trust. harry thomas jr. rushed past reporters into federal court to be sentenced for his theft of more than $350,000 in city funds and filing falls income taxes for three years. prosecutors had sought a 46-month term. thomas had asked for 18 months. the judge said 38 months. but first, thomas's mother, a prominent political figure in her own right, told judge bates i humbly and passionately plead for mercy for my son. thomas himself said, what i did was wrong. i broke the law. i humiliated my family. i humiliated my mother. thomas pleaded guilty in january to two felony counts after several years of siphoning city money intended for youth programs, programs he championed. he also resigned the council seat his father once held before him. judge bates, who noted thomas's earlier positive work with young people agreed with prosecutors that thomas led the scam that

cheated city children. this is a case of betrayal, the judge said. these programs were to benefit under privileged and needy children. most of the stolen money was used for lavish personal purposes by thomas. the former council member could have received 51 months in prison. he left the courthouse again without speaking to reporters. >> i think the verdict was fair. it was fair. could have been a little more but, you know, he needs to pay for what he did. >> i've been for most of my life. i think harry is remorseful but this just didn't happen overnight. >> reporter: now, thomas will be told soon when and where he'll have to report to prison. downtown at federal court, i'm tom sherwood, news 4. >> the harry thomas case is closed but the u.s. attorney's office is investigating two other criminal probes in the district looking into spending

activities of vincent gray's 2010 dpan for mayor and council chairman kwame brown's 2008 campaign. it is under investigation after an audit showed potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars improperly accounted for by the campaign. both men have denied any wrongdoing. a prince william county mother will serve 18 months in prison for barricading her three young children in a room. today a judge handed down the sentence to christina moore. moore and her boyfriend kept their one, two, and four-year-old daughters behind a six-foot sheet of drywall in their bristow, virginia house. attorneys claim the couple are struggling with drug addiction. the children are now being cared for by relatives. neighbors in aspen hill consider a 4-year-old girl lucky to be alive. she fell from a screened window on the second floor of an apartment building. jackie bensen is live with reaction from someone who saw it unfold. jackie? >> reporter: well, we can tell you right over there is the window that this little girl fell out of this afternoon. people tell us that it was just

an incredible sight. a witness actually saw the girl come tumbling out of the second story window. >> we saw the baby come out. >> reporter: eleanor hopkins was walking toward a small playground in the pepper tree apartment complex just off bell pree road when she heard a strange sound and saw a child falling through the air. >> i just stopped the bike right here and i went over to make sure she was all right and the grandmother came out of the door. the screen looked kind of strange. it was bent this way and the little girl come that way. so how did that happen? >> reporter: luckily, the 4-year-old landed on the grass instead of the pavement or patio. she was examined at the scene by paramedics then taken by ambulance to a local hospital. neighbors tell news 4 all of the screens in the complex had recently been replaced with new ones. now, a number of children fall out of windows like this every year in montgomery county. coming up on news 4 at 6:00 we'll tell you how to prevent

that from happening. reporting live in aspen hill, jackie bensen. back to you. now to decision 2012 and the republican bid for the white house, mitt romney is spending a second day in the key battleground state of virginia. he campaigned in portsmouth this afternoon with governor bob mcdonald who is said to be on his short list of running mates. romney also picked up a key endorsement today from his one-time challenger, minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann. a tea party favorite. bachmann said electing romney would mean prosperity and liberty for the country. fund raising in virginia for mitt romney and president obama is just about even at this point in the campaign. both received roughly $1 million from commonwealth voters in the first three months of the year. that's according to a nonpartisan group that tracks such data. mr. obama had a slight edge receiving about $3,000 more than romney. another aide who worked closely with john edwards testified today about efforts to keep his affair with rielle hunter a secret. john davis said he had an

awkward run-in with hunter at a detroit hotel where edwards was staying while campaigning in 2007. he testified that hunter said she and edwards were in love. the next day edwards denied it. davis also said he overheard a phone conversation between the two discussing her pregnancy. prosecutors are trying to prove that edwards illegally used his campaign donations to hide that affair. we are waiting to learn the identity of a cyclist who was struck and killed by a car in olney this morning. police say a driver hit a woman who was riding her bike near the intersection of route 108 and zion road. the driver did stay on the scene. it's not clear if any charges will be filed. trouble for commuters who count on metro getting around the city could be a big hassle this weekend. there are several big events planned and metro has no plans to stop their scheduled track work. jane watrel is live for us in northwest d.c. with the warning. >> reporter: well, yes, jim. metro says it is simply following recommendations from

