lawyer even as police say she was not in the room when it happened. and change is being promised in south carolina where an officer has been charged with murder after shooting a man in the back. a year ago next week, three people were killed and hundreds more injured in dual bomb blasts at the boston marathon. >> tonight one of those men responsible has been found guilty in that attack. he could face the death penalty. jim handly at our live desk with reaction to the verdict today. >> we just got a new interview fed in from boston with the mother of two bombing survivors. her name is liz norden. she's one of many family members who pack the courtroom to hear the verdict today. 30 times today dzhokhar tsarnaev heard that he was guilty. norden's sons were injured in the blast and spent months in the hospital. >> i just wanted to know what happened to them, you know. i got the call that no parent ever wants to get. i wanted to see what kind of a

person could do this. i don't think there will ever be closure, but i definitely feel like there was a weight lifted off my shoulders today. >> now, coming up in just minutes, jay gray joins us live from boston and takes us unside the courtroom to give us an idea of what it was like when that verdict was read. doreen? we've just learned about a previous complaint against a white police officer now charged in the murder of an unarmed black man in north charleston, south carolina. another black man filed the complaint against patrolman michael flager for using a taser on him. this was back in 2013. according to our report just obtained by nbc news, flager was exonerated in that case. but tonight he's still being held for this weekend's deadly shooting and changes are coming to his former police department. sarah dallof is live with the latest. >> reporter: good evening.

charges were filed against slager shortly after that disturbing cell phone video surfaced and today the mayor of this city announced that soon all officers will be equipped with body cameras. >> i have been praying for peace. >> reporter: in a press conference, it was frequently interrupted by cries from demonstrator s demonstrators, north charleston leaders reported the firing of patrolman michael flager charged with murder in the death of walter scott as he fled following a traffic stop. the deadly confrontation caught on cell phone video. >> i have watched the video, and i was sickened by what i saw. >> reporter: the recording shows officer slager firing eight shots at scott's runs away. after scott falls slager returns to where the shots were fired picked something up and dropped it near scott's body. >> there are questions that i have in my mind that i can't answer right now. >> reporter: the mayor and chief of police visited scott's family

wednesday morning to express their condolences. parents also appeared on the "today" show and said scott, a 50-year-old father of four, may have run because he owed back-child support. while the video was painful to watch, they are grateful it has surfaced. >> it would have never come to light. they would have swept it under the rug like they've done many others. >> reporter: meanwhile, north charleston's mayor has announced he's ordered 150 body cameras in addition to more than 100 paid for by a grant. all officers on the force will soon be required to wear them. the power of video evidence in walter scott's last moments. slager has been denied bail. if convicted, he faces 30 years to life in prison. jim and doreen, back to you. >> thanks, sarah. a second woman has been arrested in connection with the murder of a d.c. lawyer. she will appear in court tomorrow. police say that woman was not in the donovan hotel room that became a bloody crime scene but she was the roommate and the close friend of the woman who is

accused of killing the lawyer. pat collins is at police headquarters tonight with more. pat? >> reporter: jim, we have the foundation of the charges against the new suspect. but when she appears in court tomorrow, the whole story. from the day the lawyer's body was found in that fourth floor hotel room, investigators wondered whether or not this person of interest was acting alone or whether she may have had some help. today a second arrest. 19-year-old dominique johnson, the roommate of accused killer jamyra gallmon charged today not with murder but with conspiracy to rob david messerschmitt, the lawyer found stabbed to death at the donovan hotel on february 10th. sources say that gallmon and johnson were roommates, that they lived in this apartment in southeast.

