announcer: now "abc7 news at 4:00". on your side.

michelle: all right. you have been listening to attorney general jeff sessions on the hill during that hearing today. u.s. attorney general sessions did just speak before the senate intelligence committee as it investigates claims that russia interfered with the last presidential election. you can continue to watch his testimony right now on our sister station newschannel8. we'll have much more in a moment. but first let's move on to local headlines. alison: we have breaking news to tell you about because lake ridge middle school evacuated after a chemical spill in that building. skytrak7 over the prince william county school where abc7 learned this is not toxic and we have learned that everyone is okay. there is a little bit of a twist here, though, because it's primary day in virginia. so the polling has now been moved outside. polls close by the way at 7:00. michelle: we also have breaking news in stafford

county where a freight train derailed right near the wal-mart on route 3. nine of the 104 cars derailed but they all stayed upright. the train was carrying coal. no one was hurt. but federal drive is closed at route 3 for the clean-up. alison: all right. 7 on storm watch today on the third day of a presummer heatwave. good news, relief isn't too far away. our chief meteorologist doug hill in the stormwatch7 weather center with the forecast. doug: people that live near spotsylvania, they have relief coming now. look at that. a live picture. a good rain shower there. 86 degrees. let's talk about the temperatures now. across the region is 92 at reagan national airport. the record high was 96. we did not make it there. 93 at andrews and frederick. 93 in fredericksburg, warner and culpeper. hot and humid. we tied the record at washington dulles. missed it in baltimore. and missed it at reagan

through the hourly forecast we will continue to monitor the pop-up showers and the thunderstorms well in the metro. we'll let you know if they arrive. but we call for partly cloudy and muggy and warm. eventually get in 70's. relief comes tomorrow with a cold front and with that a better chance of normous showers and thunderstorms developing throughout the day. we check that and the father's day weekend forecast and the updated ten-day outlook in about 12 minutes. alison: thank you. 7 on your side in health matters. we have a warning for you about whooping cough. a student has been diagnosed at patriot high school. we understand the student came to class. early symptoms are a honey nose, low grade fever, mild cough. after two weeks you develop a rapid cough which is followed by the signature high-pitched whooping sound. michelle: new developments in the case of a university of advantage student h

university of virginia student held in north korea released this morning. otto warmbier's parents say the 22-year-old serving 15-year prison term with hard labor has been in a coma and has been for more than a year. they only found last week. he appeared to confess on tv to trying to steal a propaganda banner. alison: wow! let's get back now to the developing story we watched as it played out. u.s. attorney jeff sessions testifying before the senate intelligence committee on the hill. brianne carter monitoring that hearing from our live desk as it continues. briann? brianne: that is right. the hearing is continuing now. after an hour plus of testimony from attorney general jeff sessions, a number of new developments. start with the opening remarks that sessions made saying that the suggestion he was part of any kind of collusion to hurt this country is, "appalling and detestable." sessions denied he had any undisclosed meeting with the russian ambassador, any conversation with the russian officials about the

mr. sessions says he recused himself from the russia investigation not because of any wrongdoing but because he thought he needed to based on justice department regulations. when asked whether he knew anything about a possible pardon for the people involved in the russia investigation, sessions had this to say. >> mr. chairman, i'm not able to comment on conversations on high officials within the white house. that would be a violations of the communications rule. brianne: now attorney general sessions saying he is not invoking executive privilege but it's just a policy not to comment on private conversations with the president. he also told the committee he did not talk to former f.b.i. director james comey about his performance in the f.b.i. before his ousting. we'll have more on the hearing as it continues at 5:00. reporting live, brianne carter. back to you. >> so i think the best advice would be to let robert mueller do

michelle: that is from house speaker paul ryan in the midst of rumors that president trump plans to fire the special prosecutor he appointed to investigate ties between his campaign and russia. deputy attorney general rod rosenstein told senators on the hill today he has seen no evidence mueller should be fired. have you seen any evidence of good cause for firing of special counsel mueller? >> i have not. >> if president trump ordered you to fire the special counsel, what would you do? >> senator, i'm not going to follow any orders unless i believe they are lawful and appropriate orders. under the regulation, special counsel mueller may be fired only for good cause and i am required to put that cause in writing. so that is what i would do. if there were good cause, i would consider it. if there were not good cause it wouldn't matter to me what anybody says. michelle: the top democrat on the house intelligence committee says if the president fires mueller it would likely be the