the national transportation safety board to upgrade its system. it does, however, plan to add extra trains on the red and green lines to move the expected large crowds. attention metro riders. every metro line will be affected this weekend as a result of scheduled track work. >> okay. let's get to know it. >> reporter: good to know because the weekend will be bus wi the caps' playoff game, nationals game, and breast cancer walk. four stations on the green line from fort totten to green belt will be closed with buses running as metro installs what is about to be known as a number # switch, a safety measure that prevents derailments. >> it can only happen over three-day weekends because it is so complex you have to take both tracks out of service to bring in the heavy machinery and start ripping out tracks on both sides. >> reporter: already riders are making plans like these verizon center workers. >> leave hours early. that is the best i can think of. several hours early. it's going to be one tracking

because i do ride the subway. >> reporter: due to green line track work metro says yellow line trains will operate between mount vernon square and huntington only. and the rest of the system, every other line will experience some single tracking. >> we are rebuilding the system. this is not routine track maintenance but the first time that metro now at 36 years old has ever had to go through a massive rebuilding effort. >> reporter: for more information, metro urges people to go to the ramada website to see what is going on this weekend and there are tips on how to get around. if you are a planner metro says you can see all the scheduled track work that is expected between now and the end of the year. reporting live in northwest, i'm jane watrel, news 4. we have a beautiful day out there -- warm and humid across our region but keep your umbrella close. there is a chance we could see some strong storms tomorrow. here's doug. out there right now a very warm afternoon. 80 degrees currently out at the airport. plenty of sunshine out there.

dew point, though, 63. so humidity is up there. you probably notice it when you step outside. winds now out of the south at 6 miles an hour. take a look at the numbers once again. that frontal boundary right across our area. 67 in annapolis. 76 in baltimore. but on the flip side, 91 in petersburg. 88 in winchester. 87 right now in martinsburg so much warmer temperatures just off to the west. and that's helping you produce some showers and thunderstorms out there toward the slen shen valley. we're seeing some of those and also toward the panhandle of west virginia in through western maryland so hagerstown watch out around martinsburg. some of the showers are going to make their way down to the south and east. i do not think they'll make their way across over the mountains. we do have a chance for some strong storms during the day tomorrow. i'll break that down for you and talk about the weekend as well. that is a little different than what we're seeing right now. >> thanks, doug. dog lovers are sounding off about a court ruling in maryland that says pit bulls are inher t inherently dangerous dogs. the humane society just launched a campaign to try and overturn

the ruling. maryland is the only state that officially regards pit bull and pit bull type dogs as categorically dangerous. maryland's highest court ruled last week. when an attack involves a pit bull people in the civil lawsuits do not have to prove the animal's prior violent behavior for the owner to be held liable for damages. new details are trickling out about facebook's initial public offering. the company is planning to set the price for a share of stock in the high 20s to mid 30s. that is according to a new report from "the wall street journal." previous estimates have been about $10 higher per share. the journal says today facebook will value itself at roughly $85 billion to $95 billion. that is roughly four times as much as google's $23 billion valuation when it went public in 2004. if the current plans remain ontrack facebook will hold its ipo on may 18th. next and new at 5:00

targeted by thieves but he didn't back down. tonight a local firefighter recovering from heart surgery talks about a frightening encounter. feeling the heat, the mother accusationed of putting her 5-year-old daughter in a tanning bed fires back today a day after appearing in court. it's an urban legend in prince george's county and now a local man is bri

firefighter recovering from open heart surgery had the scare of his life today when a group of thieves broke into his house with him inside. it happened this morning on tindel springs court in month good morningary village. news 4's pat collins joins us live with the drastic measures the victim was about to take. >> reporter: jim, sometimes when the door bell rings you never know who is going to be on the other side. here now the story of firefighter phil herbert. we begin with a 911 call for help. >> montgomery county 911. what is the emergency? >> yeah. there is somebody breaking into my house right now. he's trying to come in now. he's breaking up the back door. he just broke the window to come in. there's two of them. oh, my god.

