unfortunately i'll be facing one of the men who were responsible for the death of my only son. >> 12 years after the murder of a police officer a father prepares for an emotional day in court tomorrow. good evening. >> it has been 12 years now since d.c. police officer oliver smith junior was shot on his way home. three men were sentenced to life in prison for his murder but tomorrow smith's family must go to court and fight to keep one of those men behind bars. jackie bensen has our report. >> reporter: the hearing brings up a question yet again in this case. when is a life sentence a life sentence? february 26th, 1997, 27-year-old d.c. police officer oliver smith

jr. left the second district station on his way home to his wife and young son. in forestville, maryland he stopped for gas and was confronted by three robbers one of whom had a gun. when heold them he was a poce officer they shot him and then took his gun and his badge. >> there were sentences passed down and the promise was that they would serve those sentences. >> reporter: officer smith's parents will walk into a prince george's county courtroom friday morning. once again they will face one of the men convicted of killing their only son 11 years ago. like the two other defendants, donovan strickland was sentenced to life in prison but in november of 2005 a hastily announced sentence reduction hearing caused outrage. police officers packed the courtroom as state's attorney glen ivy called for an investigation into an alleged back room deal between the judge and strickland's attorney made after the first trial ended in a hung jury. news 4 has learned that the judge, defense attorney, and prosecutor from that trial are

all scheduled to appear as witnesses at friday's hearing where they will also face officer smith's father who spent the last decade helping police families around the country survive a loss like his. >> every time i go back into that courtroom i'm not a survivor anymore. i revert back to a victim. until i get back to this thing again. and right now, we're both working on maintaining a way to get through this. never going to get over it. to get through it. >> maryland has a controversial law that does allow judges to reconsider sentences but at that chaotic hearing we mentioned back in 2005 the judge did issue an order that said defendant donovan strickland would serve the full life term. how this has ended up back in court again is not clear. jim, back to you. >> jackie bensen, thank you. a violent fight at a high

school football game. outraged parents have forced school leaders to defend the safety of their campus tonight. video of the fight at kennedy high school in silver spring has made the rounds on the internet. so tonight administrators tried to reassure students and parents face to face. craig melvin is at the school with more. >> reporter: someone shot the video friday night and put itn facebook. tonight concerned parents and school staff here at jfk high school in silver spring got together to talk about what's nextment me next. meanwhile the victim's mother is angry and sad. >> we cried and we cried and we cried but we are thankful that temperance did not lose her life. >> reporter: it is the kind of video that would bring any mother to tears. her 17-year-old daughter temperance had just finished cheering at friday night's kennedy high school football game when two girls jumped her. she worries what would have happened had the vice principal not gotten to her?

>> the girl was so big and out of control that he could not manage her. he literally had to lock temperance in the press box for her safety. >> you cannot have education unless you have the safe and orderly environment. >> reporter: at a thursday night meeting principal thomas anderson assured a roo full of parents that kennedy has that type of environment. while there are a handful of trouble makers the school is safe. >> we have a small, small num r number. >> this school does not have problems. it's a very safe place. and i would like the media and cameras to come out and see some of the positive things the students are doing. >> reporter: while the majority of students and parents we talked to think this was an isolated incident, cordelia malkin wants to make sure.

>> if kennedy had been at the very best then this situation would never have happened to my daughter and i don't want it to happen not just at kennedy but at any other school. >> reporter: now, her 17-year-old daughter, the victim, is doing just fine. two other teenage girls have been arrested and charged in that taped beating. the principal here at john f. kennedy high school says they'll probably ramp up security at friday night football games. back to you. >> thank you. tension over iran's nuclear program has eased a bit after talks today with six world powers. today's meeting in geneva included a session between the u.s. diplomat and iran's tough negotiator. the first official talks between the two countries in 30 years. iran agreed to give u.n. inspectors unfettered access to its newly disclosed nuclear plant and it insisted it's not trying to build an atomic