they are said to be very closeces tell news4 that dominique johnson had prior knowledge about the robbery plot at the donovan hotel, that she was with the accused killer jamyra gallmon before the incident, that she was with gallmon after the murder, and that she benefitted from the items stolen from david messerschmitt's room. it was last week that jamyra gallmon was charged in the murder of messerschmitt. according to court documents, messerschmitt went online looking for other men. they say gallmon posing as a man went to messerschmitt's room. she told police she went there to rob him. it turned into a case of murder. again, 19-year-old dominique johnson charged with conspiracy to commit robbery at that donovan hotel. now back to you. >> pat collins reporting. turning to our weather now,

we've got rain moving into the area. veronica, maybe even a few storms too? >> that's right. some isolated storms. i'm seeing that now on the northern fringe of this area of rain that is advancing eastward. let me show you. as we look at storm team4 radar there's two areas, one to the south and then another area just up to the north. i'm going to take it back here a couple of frames. look at the circulation up here. that's a little area of low pressure. then down here around roanoke we've got some stronger cells, severe thunderstorm warning around roanoke, virginia, right now. an area of low pressure, this system advancing eastward, bluemont and sandy hook getting wet weather. as it makes its way eastward, it will continue to weaken. look at the rainfall rates just over a half inch an hour. that will be advancing toward manassas and fredericksburg. then moving through areas like manassas and wood bridge and quantico by 7:00, 8:00 this evening. there could be rain delays and more severe weather this week. we'll talk about that coming up.

back to our top story now. we're hearing from more victims of the boston marathon bombing. just a few hours after the guilty verdict came down for dzhokhar tsarnaev. >> nbc's jay gray joins us live outside the courthouse in boston with more. jay? >> reporter: hey there, good evening. the jury of seven women and five men spent just under 12 hours over the last couple of days before reaching the guilty verdicts here, which means now they must decide if dzhokhar tsarnaev will spend the rest of his life in jail or face the death penalty. guilty. the verdict repeated 30 times as family members of the victims and survivors of the blast listened inside the courtroom. >> we're obviously grateful for the outcome today. not a happy occasion, but it's something that we can put one more step behind us. >> reporter: dzhokhar tsarnaev found guilty on every count he faced in the marathon bombing attack. the verdicts now trigger the penalty phase in this trial where the jury will hear more

evidence and more testimony as they now decide if tsarnaev will be put to death or spend the rest of his life in prison. >> if this isn't the textbook example for a death penalty case, there probably isn't one. >> reporter: trying to save his life, the defense team will likely expand on the message they've echoed throughout the case that tsarnaev was pulled into the plot by his older brother tamerlan who they say was the mastermind of the attack. >> we will see a lot of evidence put forward by his side to show the ridiculously dysfunctional family dynamic that this young man was exposed to. >> reporter: the your will also get a longer look at tsarnaev, who to this point has sat at the defense table seemingly unaffected during the proceedings. >> they watch very carefully. it would be helpful for the defense if he would show some kind of emotion, if he would show some kind of remorse. >> reporter: that emotion not evident this afternoon as tsarnaev stood staring straight ahead as the verdict was

announced. and after that verdict, the judge released the jury. but just for now. they'll be back to start the penalty phase here likely to begin sometime next week. that's the latest live in boston jay gray. doreen? >> thank you jay. more survivors have been reacting to that verdict online. bombing survivor karen brassard said, quote it's not something that will ever be over. you'll feel it forever. it's forever a part of our life. survivor sydney corchoran said on twitter, guilty like we all knew he would be. great jurors. today my blood runs blue and yellow. hash tag boston strong. this year's boston marathon is less than two weeks away now, set for april the 20th. a u.s. soldier was killed in afghanistan today. an afghan soldier opened fire after a group of american service members in jalal abaud. one of the americans was killed, two others injured before they killed the attacker. the shooting happened in the compound of a provincial

governor after a meeting between afghan leaders and a u.s. embassy official. president obama left joint base andrews within the past hour, headed for jamaica. then he will go to panama for the seventh summit of the americas. secretary of state john kerry will meet with his cuban counterpart at that summit, the highest level official meeting between a u.s. and cuban official in more than half a century. president obama is expected to have a less formal conversation with cuban president raul castro at that summit as well. is iran still not a threat? >> you've editorialized. no, no no no, no. you've editorialized. let me answer a question. you ask a question. >> a contentious start today to rand paul's presidential campaign. he got into a rather tense exchange with "today" show anchor savannah guthrie when she asked if he has shifted some of his positions. the senator went on to say that events change over time. later, he went on to campaign in new hampshire. >> i will fight for your right

