down to the south and east. northern virginia is really going to be under the gun here over the next couple hours. we'll talk more about those storms and where they are right now, where they're going and what you can expect over the next few hours. >> thanks, doug. a member of the air force honor guard is in the hospital tonight after a violent attack at a bar in college park. police say he was beaten. he was choked. he was thrown to the ground by a bouncer at r.j. bentley's. pat? >> reporter: 400-pound man, 200-pound man. police say what happened across that street was a felony assault. police say the suspect is 6'2" and weighs 400 pounds. a 28-year-old bar bouncer. they say the victim is a member of the air force honor guard, 23 years old, about 6'2", about 187

pounds. the scene, r.j. bentley's, a popular bar in college park, not far from the university of maryland. this is how they say it happened. saturday around midnight. the airman is inside the bar. he tosses a drink on somebody and he gets thrown out. a short time later, he comes back. he tries to get into the bar. that's when they say the bouncer hits him, chokes him and throws him to the ground. at one point they say the airman's condition was described as critical. he was taken to the hospital. he is still in the hospital. marcus anthony plummer a bentley's bouncer charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment. plummer lives in this group home in berwyn heights. the police were there yesterday.

>> obviously a bouncer's job is to keep the patrons inside safe, to prevent people who should not be in the bar from coming inside, clearly, this is not a bouncer's role. >> reporter: clifton dawson lives in the house. he's a friend of marcus plummer. >> probably didn't do it on purpose. he probably, you know, angered him and then he maybe was defending himself. who knows? >> reporter: the statement tonight from r.j. bentley's -- our first concern is for the young man who was involved in this accident. we are currently working with the prince george's county police to gather as much information as possible so that we can ascertain exactly what happened saturday night. tonight suspect plummer released on a $50,000 money bond. live in college park, pat collins. news 4. news 4 has obtained cell phone video tonight that shows the fast moving flames ripping through this apartment complex

in chevy chase. tonight a man has reportedly confessed to setting the blaze that displaced dozens of families. news 4's erika gonzalez is live on the scene in chevy chase with more on the arson arrest. >> reporter: a lot of folks had to spend the evening at a red cross shelter about a mile away. if you take a look behind me most of the units are boarded up and dead bolted. i'm told many of the residents here did not have renters insurance. this video was taken by one of the residents of the round hill apartments on terrace drive in chevy chase yesterday around 2:00 p.m. 32 units went up in flames displacing nearly a hundred people and causing more than a million dollars in damages. the cause? montgomery county fire investigators say 24-year-old abraham keefloo who lived here with a relative confessed to the arson and turned himself over to authorities last night. he spent 78 days in jail last year after pleading guilty to

charge of malicious destruction. today this is what's left of the units charred by the fire. black floors, tarnished belongings, and a sky light from what was once a roof. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: this man doesn't have renter's insurance. the family stopped paying it two months ago. he tells me he was at work whet fire started but his wife and daughter were home. she tells me the family's smoke alarm never went off and had it not been for her neighbor downstairs they never would have made it out alive but flocita just misses her toys. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: her mom tells me she has been asking for her ball and her favorite dora the explorer pillow. the trio will spend the next few days with family until they can

figure out their next move. coming up tonight at 6:00 on news 4 you'll hear from a woman who says she knows the alleged arsonist. in fact, she says she watched him grow up in these very apartments. in chevy chase, erika gonzalez, news 4. in court today another former aide took the stand in the john edwards trial. josh brumberger traveled with edwards during his presidential campaign and testified about a meeting edwards had with a donor whose money allegedly helped hide edwards' pregnant mistress rielle hunter from the media. prosecutors are using this testimony to establish a timeline for edwards' affair. he is accused of misusing nearly a million dollars in campaign funds. he has pled not guilty. now politics. mitt romney ramps up his campaign today with stops across northern virginia. he's focusing on small businesses and jobs but there is still a lotd of speculation over his potential running mate. chris gordon has our report.

