news4's mark segraves is there live. mark, police think this guy they're looking for is a teenager? >> reporter: they can't tell his exact age, jim but he is definitely much younger than the victim in this video. now, much of this was caught in surveillance video all happening inside the eastern market metro station on capitol hill. we want to warn viewers, some of you might take this surveillance video as disturbing. the elderly man and his attacker got off an orange line train here at the eastern market metro about 1:00 p.m. the video picks up as the two were headed up the escalator exchanging words. then the young man reaches the top of the escalator turns and waits for the elderly man. the young man is then seen spitting in the man's face. the elderly man appears to try to push away the attacker and then the young man begins punching the 69-year-old victim repeatedly until he falls to the ground. >> >> the suspect walked out of the station, not a care in the world, no rushing, no looking back, exiting the station without incident.

>> reporter: now that victim received multiple injuries to his face and head. he's at a local hospital being treated right now. coming up at 6, more on the search for a suspect. mark segraves, news4. i'm pat lawson muse at the live desk. we are just getting details about the arrest of a senate staffer. his name is fred pagan. he works for senator thad cochran of mississippi. according to court documents, d.c. police and homeland security raided his home on colorado avenue in northwest yesterday after a package addressed to the home was intercepted in cincinnati with a controlled substance gdl inside. according to police, inside the house in d.c. they found more than 180 grams of methamphetamine. and according to court documents, pagan allegedly told authorities he had previously gotten gdl from china and he said he intended to distribute the gbl and the methamphetamine in exchange for sexual favors. now, we reached out to thad

cochran's office just a few minutes ago. we are now waiting for comment. at the live desk pat lawson muse. >> thank you, pat. tonight, a local teacher is accused of sexually abusing a middle school student. news4's chris gordon tried to speak to the suspect's family at a court hearing this afternoon, but they weren't very pleased to see the camera. chris? >> reporter: you're about to see the confrontation on camera, and we want to tell you that no one was hurt. robert wilson is the former teacher here at loiterman middle school in silver spring tonight charged with sexually abusing a student here. now, his family was visibly upset after he appeared in front of a judge in court this afternoon. the teacher's family came to court to support him. one was so angry when he left he shoved our camera aside. police say the sexual encounters between the former teacher and student occurred inside loiterman middle school on a daily basis. robert otis wilson iii has been

charged with sexual abuse of a minor and three other sexual offenses. >> i'm robert wilson's aunt and i'm very very upset about what's being said about my nephew. i don't believe it's true, but if it is true i wish he would have told somebody so we could have got him some help. >> reporter: court papers indicate 23-year-old robert wilson iii began by exchanginge inging phone calls and texts with a 13-year-old student. they would meet under the stairwell that had no security camera. on one occasion in january wilson met her in the laundry room of her apartment building. she's now 14. wilson was also a coach at wheaton high school. montgomery county public schools issued a statement saying when this allegation came to the attention of a member of the lloyderman middle school staff earlier this month, it was immediately reported to child protective services and the montgomery county police department. these are very serious charges. i mean, the community is rightfully upset. >> reporter: we spoke to some

members of the community. >> i think it's unconscionable. i'm a parent of a 14-year-old daughter so i think that i would be horrified. >> i have a granddaughter who's going to be entering middle school. she's in fifth grade right now. but i also have a daughter who works in the school system. you know, it's upsetting to know that our children are being exposed to that. >> reporter: recently there have been a number of sexual offenses committed against students by teachers or contractors in the schools, including one right here at loyderman middle school just two years ago. coming up on news4 at 6:00, we'll tell you what the school system is going to try to prevent this kind of sexual assault and abuse against students. that's the latest live in silver spring, chris gordon news4. >> thank you, chris. now to the latest in baltimore where calls for justice in the death of freddie gray are growing louder. tomorrow thousands are expected to protest in baltimore. gray died from injuries he

suffered eded while in custody earlier this month. ahead of tomorrow's demonstration, baltimore's police commissioner called for peace. >> to any and all that would seek to bring chaos to our city, the people of baltimore will not tolerate you hurting our community where we live where we worship, and where our kids go to school. >> the commissioner says tonight they're still going through evidence and narrowing their time line to figure out exactly what happened. baltimore's mayor also spoke today about the case. we'll hear from her in our next half hour. new today, we're learning the death of a 12-month-old boy in foster care has been ruled an accident. that word from virginia's medical examiner's office which says caron nathan died from complications from burn injuries. a grand jury in stafford county indicted david marchk usen on