for many members of congress. alison: another congressman wants to make covfefe a law. that is right. illinois democrat mike quigley is introducing a bill to update the 1978 presidential records act. the communication over various feeds electronically for engagement or covfefe bill could require that all the social media records be preserved. covfefe is a word used in a tweet last month by tweet. michelle: thank you, alison. right now we have closely monitoring a developing story out of pennsylvania where jurors are deliberating the case against bill cosby. elizabeth hur has the latest. >> so far, four questions from the jury including one about bill cosby's depositio

of the charges against cosby to which the judge told the jury he is not permitted to define them. jurors back in court for the first full day of deliberations. this is after bill cosby's defense called one witness and took just six minutes to make its case on monday. cosby did not take the stand. >> there is no reward in that situation. especially somebody at his age and given the amount of time. and all of the problems that could be brought up by a cross examination of him. elizabeth: on the last day of the trial, his wife was in court for the first time. smiling outside. but sitting inside showing no emotion. as the defense argued while cosby was a cheater, he was not a criminal. that only angels are in heaven. >> mr. cosby is doing good. his spirits are up. he is confident. elizabeth: across the room the woman at the heart of the trial, andrea constand, who accused cosby of druin

2004. then the prosecutor told jurors cosby's own words incriminate him. referring to a deposition from 2005 where he admitted to obtaining quaaludes prior to sexual encounters with women. though he does not say in the deposition he gave women drugs without their knowledge. the d.a. maintained that any inconsistencies in constand's statements were because she spent more time trying to forget what happened rather than trying to remember. if convicted, cosby faces up to ten years in prison and will be forced to register as a sex offender. reporting live in pennsylvania, i'm elizabeth hur for abc7 news. michelle: the defense rested today in the case of a massachusetts woman accused of sending her boyfriend dozens of text messages urging him to kill himself. 18-year-old conrad roy took his own life three years ago. michelle carter's lawyers say he h

and she urged him to get professional help. alison: back at home, no one was hurt today when a food truck caught fire. this was here at metro center. our d.c. bureau chief sam ford live in northwest. sam, do they know what happened yet? sam: well, they are looking at that, alison. i'm at one of d.c.'s most popular noontime food truck spots here at 12th and g. there is just a backhoe behind me but normally there are food trucks here in the noontime hour. at 9:30 this morning one of the early arriving trucks burst into flames. firefighters arrived here at 12th and g and quickly extinguished the blaze that took out the gyro sandwich food truck that called itself d.c. doner. the fire started in the back driver's side of the van and burned forward. fire officials said it appeared to be connected to the generators of the truck. a stationary and a portable

than an hour. >> i was walking across the street and i saw the side of the truck, the flames were coming out. it was horrible. i worried without would blow up here. that would have been no good. sam: fortunately no one was injured here. the fire spokesman said even though they believe the generateddors were connected they won't know for sure until they complete the investigation. we have more coming up at "abc7 news at 5:00". we will hear about the inspections involving this truck. reporting live in northwest washington, i'm sam ford. michelle: you still have three hours to make your way to the polls in virginia. it's the primary in the governor and the lieutenant governor races. we have a look at all the candidates at wjla.com. we have the results for you tonight at abc7 news at 11:00. >> what we've got is

billion expense in terms of improvement. alison: still ahead, two steps forward and one step back. the "7 on your side" team is taking a closer look at how helpful the chip readers really are. michelle: later, the new concerns about the s.u.v. headlights from behind the wheel to other drivers on the road. alison: but first, a redskins legend takes on a new job to try to get the team back to the super bowl.

alison: and we're back now and celebrating 50 years since thurgood marshall became the first african-american confirmed as a supreme court justice. it happened june 13, 1967. the court's 96th justice would serve for 24 years. michelle: the first african-american quarterback to win a super bowl is hoping to bring some of that glory back to the nation's capital. robert burton takes a look at doug williams' new role with the redskins. >> our new senior vice president of player personnel doug williams. [applause] robert: although he needs no introduction, today he was reintroduced with a new title. >> a lot of people could be standing here. i'm just fortunate enough to be here. i appreciate that. robert: the icon, doug williams now responsible for bringing in players that fit