>> reporter: kicking off his virginia campaign today in chantilly, mitt romney portrayed himself as the champion of small business. he took direct aim at president obama. >> what the president did was one item after another make it harder and harder for small business to thrive and to grow and to start up. it was the most antismall business administration i've seen probably since carter. who would have guessed we'd look back at the carter years as the good ole days. >> reporter: after speaking to a crowd of several hundred at exhibit edge a business that arangs trade show displays, romney delighted supporters by slowly working the room, shaking hands, signing autographs, posing for pictures, and talking to voters. i told him that we are excited and hopefully we'll win in november. >> reporter: what did he say? >> he said we're ready. >> i called him president romney.

>> reporter: what was his response? >> his eyes lit up and he was so excited. i think he loved it. it felt natural to him. >> reporter: outside by the romney campaign bus members of the graduating class from evangelical christian school in dale city took a group photo. >> i'm their history teacher so we're just trying to get them more involved with government. >> reporter: with his wife ann leading the way governor romney left chantilly but not virginia. he will campaign in portsmouth tomorrow, trying to get a jump, knowing that president obama will officially launch his campaign in richmond this weekend. the romneys will be here tonight at the ritz-carlton in pentagon city for a fundraiser along with virginia governor bob mcdonald who is said to be on the short list of running mates. a new poll shows romney trailing president obama by eight percentage points here in virginia even if governor mcdonald is on the republican ticket. we're live tonight in arlington, virginia, chris gordon, news 4.

after a poor showing in the primarie newt gingrich made it official finally this afternoon. he has ended his presidential run. the former house speaker announced his decision at a news conference in arlington with his family at his side. >> today i'm suspending the campaign. but suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship. we're committed to be active citizens weechlt owe it to america. >> he also vowed to help mitt romney defeat president obama in november. the president for his part returned to washington late this morning after a surprise visit to afghanistan. he was in kabul yesterday to sign a security pact with after the began government. in a televised address from bagram air base last night the president said the war in afghanistan is winding down but his re-election campaign is moving forward. he plans to kick off his general election campaign on saturday in

richmond. guilty on three counts is the verdict for a local political activist accused of molesting young girls at his daughter's slumber party. he is facing up to life in prison. julie carey is in arlington with more on today's verdict. >> reporter: it has been an emotional day in court as michael gardner was immediately taken into custody after that verdict was read. he showed no emotion but his wife and relatives broke into tears as they watched the scene taking place. right now the jury is deliberating its sentence recommendation, a sentence that could range from five years to life in prison. michael gardner left court yesterday a free man. tonight he is in jail after an arlington jury convicted him of two counts of aggravated sexual battery and one count of object penetration. the jury dead locked on a fourth count of aggravated sexual battery. after listening to days of graphic testimony the jury found gardner guilty of sexually molesting two of his daughter's friends during a birthday slumber party last june. the fifth graders testified that

gardner came into the basement rec room around 4:00 a.m. and repeatedly molested them. gardner also took the stand and denied every allegation. prosecutors had a powerful piece of evidence -- dna with a high probability of being gardner's was found in the underwear of one of the girls. the prosecutor told the jurors gardner as a father was to protect those girls at the slumber party. instead she says he was the evil that came in the night. parents of both victims say their daughters have been profoundly impacted by the abuse. both are often fearful and distrust others. said one mother, as a parent i'd like you to remember her innocence and trust have been taken from her forever. still, the most emotional moment came when gardner's wife falls church city council woman and former mayor robin testified. she tearfully described how their once close family has been pulled apart because her husband hasn't been allowed to live full-time with hisñr 10-year-ol twins. several jurors cried openly as

gardner told them about her difficult task ahead telling the kids their father is in jail. defense attorney peter greenspan urged the jurors to give michael gardner the minimum sentence on each count which would add up to about seven years arguing that by the time he was released the victims and his own children would have reached the age of 18. we'll be back at 6:00 to let you know ife a decision. i'm julie carey, news 4, from arlington. there are major delays on the route 7 bypass because of a deadly accident in leesburg that around 2:00 this afternoon between the greenway and south king street exits. chopper 4 was above the scene. police say there will be serious traffic issues. that's an awful, awful wreck. drivers should use alternate routes. that is going to be quite a while. that's unfortunate. >> it is. next and new at 5:00 tonight a man flashes a badge then steals a woman's belongings. tonight we're live with the

search for a police impersonator in our area. a battle over booze. will d.c. be extending bar hours to raise revenue? and a family's personal tragedy turns into something positive. how it helped one of the area's up and coming fashion stars to fulfill his dream. a mother arrested for bringing her daughter, her little daughter to a tanning salon. tonight she explains what really happened.