murder charges. officers at the fairfax county jail will no longer be using stun guns. at least temporarily. "the washington post" was the first to report that the sheriff's office will be suspending the use of stun guns. this follows the death of inmate natasha mckenna. she was tased four times while in shackles as deputies tried to remove her from her cell block back in february. the sheriff's office says it is reviewing its stun gun policy. it's a program that has targeted dozens of terrorists, but tonight changes could be on the way for drone strikes aft deaths of two hostages, including rockville aid washger warren weinstein. nbc news white house correspondent kristen welker joins us with the investigations being launched today. hi, kristen. >> good evening to you, doreen. president obama spoke today at the odni marking the 10-year anniversary of that intelligence agency.

but he also said that there were two reviews under way into why this latest counterterrorism operation claimed the lives of two hostages. now, the president didn't give any specifics about those investigations, but i can tell you that one is a standard review that takes place whenever there's a counterterrorism operation regardless of any mistakes that may have been made. the second one is a review that president obama asked the inspector general to conduct. there are going to be a lot of big questions that the inspector general looks into, including whether the u.s. government can improve its communication with the families of hostages, in this case dr. weinstein's family has expressed some disappointment with how the u.s. government handled this situation. today, white house press secretary josh earnest says the u.s. is considering what he called a fusion cell a way of streamlining communication between u.s. government entities and the families of hostages.

meanwhile, the other big questions under review, why the government didn't know that there were hostages in this particular location and whether or not the administration needs to change its entire counterterrorism policy. if you talk to intelligence officials as well as lawmakers on capitol hill, they say this latest operation was carried out by the book so that raises the question does the book, in fact, need to change? the drone program is a key part of president obama's counterterrorism operations. it is something that started under former president george w. bush but has expanded significantly under president obama. back to you. >> kristen welker at the white house, thank you. turning to storm team4 now parts of the d.c. region are going to feel a little more like winter tonight. veronica, whether we're ready or not you're talking about freeze warnings. >> that's right, freeze warnings. we had a handful of them this morning. it started late last night where national weather service issued that for this morning. but here we go again. i do think that there will be

some temperatures that get even lower than they did this morning. here's your freeze warnings in purple for loudoun county, frederick county areas like carroll county and baltimore in the deep purple frederick county virginia, elsewhere for prince william fairfax montgomery even howard country. these are the locations that will see frost and freeze. again, we're remembering to cover those sensitive plants. we're seeing another cool day here and, yes, this weekend is looking cool too but with rain moving into the area. i'll give you the timing on that and show you just how much cooler than what we're seeing today those temperatures will be with us for the weekend. and of course just how soggy it's looking. >> thanks. they called it a celebration of life. that's exactly what it was for a university of mary washington student killed one week ago. grace mann was found dead last friday, and her roommate is now charged with murder. but as northern virginia bureau chief julie carey reports, today was all about the good mann

brought to so many. >> reporter: those who loved grace mann came dressed not in the black of mourning but in the bright colors friends say represent the joy she always spread. they added purple bracelets reading "grace endures" and they offered stirring tributes to a 20-year-old all agreed was a force of nature. >> grace mann wasn't going to change the world. she did change the world and it is a better place because she was here. >> she cared about people so much, like to have somebody like that is absolutely amazing. >> reporter: the fairfax county sophomore was an instant student leader at mary washington. she championed feminist causes, battled sex assaults and advocated for the lgbt community. >> she's had a short life but a very impactful life. know that we stand shoulder to shoulder with her spirit and her strength. >> reporter: but those who knew mann best talked about how she

empowered them. mckayla butler is a sex assault survivor with a yuj son. she said it was mann who recruited her to speak at an event that changed her life. >> i struggled with the shame of that and i had trouble seeing myself as a survivor versus a victim. she helped me overcome that. >> reporter: mann's parents listened as the love for her daughter poured out on the steps where mann once led marches and demonstrate straigss. at 6:00, i'll show you more. in fredericksburg, virginia julie carey, news4. with no clear motive in her death, news4 is working for you to learn more about the man charged with killing grace mann, 30-year-old steven vander briel. he had just returned this spring semester to the university after leaving the school back in 2007. friends say mann and her female roommates didn't know him before he rented a room in the house she shared. a search warrant reveals mann was bound and was not breathing when her roommates got home.