to be be left alone. i believe we can have liberty and security. and i will not compromise your liberty for a false sense of security. not now. not ever. >> senator paul thanked supporters for raising over $1 million online. senator ted cruz has also announced a presidential run on the republican ticket. new at 6:00 our first look at fire equipment melted by a massive fire in prince george's county. one firefighter caught up in the flames describes what he saw and felt. d.c. leaders facing questions about the city's vulnerability after the ripple effect on the power outage yesterday. and breaking down barriers. how bale

police are still looking for the driver who hit and dragged a police officer in achievy chase, maryland, last night. that montgomery county officer was off duty at the time and suffered a concussion. he's an eight-year veteran now out of the hospital e. was working a second job in uniform along wisconsin avenue. he was hit after he was trying to speak a driver who was parked illegally. lots of questions tonight about just how vulnerability the district is after yesterday's massive power outage. tonight pepco says it's still investigating and coming up with

a plan to prevent this from happening again. news4's chris gordon is near the willisen building where there are calls for a full review of all this. high hi, chris. >> reporter: hi doreen. local lawmakers tell me they are suggesting a review by an independent body such as the public service commission. this is the d.c. public service commission which monitors electric prices and performance. i asked chair betty ann keane about yesterday's power outage. do you think the district is vulnerable? >> i think anybody who's dependent on electricity is vulnerable and affected by things that happen elsewhere. >> reporter: pepco is investigating the cause of yesterday's power outage. it occurred when an insulator broke at the substation in charles county, maryland creating a ripple effect, leaving parts of d.c. in the dark causing some buildings to rely on backup power, affecting the white house. its impact was felt in parts of

northern virginia, including the pentagon pentagge park campus. >> can it happen again? that's something we're of course working to make sure it doesn't. so what's happening today is there is analysis being done in this building that our engineers at the site determining exactly what caused the insulator to break. >> reporter: d.c. mayor muriel bowser says she's concerned and waiting for answers. >> we'll look for a full review from the power company today. now, if it looks like it's not forthcoming or something seems out of sort, i would rely on any means to get more information. >> reporter: anita bonds was asked if hearings should be held on the power outage. >> there should be a regional body that begins to explore what happens when any part of the region, major part of the region, goes black. >> reporter: now a final note for years now we've been told that in case of an emergency or

a terror attack, many thousands of people who work in d.c. office buildings should shelter in place. however, yesterday when the power went out, the people went out. outside to the sidewalks in great numbers. that's the latest live from downtown d.c. doreen? >> chris gordon, thank you. here's some good news. many more cherry blossoms are blooming now at the tidal basin. the pink and white colors are coming out all around the jefferson memorial. the peak bloom still should happen this weekend where thousands of visitors will pack the area with their cameras and picnics. the national cherry blossom festival continues through april 12th. the blossoms will come in just right under the wire. >> exactly. right under the wire. and i hope that the wind that comes on friday will not take too many of the blossoms. >> how about the rain tonight? >> exactly. some moderate rains moving through the area. we'll have a couple of waves of rain from now through friday. so timing is everything. you have to stay weather ready for this all week long. meanwhile

meanwhile, let's look at storm team4 radar. you folks looking west your sky darkening, that line of showers and an embedded thunderstorm or two as well, some lightning showing up on our storm team4 radar. you can see it around burke its vil and brunswick to leesburg right now. that is pockets of moderate rain, even heavy rain where i've seen rainfall rates over half inch per hour. eventually montgomery count yit, damascus 270 into gaithersburg in the next 45 minutes to about an hour. bethesda, eventually areas of 495 will see this rain move in right along 66. and 50. meanwhile, down on the tail end is where we've seen some of heaviest rain, south of culpeper and right on down into areas of southwestern virginia. severe weather threat for this evening, fairly low. there could be some brief high winds coming with some pockets of moderate rains. but for the most part it's friday that will be the day for severe weather across the area.

