. welcome to "news 4 this week." >> hello, everybody. we're going to show you some of the more interesting local stories making news this week. among them eagle grounded. the concern being raised by the park police about the safety of one of the region's most recognized and highly used helicopters. are you getting what you pay for? we take a look at just how much maryland blue crab ends up on your plate when you order it at a restaurant. this could surprise you. and let's play ball. when you can expect when you head out to the game at nats park this year. first, a local boy being hailed a hero he saved his father's life using a simple skill that he learned as a boy scott.

shamari stone was there as he was honored for his quick actions. >> definitely -- >> brandon has a right to feel good tonight. >> i got to save my dad's life. >> reporter: this 12-year-old saved his father from choking to death on a hamburger in fredericksburg fredericksburg virginia. >> i swallowed a piece of burger and it got caught in my throat and cut my air off. >> brandon knew exactly what to do. >> i did something about it. >> he grabbed his dad from behind and did the heimlich maneuver. >> he learned it with the boy scouts at the first aid class. >> using the skills that brandon had learned and common sense and good studies, he participated in dislodging that hamburger. >> tonight the boy scouts honored him with the medal of merit and certificate for his service. please join me in a round of

applause. >> reporter: darrel thinks his son and boy scouts are teaching how to save lives. >> it's a great organization, do a lot of good for the community. >> he wants to grow up to be a firefighter to help people. >> a good reminder for all of us. in fredericksburg virginia news 4. >> and some big promises from d.c. mayor about the city's long delayed street car line. bouser is vowing that the eight street street car will be up and running. she made her comments during the first state of the district address. earlier this year the transportation chief suggested that the street cars may never operate. but this year said not only will it open but it will expand to other parts of the city. >> we will extend the line to downtown ward seven so that council member alexander's constituents can get from

benning road to a street to union station and eventually all the way to georgetown. >> the district has spent nearly $200 million on this two-mile street car line. >> at gun point at this time. >> we need rescue. we have one in custody. >> we have several cruisers involved. >> we have at least two officers that are injured. >> those are some of the dispatch calls for that wild chase that ended in a crashing conclusion on the fairfax county parkway. this all unfolded on the same day officers were looking for a pris prisoner who escaped from the hospital. the driver took to pull her over. we're told she has outstanding warrants for credit card theft and forgery. it's become an annual pilgrimage pilgrimage 26 bike riders completing a journey that started in newtown, connecticut.

they ride in honor of the victims of gun violence and to promote gun safety laws. one of the final stops on this four-day 400 mile trip is the washington national cathedral. they call themselves team 26 after the 26 victims of the sandy hook elementary school sthootings. in december of 2012 one of the riders lost a sister in the massacre at virginia tech. >> i learned a lot about our gun laws and what to do to prevent tragedies like this from happening and washington hasn't done enough since then and since sandy hook to keep us safer and prevent the tragedies. >> the group then got back on bikes to meet with lawmakers. this is the third annual sandy hook ride. >> winter is finally giving way to some spring weather and it came just in time. the nationals new baseball season has also arrived. and there are some changes to the fan experience. tom sherwood looks at what's in

store when you head to the park. >> the most obvious change new metal detection gates for all fans mandated by major league baseball. inside promoting star wars day for july 19th one of the on and off of the field attractions this year. it's attention to lots of detail like the 1,000 square feet of new grass for the players and new clothing lines for military and college fans. and special beer among other attractions targeting individuals, families and ticket buyers at any price range. >> we continue to make sure we have very affordable seats available at every game. we have $5 tickets every single game you call for walk up. >> but there are high tech tablets for ordering food and merchandise in every luxury sweet, including the new club 24 a season ticket table for four here goes up to $95,000. nationals fan mike hill of north

virn virginia is a former orioles fan. he was surprised at ten years of nats baseball. >> i saw the merchandise in the store, did not realize it was ten years. i grew up an orioles fan and when i found out the nats were coming, cal rip kin retired in 2003 i feel nothing for the orioles anymore. >> one of the most popular shows on tv is about to end, but now for us. now pieces of history that madmen helped to chronicle are coming to d.c. it's a regional delicacy but harder to come by than you

when you order a maryland blue crab for dinner are you getting what you pay for? dna testing found more than a third of the time those crabs were mislabeled. the environmental group oceana tested 90 crabs and crab cakes

last year from restaurants in maryland and the district. and it found that some crabs advertised as local were actually caught as far away as indonesia. blue crab season on the chesapeake bay started this week. they rescued victims from danger led presidential motorcades and policed some of the most restricted air space in the world. you've likely seen park police helicopters overhead while in the district. now an investigation by news 4 i team scott mcfarland raises questions about whether one of the hero helicopters should be grounded. >> it seemed like it was forever. >> reporter: channing blackwell was certain his dad william was about to die. >> in his mind he was gone. >> reporter: stranded on thin ice for an hour in prince william county once you go under and it's so call you're done under the ice.

>> only a helicopter rescue could save him. >> i keep repeating, it's coming it's coming. >> reporter: eagle two did arrive and save william blackwell. >> my father would not be here if it were not for the helicopter. >> eagle one has been involved in so many major news events rescuers survivors of the navy yard shooting spree and surveying damage hurricane sandy and providing surveillance ahead of a presidential motorcade. the u.s. park police have three helicopters in d.c. and news 4 i team cameras rolled as they trained for rescues repelling from the sky to the ground. they looked so flawless in their execution we didn't expect to hear what one of the officers said next. one of the three helicopters, eagle two, should be replaced immediately. >> you're not breaking laws of physics but you're bending them enough and bending them for an extended period of time on an air frame causes problems.