may day protests turned violent yesterday in seattle. a group dressed in all black damaged buildings using wooden poles, home made incindiary devices. protesters threw hammers, rocks, even a bottle of urine into the windows of businesses and at police officers. eight people arrested. police say they are still looking at video. they'll likely make even more arrests. a new jersey mom is accused of letting her 5-year-old daughter use a tanning bed. 44-year-old patricia krenzel pleaded not guilty to a child endangerment charge today and says it is all a misunderstanding. she says she took her daughter anna to the tanning salon last week while she got in the tanning bed. >> i tan. she doesn't tan. it is called a tanning booth and a tanning room. she's my little girl. i'm not going to bring my little daughter into a 90-degree bed.

i mean, that's not normal. >> that is a tan. >> neither is her face. >> next day anna got a slight burn while playing outdoors then at school told classmates she went tanning with mommy. her father thinks a teacher overheard the conversation, assumed the girl's sunburn was connected to the tanning salon trip, and contacted police. new jersey law bans children under 14 from tanning. tonight we are meeting a fairfax county woman who kicked and punched her way to weight loss dropping nearly 70 pounds with kick boxing. we met up with her at l.a. boxing in tyson's corner and asked, what's your workout? >> the heaviest i weighed was 211 pounds. i've never seen that weight on me before. i've never seen that number associated with me before. got to make a change. got to do something. i was never big, a fan of big box gyms. people told me try kick boxing. >> kick boxing is a derivative of traditional martial arts. you learn all the basic elements involved in the actual sport of

kick boxing. they'll learn to punch, kick, uppercuts, knee strikes. various elbow strikes. in addition to a good cardio workout in between the rounds. >> let's get with it. >> they may do jumping jacks, pushups, situps, crunches, mountain climbers, things like that. in between the rounds of doing bag work. >> 45 seconds. if you're in here working properly like you're supposed to be which is what i tell people, you can burn 800 to a thousand calories a day. >> it's very engaging and tough. kick boxing, another aspect, there are more legs, knees, more i can learn. there's more -- different combinations. it kept challenging me. >> your legs are the largest muscle group in your body so, again, you're working more of your overall body. it tones everything. i mean, you get your abs, your obliques, your core, your legs, your arms, your back.

>> arms are going to hurt, abs, legs. everything is going to be hurt and tired and exhausted because everything is working. >> consistency. i mean, she says it all the time. she says people see her now at the end. they didn't see her at the beginning when she struggled for five or ten minutes to go through a class when she'd have to take a break after five or six minutes just to catch her breath. >> it may not be your day today but tomorrow come back in. battle like hell to get there. one day it will be your day. >> again, she lost 70 pounds and says it was her commitment to kick boxing as well as eating healthier. those were the keys to her weight loss. >> go mckenzie. right attitude. she's getting it done. you're busy today. >> finally yeah. we've had fairly quiet weather around the area but we've been talking about the chances of showers and storms increasing over the last couple days. they are out there right now. not everybody is seeing them. those of you who are, you know exactly what i'm talking about. big-time thunderstorms right now just off to the west. washington right around the d.c. area, we've seen a mix of sun

and clouds during the day today. temperatures have struggled to get into the low 70s and right now we're sitting at 69 degrees with some cloud cover but look off to the west. you could see the storms trying to make their way in across our area. this is over the last couple hours. you can see one band of storms in through west virginia around hagerstown. another one in through western portions of virginia. you can see where all the lightning is right around winchester right now just off to the east. this one does have some small hail with it but look at the lightning. this is a ton of lightning strikes here. we're picking these up as they happen so you can see the whiter strikes are the ones that just happened. the darker one, two brand new ones around white port and as we make our way toward blue mont also watching this area. take the lightning off right now and this is right along route 7. winchester, right over toward berriville where we're seeing the storm in between those two. berriville you will be seeing the heaviest rain move in probably between now and over the next 15 minutes and then it will move right down 7 right

