construction codes. plus, a reason to talk. local school officials tell the parents they need to be concerned about a new netflix show. >> now "abc7 news at 5:00". on your side. larry: news from kensington where a small bus crashed in a group home. breaking news right now on lawrence avenue off connecticut avenue. there are people hurt. but none appear to be life threatening. there is

caused thes but to go into the home. we have a crew on the way to the scene. we will update you on abc7 news. alison: now the other top story today. eight years after pamela butler disappearance the police say her ex-boyfriend is to blame. now the prosecutors say that he had a pattern of threatening women. sam ford is live where he had a hearing today. >> a defendant that remained free for eight years a person of interest in the possible disappearance eight years ago was denied bail in a preliminary hearing that concluded this afternoon at the d.c. superior court. this came out in court because of the case that started 28 years

they figured out that the first wife of rodriguez-cruz was an imposter and the wife hadn't been seen in 28 years. and the disappearance of his girlfriend was enough for an arrest. she was last seen february 12, 2009, entering her home with cruz. >> the prosecution laid the case out. >> in the hearing, detective fulton supported the belief that rodriguez-cruz is what pitch -- habitual. >> i didn't have anything to do with her disappearance. >> an interview from eight years ago. and it's reported he sai,