>> reporter: it started innocently enough with the ringing of a door bell. but it wasn't just one ring. it was ring after ring after ring. phil herbert was upstairs and he went to the window. he looked out. he didn't recognize the guy down here. so he didn't open that door. >> i thought, well maybe he's just selling magazines. >> reporter: the first big rumble. phil said he could feel the house shake. somebody jimmying open the patio door. >> nothing scares me but that scared me. >> reporter: the second big rumble. one of the would-be robbers, first with his body then with the chair smashes through the window to get inside. it's getting serious now. >> i could hear him talking inside and walking around. >> reporter: he goes to his bedroom, barricades himself insid insi inside, crouches down between the bed and the window. >> if they had come busting through this door i probably

would have tried to get out of the window. i guess my thought was broken bones are a lot less than a gun shot. >> reporter: with all the shattered glass and the break-in well under way, phil calls 911. police there in a flash. the robbers on the run. phil emerges shaken but unharmed. did i mention that he had heart surgery last week? and today he was to go to the doctor to see if he could go back to work. >> i had heart surgery last week so this was my stress test. >> reporter: i don't know what phil's doctor is going to say but i think he is ready to get out of the house and get back to work. you know, in all there were four robbers at that house. they made their getaway on foot. they're still at large. live in montgomery county, pat collins, news 4. >> wow. >> pretty frightening moments there. >> that is frightening. >> for sure. doug joins us. we got a calmer day today but tomorrow you're talking about things cooking up again. >> they could. if we get any thunderstorms this is the kind of pattern

we're in. very warm, very humid. doesn't take a lot to produce thunderstorms. and tomorrow if they are to occur some of them could be strong. maybe severe. but out there right now nothing like that going on around the d.c. metro area. that's not the case though just to the west. we'll talk about that in just a second. right now you can see plenty of sunshine across the area and a nice warm afternoon. 80 degrees the current temperature. that dew point up to 63 right now so it's on the humid side when you step outside you're going to feel it. winds out of the south about 6 miles per hour. current temperature 87 in martinsburg. 88 in winchester. 91 in petersburg, west virginia. 88 in charlottesville. on the flip side a little bit of an easterly flow. only 67 in annapolis. 67 down towards pax river. just like yesterday a very widespread in regards to temperature. take a look at this. we still have that front. can you see where it is? how about above state college and then right down the chesapeake? 59 in ocean city. 64 in philly. but 80 here and 85 down toward roanoke. talking to the kids today, in

southeast washington across the area, moten elementary at wilkinson wanted to say hello to all of those kids. i'll get out of the way so you can see them. hey guys. you guys are going to be on tv at 5:15 and they all promised to watch today. we just picked up about 40 new viewers right there in moten elementary school. thanks for having me in today talking all about the weather. they were talking about the potential for thunderstorms over the next couple days and once again we have them outside right now. well to the north and west of washington. and at the moment they're staying to the west of the blue ridge. in through the shenandoah valley around la ray just to the north of winchester and martinsburg and these storms moving to the south and east. you can see the wider view here not much going on. this is a little bit of a boundary that is going to sag on down. i don't expect the showers and storms to continue to develop but we could see a couple showers move across our area. i am not expecting too much as far as that is concerned. tomorrow a different story. our boundary continues to be right across the area. very warm temperatures with the

showers across the region. tomorrow look at the abundance of showers. we have a cold front that is going to come down. that is going to aid in the ability to get instability out here. we'll have a better chance of thunderstorms during the day tomorrow. that front will sag on through. by saturday we should dry out. still a chance for some showers mostly down to the south on saturday. but saturday and sunday both right now still looking rather warm. let's look at the numbers as we make our way out and about this evening. partly cloudy, warm, and humid. isolated storms well to the west. that is mostly where they'll stay. mainly west but can't rule out a few of those making their way east of the blue ridge. tomorrow morning temperatures 62 to about 67 degrees. then partly cloudy skies. a mild start and a little bit humid just like it has been the past couple days. maybe some low clouds especially to the north and east during the day tomorrow. tomorrow afternoon a mixture of sun and clouds. warm. a bit humid once again. showers and storms. some of those could be strong. maybe even severe with a high temperature of 80 to 85. they will not be too widespread,

though. don't expect the wash out tomorrow. same deal goes for this weekend. we have about a 30% chance of showers both saturday and sunday. that means most of us will stay dry those days. it will be a little bit cooler sunday and on monday, too, with temperatures in the low 70s. but i think we'll get back into the upper 70s to around 80 degrees. >> look at that. >> as we head into the weekend. is this looking a little bit more reminiscent of nicer weather? >> it is. >> we thank you in advance. >> no problem. still ahead an ex-employee at the national archives admits to stealing items and selling them on e-bay. he did it for more than a decade. we'll tell you how the scheme was uncovered. a company pulls the plug on this ad featuring ashton kutcher over complaints that it's racist. the caps recovering from the hard night in the stanley cup playoffs after losing that heart breaker to the rangers. it was painful. and long, too. there is a growing neighborhood battle tonight. why one yard is sprouting five-foot weeds and nothing is being done about it. that is tonight at 6:00. ♪