down toward blue mont exactly what happened with this little cell here. this one should pass just to the south of leesburg. i do think northern virginia is going to be the ones that are under the gun. northern virginia, parts of west virginia and then western portions of maryland should be under the gun for the rest of the evening hours. we are talking about very heavy rain associated with that right now along route 7. the number, 69 degrees. we did not make it all that hot today across the region but that's not the case farther south. winds now out of the east at 10 miles an hour. the reason is because we have this little frontal boundary that's right across the area. 63 in annapolis. only 63 in baltimore. 59 in aberdeen. but look down toward the south and west. 8 is in manassas. 82 in culpepper. those storms are riding right along that boundary so again right along the potomac they'll continue to move down. may hit the d.c. area but i wouldn't be surprised if they were just down to the south and then in toward parts of southern maryland. there's that boundary. warm to the west of it with showers likely. we'll see the same scenario play

out tomorrow morning. some showers associated with that boundary and then again more showers and maybe a few thunderstorms during the day tomorrow. it will be warm and it will be humid, very similar to what we see during the summer months across our region. look at friday. another chance of showers and storms. most of those though may stay just off to our west. this evening partly cloudy. warm and humid with a few storms. mostly to the south and west of washington. 69 to about 76 degrees. tomorrow morning expect to see a couple showers out there during the day tomorrow. at least early. 58 to 63 kind of like what we've seen over the past two mornings. over the next few days, i do think we'll get into the 80s tomorrow with a high of 85. 84 on friday. 83 on saturday. each day will have a chance for some showers and some thunderstorms. right now sunday looks like that frontal boundary will move down two our south. that means a little bit cooler but still pretty nice during the day on sunday with a high around 74. >> we're liking this so far. >> we do need to see the rain. >> thank you, doug. still ahead new improvements to a deadly stretch of road near

the bronx zoo. what is being done to prevent another tragedy. >> maryland sets a precedent today to make sure your boss can't get access to your facebook password. in sports dan hellie is live at verizon as the caps/rangers series comes back to d.c. while we're on storm watch we'll show you how more violent weather is hitting the country's mid section tonight at 6:00. ♪ strea-ea-ea-ea-eam

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the pressure is on. dan hellie is live at verizon as caps and rangers prepare to face off for game three. how does it look? >> i like that caps coverage headquarters coming out of the break. that's what we have here. huge game for the guys tonight. i want to say home ice advantage but it doesn't seem like home ice advantage has really mattered much in the playoffs. for troy brauer, joining me now, what's up with that? how come teams that are on the road are winning more games than teams at home? >> i don't know. you know, nowadays i think teams just feel comfortable on the road. you get a chance to be with the guys and go out for dinner and have some fun and even though the buildings are unruly a lot of them that you go into, teams still feel comfortable. but coming into the verizon center here i know it's a loud building and teams don't like coming here. >> reporter: is this a different experience for you than when you were in the playoffs in chicago? >> yeah. quite a bit. you know, we were a higher seed coming in and we had to play tough teams. we had a couple tough battles throughout it but it seems that every game here has been a

one-goal game or close to it and just makes those a lot more exciting and a lot more fun. >> reporter: a ridiculous series against the bruins. every single game was a one-goal game. lately the talk has been about alex ovechkin because he hasn't been playing as much as he has been during the regular season. he scores the game-winning goal. i guess the question i want to ask you is, is this that abnormalv? have you ever seen a player of ovechkin's stature and status play as little as he has during the playoffs? >> not necessarily but, you know, there are a lot of situational plays that go into it. whenever we need a goal or we're going to need a go-ahead goal or something like that he's going to be the guy on the ice whenever we have an opportunity. but, you know, in these close games we need our checking guys, guys who get paid to keep pucks out of the net like brooks and jay. those are the guys we turn to in those situations. >> you had a huge goal in game five against the bruins. was that one of the more intense series you've ever been part of? >> yeah. just because of the caliber team we were playing against in boston.