umbrella? yes. there could be an isolated thunderstorm or two coming this evening. and there is a chance of a rain delay because this line will be making its way right over the ballpark i think around 7:00. 48 degrees the temperature. you heard diana say it's chilly out there. by last out, temperatures drop to the mid-40s. here is a look at 7:00 p.m. there it is around the ballpark, 7:00 p.m., gaithersburg, frederick seeing that line of rain move through with some embedded thunderstorms. by 8:00, i think it will be east so the delay should not be too long. frederick, maryland still hanging on to some of the rain. a lot of energy up to the north with this weather system. that's where there could be some higher rainfall rates and amounts taking place. as i said, it's one wave after another so tomorrow we're back in on it for the morning rush. general areas of showers, though, no severe weather expected tomorrow for your 9:00 a.m. hour, scattered showers, mainly light across the area. then by the afternoon, a few more areas. but i think for the most part

drizzle. it's friday the day to watch, in the morning quiet. then we'll get some breaks of sunshine that could start to fuel those storms. we get into the mid-50s tomorrow. again, it's going to be a bit of a cool day with more clouds and dreary conditions across the area. the impact forecast for tomorrow is low to moderate. looking a lot like today. but different story for friday as we take a look at your storm team4 four-day forecast. look, it will feel different. 80 degrees the high, we'll talk more about the severe weather in just a couple of minutes for friday. let's go back to jim handly at the live desk. he has an updpait on the shooting in afghanistan. >> we're hearing from the pentagon just now. it says that seven u.s. soldiers were actually shot in afghanistan. that's in addition to the one soldier we told you about who was killed. now, the service members were hit when an afghan soldier opened fire on a group in gentleman lal jalal jalalabad jalalabad. the attacker was killed. the shooting happened in the compound of the provincial

governor after meetings between oat officials. we're working to learn the names of the soldiers. at the live desk, i'm jim handly. tonight we'll hear from a man who was pulled out of a window from a building that was on fire in downtown los angeles. a new lawsuit filed by the widow of the late marion berry. why it's targeting someone who once saved the mayor's life. and a crackdown on synthetic drugs in the district. neighbors are reacting to threats to shut down some local stores.

of. >> the widow of the late councilman and mayor marion berry has filed a lawsuit against the woman who donated a kidney to barry in 2008. in legal papers filed by her lawyer cora masters barry contends that the kidney donor is improperly using mayor barry's name to raise money for her nonprofit. her name is kim dickens. her lawyer told nbc 4 today that barry had approved that before she died last november. neighbors in a popular up-and-coming community are welcoming a new crackdown on the sale of illegal synthetic drugs. as tom sherwood reports, one d.c. leader is vowing to put the

sellers out of business. >> reporter: on a good weather day, the petworth recreation center draws hundreds of kids. but it's steps from this convenience store cited by the d.c. attorney general's office for marketing synthetic marijuana and similar products. chico and his family have lived in this area of georgia and new hampshire avenue for eight years. >> it's four houses away from the park where my daughters play and hundreds of other kids play. and you'll see people smoking the synthetic drugs on the park benches in the drug-free zone. >> reporter: a half dozen stores have been cited in the initial attorney general crackdown. >> my wife informed me they're selling something they call like skube or k-2. i didn't know what that was. i had to look it up. >> reporter: there's a building boom in petworth, but it has deep roots, too. >> some of the neighbors up the street here have been here for 30, 40 50, maybe even 60 years. what i really would like is just

to have the drug trafficking stop. >> reporter: several store owners could not be reached for comment. attorney general karl racine who is addressing the petworth community tonight, told news4 many stores have stopped selling synthetic substances that have been illegal since 2012. he says he's going after the others. >> i think it's a significant problem. first ever all, it's illegal. to the extent that we can under law -- and we think there are good theories there -- we will shut these businesses down. >> reporter: in the district, tom sherwood, news4. >> announcer: next dangerous flames destroyed their trucks. now a maryland fire department is moving forward. see what's left of the charred equipment and what it will take to replace it all. overwhelming support for a local sin dog going targeted by vandals. plus misty copeland breaking do ♪ ♪ wow something sounds sweet

in here!!!! ♪ ♪ need a little honey in the bowl. yeah!!! badabopbopbopa!!! no? must be the honey!!!