weapon. president obama called the talks productive but he promised consequences if iran doesn't let inspectors in within two weeks. >> we need some kind of contribution and cooperation, more than what we are experiencing today. >> this is not about singling out iran. if iran takes concrete steps and lives up to its obligations there is a path toward a better relationship with the united states. >> all parties in the talks today agreed to meet again later this month. more than a thousand people are reported dead in indonesia after two powerful earthquakes and the death toll is expected to keep going higher. thousands of people are missing and thought to be trapped in collapsed buildings. the first quake hit yesterday with the magnitude of 7.6. then this morning padang was rattled by another quick. everyone who is physically able is helping with rescue efforts and administering first aid. three major hospitals are among the collapsed buildings. health officials in maryland and virginia may expect the

first deliveries of the swine flu vaccine early next week. maryland should get about 55,000 doses with the first batch going to doctors, hospitals, and health clinics. the initial doses will consist of a nasal spray. that is recommended only for healthy people between the ages of 18 and 49. health officials say pregnant women and those with preexisting conditions will have to wait for the injectable version. concerns about the economic recovery led to the worst day on wall street since early summer. the dow fell more than 200 points today. first time claims for unemployment benefits were higher than expected last week. while manufacturing activity slowed down in september. with any luck the watergate hotel could be reoning soon. it's under contract to be sold now to a german owned subsidiary of deutsch post bank. the hotel, famous for the 1972 burglary that led to the downfall of president nixon, has been closed since 2004. monument realty has reportedly

agreed to a $25 million offer. maryland state lawmakers will no longer be able to use free easy passes to avoid paying highway tolls. the maryland transportation authority says it has revoked the free ez pass transponders it issued to state delegates and senators. nearly 15,000 other state employees with free passes will be allowed to use them as long as they'rerz traveling on busins purposes. the transponders cost everybody else $21 along with $1.50 monthly fee. still ahead on news 4, a potential bombshell in the affair between john edwards and rial hunter. an autopsy report contradicts some information about michael jackson's health. >> we have clear skies, clouds coming in. a bright night and also a chilly night. >> bob, redskins defensive

coordinator greg blache says if you twoont blame someone blame me. the capitals starting the season with a flurry.

the search is under way for three men who killed a 16-year-old in riverdale, maryland last night. marcos medino was shot on 56th avenue and died at the hospital. another teen with him was hit but he'll be okay. medino's family says marcos came home with bruises on his face the other day. investigators aren't sure if he knew the shooters or not. businesses that were flooded in dundalk, maryland will get some relief on tax payments. parts of the community went under water after a six-foot wide water main broke last month. in an effort to help businesses there the state has pushed back the initial filing date for their taxes. the flooding last month flooded cars, and washed away part of the road. city council members in the

district are considering a bill that could bring the farm to the city. some kids living in a house on capitol hill brought chickens home as part of a school project. they tried to keep the chickens as pets but had to give them up. current law prohibits raising chickens within 50 feet of an occupied dwelling. >> somebody went by with the dog out front, barked at the chickens, and they called the police. the police came and said we had to bring them back to the farm or get rid of them somehow. >> the ward six councilman tommy wells has introduced a bill to ease the 50-foot rule. coming up tonight chesley sullenberger back in the cockpit after dismissing efforts to recruit him to run for congress. >> bob says we'll wake up to a cool morning but will things warm up for the weekend? we'll find out. after months of negative press mic

olympian michael phelps has generated negative attention over the past few months that led to the loss of one endorsement but his prowess in the pool still makes him a popular pitch man. today nbc sports announced a new partnership with phelps and subway restaurant. keith garvin checks out the first commercial shoot. >> is it going to be a world record? yes! >> reporter: he is considered by many to be the greatest olympian of our time. maryland's native michael phelps captivated the world at lt year's summer games. he won eight gold medals in beijing, the most for any single olympics. his ability and popularity have led him to a healthy pool of