you know, defending stanley cup champions and just their swagger that they have as a team is tough to play on but i thought the guys did real well. we handled the pressure very well. we went in, won three games in their building which is tough to do and we got a lot of confidence going into the next round. >> reporter: as big a guy as chara is, can you rattle his cage at all? >> yeah. i think so. i thought we did a good job. all the guys were hitting him. even if you weren't putting him on the ice, still wearing him down and making it tough for him. also when you have a 6'9" frame and you have to pick yourself off the ice a few times a game it gets tiresome. >> talk about your rookie goalie. this guy has been phenomenal. does it help maybe a little bit that he is a rookie and for lack of a better term maybe too dumb to know how big this is? >> he's rock. he's been great all season long. like you say maybe he just doesn't know any better and he's playing his heart out back there and stole us a couple games and made it possible for us to get through the first series and he's been good i think in the first two games of this series.

so, you know, he's tough on himself and always wants more for himself which is why he always keeps getting better. >> thank you so much. game three, the rangers and capitals here at verizon center. let's hope hot home ice advantage works a little bit. >> it should. thanks, dan. it's been kept under wraps until now. the new evidence that will soon be made public after the murder of a university of virginia la crosse player. a showdown over metro's silver line to dulles. will a fight over funding derail the next phase? an elephant at the national zoo

a fast forward through the headlines now. a bouncer from r.j. bentley's in college park charged tonight with assaulting an airman who had just been thrown out of the bar. police say 28-year-old marcus plummer punched, choked, and threw the victim to the ground knocking him unconscious. that victim is still in critical condition. a chevy chase man charged with arson in connection with the massive apartment fire. investigators say 24-year-old abraham kifl u-conn fessed to police. the fire displaced nearly 100 people and cost nearly a million dollars in damage. mitt romney is campaigning in northern virginia today and kicked things off at a warehouse

in chantilly. his gop challenger newt gingrich officially dropped out today. let's fast forward to the weather. living along route 7 in frederick, clark, or loudoun counties be on the lookout. we have pretty strong storms right now. take a look at storm 4 radar. we'll zoom on into this area. and this is right in through portions of northern virginia. we're talking about right around the winchester area and down toward berryville most of this in through clark county right along route 7 from berryville through the bluemont area we'll watch the storms move to the south and east. a lot of lightning with these storms and also a history of some small hail. watch out. we'll continue to watch these storms as they move down to the south and east over the next few hours. right. hey, police in montgomery county say beware. there is a police impersonator out there. >> yeah. police tell us the man pulled over a woman headed to church then robbed her. >> jackie bensen is in silver spring with the latest. >> reporter: this is causing a lot of concern because of where

it happened just about a block from st. camilla's church. though this is a residential area it's a very busy road. we're told this happened about noon time today and montgomery county police tell us the 39-year-old victim said she was driving when she noticed a vehicle following her. the driver began blowing his horn, reached out of the window gesturing for the victim to pull over. she said the man who got out had on a badge pinned to a police type vest and dark pants and dark hat. in other words he looked like a police officer. but at this time -- at that point he robbed her. the victim was not injured. >> this is the first time i heard of any of this. i just picked my son up and we're heading home. i didn't hear anything from the school, nothing. not on the news, nothing. >> reporter: it's important to note the victim told police that the suspect was not in a police car. no lights, no siren. it was a compact car of the type you see driving around anywhere so it is very important for

people to note that if they are pulled over by a vehicle they don't think is a police officer they should call 911, report where they are, and report what's going on. reporting live in silver spring, jackie bensen. back to you. the public will soon get a chance to see some evidence from the george huguely murder case. the items go on display on may 15th and 16th in the charlottesville courtroom where he stood trial. the evidence includes about 200 photographs and his police interrogation, autopsy photos, and other sensitive evidence will not be shown. huguely is a former university of virginia la crosse player convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend yardley love. he'll be sentenced in august. d.c. mayor vincent gray tonight says he was shocked by the corruption scandal surrounding former councilman harry thomas jr. thomas is expected to be sentenced to prison tomorrow a. at his news conference the mayor today at first turned aside questions about thomas, who pleaded guilty back in january to stealing $350,000 in city

funds and spending it on his own lavish lifestyle. thomas faces as much as four years in prison. >> got a wonderful wife, wonderful mom. he has a wonderful family and, you know, i extend my heart to them in hopes they will be able to get through this. >> reporter: in a letter to the judge thomas apologized for his actions and said he would work to rebuild his reputation. in annapolis today governor o'malley signed dozens of bills into law among them one that bans companies from asking employees for their log-in information to social media sites like twitter and facebook. maryland is the first state to pass such a law. o'malley also signed a bill to improve law enforcement efforts when a child goes missing. it's named after a north carolina teen felicia barnes who disappeared while visiting family in 2010. well, right now transportation secretary ray lahood is meeting with officials in connection with the metro to dulles project. the second phase of the silver line will stretch from reston to