now at 6:30, inside the inferno. >> surrounded by this molten tar that was igniting everything around us. >> a firefighter injured while battling this massive blaze describes what it was like as the flames closed in around him. teachers gathering in fairfax to demand raises. this could just really be the start of what's going to be a long budget battle. and we'll d.c. is forced to put up homeless families in hotels in maryland.

first a check on our forecast. veronica johnson is tracking rain, maybe a few storms out there right now. >> that's right. i'm seeing some moderate rains on storm team4 radar right now. for your evening your temperature at 50 degrees, we're going to drop to the mid-40s by 9:00. a chance of an isolated storm thunderstorm or two, up until 9:00. then it's just general areas of rain that will continue to move through right into and through your morning rush. here is the latest storm team4 radar. hagerstown forward warrenton and charlottesville. it's been weakening at least the northern extent of it. i'm seeing high winds in western maryland headed toward frostburg and mt. savage in the next couple of minutes southern end of the line leesburg to manassas pushing toward fairfax bethesda and d.c. couple more waves of rain now through the end of the week. even the threat of severe weather. more coming up. first at 6:30, tonight for the first time we are hearing from one of the firefighters who was injured while battling a

huge warehouse fire in maryland. >> he was burned after the wind shifted suddenly sending the flames straight at his team. news4's mark segraves is in hyattsville with the story. mark? >> reporter: that's right captain john fitzpatrick here at the kentland volunteer fire station says everything was going pretty much okay as he and his crew were battling those flames. that is, until the wind shifted. >> at the point where i made the decision to get my crew out, you know i realized we were surrounded by this molten tar that was igniting everything around us. we had hundreds of pallets of styrofoam that had ignited next to us and burning over us. >> reporter: these melted tools and the captain's helmet give you a pretty good idea just how hot it was in that fire. >> the only way to describe it is a river of molten tar that was rolling through the back and lighting everything in its path on fire. >> reporter: the blaze was fueled by building materials and wind. the only way for captain fitzpatrick and his crew to get to safety was to walk right

through that fiery tar. >> took a step and went about knee deep in this tar, and it just stuck to my gear. it was almost like saran wrap from then on. i could feel my pants and boots melting to my legs an feet. >> reporter: he received first degree burns to his feet but kept walking. the tar burned another firefighter's lefg. >> thankful we made it out without more serious injuries. two of us received minor burns. just igniting everything in its path as it was rolling. pallets cars, everything in its way. it would touch it and immediately light it on fire. >> reporter: now fitzpatrick and the other firefighter who were injured are both doing just fine, but their fire truck a complete loss. and another fire company lost their fire truck too. it will cost more than $1.5 million to replace the two engines, and insurance won't be enough to cover it. if you want to help them out go to the nbc washington app and search "truck fund-raiser." jim, back to you.

>> mark sea graves, thank you. news4 was in court today as prosecutors revealed new evidence in a murder case in ashburn. according to prosecutors, bral yoe castillo's dna was found on his wife michelle's pillow, bed and the clothes she was wearing when she was found dead. police found her hanging in the basement of her home in ashburn in march of 2014. the castillos were in the middle of a divorce at the time. the trial is set for july. some measure of closure tonight for the family of ex-football player sean taylor. the final suspect in taylor's death has pled guilty. his name is timothy brown e.'s going to serve 18 years under a plea agreement. brown was one of five men who drove to taylor's house in miami back in 2007. their intention was to burglarize it. they did not know, we are told, that taylor was home at the time. taylor confro and he was shot and killed.

he was the first round draft pick of washington football in the 2004 nfl draft. three men who worked as ushers at nationals park are suing the team, alleging religious discrimination against seventh day adventists. the men say they were fired because they insisted on taking days off to honor the sabbath friday sunset to saturday sunset. it also references the team's shift to more home games friday and saturday. the men are seeking back-pay and damages. the washington nationals have not commented on the lawsuit. emotions running high tonight in a budget battle in fairfax county. northern virginia bureau reporter david culver talked with some teachers who want a raise and some of them are threatening to leave. >> reporter: this is how many fairfax county teachers are spending their after-school time. >> we want raises. we need raises. >> reporter: rallying together in hopes of winning over the board of supervisors.