of black executives in the nfl. you can't count that many. you getting this position, what do you think you are doing for the league right now? >> i look at this just like 1988. as a quarterback of the super bowl, a lot of people say a black quarterback for the first time. i can't look at it from that standpoint. yes, i am a black guy, as a senior vice president of personnel to the washington redskins but i still have a job to do. robert: during the presser, williams said it's home for him. he told us what that meant. doug: the way i was received here in washington, d.c., the fans, and all the people, how they rooted for me in my time. having won a super bowl here and knowing that you have accomplished some things and people are always rooting for you, it makes you feel like it's at home. robert in ashburn, robert burton, abc7 sports. alison: one of the stars in this year's nba finals from prince george's county. you probably know that. as john gonzalez shows

kevin durant gave the county some love after golden state won the championship. john: there are basketball camps going on this week here at the seat pleasant activity center. this building is known as the home of kevin durant. this is where it all started for the 28-year-old. he has never forgotten that. take a look. these are the nike sneakers he released two years ago. the name k.d.8p.g. that is the embrace with his proud mother moments after the golden state warriors defeated cleveland for a second title in three years. for our local boy, not only his first nba championship but kevin durant was named m.v.p. of the series. he went to oakland last year searching for the title. well, during the playoffs, the team went almost perfect 16-1. from 2,800 miles away a shout out to his hometown. >> everybody in seat pleasant and p.g. county maryland, d.c., virginia, y'all have been riding with me. it feels good to see us

i'm going to enjoy it. >> the great thing about kevin lewis kef and his mother wanda pratt they give back. they have given back in terms of helping to refurbish the activity center. >> don't forget where you came from, kevin. i need $20. john: that is the electronic side in the activity center. born if d.c. raised across the line in seat pleasant. played high school ball at national christian academy in fort washington. finished his senior year as montrose christian school. he has two olympic gold medals and now he has the title that had been alluding him. in seat pleasant, john gonzalez, abc7 news. michelle: more titles, more problems. everybody will be asking for something. alison: random people. hey, could i have some money? very funny. doug, we have a heatwave going. everybody outside is sweating. doug: for hot and humid again. back in the mid-90's but feeling warmer because of the moisture. the break will come tomorrow

thunderstorms. we have a few on the map now. let's get you startedle bottom of the screen, southwest of fredericksburg in spotsylvania county. a heavy downpour. most of them as we have expected to remain along and west of interstate 81. that is where the most instability is. that is where the best ingredients and the atmosphere are for the showers and the thunderstorms to pop. we could see one close to the metro area single cell form up later tonight. not likely. possible tomorrow. they will become more and more likely through the day as the cold front approaches. the closest one to our region is this area in fredericksburg. the motion of these as they bubble up drifting more to the west. that is the motion reflected by the low level winds in the atmosphere. the big picture right now shows numerous showers and storms to the west. heavy stuff coming across piedmont of north carolina. a cold front will work its way in the area tomorrow. get some of the moisture involved. as front comes through our chances of thunderstorms across the metro

increase. this is what it feels like outside. combination of the temperature and the moisture level in the area. feels like 100 in leesburg. 97 in fredericksburg. 99 at reagan national airport. 97 in annapolis. those are real feel numbers. that is what it feels like. most areas are hazy and muggy. 74 for the overnight low. tomorrow the front approaches and it will hit the upper 80's. muggy and the showers and the storms are more likely. on thursday with the winds out of the east, we have a high of 83. it's a cloudy around the region here. as we go through the extended outlook into friday, it looks we'll have a good chance. 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms around the area. steve rudin is finding relief from the heat where he can. also finding how it is affecting the plants and the gardens here. they would like a shower or thunderstorm too, i bet, steve. steve: absolutely, doug. it feels every day of 99 to 100 in terms of the feels like index in

scott southerland joins us now. your lot is full of plants and trees and shrugs and flowers. some tips as far as watering goes? >> three words. water, water, water this time of the year. we turned from spring to summer and it feels like it's happening in a flash. keep watering. water early in the morning. very best. water later in the day as the sun is setting. the second choice. a cool drink in your hand. relax. it's fun. steve: let's look at what is going on here. you have a lot of plants and flowers that people are buying. is it too late to plant now because the system, we almost in the end of the planting season? or is this a beginning? >> we had a funny spring so there is plenty of time to plant. we had a cool spring, rainy, a lot of rain so we are extending out the spring planning season. a good time to plant but you have to keep watering when we

steve: in two minutes on newschannel8 we will talk about the impatience and the issues from last year. we talk about that in newschannel8 in a few minutes. but first back inside to michelle and a cooler studio. right? michelle: yes. the flowers look beautiful. thank you, steve. in a few hours we'll have another chance to watch a rocket launch from wallace island. the mission is set to lift off after 9:00 and then four minutes later it deploy ten canisters of chemicals designed to create their own clouds. that will let scientists back here on earth on the ground study the way air moves at high altitudes. alison: still to come, a minor league baseball team wants to help fans know if they should attend a father's day game. michelle: but first, a road block for the streetcar. what