dulles and right now there is a major sticking point. it surrounds the union. the authority wants to provide incentive for contractors who use union crews but officials say it would be too expensive. all of the parties involved have until july 4th to come up with a compromise. next on news 4 at 5:00 a dubious distinction. why this area ranks among the worst in the country for drivers. a tragic twist of fate. a deadly car accident helps a local fashion designer turn his life around and fulfill

d.c. is the ninth worst place to own a car in the nation. according to a new survey from the automotive website as expected our traffic jams contribute to our low ranking. the website says the city roads are confusing and seem to be designed to stop traffic. according to the survey, people in d.c. are bad drivers. san francisco and new york top the list of the worst cities to own a car. >> now to tonight's wednesday's child. tanika is an rotc at her high school and wants to be a navy officer. but she also wants to own a piece of her own bridal salon some day. barbara harrison meets up with the 16-year-old at a bridal shop in northwest washington. >> reporter: 16-year-old tamika wants to learn the bridal business because one day she thinks she might like to own a bridal salon like this one. >> so when the bride comes in our consultant will meet with

her. >> reporter: hitched bridal salon owners julia and karen explain to her how it all works julian thought it might be fun to let tamika try out her skills with a pretend customer. >> hello. welcome. >> thank you. >> we have a lot of dresses here for you. >> great. >> let's start over here. >> okay. >> so do you know what kind of fabric you want? >> reporter: but owning a bridal salon is only part of her future plan. right now she is concentrating on doing well in school. what kind of grades are you making now? >> i'm a b average student. >> she is really driven, really dedicated, and determined to pursue all of her dreams. >> reporter: she was a wednesday's child two years ago and although disappointed she didn't find a forever family then, she hasn't given up. >> i always wanted permanency, something that i always wanted, and a family gives you that because you know this is home. i can come back if i go off to college or work or i just want

to come for a family dinner. it's just something i belong to them. they can't disown me. do you know how you'll have your hair for your wedding day? >> reporter: tamika showed patience and kindness with her customer something we think she would bring to an adoptive family who will surely love her. >> i just want a family that's going to be there for me and i'll be there for them. >> reporter: barbara harrison, news 4, for wednesday's child. what a beautiful smile. if you have room in your home or your heart for tanika call our special adoption hotline 1-88-to-adopt-me or visit our website nbc washington.com. coming up next at 5:00 a battle over a plan that would extend the bar hours in the . >> bobby brown sets the record straight today in an exclusive interview. why he says you can't blame him for the death of whitney houston. but first, here is doug. and still watching a few d storms. mostly in through portions of northern virginia right now the strongest storm in through clark county and western loudoun county right along route 7.

another just to the north of martinsburg and west virginia.

breaking news just into the news 4 newsroom. michael gardner has just been sentenced to 22 years in prison. the falls church political activist was convicted earlier today on three counts of molesting young girls at his daughter's slumber party. we'll have more tonight at 6:00. d.c. bars will not be able to stay open any later.

a council committee in d.c. defeated the measure to extend bar hours dealing a big setback to mayor gray and his budget plan. tom sherwood is in our newsroom with that story. >> the mayor wanted extra hours to raise more city tax revenue but the committee said no. the bar and restaurant business provides tens of millions of dollars in city taxes each year. mayor vincent gray had wanted to extend closings by one hour on week nights to 3:00 a.m. and on weekends until 4:00 to raise an extra $3 million in taxes. but the d.c. council's human services committee which oversees alcohol sales rejected the mayor's proposal. chairman jim graham saying it wasn't a good idea for customers or neighborhoods near bars and there is little public transportation to fight drunk driving. >> there was concern expressed this will encourage drunk driving and that there is no ability of metro to increase the hours for bus and rail to 4:00