>> i have worked for nine years in fairfax county public schools. i have a master's in education and human development from george washington university and i make $58,000 a year. >> reporter: and it's gotten emotional. >> good evening. my name is precious crabtree and i'm a proud educator who has served thousands of fairfax county children over the last 15 years. but i can't afford to live in the county that i love and i teach in on my salary. >> reporter: the school board presented this video to the supervisors trying to highlight what's been happening over the past five years without significant raises in pay. >> we live month to month. i take side jobs. i work the s.a.t. i proctor. i tutor. i take cleaning jobs on the side so that i can make ends meet. >> if i get hired in arlington, i will get paid $19,000 more to do the same job that i'm doing here. >> of course i'm concerned. >> reporter: board chairman sharon bulova says they worked closely with the school board.

they're funding full-day kindergarten and a later start time. it's now on the school board to act. >> i feel like the transfer that we'll be providing will allow for the school board to be able to address compensation. >> reporter: and joining her teachers here, superintendent dr. karen garza. but the school system is warning, while this year is bad, next year could be even worse. the school system has added expenses and they may lose some funding from the commonwealth. they're looking at a possible shortfall of $100 million. in fairfax david culver news4. it is not often a political endorsement is as controversial as that from prince george's county executive rashon baker. today he endorsed congressman chris van hollen for senator barbara mikulski's seat. many are upset that baker did not people a constituent interest his own county congresswoman donna edwards. baker and van holland served

together in the maryland house of delegates in the 1990s. >> i regularly endorse people that i know personally that i trust personally, that i've work worked w. i think he's the type of person that's going to go in there and be the type of senator we've seen senator mikulski be. >> i've known donna edwards for over probably 15 years. i know she done a lot for the county. i would support her. i don't know why mr. baker doesn't feel he needs to support her. >> montgomery county supervisor isaiah leggitt has supported van holland. if elected edwards would be the first african-american senator from mare march. a new call for help to catch the vandals who sprayed hate messages on a synagogue. safety changes coming to metro a

. people who live in a montgomery county community are being asked to check their security cameras. detectives are hoping that someone else in gaithersburg's

kentland neighborhood captured video of the people who vandalized a synagogue there. the shaare torah synagogue surveillance video shows the suspects, but police want more video. the anti-defamation league released a statement saying this wasn't just an attack on the synagogue but rather on religious freedom in the county. the federal government is creating a new commission to oversee safety issues at metro. the move comes on the heels of several high-profile incidents, including the death of a passenger after smoke filled the subway tunnel near l'enfant plaza. the new commission will include representatives from d.c., maryland and virginia. unlike the current tri-state committee which has been providing recommendations for years, this new panel will have the power to require metro to implement its policies and guidelines. news4's learned that the city has run out of hotel space for homeless families. and it's now housing them in maryland. the department of human services

has put 69 families in 3 hotels in prince george's and montgomery counties over the last few weeks. d.c. is required to house homeless families until they can find suitable long-term housing. right now more than 500 families are living in d.c. shelters and hotels. some of them for more than a year. a man very happy to be be seeing his grandchildren again ed from a burning building. next, how he got firefighters' attention when his office was on fire. and making history at the kennedy center's theater. pat lawson muse up next talks to the performers breaking the color barrier in a classic ballet production.