briel was there but took off and was later arrested. the medical examiner says mann was estrange elled. the man who shot president reagan battling for band time? why john hinckley jr.'s attorneys say he should be allowed to get out of a hospital and jam. >> reporter: i'm jason pew live at the verizon center for game three between the wizards and the raptors. coming up in just a bit, i'll tell you why the players want to turn this place into a true home court ad

for a few hours this afternoon, the statue of liberty was trending on social media after a report of a suspicious package and a bomb threat. all of liberty island was evacuated as the new york police department investigated hundreds of tourists had to be ferried off the island. visitors tweeted photos of lodge lines at the pier. police tell nbc news that someone called in a bomb threat around the same time a canine picked up the scent of a suspicious package. the all-clear was given about 2:30 after nothing was found. john hinckley jr. has a future in music and wants to start a band and publish his songs anonymously. that was the testimony today from the psychiatrist treating

the man who shot president reagan. the hearings here in washington will determine whether and under what conditions hinckley will be allowed to live full-time outside a psychiatric hospital. hinckley's attorneys say he should be released, but the government believes he's still a threat. high utility bills can bust your budget so alternative energy suppliers solicit consumers and sell cheaper rates. but before you sign up consumer reporter erika gonzalez is here with a warning tonight. >> thaerlt jim. who doesn't want to save a little money on utilities, right? third party energy suppliers take the monopoly from public utilities. they sell gas and electricity. but you don't always end up saving money. >> i guess persuaded by their sales pitch. >> the sales pitch? a cheaper rate for electricity than what mark moss trom had been paying pepco his public utility. >> so it was a very attractive offer. >> that offer can sound confusing.

pepco still delivers your power but you're paying a third party which supplies it. oftentimes that third party company provides lower rates, and in many states it's legal. >> so you take them up on their offer. >> uh-huh. >> what happen snz. >> the overall cost on our bill went down. >> that lower bill did not last long. when he signed up, he agreed to what's called a variable rate. variable means the rate could change at any time and it did. starting with 0.808 per kilowatt per hour compared to.0878. then the rate began to go up. >> it was anywhere between $1700 to $1800 that we spent extra. >> that's right, nearly $1800 more than what he would have paid pepco. what's more he found out during the next 18 months pepco's rate actually went down. >> we do not believe that most of our customers can handle a bill increasing like that. >> paula carmody is the people's

counsel for maryland. unlike regulated public utility that's go before the public service commission for rate changes, third party suppliers are licensed but not fully regulated and do not get their rate as proved. some suppliers do lock in their rates at what's called a fix rate, it guarantees that rate for the length of your contract. you should be wary, though. when a fixed rate contract is up carmody says many times it rolls over to a variable rate. >> it's worth it to step aside, take the time, take the materials, do your price comparisons, and make the choice that's right for you. >> maryland has a website where you can compare prices between your public utility and an alternative supplier. we've got a link to that on our facebook page. in the meantime, carmody is working to crack down on third party suppliers. she wants suppliers with variable rate contracts to give advanced notice to consumers before a rate change. >> i guess you have to be more vigilant and you can't trust

everybody when there's a great little deal being dangled out there. >> new yorko, you can't. mark went back an forth complaining to the supplier about the cost of his bills. he told us the company has paid him back $900. remember, he was out $1800. virginia and d.c. also allow alternative energy suppliers. you can find details on our website nbcwashington.com and we'll put up links on our consumer watch facebook page as well. >> erika gonzalez, thank you. chile expands an evacuation order sparked by a dramatic volcanic eruption. take a look at new video of the eruption that's creating a huge ash cloud in the southern part of the country. observers say one city now looks like a ghost town as people leave their homes. the eruption is triggering fears that the dust could contaminate water and cause health issues the ash and debris from the volcano have shut down an airport in costa rica. the caps got the verizon