endorsements. that includes subway restaurant. >> and action. >> reporter: news 4 was granted behind-the-scenes access to a commercial shoot for phelps' latest venture, a promotion teaming the swimmer with subway and nbc sports. >> okay. very quiet. >> reporter: the first commercial airs this weekend during nbc's sunday night football. >> i've had a long relationship with nbc and starting a long relationship with subway last year. >> reporter: with phelps will be the familiar face of subway pitch man jarrod fogel also known as jarrod the subway guy. he has endorsed the restaurant for almost 12 years after he lost 245 pounds eating mainly subway food. >> i'm a huge football fan number one so the chance to be on nbc sunday night football is a thrill for me and obviously teaming up with michael phelps the greatest olympian of all time. i'm excited and thrilled.

>> does michael phelps actually go into a subway and ord a foot long? >> i do. i do. fairly often actually. >> reporter: what's your favorite sandwich? >> usually when i'm traveling probably meatball. i throw jalapenos on it. >> reporter: phelps is working out these days. before the shoot he spent two hours exercising in and out of the pool. he looks fondly at his achievements in beijing but says he is preparing for bigger and better moments. >> you know, the memory is definitely still exciting but i put them sort of behind me just to, you know, i still have more years left in my career. i want to be able to get through these three years and look back on my career and say i was successful. if i can do that i'll be happy when i'm done. >> ready, action. rncht in addition to the endorsement phelps is concentrating on increasing the popularity of swimming. since beijing the number of competitive swimmers in the u.s. has grown by 11%. this year phelps opened his very own swim school. >> that's the funest part that i

love most about doing everything. having kids, being around kids and watching them liking being in the pool. >> reporter: an olympic gold medalist looking for ways t make a splash. keith garvin, news 4. >> michael phelps says he enjoys doing commercials but doesn't know if hollywood is in his future. for now he's concentrating on swimming and one more olympic game. captain sullenberger and first officer jeffrey skiles took to the skies together for the first time since what is called the miracle landing in the hudson river. this morning the two men flew from charlotte, north carolina to new york then later in the day they finished the flight from laguardia back to charlotte. that's the one they started back in january. incredibly one of the 155 survivors from the miracle landing happened to be on sullenberger's first flight again. >> i think it's really taking it full circle because, you know, i

was on their last flight and now i'm on theirirst flight. >> it was great to fly with jeff again. secondly, being back in the cockpit felt very familiar. it was like coming home. >> "the hill" newspaper reports republicans tried to recruit sullenberger for a congressional run in california. according to the newspaper sullenberger made it clear he was not interested. all right. bob, we made it through without turning the heat on last night. >> really. i did have to check to see if the burner was still operating this morning. you're tougher than i am. no problems tomorrow morning. outside tonight we've got another chilly night but some folks are out and about still taking in the last few days. go outside and maybe eat a little bit -- it's a bit chilly. our temperature though with high clouds coming in i don't think right here in washington will be quite as low as it was last night. 56 though right now. the high temperature, we would

have been right at home if this was more toward the tail end rather than the beginning of october. 65 here. a lot of 50s up to our north. and that was the pattern that we're going to be seeing finally change. now washington earlier on top of new hampshire, highest spot in the northeas 21 degrees. there you can see the overall pattern out to our west. the jet stream is diving to the south and with that, boy. there's been nasty weather. matter of fact, severe thunderstorm watches remain out until 3:00 in the morning for parts of texas, there you can see a line moving through arkansas now. there have been hail and unusual to be seeing this much severe weather this late in the season. into texas, too. and the north side there are some rain showers. that's where the area of low pressure will be moving to our north as we go through the next 24 hours. look at columbia, missouri. over two inches of rain. there's where the cold stuff is and where some of the foliage is up in the far northern parts of