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michelle: "7 on your side" this afternoon with everything you need to know about insurance. homeowners to life insurance to car insurance. we have a panel of experts standing by to answer your consumer questions in the help center. "7 on your side" troubleshooter horace holmes has details. horace: hi, michelle. how are you doing? we have fortunate to have the panel assembled by a.a.a. look at the bright, smiling faces here ready to answer your questions about insurance issues. okay. here are the things they can talk about. they can talk about life

insurance, car insurance, homeowners insurance. they can talk about renter's insurance. travel insurance, which is big this time. we are in vacation season. valuable items insurance. i'm not sure exactly what that is. but maybe -- what is that? >> it's like jewelry, anything that you want to schedule, fine arts. horace: you can specify? that is not just under the homeowners policy? >> you can add it as an endorsement or schedule it. horace: we learned something already. 703-236-9220 is the number for you to call. call right now. the folks will be here from now until 6:30. >> travel time might get better in one part of the maryland suburb. i'm kevin lewis with the explanation still ahead. >> this heat means it's a critical time for this tree but it is easy to improve its condition. i'm stephen tschida.

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doug: this is day three of the heatwave here. it's hot and humid. let's show you the temperatures first. air temperature, 95 in leesburg. 94 in hagerstown and andrews. there are a few ener 80's here and there. factor in humidity levels and it feels

leesburg and quantico. feels like 99 at reagan national airport. 97 in culpeper and fredericksburg. not much cooler in the mountains. through the evening hours we will stay partly cloudy. it will be warm and muggy. temperatures in the 80's. even by 11:00 tonight still 81 degrees in town. it should be warm but fine baseball weather at the park tonight. doppler radar we track a few showers. still slowly moving west to southwest at fredericksburg through spotsylvania county. a few more developing along and west of interstate 81. for today most of the activity will stay in the area. richmond area. cold front comes through tomorrow with better chances of more widespread showers and storms. waking up in the morning another muggy start in the 70's. but we need the rain. in search of rain there are a lot of trees in the area. northwest washington is where we find abc7's stephen tschida. that is a concern. a lot of rain so far this month. and the hot temperatures. what are the folks doing to preserve and prote

trees? stephen: they are not doing enough. this tree here is in critical condition. struggling in the dry weather. if you walk through the nation's capital, you will see green bags like this one on every street. at the base of trees. so many of them, they are supposed to have water but you can see this one and so many are empty. now, the casey foundation and the district planned thousands of trees every year. a number of them die in first couple of years. often they are unable to withstand the hot, dry, d.c. summer. there is a remedy but few residents are willing to provide it. we are talking about the green bags. you are supposed to fill them with water, especially on days like today. >> this has been the hottest weather of the spring so far. and really the time is now to call people to action, help water trees. stephen: now you are supposed to put 10 to 20 gallons of water in this green bag every

usually use a hose. we'll just do this with a pitcher. it's really easy to do. you pour it in there. this is one gallon. you have to do it ten times at least to help the tree out. this really isn't a big job. the payoff is really substantial. and beneficial for the city. and for the residents. for everybody. reporting live, stephen tschida, abc7 news. alison: out there doing your part. thank you very much. we have new developments on a big set b.c. for the d.c. streetcar program. the city council is slashing the mayor's proposed funding by a third. it unanimously voted to pass the budget today and that appears to be veto-proof. a bill extending the line east across the river to the deanwood metro station was approved but that is where the expansion ends. rides, by the way, are still free. michelle: the fate of the purple line may be in flux but people looking for a better way to get between rockville and wheaton may not be completely out of luck.