center warmed up. stont it's the wizards' turn. jason pew is live at the phone booth with the big game against the rapt rz tonight. jason they played pretty well in toronto. are they going to keep it going here at home? >> reporter: yeah, let's hope so, jim. it's been a busy day here at the verizon center, the last two days going back to last night with the capitals. the wizards hoping to take their momentum they gained in toronto and bring it home. last year they struggled at home in the postseason winning just one game. if they want to get to where they want to go this season, they know they have to establish a dominant home court advantage and it starts tonight against the raptors. >> we've got to protect the house man. we can't let anybody come in here and win. we struggled last year but this is a new year. we have to elevate our game, play the same way we play on the road. we have to bring it back here. we know it's going to be tough because our nerves and anxiety will be running because we're in front of our home crowd. but we've got to try to control our emotions as much as possible and play our game. >> we want to do a better job of

retaking home court. we know their team is going to fight, play the most physical basketball they've ever played because their back is against the wall. if we stay humble and play the same way, don't change anything just shoot the ball better and play better "d," we'll be fine. >> reporter: now, coming up later on news4 at 6, much like the capitals wizards are expecting a very chippy and physical game. we'll tell you how they plan to combat that later on. tip-off tonight at 8:00. it should be a good one here in game three at the verizon center. i'm jason pew, news4 sports. >> go wizards! changes are coming for drivers in d.c. why ddot is transforming traffic lights and why they say it will make your commute better. and our rain chances will be going up this weekend. i'll take you hour by hour and show you if we have any dry time left before the rain moves in. and a peculiar sight outside a local american legion post today. why a texas cowboy and his horse

journeyed three years to get here.

>> announcer: and now your storm team4 forecast. some cooler than average sunshine again today, but at least we had sunshine taz's been breezy yet again for our afternoon. we're at 62 degrees, that northwest wind blowing at 13 miles per hour with our higher gusts coming in around 20 miles per hour. but the wind is going to start

settling down. again, we're talking about rain chances here to come with those cooler temperatures. take a look. here we've got a mostly clear sky. our system developing out here around oklahoma, missouri, it will make a beeline and skirt just down to the south of our area for this upcome weekend. evening planner forecast, we stay dry, we're going to see the wins hang on for a little while longer. from 62 degrees to 60 by 7:00, call it chilly less wind coming our way by 9:00 to 10:00 p.m., then mostly clear by 11:00 p.m. as soon as the wind starts to ease up a little bit, our temperatures will get a chance to come closer to this 32 degree mark. i think we'll easily have a few spots of freezing. dry for early tomorrow morning but mostly cloudy. you'll see the rain chances increase throughout the day tomorrow. from 10:00 a.m. still low, little bit of sunshine here by 10:00 a.m. cloudy by 1:00 your

chance goes up to about 60%. then for your afternoon hours, your evening hours 80%, 90% chance it's likely after 4:00 and certainly by 6:00, and 7:00. future weather overcast early tomorrow, there's the rain at 3:00 from southwest to northeast. it moves in and right through our area. so between 3:00 and 5:00 we're talking about the rain pushing up and in. by 6:00, 7:00 it's into d.c. nothing too heavy is the way it's looking right now for saturday. hourly forecasts show you that high temperature of 59 degrees at 3:00. we've got plenty of dry hours until the rain steps in for the afternoon. sunday looks like some pockets of more moderate rain that will be coming through. it's going to take a while i think for us to get rid of the rain before it moves completely out during the mid to late afternoon hours. saturday now 59 degrees with rain likely after 4:00 p.m. for sunday, the temperature 55 degrees, yes, rain will be

ending during the afternoon. that's a look at your weekend. we'll have a look at the seven-day forecast and show you the rain intensity really when in more detail it will be coming down the hardest and how much we'll get this weekend. >> thanks. going from red light to red light can be frustrating. >> happens all the time. but tonight there's a change that could speed up your commute. news4's chris lawrence will explain what it is and how it works, straight ahead. a gender identity debate heating up again in fairfax county. why a local school district is making changes to policy and why

we're still working on breaking news at 5:30. a senate staffer has been arrested in a mass bust. we're in northwest dshg.c. with more. >> reporter: doreen, what i'm doing is looking through court documents. we understand the arrest came after an investigation began a few weeks ago when u.s. customs and border patrol agents detected what is described as a date rape party drug on a package at a dhl dowerier facility. it was addressed to a man who lives here on colorado avenue in northwest. now yesterday morning they served a search warrant here. they found a quantity of methamphetamine arrested the home's owner. now, he is identified as