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he scores! marion gaborik gets the goal from brian richards and in triple overtime the rangers have beaten the caps and take a 2-1 lead in the series. >> that was painful. triple overtime and the caps not being able to get the win. ouch. >> dan hellie is here with more

on tonight's tough losses like 3 in 1. >> this was brutal. the third longest game in caps' history. a four and a half hour overtime thriller. despite numerous chances the capitals not able to seal the deal. the rangers get the win and now lead the series, two games to one, a game the caps are going to remember for a long time and the losing was certainly the most painful thing of all. >> it's that much more of a pain knowing that you went through all that and you didn't get anything out of it. you hope that maybe you can recover a little better than those guys but it's, you know, that's a sore, like throwing salt in the wound. it's very painful. >> you invest a lot every night no matter what. you know, if it's a 60-minute game or extended in overtime. when you extend, you know, the game you're investing more and more and you're putting everything you've got into it and, you know, unfortunately we didn't win tonight but we can't let that bother us. we just need to get prepared for the next one. >> rookie goalie braydon holtby,

spectacular between the pipes last night. the 22-year-old played with the poise of a seasoned veteran, matching perennial all star goalie henrik lundqvist save for save. holtby stopped 47 of 49 shots. he knows he played well but won't take any satisfaction in last night's game without a series victory. >> maybe i'll accept it after the fourth round if we win, but it's, no, that's my job. my job is to stop pucks and to win games. and i believe if i focus on every shot to the best of my abilities with the group we have, you know, i'm confident we'll win 4 games of 7. >> he covers pucks. he doesn't give out many rebounds. when he does the guys are there to clear him. so, you know, he should be proud of the way he played and he is going to continue that. >> reporter: the caps can rest up for two days before hitting the ice on saturday afternoon for game four but they will need

to win that one to avoid a deep hole in the series. still, it's nothing they haven't climbed out of before. having faced a similar deficit against the bruins in the last round. and despite last night's loss the team is upbeat because they're playing well. >> it's good for our heads knowing that we were in the exact same position against a very, very good team and we managed to climb out of that so it's -- we can't hit the panic button. there are still so many games left and we're playing well and eventually i think those guys are probably going to get a little tired. they got a lot of guys logging a lot of minutes so we got to keep going with the program and hit and dump the puck and do all the little things and it is going to be good for us in the end. >> let's not forget they also rallied to beat the rangers in the playoffs last year and the guys on the ice at 6:30 a.m. i'm kidding. actually they had the day off. >> they need it. >> they need to rest a bit. >> a couple of the reserves who didn't play in the game were on the ice this morning but luckily dale hunter gave them a day to rest. not watching any tape, not thinking about hockey.

>> yeah. recover. >> a little break. we've got it right here. 3:00 saturday. right? >> yep. on at 12:30. >> 12:30. >> okay. right here. >> all right. >> i would have missed it. >> i know. >> what are you doing? you're like confusing people. haunted by head injuries tonight new questions over sports concussions and its role in the apparent suicide of nfl legend junior seau. >> virginia is taking a high tech approach to fighting gangs. video games are being used as a teaching tool to students. the national mall is getting a multimillion dollar makeover and we're getting our first look at what the finished project at what the finished project might look like. never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles.

(woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part. people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. if i can do this, you definitely can do this. we can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime.

fast forward through the headlines today. a federal judge sentenced harry thomas jr. to 38 months in prison. the former d.c. council member pled guilty in january to stealing more than $350,000 in government funds. he also filed false income taxes for three years. >> a 4-year-old girl is recovering after she fell two stories through a screened window at an apartment complex in aspen hill. the child landed on the grass and was taken to the hospital. neighbors say the screens in the complex had recently been replaced with new ones. >> there could be extra hassles this weekend for folks traveling into washington. there are several events taking place and metro is continuing with its planned track work. four stations are going to be closed on the green line and yellow line service is only going to operate between mount vernon square and huntington.

now let's fast forward to our weather. the weather right now pretty nice. 80 degrees outside. plenty of sunshine in most of the area. you could see we did have cloud cover a little earlier during the day. those clouds gave way to the sun and everybody is warming up nicely. one thing we're seeing you notice the increase in scattered showers and some thunderstorms just to our west. right now if you look in morgan county and berkeley county and west virginia right around martinsburg seeing some fairly heavy rain right now. even the potential for some hail out of those storms. the other storms through the potomac in through portions of western maryland, northern washington county. we'll continue to watch for those storms as they make their way this way. i'll show you about something big, big that is going to be happening on saturday night. we'll talk about it coming up. >> all right. thank you, doug. a man trusted to protect america's most valuable documents and files admits to stealing them then selling them on e-bay. >> the retired supervisor at the national archives was sentenced today. news 4's richard jordan explains how he pocketed thousands of dollars off the historic

material. >> reporter: leslie watson sentenced for stealing and selling american history. the retired archivist at the national archives admits to taking audio and visual material home and selling the recordings to the highest bidder. >> jay david goldman was the first to report the internet sales. he gave him a 1937 audio interview for the archives with baseball great babe ruth. golden saw the material he donated for sale on ebay. >> i just knew i owned that record at one time and that there was only one of those records. >> reporter: wafton worked at the national archives more than 40 years but will spend the next year and a half in jail for taking thousands of media clips estimated at over $80,000. an eyewitness account of the crash found in the loop, and even sold an audio interview with major league legend jaqui robinson appraised for $100 for

less than $16 online. only about 20 of the ebay buyers have been found so far. w waffen said in court i violated god's fourth commandment and have scarred my soul. the archives now struggles to mend a tarnished reputation. >> this is a time when federal workers are under the gun. many federal workers are criticized and somehow we take on the characteristics of a few limited poor bad guys. >> i hope he gets past this human failing and goes on to greater success. >> reporter: the akifl recovery team says it may never be able to recover all of the items stolen but the team will not quit trying. in college park, richard jordan, news 4. waffen will be on probation for two years following his 18-month sentence and the matter of restitution still has not been resolved. vin virginia's attorney general says the commonwealth will start using video games to stop kids from joining gangs. those ganmes are currently in te

beta stage. students at george mason university are creating and building them. when they're complete he says they'll have kids walk through various scenarios so they can learn the risks and consequences of joining a gang. he says they'll be available online and on smart phones. there is an apparent crackdown on bad driving behavior on maryland's intercounty connector. more than 300 traffic tickets are issued every month on the icc. about 500 warnings are also given out every month. the maryland transportation authority says the citations have been for speeding, dui, seat belts, and other violations. in march, m-dot said it would start studying the impact of increasing the speed limit on the icc, which is currently 55 miles an hour. there is a makeover in the works for america's front yard. the national mall is getting much needed renovations and today we are getting a glimpse of what it's going to look like when it is all done. tracee wilkins has more on the big plans.

>> reporter: it's been the topic of discussion for sometime now. what are we going to do to improve the look of the national mall? well, now three different architects have been selected to redesign three different areas of the mall and we asked people around town, do you think these new designs are going to help improve america's front yard? >> this is for sure? >> reporter: yes. this is select eld. this will be what they're working on when they start the construction. using my ipad i showed people on the mall every day what some of the planned designs for its big renovation are looking like. the reaction was interesting. can you imagine the mall even looking this way? compared to -- >> that is quite fancy. >> reporter: after a contest between a number of architectural firms and the public having an opportunity to weigh in, the design was chosen. in the end, olin and weiss was selected to redesign the washington monument grounds. it will include a new ampitheater surrounded by a canopy of trees.