a grandfather rescued from a burning office building in los angeles is talking about what he went through. he was trapped with his wife on the fifth floor of an office building last night. flames blocked the door to escape so he broke a window and started throwing things to get people's attention. firefighters spotted him, were able to put a ladder up to him. he told reporters about the first thing that came to his mind when he knew he was going to survive. >> just that it's not your time. i still get to see my grandchildren. >> the building has no sprinkler systems nobody inside had serious injuries. the cause of this fire is under investigation. ballet history will be made this week at the kennedy center's eisenhower theater where two african-americans will break the color barrier in a major classic production. our pat lawson muse with more on

the story. >> jim the ballet world is buzzing about ballerina misty copeland, dancing a role that will not only shatter stereotype stereotypes on a washington stage but around the country. ♪ backstage at the kennedy center, misty copeland warms up for perhaps the biggest performance of her career. it will be her american debut as the coveted lead dancer with a major company in ballet's classic "swan lake". >> i've been dancing in "swan lake" my entire career, but i never saw the lead as an opportunity. >> reporter: paired with washington ballet theater's brooklyn mack, the two will go where no dancers of color have gone before becoming the first african-americans to dance the leading roles in a major classic production. >> i think there's a lot of anticipation and obviously hopes and pressure surrounding it, but, more than anything i'm

just excited. >> the ballet world has changed much since misty donned her first ballet slippers at 13. >> once i started dancing, i was never singled out as being a black dancer. once i became a professional, that's when it kind of all hit me. >> her 5'2", muscular frame and hir color made her an unlikely ballerina. but by 17 she had turned pro. at 24 she had become only the third black soloist with the famed american ballet theater of new york in its 75-year history. today she continues blazing a trail. for aspiring young ballerinas, misty copeland has become a model for the evolving world of classical dance. these southeast d.c. youngsters are dancing in her footsteps. >> she's not like in the back or anything. like she's in the front practically.

so that's like really cool. >> personally i'm not small, compared to a lot of the people i dance with. i am a little bigger in my muscle size and whatnot. >> she brought to the table athleticism. >> reporter: what's your advice to aspiring ballerinas? >> do it because you love it because the work that you put into it is so much more difficult than i think getting up there and kind of being in the spotlight and i think just visually being able to see dancers like brooklyn and i approaching these roles i think gives them different dreams. >> reporter: and it proves that dreams come true. misty copeland's popularity now transcends ballet. we've seen her in an under armour commercial as a dance show judge. she's written two books and currently working on a docuseries for the oxygen

network. she performs thursday and saturday night to sold-out performances. it's an important moment for copeland, mack and the world of ballet. >> for all of us. >> watching her dance made me wish i had thought of that years ago. >> she makes it look easy. >> never too late. >> thank you, pat. >> to see more video of misty rehearsing for her historic performance, you can go to our nbc washington facebook page. just in case you didn't get enough there. she was gorgeous. >> yes. >> beautiful to watch. update on the weather? >> yes. just hearing now that the nats game is delayed. washington nationals with a rain delay. we're going to see what time the game will kick off the the line expected to move through i think just after around 7:30, closer to 8:00. let's take a look, see what's going on across the area right now. we do have showers so you'll need the umbrella in hand and jacket on. it is cool out there. take a look at storm team4 radar, you can see the yellows

oranges making their way to the south and southeast, pushing away from this area. but we still have rain around from frederick maryland, down toward leesburg and warrenton. all of this advancing eastward. again, right there just shy of 495, some showers. then there's more to come because the back edge of the line now just making its way into areas of falkier county right now. montgomery county seeing showers around 270, gaithersburg and bethesda soon to see the rain. these embedded pockets of i think more moderate rain that could lead to downpours. about 35 minutes away from the western side of the beltway, the showers coming through northern prince william county, a little heavier down to the south coming through and out of culpeper county. here we go, for tomorrow morning, wet roads, the temperature at 44 degrees. we're at 55 with damp conditions tomorrow afternoon. we're talking about drizzle tomorrow afternoon. that also back into this cool pocket of air, our temperatures will stay down again in the low to mid-50s across the area,

maybe 60 degrees around fredericksburg fredericksburg, closer to the tail end of the front. clouds and drizzle, low to moderate impact your forecast for tomorrow. then friday it's thunderstorms in the forecast. here is the line at 2:00, starting to organize. it's really 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 when i think we could see our fiercest weather coming through the area. right now your severe weather impact threat for friday could see a high potential of damaging winds hail and heavy rain, and there's even the chance of some wind shear. 0 there's a possibility of us seeing an isolated tornado warning or two. that's why you need to stay weather ready. as far as the storms from scat rouse to more numerous. the weekend, 67 degrees to 69 on sunday. it's looking beautiful, guys. but a couple of days of rain with severe weather threat again for friday. >> pay attention on friday. got it. dianna has been paying attention to veronica because she has a coat on at nats park.