49-year-old fred pagan. he is a longtime personal aide to senator tad cochran of mississippi, a very powerful chairman of the sena appropriations committee. now, we can tell you we got a statement from senator thad cochran's office a short time ago. they simply said that the senator is traveling to mississippi right now, has not seen the details included in these documents. the office is in the process of consulting with senate legal counsel, and that's all they had to say about it. again, fred pagan, 49 makes $160,000 a year as one of senator cochran's top aides, has been with him since he was 16 years old began as an intern here and page in the nation's capital capital. he was in court earlier today and released on his own recognizance after an initial court appearance. so, again, a top aide to mississippi senator thad cochran under arrest for drug possession in northwest d.c.

back to you. >> thank you jackie. right now baltimore police are gearing up as thousands plan to protest in that city tomorrow for justice in the death of freddie gray. earlier this afternoon, police admitted gray was not buckled in while in custody earlier this month. >> the police commissioner also said he will not resign. he's vowing to reform the department. meantime, gray's family plans to hold a wake this sunday and a funeral service on monday. >> we're also hearing from the mayor about the case and how it's progressing. barry simms has that angle for us. >> reporter: following a closed door session with members of baltimore's faith-based community, mayor stephanie rollings blake says she's determined to get answers in the gray investigation. >> i want to know why the policies and procedures for transport were not followed. i want to know why none of the officers called for immediate medical assistance despite mr. gray's apparent plea. >> reporter: the mayor along

with ministers rabbis and community leaders called for continued peaceful protests. >> let us protest, but let it be nonviolent protest so that the legacy of the death of freddie gray is that a great city will become greater after this. >> reporter: but other religious leaders are calling for a change in leadership. members of the interdenominational ministerial alliance want police commissioner anthony batts to resign. >> i think he should step down immediately. it will help create a change on the climate on the street right now. and help us to understand that where the problem really lies is in the leadership. the buck stops at the top of the police department. >> reporter: reverend dr. alvin quinn says gray's death is another indication the baltimore city police department is in disarray. he and other alliance membership think the commission's leadership is ineffective. the mayor says there's often there's the feeling someone has to go. she says what can't be ignored

is the progress being made to reform the police department. >> is this an unbelievable setback? of course it is. and it's tragic. but i'm not going to throw away that work that we've done. i know it's going to be hard but we're going to continue to press forward for even more progress. >> now, maryland's governor says freddie gray's death shows the need for police statewide to be equipped with body cameras. larry hogan says cell phone video of gray's arrest doesn't provide a full picture of just what happened and he plans on signing a package of bills to make it easier for agencies to obtain and equip officers with cameras. >> i think having all the -- having the real evidence of exactly what happened having everything videotaped is a step in the right direction. >> 109 people have died during encounters with police during 2010 and 2014. race and police use of force will be at the center of an all-day symposium at the

smithsonian tomorrow. it will be hosted by the african-american history museum. but since the center is still under construction, all sessionsan museum. the first part of the day will focus on lessons learned from ferguson missouri and an afternoon session will include a discussion with the director of the oscar nominated film "selma." new questions tonight about the training of a reserve deputy who says he accidentally used his gun instead of his taser. tulsa county reserve sheriff's deputy robert bates shot and killed an unarmed black man during a sting here earlier this month. in 2009 the sheriff's office concluded bates had incomplete field training. a 2008 memo reveals bates was using his personal vehicle to make unauthorized traffic stops against policy. >> well the accusation's been made that he received prefer shall treatment. i don't think that's the case. he's received hundreds of hour fz training since 2009 and no

one at the operation had any complaint. >> bates has pleaded not guilty to second degree manslaughter. pope francis is reacting to a planned terror attack on the vatican. extremists linked to al qaeda plotted the attack five years ago when benedict xvi was the pope. italian authorities said today. investigators say the plot may have been disrupted when the terror cell realized police were on to them. police arrested nine people in a related terror sweep today. the vatican says it takes threats seriously but is not particularly worried since the incident was five years ago. police hope a sketch will help them solve a case that could be more than 25 years old. take a look at the image on the left an artist rendering of skeletal remains found along right hand fork road in the frederick watershed. investigators believe the remain belong to a man who could be 25 to 40 years old. they think he may have died between 1988 and 1989. firehouse primaries. tomorrow republicans in prince