that's just the beginning. >> there will be a little pavilion for you to eat and restaurants, etcetera. what do you think about that? >> well, i like a pavilion for a place to have a picnic. i don't know how i feel about restaurants. >> reporter: outside will be a walkway to the nearby tidal basin. >> fabulous because it incorporates jefferson and that portion of the mall which has always felt separate. >> reporter: by the lincoln memorial rogers architects and peter walker & partners will transform constitution gardens by adding a water basin for model boats and ice skating. >> i would like an ice rink. >> reporter: they'll have a new restaurant pavilion overlooking the park. >> actually i like it. i like the idea of a way to hang by the lincoln memorial. you know, as long as it doesn't look too commercial. that would be my concern. >> reporter: now construction is expected to begin in the next two years and they're hoping to have it all wrapped up by 2016. in southwest, i'm tracee wilkins. news 4. now we have an exclusive

i-team investigation. you know you drive by them every day but have you taken a hard look at those highway signs and light poles along our roads? the news 4 i-team spent weeks negotiating with virginia to find out what kind of shape these signs are really in. after that sign fell on i-66 a few months ago. we found rusted bolts, missing parts, broken equipment being held on with duck tape. tonight on news 4 at 11:00 you can hear what the state has to say and see the repairs already done to fix these problems discovered by the i-team when they started checking. that's tonight on news 4 at 11:00. coming up some call her tan-or-exic. the mother who took her 5-year-old to the tanning salon fires back at her critics. someone apparently has a lot of time on their hands. tonight what happened to a popula

her burned face has gone viral. that new jersey mother accused of letting her 5-year-old daughter use a tanning bed. but tonight the salon in question is telling their side of the story. patricia krenzel pleaded not guilty to child endangerment yesterday. yesterday she says the whole thing is a misunderstanding. well, today the tanning salon tells nbc news that the business would never let a minor tan and that it did not happen there. krenzel says her child was at the tanning salon with her but

never in a tanning bed. and that she got a slight burn the next day while playing outdoors. >> i would die right now for her. >> that child was never in that tanning booth. she loves her child more than her own life and would never, ever allow her child to go inside a tanning bed. >> krenzel says she is the victim of a witch hunt. the tanning salon has reportedly revoked her membership. could georgetown's stolen clock hands be on their way to the pope? the hands disappeared early monday morning from healy hall. now someone has e-mailed a student magazine and has taken credit. according to the e-mail the heist is the work of three people nick named reaper, goliath, and juliet. they include a picture of gold clock hands and they say they are sending them to the vatican to be blessed by the pope. the healy clock hands were last stolen in 2005. >> hoping for a papal pardon they are. coming up, he's half man, half animal. tonight a prince george's county film maker is bringing the legend of goat man to the big screen. i'm liz crenshaw.

do it yourself travel plans? the road to disaster? travel agents are making a comeback. my story is coming up. and right now looking at a couple showers and some thunderstorms out there. mostly off to the west but there will be a bigger chance of those tomorrow. we'll explain that plus a big event happening

let's look at some online stories that are trending. >> we begin tonight with a controversial commercial featuring ashton kutcher. >> i'm a baliwood producer looking for a most delicious thing on the planet. >> ashton kutcher's new popcakes

ad has been pulled after some people called it racist. >> kutcher plays several different people in the ad but critics complained about his role as raj a baliwood producer where his face is tinted and he wears traditional indian garb. the company that makes the snack says the commercial was not intended -- was intended to amuse not offend. of all the books that have been written by or about our 44th president there is a new one that may shed light on a side of barack obama that very few people know. >> washington writer david meratis uncovered diary entries and love letters that date back to the time when the president was young and in love. "vanity fair" published an excerpt today from the book along with some of the correspondence between the president and two former girlfriends. jet man is trending today. daredevil evay russi soared through the skies of rio yesterday strapped to an engine jet pack. >> the flight lasted 11 minutes and reached speeds of nearly 200 miles an hour. he sailed over and around city landmarks before coming to a safe landing. >> he has also flown over the

english channel and grand canyon in a jet pack. the legend of the goat man, a man/beast roaming the woods of prince george's county devouring those caught alone in the woods. for many in our area he is like a home grown bogey man. now a local filmmaker is working to give the legend a new life. derrick ward has his story. >> reporter: no one can quite pin down the day the legend started but by the late '60s into the '70s it was thriving. >> experiments took place in the 1950s and 1960s and animal genes mixed with human genes created a concoction that became a prince george's county legend called the goatman. >> reporter: one place the goatman was said to frequent was the grounds of the old glendale s sanitoreum wielding an ax and exacting an evil toll for his misfortune upon hapless pets and wild animals and the occasional prince george's county resident. he was born out of an experiment gone wrong at the usda research center in bellsville where derrick parks was bitten so to speak.