kevin lewis is live in rockville to explain. kevin? kevin: michelle, every day around 18,000 people take a public bus here along veers mill road. often times the traffic makes the trek grueling. so today, the montgomery county council unanimously voted in support of a $79 million bus rapid transit project that would run between the rockville and wheaton metro stations. the state of maryland has to approve it as well. the route will use the buses 20 feet longer and have three doors instead of the typical two. riders would buy tickets ahead of time and they will install dedicated bus only jump lanes. all combined the travel time will greatly improve. for example, taking the bus from rockville to wheaton takes 40 minutes in the afternoon rush but with the b.r.t. line that same ride would drop to 27 minutes. getting riders to the final

earlier. >> try to get things going and get it going fast. >> do you think it's a priority? >> i do. >> i think it would speed up the travel time. >> there could be people with one automobile. and the enhanced service will improve the experience. and the rapidity of which they can get back and forth. kevin: how long until it becomes a reality? that's new at 5:00. i'm kevin lewis. abc7 news. michelle: thank you. if you feel like you are spending more time in rush hour traffic? you are right. according to day from the highway administration the drivers are spending on average an additional three minutes stuck in traffic nationwide compad

part of the reason for the slowdown congestion is increasing faster than the gridlock solutions such as road widening and the traffic technologies. alison: we have startling new information from the insurance institute for highway safety today. most of the midsize s.u.v.'s on road have headlights that can compromise your safety. our senior investigative reporter lisa fletcher at the "live desk" with details. lisa in lisa: alison, the group tested 37 mid-size s.u.v.'s. two of them were given a good rating. 12 were considered acceptable. theless 11 were deemed poor. main concern the headlights don't light the road up far ahead enough of a driver or they are too bright and they blind oncoming driver. the lowest rated the 2017 kia serrento lit up only 148 feet. the

road for 31 of feet. kia will evaluate reports. we have more at wjla.com. at the "live desk" i'm lisa fletcher, abc7 news. michelle: thank you, lisa. developing right now an all-out manhunt for the two prisonersers who the police say shot and killed two guards. it happened while they were transported in georgia this morning. the inmates are believed to have carjacked someone in a green honda civic using the guns from the safe officers they are accused of murdererring. >> they need to surrender before we find them. >> i saw two brutally murdered officers. that's what i saw. i have their blood on my shoes. michelle: you can hear the emotion in his voice. at least 30 other inmates on the bus saw the same thing. police are talking to them also trying to find any leads to help track down the two prisoners. alison: still to come at 4:00, gone in seconds. we will show you the force of

the tornado tears through. horace: 703-236-9220. here in the "7 on your side" help center. insurance agents here to answer your questions. >> plus, just how the baby decided to come into this world that has neighbors pausing to help. alison: and now here is adriana hopkins with a preview of tomorrow's "good morning washington." >> thanks. tomorrow on "good morning washington" the surprising reason why your family's favorite low-fat healthy foods may be getting harder to find. >> plus an inside look at how therapy is not just for people with serious problems and why choosing the right therapist can make all the difference. >> keep it here for traffic and weather every ten minutes tomorrow morning at 4:24 a.m.

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up to 72 months on 13 models. ♪ michelle: open up and say ahhh. alison: goodness. michelle: this baby hippo at the cincinnati zoo may have a future in dentistry. fionna is all about exploring and she has been spending a lot of time looking in her mom's mouth. she apparently likes checking out her mom's teeth, the tongue, and tusk and the back of her throat. maybe she is looking for leftovers, i don't know. alison: that is what i was thinking. looking for food, snacks. i love how

i'll let you do this. michelle: it goes on for quite some time. it's just odd. alison: it really is funny. this is interesting, too. minor league baseball teams do anything they can to draw in fans. this father's day a florida team has a promotion that is turning plenty of heads. owners of the jacksonville jumbo shrimp are calling it you might be a father night. fans come out thursday night get a free pregnancy test. the team's website says the test will let them know if they should come back for sunday's father's day game. michelle: that could really well or really bad. i'm thinking are they trying to compete with the maury show? alison: it sounds like it. they are getting attention. michelle: for sure. that is working. jumbo shrimp. i didn't even know they existed. alison: i didn't either. michelle: ready or not here she comes. a mother to be in massachusetts experienced stomach pain and was waiting outside for a friend to take her to the hos

then it happened. yes. right there on the sidewalk outside her apartment. neighbors confused at first and then rushing in to help. >> i thought it was a doll. i look, no, that is a baby. i held it and i was like huh? she is gorgeous. michelle: everyone is happy and healthy and get this. right away more neighbors came in to help pitching in some hand-me-downs. what a great community! stomach pains turns to a new baby. alison: new member of the neighborhood on the sidewalk. goodness is. kellye: i'm kellye lynn in alexandria. here you go, sara. i will tell you how public school substitutes are learning how to swim in p.e. that story coming up in "spotlight on education." alison: looks like a good one. but first, they are supposed to stop fraud but they are turning out to be frustrating. "7 on your side" to get to the bottom of why chip readers take so long.