first, lester holt with what's ahead on "nbc nightly news." we're taking "nightly news" on the road tonight coming to you from north charleston, south carolina, where that police officer was captured in that horrific shooting on videotape. today the reaction here and the gesture by city officials to the victim's family. also, the boston bombing verdict. we'll have the latest reaction from there and tell you what happens next. also, all eyes to the sky in a big part of the country for severe weather, ♪ ♪ know you can keep your financial

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>> announcer: this is the xfinity sports desk brought to you by xfinity, your home for the most live sports. last time that we met the mets, there wasn't much wood on a lot of baseballs that day. tonight maybe something will change. dianna is out there. how are we looking other than it's cold. >> reporter: it's cold, we have a rain delay. we're not sure when the game will start up. but right now fans are starting to make their way in. they're hoping for a better performance from the nats tonight against the mets than opening day with a little sloppy. they had two errors, only scoring three runs. i talked to max scherzer in the clubhouse. he said, that was one of the most beautiful opening days but the loss wasn't good. tonight another fantastic pitching matchup, jordan zimmermann of course for the nats one of the best in the league. and the mets, they have their

national league rookie of the year on the mound jacob de grom de grom. but jordan zimmermann the last regular season game he was out here at nats park he pitched a no-hitter. part of an incredible year for zim, 14-5 with a 2.66 e.r.a. he's had a really strong spring, too. and catcher wilson ramos knows opposing hitters better watch out. >> every time he go out there, he attack the hitter well. his pitches were good this spring. he was also throwing the ball really good. and the most important thing we stay on the same page all the time. that's very important for a pitcher and catcher. we stay on the same page and we can do whatever we want. >> reporter: wilson ramos is confident in his team and ramos' team confident in him. what's behind this clever t-shirt about the nats' catcher? check out our nbc washington app and search "nats."

the caps play the bruins tonight. only two regular season games left. teb then all about the playoffs. they'll finish second or third in their division worst case. but either way, the caps know collectively as a team they can't let their foot off the gas pedal right now. meanwhile, the wizards also getting ready to take on the sixers in philly tonight. that game at 7:00 on comcast sportsnet. no john wall for the wiz, the point guard getting rest before the playoffs. tonight ramen sessions will start in his place. they have five games before the post season begins. it's getting close, guys. down a level, will wade introduced today as the new basketball coach at vcu, the 32-year-old was recently the head coach at chattanooga, before that an assistant at vcu from 2009-2013. the familiarity with the program is really a very big bonus for

wade. to augusta georgia, masters par 3 tournament great event for the golfers and their families. cuteness all around. tiger with his kids and girlfriend lindsay vonn. quite the show. there's also some pretty good golf. check this out. 75-year-old jack nicklaus on the fourth hole lands it in front of the flag, pulls the string and that one is going straight towards the cup. it's in. the golden bear still has it. hole in one. he's all smiles, gets a salute from the other golfers on the course as the gallery goes wild. that was one of four aces on the day in today's tournament. i'm sure you can hear right behind me they just played the national anthem. it looks like we're going to get going soon. right now there's still a delay. back to you. >> thanks, dianna. let's hope we get a win tonight. that's our broadcast for now "nightly news" coming up next. >> hope to see you on news4 at

11. have a good evening.

tonight, several major stories developing right now. guilty on all counts in the marathon bombing trial. the worst act of domestic terror since 9/11. tonight, the man who placed a backpack bomb behind children and walked away, will he live or die? shot in the back, the police officer charged with murder in the death of an apparently unarmed man. anger boiling over here in south carolina. an anguished family and protesters demanding answers. also, our nbc news exclusive. the witness who recorded that shocking video speaking out for the very first time about the deadly encounter. what he says we don't see on that video. and the tornado threat spinning across the country tonight. millions on high alert. "nightly news" begins right now.