a.m. there were concerns expressed about noise, trash, nuisance, and other problems. >> reporter: the committee voted, 3-2, to kill the mayor's plan. graham also is considering an increase in taxes on alcohol to help fund social services, a move mayor gray opposes. >> i don't see anything wrong with the proposal we've advanced. when you look at other jurisdictions for example, there are other jurisdictions that do justice. there are people who are, you know, associated with night life in the district of columbia who would love to be able to see us extend the hours. it wouldn't be the first time we've done it. as i said, no new taxes also and i don't want to move introducing a new tax when i said i wouldn't do that. more importantly i don't see anything flawed about the proposal we've advanced. >> reporter: advocates for late night hours including many bars themselves say extending the hours would not be a public safety problem and would generate far more than $3 million in additional sales. graham said he was voting to protect the peace, order, and quiet of city neighborhoods.

wendy? >> thanks, tom. bobby brown says whitney houston introduced him to drugs, not the other way around. the singer drowned in a hotel bal bath tub in february. the coroner said heart disease and cocaine were contributing factors. brown and houston were married for 14 years. after her death many fans blamed brown for her addiction. in an exclusive interview on the "today" show brown said that wasn't the case. >> no. i wasn't the one that got whitney on drugs. at all. >> this was a part of her life before. >> way before. >> you and she got together. >> yes. way before. >> did you talk about it? did you worry about it? >> i worried about it when we first got together until i tried it. i'm not the reason she's gone. >> brown walked out of houston's funeral. he will address that tomorrow on the "today" show. a young man in our area battled through tough times and the fashion industry saved his life. he is now the designer behind the ugly label. tonight he receives another

unexpected gift from the family whose personal tragedy gave way for him to follow his dream. news 4's angie goff reports. >> reporter: sam minta of alexandria is the creator of the brand uglee and his designs earn high marks from the fashion elite and his clothes grace the runways of some of d.c.'s biggest shows. >> uglee is the new beautiful and i'm always telling people dare to be different. be your own trend setter. >> reporter: sam found fashion in high school following a rough life on the streets. with no money for college, came a tragic twist of fate. sam's classmate at west potomac high lydia petkof was one of four killed in a horrible car accident. the victims' families used donations to offer a scholarship for a student to live the dream their children never had. sam was chosen. four years later lydia's father richard sends a message. >> what i would say to sam is any dream is good. you got to work really hard to

get it. >> reporter: he also asked us to give the young designer something special, lydia's sweatshirt she got from her visit to the fashion institute of technology in new york. >> i will treasure this. >> reporter: like sam, it was lydia's dream school. >> i appreciate everything the family has done for me. they saved this boy and because of that i have a new found appreciation for life. i know that tomorrow is not promised. and it's an honor to live for both me and lydia. >> reporter: angie goff, news 4. >> the designer now known in fashion circles as sam uglee studies at north community college and hopes to transfer to the fashion school in new york soon. now to a look at the stories trending today. >> the artist advancing to the

finals is jermaine paul. >> i love you. i love you. >> sadly, gaithersburg native erin willett did not make it through to the finals of "the voice." you saw her get beat out by jermaine paul. >> the others who made it on to the finals include juliet sims, tony luca and chris mann. watch nbc 4 monday night as they compete for the last time and the winner will be announced on tuesday. >> so much talent. but can they do that on "the voice?" an elephant who plays the harmonica is causing quite a stir on youtube. seen here, the elephant lives at the national zoo. the harmonica is attached to her stall and she plays it all the time even when visitors aren't around. >> zoo officials say she is musically inclined and likes to play songs with big crescendos at the end. the 36-year-old elephant was a gift from sri lanka.

maybe she is playing "nobody knows the troubles i've seen" playing the blues in there sometimes. >> doug has one of those hooked up in the storm center. >> yeah. i had to take it down recently. i got a few complaints. it wasn't working out. >> i think more than a few. >> more than a few for sure. out there right now not complaining about the rain that we need across the area but a lot of people actually seeing a lot of thunder from these storms in through western portions of maryland down toward the panhandle of west virginia and portions of northern virginia. let's zoom on in. these are the two strongest storms. right now around cable town, west virginia right on down through blue mont and then down to the south just to the north and west of middleburg this storm has been riding along route 7 here and we'll zoom in even more. you can see around hourdsville and rock hill over toward unison and willsville we'll continue to watch as this moves toward the east. a lot of lightning associated with this getting ready to cross over st. louis road here which is actually route 611. back to the north in through west virginia just to the north and east of martinsburg we're looking at this one again. a lot of lightning associated