horace: horace holmes in the "7 on your side" help center. 703-236-9220. we have a panel of experts here. we have got some open phones

the topic is ask the insurance agent. you can talk about life insurance, car insurance, homeowners insurance, travel insurance. valuable items insurance. we'll be here from now until 6:30. back to you. alison: okay, horace holmes. thank you very much. a "7 on your side" consumer alert now regarding the micro chips in your credit card. almost all cards have them now but not all stores accept them. scott taylor with the reason why. scott: right now in america, there are 766 million chip cards being used at just under 2 million merchant locations, which is only 39% of all stores across the country. no wonder at a lot of businesses they continue to tell you to swipe and not use your chip card. "7 on your side" wants to know what is the holdup? randy handerhook, the director of the u.s. payment forum explains.

changing the box on the counter that the consumer interfaces with but also the cash register or point of sale system and back end software that runs that system in that store. scott: the national retail federation tells us, 99% of their members will have chip card readers up and running by the end of the year. but a third party hired by card companies need to certify machines at 5 million stores. >> the merchants have done their part. they have put the machines in place. but the card company have to certify them before they turn them on. the card company have been woefully slow in doing that. scott: chip reading cards are more secured than magnetic swipe cards that have been around for decades but can be improved by adding a pin number like they do overseas. but right now that's not in the cards in america. >> if we are going to spend $30 billion to install equipment to help reduce fraud, we'd like to see fraud

expense and ahh in terms of improvement. scott listen right now nine out of ten americans are using chip cards but you can only use them in one-third of stores across the nation. scott taylor, abc7 news. michelle: an update now on the barns dance intersection being built in columbia heights. that is what it is called when the pedestrians can cross diagonally while cars on all four sides at the intersection wait. the new pattern is on track to open this thursday. alison: so do you think the punishment fits the crime? sentence meant to prevent a criminal from acting out again. when it comes to drunken driving a judge named michael chickenetti mandates the men and women coming through his ohio courtroom have to enter a credit card number for uber and lyft as a condition of their probation. he told the local paper that is cheaper than another arrest. michelle: let's get a check now with what is happeni

at 5:00. nancy chen is at the "live desk" with what is coming up at 5:00. nancy: good afternoon. ahead at 5:00 we are following breaking news. a young child drowning outside a northeast d.c. home. plus a transformation in ashburn. we will show you what the historic african-american school looks like now months after becoming a target for vandals and also explain how seventh graders help the school secure a place in history. a and man finds a live grenade. his surprising first question ahead on "abc7 news at 5:00" when i join you then, alison. alison: okay. nancy, thank you. a little girl's mission hug an officer in every state. >> some people are like mean to him. i want to make them feel better. alison: her name is rosalyn baldwin. she is 7 years old. this is some number 15 yesterday. in chicago. her mother is taking her on a cross-country trip that started at home in louisiana. every officer two gets a hug also gets a sticker and they

alongside their badges. >> i think her message is getting across. it's the little things that make a big difference. >> i have a boy and a girl. every day they say how much they love me. having a child from thousands of miles away say the same thing because i'm a police officer truly means a lot. it makes me very happy. alison: you can see the officers are clearly moved by this simple act of kindness. her mother says her daughter has been asking questions since seeing protests in baton rouge and all across the country so they started this journey back in january. michelle: what a great thing to do. great that she is already at 15, i remember when we first reported that a week ago and she had just started. she is moving fast. alison: she is. a great memory for her and her mother together. michelle: absolutely. great example as well. with the hot weather upon us, area children are hitting the pool. as kellye lynn shows us in the "spotlight on education" at alexandria, pool time has become a part of

kellye: students at james polk elementary school in alexandria are making a splash. >> it's very lucky and a cool idea to do for our school. >> more than 30 fourth graders are part of a pilot physical education program at the school designed to teach them swimming and water safety skills. >> so for four days this week we are bringing them here for an hour a day to swim. kellye: at the aquatics facility, instructors share the basic and help the experience build on what they already know. >> we are learning about doing the backstroke. a lot of the other techniques to swim. i'm feeling very good and confident on myself. kellye: this isn't only about teaching students how to swim. the other goal is to get kids moving. >> it will allow them to build a skill they can use for their lives. zero impact. safe, fun. >> not a bad way to spend a