>> ian glick heads a park police union and says they are not as comfortable behind controls as they used to be. >> you don't feel as confident as you used to. >> that's correct. he says the officers are still safe but when the news 4 i team became searching maintenance records we found eagle one is 17 years old and flown 6600 hours. eagle two is 26 years old having flown nearly 10,000 hours. even though internal park police records we obtained recommend the agency replace the aircraft once it's reached 5,000 hours of use. other government agencies use the same model helicopter the chicago fire department and miami-dade fire and rescue and eagle two has been in the air twice as long as miami's and five times as long as chicago's. there have been no reported safety incidents but officers are worried the first warning sign could come too late. >>ith a helicopter should the engine go out or transmission or

something happen to it there's a critical loss of power, the helicopter is coming straight down. >> the iteam obtained the maintenance recommendations, and found nearly every bolt bridge fitting and ring has a life span of 10,000 hours or less. >> a u.s. park police spokeswoman says the agency spends $3 million a year maintaining and operating eagle two and the rest of the helicopters and all are safe and serviceable. no timetable for the replacement of eagle two but the i team found internally the park police have been issuing warnings about that helicopters for years. >> park police memos to supervisors from 2012 recommend replacing eagle two in 2013 and say increasing age of the chopper significantly compromises operating safety. congressional staffers with knowledge of the issue say a federal budget stalemate has made it impossible for the feds to buy a $14 million helicopter to replace it indefinitely. >> william blackwell says the government must ensure there's an able helicopter able to

launch well into the future. >> next time it might be a five-year-old girl or 7-year-old boy who has their whole life in front of them. >> the u.s. park police conduct about 1,000 aviation missions a year. the u.s. house will debate how much money to spend on the agency and that includes the helicopters later this spring. this story started with a tip, if you have a story idea for the news team click on investigations to send a tip their way. actor john hamm and other stars of madmen are donating some of the costumes and props to the smithsonian. hamm who plays the always conflicted don draper was joined by fellow actors and the creator of the hit show for this the mad men memorabilia will be show cased in an exhibit that deals with the history of advertising in america. >> this is the arc logical site of humanity from this period.

we're glad that we saved these things and recreated these things and so much of it was thrown away that it was fun to try to recreate a check stub. >> "mad men"'s final season begins tomorrow night. >> she went from being ceo to being in prison next a virginia woman shares her fight with by polar disorder how she finally found her middle ground. the tidal basin is finally getting color. we'll give you an

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it's an international movement to raise awareness about bipolar disorder it was celebrated this week and as part of our changing minds campaign we're meeting a woman whose battle with the condition has taken her from being the ceo of a publicly traded company to being a prisoner. doreen gentsler reports.

>> my rock bottom is prison. >> reporter: this is christine anderson before she spent four years in a federal prison. >> i was running a publicly traded company. i was ceo. and the company was floundering. it was failing and i did not want to let it go. >> reporter: but the business school graduate said she was so compelled to save her company that she broke the law committing securities fraud and embezzlement. >> i had to sit in prison for a year for me to realize that this was going to ruin the rest of my life if i didn't get it under control. >> reporter: christina is talking about her struggle with bipolar disorder 5.7 million americans heard the same diagnose unusual mood changes and shifts in energy and activity levels psychotic thinking can be part of it too. >> poor impulse control. i have no -- i have no

impulsivity control. i'm what they call omny tent fearless. >> reporter: it's also what pushed her to have such a successful career. problem is those highs can come with severe lows. for christine, that included depression and even thoughts of suicide. >> when you have a high that is so high that no street drug can compete and a low so low that you feeling like you've been hit like a mac truck, the middle ground is what you struggle for. >> proper treatment which typically includes medication is what helps people with buy polar disorder find business. christine though didn't want to take her medications. they caused her to gain weight and they meant she had to accept her diagnosis. it wasn't until she saw a counselor in prison that she was able to really face her demons. >> she helped me realize that if

i didn't get myself together now at this particular point in time that i would never be able to have a normal life. >> these days christine says she's found that balance she was seeking and said she takes her medication regularly now and wrote a book about her experience with bi polar disorder and wants others to learn from her painful journey. >> you just have to have the determination in yourself to put your mind to it that you're going to be bigger than the bipolar disorder. >> you can learn a lot more about bipolar disorder and find a map of where to find mental health treatment in general near you. it's at embassy washington.com/changing minds. >> it's a peep show but this one is g rated. an easter exhibit that's using a seasonal treat in an interesting way.

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>> have we got a peep show for you. it's not adults only it's at the carol arts center in westminster. it's the beloved easter suite. transformed into various works of art over 150 marshmallow master pieces make up this exhibit. there's a peep dress, peep characters and political peeps. the biggest creation this life saved goofy statue. this took over 3,000 peeps to create. the sugary statues are on display through tomorrow. >> another sign of spring it's finally getting nice enough to take a stroll along the tidal basin and the pink is starting to pop down there. the cherry blossom florets are starting to bloom, the pre-blossom on 70% of the trees. the park police are also -- park service is still saying the best time to see the blossoms is going to be april 11th through

the 14th. that will be the peak period when you want be able to drive past the tidal basin. it's wonderful and we love it. that's all for "news 4 this week." until next time have a fabulous weekend.

>> right now on news 4 today, a so long start to your saturday. look at storm team 4 radar showing rain moving on out this morning. chuck bell times out what is moving in. that includes sunshine on this saturday april 4th. good morning to you. >> welcome to news 4 today. it is a wet one so if you plan on heading out, take the rain jacket with you. >> good advice. timing out when the sun will be coming in. >> you are both right. that's the way we like to start the newscast. you are right about the wetness and the