with this and you folks around this area down toward shepherdstown this is moving right toward your region right along the potomac river. it will cross over into maryland a little bit so watch out you folks over toward sharpsburg, too. the whole storm system, all of these storms moved down to the south. right along the potomac so they may get in toward southern frederick county in through portions of montgomery county but i think the biggest area will stay down toward northern virginia at least northern portions of northern virginia and you can see what i'm talking about back to the west. not a lot behind this. this could be it and the storms will make their way down south and east through the rest of the night. overnight tonight and into tomorrow morning another very mild start to the day. 63 in washington. 57 in leesburg. 57 in culpepper. 62 in fredericksburg. we could see another rounld of showers. maybe some thunderstorms early once again tomorrow morning just like we've seen the last two mornings. tomorrow afternoon high temperatures will be warmer. i do think we'll get into the 80s tomorrow. yesterday we were talking about temperatures in the 70s for d.c. that's where we saw -- we did

get up to 85 tomorrow. 86 in manassas. near 87 in culpepper. i do think we'll see another chance for showers and thunderstorms. best chance tomorrow, back around the higher elevations here just to the west of washington but even around the d.c. metro area i expect to see some showers and thunderstorms over the next couple days. it's going to continue right on through the day on friday with a high of 84. 83 on saturday. a 40% chance of storms. sunday right now looking dry with a high around 74 degrees. >> all right. up next a hazing ritual ends in tragedy. >> now more than a dozen people are facing charges at florida a&m. coming up at 6:00 tonight we have reaction to the sudden death of pro ball linebacker junior seau. doctors, nurses, and social workers have been busted in a crackdown on one of the largest medicare fraud schemes ever. we know that tough times call for drastic measures. we'll tell you about a town cu

just days after seven people were killed near the bronx zoo highway crews are adding new concrete barriers now to the road where the crash happened. a driver bumped the barriers setting her from oncoming traffic and the impact sent her

vehicle across three lanes of traffic and over a four-foot guard rail plunging 60 feet. speed was a factor but police say the driver may have been trying to keep up with traffic which notoriously speeds throughout the area. a deadly hazing ritual at florida a&m has led to criminal charges now against more than a dozen people. >> detectives say robert champion was hazed by band members after a performance. >> reporter: six months after the fatal hazing a florida a&m student and drum major robert champion 13 people most of them fellow band members have been charged in his death. >> no one could have expected that his college experience would include being pummelled to death. >> reporter: at a school notorious for hazing, especially among band members, champion died last november after a brutal hazing onboard the band's charter bus following a football game in orlando. >> what this simply means is that mr. champion was beaten

severely by fellow band members. >> reporter: but others beyond band members may be charged, too. state attorney lawson lamar won't name the 13 until all have been arrested and explained why no one will face murder or manslaughter charges. >> we can prove participation in hazing and a death. we do not have a blow or a shot or a knife thrust nah killed mr. champion. >> reporter: the attorney for champion's parents said they're devastated more serious charges weren't filed. >> i think they were looking for what they feel is a more appropriate sanction for the murder of their child so third-degree felony, the child has been murdered, it's just not adding up. this is a tough day for them. >> reporter: a&m's band was suspended shortly after champion's death and the band director put on administrative leave. florida a&m has a long history of hazing but today the school is silent on the subject except to promise to mete out discipline of those who do it or do nothing to stop it.

two music professors who were accused of witnessing the hazing resigned earlier this week. >> now at 6:00 a guilty verdict in a child molestation case. he will go to jail for what he did at a birthday slumber party. i'm jim vance. >> i'm doreen gentzler. julie carey has been following the developments in the michael gardner trial in arlington. julie is live with the sentence recommendation. julie? >> reporter: that sentence handed down just a short while ago in arlington jury has recommended a stiff prison term for falls church democratic activist michael gardner. 22 years. that sentence after convicting him of two counts of aggravated sexual battery and one of object penetration. the jury dead locked on a third count of aggravated sexual battery. it was earlier today that the jury found gardner guilty of