school day. in alexandria, kellye lynn, abc7 news. michelle: that looks like so much fun. alison: it does. michelle: 7 on storm watch after a tornado tore through part of wyoming right in front of a storm chaser. you can see the funnel cloud across the road. gosh, that is so close. this is a carpenter in the southeastern part of the state. one person was injured but is expected to be okay. alison: wow! then just across the state line in nebraska forecasters believe it was a tornado that ripped apart a barn. this was in banner county. you can see that the storm ripped it apart. look at that. then the wires go. next. the roof and the wires. we don't know if anyone was hurt from this. incredible video. michelle: yes. one minute now you see it and now you don't. it's gone. steve is live in alexandria hanging out with the beautiful flowers out there. alison: it is a beautiful setting you have there. even though it's very

steve: i know, but with all the players around it makes the heat more bearable. and it looks great. this is what everyone's gardens could look like if they come here and go to the local garden shop and start planting. a lot of folks are looking for impatience. they grow great in the shade. joining us now is scott sutherland. [audio interference] ja we apologize, we just lost that shot. steve was showing us how gorgeous it is outside and the need to water your plants, especially now that we are in this hot stretch. all right. moving on now, kicking it all the way to the olympics. in tonight's rising star how a local teenager is using taekwondo to make his dreams come true. that's next.

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all with a 2-year agreement. switch now at fiosgigabit.com. michelle: in tonight's rising star a teenager has his sights set on tokyo 2020. scott abraham has the story. scott a.: kicking his way to the top. >> standing on that podium,

first place. it's no words for that. scott a.: 18-year-old alejandro cheng is on track to be a future olympian in taekwondo. >> when i come back to practice it's like every other practice. you can't let that be the top. i want to keep going. scott a.: the 2017 stone bridge high school grad is one of only eight men in the country on the u.s. senior national team. >> yes! yes! >> the feeling of happiness like i never felt before filled my body. dang! it's an experience i will never forget. scott a.: one of the best things about him, he is so humble. he knows there is a lot more work left to do. his next stop is the taekwondo world championships in south korea. he has turned a lot of heads in the short amount of time including his coach. >> i'm amazed, this kid amazes me on a daily basis. he is only 18.

three or four years. unreal what his potential is. unreal. scott a.: a gifted athlete with tights set on tokyo 2020. >> i always dreamed when i was it will to go to the olympics. now that it is putting everything in perspective i can be in the olympics. scott a.: the best is yet to come from this teenager. i'm scott abraham with our rising star. nancy: right now at 5:00, the attorney general under oath in hot seat. his denials on collusion in direct contradiction to james comey. a multimillion dollar effort to make d.c. green. the confusion that left scores of donated trees neglected. and a shout-out to the d.m.v. from the finals m.v.p. as the haimtown community beams with pride in -- hometown community beams with pride in

we have breaking news. ad to already drowning outside a home daycare in northeast washington. sam ford at the home tonight. what have you learned? sam: we have learned it was in this white house here, 324 17th street northeast. i was a licensed daycare center and they had a number of toddlers. i just spoke to a gentleman who wanted to know what happened and said he had just come and they told him to come and get his son. his son was 1 years old. we understand this child was 2 years old. fire/e.m.s. said it was 11:22 this morning when they received a 911 call of a possible drowning here in the 300 block of 17th. they went to the daycare center the fire/e.m.s. personnel said when they arrived here they saw employees of the center were giving the child c.p.r. they said at that point they took over c.p.r. and they continued c.p.r. all the way to the hospital. when they arrived at the hospital,

pronounced dead by the hospital there. we did get a word from the office of the state superintendent of education who said that they were made aware of the death of the child and day care facilities and said, "we are investigating the matter with the metropolitan police department, child and family services." they expressed their sadness at the death of a child. that is story here of the 300 block of 17th northeast. the fire officials got a call for a child, possible drowning and they got here and they were unable to revive the child. reporting live there northeast washington i'm sam ford, abc7 news. alison: thank you. tragic. nancy: stay up to date on breaking news anytime by signing up for the abc7 text alerts. just go to wjla.com/text. alison: another big story we are covering tonight, of course, the heat emergency in the district. as we swelter through a