william and fair tax kwountys will be choosing which candidate represents the party in fall elections. the chairman of the prince william board of supervisors has chris crawford was a government contractor and is taking on indumb of couple bant corey stewart. three races for supervisor are competitive in fairfax county, three candidates are competing for the sully district seat being vacated by michael frye. a local school district is confronting the gender identity issue. >> straight ahead, news4's kristin wright will explain the proposed changes to policy and why some parents are not happy about it. recipe redo. why diet pepsi is changing its ingredients. and cowboy up. the lone star visitors that had people calling 911 outside a local legion post. we'

that diet pepsi you've been drinking is going to be changing in the coming months. this story is getting a lot of attention on social media right now. pepsi is dropping the artificial sweetener aspartame and replacing it with the sweetener commonly known as splenda. consumers fear that aspartame perpartame may be linked to cancer though the fda says it's completely safe. the presence of aspartame is the number one reason americans are scaling back on diet colas. the chairman of comcast says the company is not looking back after walking away from the

proposed $45 billion acquisition of time warner cable. the deal would have given comcast control of nearly a third of the cable and more than half of all broadband customers in the u.s. critics included some competitors consumer groups and ultimately the fcc. comcast chair brian roberts told cnbc he sees other opportunities within the company and elsewhere. comcast is the parent company of nbc 4. the blue bell ice cream company is rolling up its sleeves to prevent future contaminations. starting on monday, the company says it will begin intensive cleaning of its four facilities and its employees will go through a new training program that focusing on cleanliness. blue bell recalled all of its product thz week after two samples tested positive for listeria. at least ten customers nationwide have gotten sick. it's christmas in april for some fans of apple products. the much hyped apple watch went on sale around the world today. preorders started a couple of weeks ago and the smart watch is

already back-ordered through june. there's only one store in the entire u.s. that actually has the watches in stock. fans started lining up at the hollywood apple store yesterday. everyone else has to buy theirs online. we're still working several developing stories tonight. >> kristin wright is in fairfax county now with news of some controversial school policy changes. kristin? >> reporter: that's right. a local school district, fairfax county, is considering important policy changes. come willing up next, a look at both sides of the debate and a student's personal story, chris. >> reporter: the district is hours away from changing hundreds of traffic lights to a completely new timing system. i'll tell you what to expect and where. potential washout this weekend. which day and what about your saturday night if you have plans? i've got aur

lets say this is your tv and these are the channels you pay for with cable but these are the types of channels you actually want to watch what if you could pay for what you want, and not for what you don't so you could get kids channels sports... or entertainment mix and match, or get them all. now fios brings you a totally new way to customize your tv starting at $74.99 -- including internet

and phone. cable just gives you channels. fios gives you choice. some red light timing relief. a short time from now, d.c. will begin a plan that promises to ease congestion and frustration on city streets. news4's chris lawrence joins us live with what drivers can expect. chris? >> reporter: jim, we've all been there lurching from one light to another. now the district is trying to unclog some of those bottlenecks and in less than three hours will change the timing patterns on hundreds of traffic lights like these. that's the sound of drivers crawling through another intersection and running out of patience. >> it's extremely frustrating. >> it's very frustrating. >> reporter: it's dupont circle, and it's not the only backup. >> in the circle yeah it's

terrible. you have to stop constantly. >> reporter: commuters go from one red light it another. they can't go even when it's green and end up blocking pedestrian crossings. >> it's crazy. i don't know how you can manage it. >> reporter: that's what they try to do here. >> we're able to watch realtime traffic. >> reporter: starting tonight, d.c.'s department of transportation will activate new timing patterns at more than 600 intersections. it's the heart of the district, from 23rd street to north capital, florida avenue down to 395. >> once you start your journey on a green, you should be able to hit a few more. rnchs >> reporter: that's what drivers feel they deserve. >> that you would get a few greens in a row and you wouldn't have to keep stopping at every intersection. >> reporter: because seconds turn to minutes and minutes turn to, well, you get it. it's your life. in a car. ticking away. >> yeah, i would appreciate anything. 60 seconds would be good. >> reporter: well, look, this is not going to cut your commute in half, but it is going to be more