he was working as a contractor. >> once we started cleaning out the buildings and talking to the professors and scientists i found out about the myth of the goatman. >> reporter: but from myth to movie plot is no short trip especially for a filmmaker's first time out. >> the biggest thing is budget and if you're working on a shoe string and trying to put together a class a movie, it's an extreme challenge. we came into this project with business sense and really organized so we had a vision in mind. it made it a little easier doing the story. >> reporter: park says the biggest challenge was special effects but still he was surprised at just how much movie related businesses are in the area and how much help. >> so many good people in the art of making movies don't mind stopping what they're doing and giving you a hand. >> one last thing, detective. >> reporter: some of the actors had previous experience and in other locally based movies such as the civil war epic "gods and generals" and some were just folks with a will to play a part. to make a long story short the film got made and even got some

buzz at a few festivals. derrick park says he wants people to come away entertained not thinking about how much the movie cost to make. now the filmmaker and most locals will readily admit the whole goatman thing is just a legend. it has endured but nothing more. no basis in science and fact. it is all in fun and there is nothing to worry about. or is there? >> watch out, derrick. "return of the goatman" will be premiering this sunday at the afi theater in silver spring. >> that was acting there. you know? derrick was, i know. i'd go see it for derrick alone. >> just for that scene. hey, doug. how you doing? doing great, guys. a pretty nice afternoon right now. 80 degrees. plenty of sunshine. dew point of 63. a little bit on the humid side but not bad at all. winds right now out of the south about 6 miles per hour. current temperatures around the region 88 in rockville. a very warm afternoon there. 82 in dulles. 82 right now in manassas. warranton at 86 degrees. 79 in camp springs. out toward crofton the current

temperature only around 76. a little bit cooler but my grandma is out there right now and says the weather is fantastic. hi, grandma. got to say i love you. out there right now let's look at the rest of the area as we are watching some showers and thunderstorms just off to the west. over toward hagerstown and also around the la ray valley down toward shenandoah valley. zooming up north these are the strongest storms right around martinsburg and i-81 just off to the west toward mineral county the strongest storm. a little lightning. these will most likely fall apart over the next couple hours but watch out frederick county around martinsburg or shepherdstown. you may see more showers as did you yesterday. overnight tonight 62 in gaithersburg. 65 in washington. 60 in manassas. a nice, mild night. tomorrow night if we have clear skies and right now i think we'll go partly cloudy, we're going to see something that's pretty cool. it's called the super moon. this is when the moon is closest to the earth. it will be a full moon and will be 30% brighter than a normal moon and 14% bigger.

the moon tomorrow? only 221,000 miles away. jim handly, if you start walking now, you may be able to get there but it will be something cool to see. i got to tell you that, guys. >> i will text you the picture. okay? >> thank you. if you're planning a vacation any time soon and you think booking a do it yourself vacation online will save money think again. liz crenshaw is here to tell us why. >> wenldy, disappointing do it yourself trips do have some consumers reconsidering the internet. just when you thought travel agents were a thing of the past they're making a comeback. the american society of travel agents says about 75% of its agents reported higher revenue and" cease in clients in 2011. >> i think people are starting to get a little overwhelmed with all the options. everything is a deal and screaming at you and you don't know what is the best. >> reporter: lisa gersner with kiplinger's personal finance is talking about the abundance of online travel sites. you can book a flight, your

hotel, your car, even a cruise all online. do it yourself vacations. the down side? what if something goes wrong? >> especially when you're having a complex trip. so you're going to a lot of different places. you have a lot of different hotel rooms and airline plans to deal with. maybe you don't realize that you booked your flight for the wrong time and you can't get your hotel that night and you don't know what to do. you're in a strange city. you're stuck. >> reporter: many consumers are beginning to realize it's good to have someone to lean on. travel agents say they can save you time and help you avoid scams. >> you don't want to go to italy and find that your villa doesn't exist or that you were scammed of $2500 for a week's stay. those things happen and they happen day after day. >> reporter: heather dolstra is a travel agent and democracy travel in northwest washington. she and many other good agents survived the internet travel booking craze because of what she says an agent can deliver. besides making sure your trip is legit, travel agents can