new england. the adirondacks this weekend, near peak also far northern parts of new hampshire and maine. a bit of a way to drive. this is in the tippy top of new hampshire. pittsburgh, new hampshire. here's how it looked earlier today. nice color. overnight tonight for us that area of low pressure will be moving to our north. tomorrow, we'll be having southwesterly winds so that will be bringing in a little bit milder air and then as we go through the day, that area of low pressure moves to our north and then by the time we get into saturday morning some rain showers coming through but anything will be light. i think we'll be right back into some milder air and tomorrow, too. pretty mild and warm compared to the last couple days. so for the remainder of the night for the most part clear. a few high clouds. it will be chilly tomorrow morning but i think in the low 50s in town. some places in the high 40s. a lot of spots in the 30s toward the shenandoah valley. tomorrow we'll start with some sunshine. clouds increasing during the

afternoon but with the south to southeasterly wind into the low 70s. then tomorrow night no problems. no need to even check the thermostat. >> oh, good. >> only about the high 50s to near 60. maybe some scattered showers coming through but the weekend i think still looks fine and it's a wonderful time of the year. cool nights. warm days. that'll be the story on into next week. >> we like the sound of that. >> yes indeed. >> thank you, bob. coming up tonight interesting findings in michael jackson's autopsy report. >> a former aide to john edwards reportedly has a tape showing edwards with his mistress. in sports the nationals playing spoiler in atlanta.

looking good. already. >> man. >> undefeated. >> one of my buddies who works

for another network who is not a big hockey fan said i have never been more excited about a hockey season than right now. it was a perfect start for the capitals. so good that bruce said if you could bottle that game up we'd take it. every single night. alex ovechkin scores not once but twice. brooks also added a pair of goals and the caps win in boston in regulation for the first time since 2000. alex ovechkin the two-time reigning mvp looks like the first day of school. first period caps on the power play. ovechkin at the bottom of your screen sets up backstrom. the rebound out to brooks and he scores. caps up, 1-0. his first of two goals in the game. second period, same score, this time seven -- oh, leaves it for the grade eight. that's a score. ovechkin's first goal of the season. caps up 2-0. you want more ovechkin? we give you more alex ovechkin. third period, tom poti puts it

in front. ovechkin scores again. capitals win the season opener 4-1. their home opener is on saturday against toronto. with the defense ranked 15th in the league, changes were bound to be coming today it happened. defensive coordinator gleg blache has moved the redskins safety reid dowdy into the starting lineup. he replaces chris horton who replaced him last season. horton's rookie season was a surprise to everyone. he played above and beyond all expectations but this year he's taken a bit longer to get things going. he has missed several big tackles. a pass interference call might have been one of the most critical mistakes of the ball game. re-enter reid dowdy playing the best football of his career after coming off back surgery. as for blache the redskins' defensive coordinator he is taking full blame for the defensive woes. >> in 2009 things go back, somebody's got to go under the bus. being the leader of the defense i should be under the bus and i'll dive under if somebody

wants to throw me because going under the bus you hurt your feelings a little bit and you might end up at worse skid marks on both sides of your shorts. it's the truth. i can deal with the hurt and the stuff and we just kind of go on and play. >> he's great. >> he just says things. >> he should have thought that one through a little more carefully. >> i got. >> we got it. right. moving on to baseball, after sweepinghe mets at home they're down in atlanta keeping the winning streak alive. how about four in a row and pulling another one out of the hat in the ninth inning? let's go down south. how about no hands? just getting a kick out of it. top four. braves up 1-0. ryan zimmerman reaching down and driving one deep to right off the base of the wall. willie harris will scoot home. and the nationals tie the game at one. it stayed that way until the

ninth inning. pete orr up with a man on. and the former brave taking care of business here. pokes one into left. ron zimmerman hustling around third and he'll come in and score easily. that's it. the nationals play spoiler with a 2-1 victory. just three games left in the season and the nationals keep winning trying to keep jim riggleman around for another season or so. >> good for them. >> thank you.