than that 60 seconds he just mentioned. how much more? we'll tell you that and how it will work at 6. >> sounds promising. chris lawrence thank you. ahead of tuesday's high court showdown we're hearing from both sides on the issue of same sex marriage. next week, the supreme court will hear arguments on whether state bans on gay marriage are constitutional. earlier today groups for both sides held events to discuss the issue. >> it's to compel us to violate our deeply held religious convictions because religious freedom is a fundamental human right. >> they don't have to marry anyone that they don't want to. that is their first amendment right. that is not going to change. but the state doesn't have a right to discriminate. >> the supreme court's ultimate decision is not expected until later this summer. same sex couples can already get married in 37 states and the district. nearly all the students from an indiana high school who fell when their stage collapsed are

back home recovering now. ♪ don't stop believing ♪ check it out, 16 students in all were injured when the stage came crashing down last night. those students were part of an annual rock musical and had just come on stage to sing and dance to "don't stop believing" when the stage gave way right out from under them. >> i mean, i went up there and just looked around to see if i could help out at all. i carried a girl out to her car, and she's good now. >> no word on what caused the stage to collapse. only one student had serious injuries, but the town's mayor says tonight he talked with that student and says she appears to be doing okay. >> wow, we're glad to hear that. frightening. so really? >> i know. >> freeze warnings? >> freeze warnings. >> come on. >> it's almost may. >> rain cool it just doesn't seem like it's the end of april right? >> last saturday just seems like a distant memory. >> right. it was over 80 degrees.

i know. nice and mild. now boom, we're making the flip again, pulling our jackets back out. rain gear, too, because we're going to need it this weekend, especially if you're going out. take a look at your impact forecast for tomorrow. we're low to moderate, cool again with afternoon and evening rain developing. makeingeing its way right through our area. a lot of neighborhoods will be welt tomorrow. in terms of the early part of the day, let's take a look at the temperatures. again, we're going to start out rather on the cold side north and west. by 7:00 a.m., right inside the beltway 40 degrees the temperature. by 9:00 a.m. we're at 47. just more and more clouds will start to move in. here's the good thing. if there's anything about tomorrow that's good, the early part of the day is still looking dry. keep that in mind. we'll go from 47 to 53 between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. here's a look at the temperatures and just how cold it's going to get, especially north and west. even montgomery county, howard county fairfax county under that freeze watch. your warnings are way up here, the northernmost counties of

maryland into the west i-81. that's where the temperatures are going to be around freezing if not below freezing. gaithersburg at 32 frederick hagerstown and martinsburg 31, 32 degrees early tomorrow morning. just how quickly will the temperatures rise? we'll hit the 40s by 9:00 a.m. 50s by 11:00. but that's about it. the clouds move in the rain will stay under the 60 degree mark for tomorrow afternoon. high temperatures across the area, 60 la plata, 57 around olney, 58 in greenbelt and college park. as far as the roads go we've got dry roads tomorrow morning. by midday it's looking dry with most of our rain after 2:00 p.m. but it's wet roads for the late afternoon/evening hours. what i like, though is that it's nothing too heavy until we get to early sunday morning. if you're going out saturday night, the roads will be wet and you will need a jacket. it's going to be chilly. we'll go from the 50s to the upper 40s tomorrow evening, and

rain intensity by sunday morning, we will see moderate rain coming down. i don't know you'll need the big umbrella, just aif small one to stay try until noon, 1:00, 2:00 sunday. rainfall amounts from a quarter to a half inch rain. the storm team four-day forecast, saturday/sunday, 59, 55 cooler on sunday. yes, sunday will be borderline washout because even after the rain moves out around 2:00, 3:00 on sunday, i don't think we're going to see much clearing at all. clearer skies come early next week. we'll look at the cooler pattern, talk more about that coming up at 6. guys? >> time to do the spring cleaning, i guess. for the first time ever, police from several northern virginia jurisdictions gathered to share ideas and strategies to improve safety on the streets. the transportation safety summit met at reston town center the public was invited. the goal was to improve driving