personalize your vacation and often find good deals you otherwise wouldn't know about. >> many times we can find such hidden value, things people haven't discovered, that we can produce a trip that is much cheaper than they thought they were going to get at the outset. we have very good tools, very good resources, we know who to call, and we know how to put it together. >> reporter: what does it cost you to have a travel agent working for you? sometimes nothing at all. many work on commission and make money through the hotel they send you to or the cruise you take. others may charge a small fee for booking a flight. even good agents agree don't always think you have to call an agent. if you find a good deal online and it is not a complicated trip book it. >> visit grandma in cleveland on southwest? go for it. but you know if it starts to get on your nerves if you really would rather have an expert take care of it, we're here. >> sometimes that internet gets a little uncomfortable. by the way, when shopping for a

travel agent ask friends if they have any recommendations. you should also check with the american society of travel agents. their agents are certified and do keep to a code of ethics. >> interesting. >> yeah. do it yourself is good. >> we thought they had gone away even though they still existed. that's good to know. >> yeah. their business is up. >> thank you, liz. well, new fees on spirit airlines could have some travelers spending more on their care oin bag than their ticket. if you pay for your carry on at the boarding gate, you will now be charged a hundred bucks. that's up from $45. but if you pay at the airport counter or at the kiosk when you first come into the airport that fee still remains at 45. it is at the boarding gate where it goes up. any bag that needs to be fit in the overhead bin by the way is considered a carry on. a bag that fits under your seat is free. spirit is one of two airlines that is now charging for carry ons. the new fees start on november 6th. >> what will they think of next? dulles international is near the bottom when it comes to travelers satisfaction. the airport ranked seventh worst in a recent travel in "leisure"

magazine poll. dulles lost points for location and staff. new york's laguardia ranked worst. minneapolis was best. bwi also made the best list coming in at number six. coming up next new developments in the death of nfl legend junior seau. >> why his suicide is putting a focus on serious head injuries suffered by athletes. coming up on news 4 at 6:00 we'll hear the dramatic calls for help when a mother in maryland stabbed her own baby. there is a call out there to shut down the famed marching band at florida a&m university. there was a battle growing over a lawn with weeds that are five

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bobby brown says he walked out of whitney houston's funeral because he was disrespected by security. they were married 14 years ago and have a daughter named bobby christina. in an exclusive interview on the "today" show bobby said he was invited to the funeral. >> what happened? >> whoever the security was there, asked me to have my, what they called my entourage, which was my children, sit somewhere else. we had to sit apart. i was not willing to sit away from my children. so, you know, after the third time of them coming to me i felt

a little, you know, disrespected by the security that was there. >> reporter: brown also denied reports that bobby christina is on drugs and dating her adoptive brother. an autopsy is being performed today on nfl great junior seau who was found dead in his home yesterday the victim of an apparent suicide. >> the makeshift memorial has been growing outside his home in oceanside, california. his father broke down as he tried to talk to reporters there today. the player's death also rekindles the debate about the mental health of former nfl players. cheryl hurd reports. >> reporter: dozens of people gathered in front of junior seau's oceanside home when they heard the news of his death. his mother in shock. >> i pray to god, please, take me. take me. leave my son. but it's too late. >> reporter: seau's former chargers teammate john perella is now a high school football

coach in dublin and is grieving and reflecting about one of the greatest linebackers to ever play the game. >> off the field, maybe even a better person than he was a player. >> reporter: perella played with seau in san diego for eight years. they were teammates when the chargers went to super bowl 29. >> i just hope and pray that his, you know, his boys and his daughter really understand what kind of dad they had. he really didn't care about himself. he cared about everybody else. >> reporter: police say seau's girlfriend found him unresponsive in his home wednesday. a weapon was found nearby and police are investigating his death as a suicide. >> i have been saddened all day to think about what, not just happened today, but what must have been going through junior's mind over the last 18 months. i'm not retiring. i am graduating. >> reporter: after seau retired in 2010 he survived a 30-foot plunge in his suv. he told authorities he fell asleep, but some believe the

12-time pro bowler may have been haunted by head injuries after a stellar football career. >> going to be back in the bay area? >> oh, yeah. >> the football player's appearance on sports sunday in 2001 proved he was popular not only with the chargers but here in the bay area. he will be missed. >> the incident they're claiming happened doesn't over shadow the greatness of his life. >> seau is the second professional athlete to commit suicide in just the past few weeks. >> he shot himself in the chest. some are speculating he did that to preserve his brain for research. seau did not leave a suicide note. now at 6:00 tonight the first elected d.c. official has been convicted and sentenced for a felony. >> former d.c. council member harry thomas jr. says he humiliated his family and let down the people who elected him to serve the city. now he is going to go to jail for stealing city money to buy big ticket