cycling and walking safety throughout northern virginia. more than 20 businesses and police agencies participated. >> we have people from metro transit as well as local police agencies sharing information and ideas how they can make people's commute safer and also how the police can interact better when there are calls for service involving a metro since r incident. >> police had their impaired driver simulator there. if you want to see how many cones survived a journey visit nbc washington and search "summit". big honor for a woman who spent three decades teaching children in our area. renee roth is this year's teacher of the year for prince george's county. roth is a third grade teacher at tulip grove elementary in bowie. she instills a passion for learning in her students and prepares them for future success. roth has been a teacher in prince george's since 1985. she'll now compete with teachers

from all 24 counties for maryland teacher of the year. i don't remember seeing a story like this before. an unusual sight in the clarendon area earlier today. police found a guy napping while his horse chowed down on grass outside the american legion building. the man told officers he rode to our area from texas over the past few years. he apparently did it to raise awareness for the national stroke foundation. animal control came by to check out the horse. athis point the man is not facing any charges. >> the horse looks hungry. there is a struggle to address the needs of transgender students in fairfax county. even a small change in school policy is heating up debate. we're coming right back.

actress angelina jolie slammed the united nations security council today. jolie serves as a u.n. special envoy on refugee issues. she has visited syrian refugees 11 times since civil war began to tear that country apart four years ago. today at the u.n. she accused the international body of shirking its responsibility to prevent and end conflict. >> we cannot look at syria and the evil that has arisen from the ashes of indecision and think this is not the lowest point in the world's inability to protect and defend the innocent. >> jolie also challenged u.n. members to visit syrian refugees

themselves. back close to home, our region's largest school district could soon include gender identity in its nondiscrimination policy. it's a policy that already includes age, race and religion. news4's kristin wright sat down with a fairfax county student who takes this issue very personally. she's in reston live with the story. kristin? >> reporter: well jim, charlie is a student here at south lakes high school one of the many schools in fairfax county that would be impacted by adding gender identity to the school district's nondiscrimination policy. >> no one is entitled to take away my rights based on who i am. i am not confused edconfused. >> reporter: charlie kron ford teague identifies as a girl and boy. the 16-year-old from reston is gender fluid. >> you can see i'm in a dress today because today i identify as female. but yesterday i was identifying more as male. >> reporter: charlie attended

the fairfax county school board meeting last night. the board heard public comment on a proposal to add gender identity to the school district's nondiscrimination policy. opinions at the podium were evenly split. opponents are concerned a policy change could lead to mixed bathrooms. >> providing such access is a safety issue. it endangers children and violates the right to both parents and students. >> reporter: charlie is a junior at south lakes high school and feels accepted. charlie's parents want that same support for transgender and gender fluid students districtwide. >> they would take that as complete support from the adults in their community. they need that support. >> it's difficult to see people who are so against a lifestyle that doesn't harm them in any way. >> reporter: charlie has identified as a boy and a girl since second grade and believes the nondiscrimination policy in fairfax has to change. >> why would you want to punish

somebody for being who they are? >> reporter: the school board will vote on the proposal on may 7th. now, a school district spokesman tells us that if the amendment passes the school district would hire a consultant to take a look at what happens with, for example, things like bathrooms and locker rooms. now, tonight on news4 at 6, a transgender woman who runs a support group for families of transgender students explains to us why these two words would make such a big difference here in fairfax county. live in reston kristin wright, news4. we begin tonight with three developing stories. first, video that metro police want everyone to see as they try to find the teenager who sucker punched a man in his 60s. it happened at the eastern market station just this afternoon. surveillance cameras caught the young man spitting on and then punching an older passenger on

an escalator. that victim was taken to the hospital. right now, mississippi senator thad cochran's office is working to learn more about the arrest of a longtime staffer on serious drug charges. police say they found more than 180 gram methamphetamine in this northwest d.c. house belonging to fred pagan yesterday. according to court documents, pagan allegedly told police he intended to distribute meth and the drug gbl in exchange for sexual favors. cochran's office says the senator is traveling. pagan is now out on bond. in baltimore right now calls for peace this weekend ahead of a rally planned to bring attention to the case of freddie gray. gray died after his neck was broken while in police custody. the deputy police commissioner said gray should have received medical attention at the spot of his arrest, not after being put in the back of a police van and t