welcome to news4 this week. >> hi everyone, i'm veronica johnson and we are going to show you some of the more interesting local stories making news this week. among them want to get away? maryland is giving travelers new incentives to head to the beach this summer. plus a rare sight over the national mall. dozens of world war ii era planes buzz over the capitol as the men who flew them some 70 years ago reflect. and it's saving lives, one heartbeat at a time in some unimaginable situations including the rescue operations in earthquake-ravaged nepal. it is called finder. and it could change the game when it comes to finding people trapped under piles of rubble. fairfax search and rescue took the device to nepal with them

and megan mcgrath caught up with the team to see how it works at their training facility. >> i have somebody here. >> reporter: this is a simulation. >> watch your head. >> reporter: but just recently, the high-tech locating device proved its value in nepal, helping david lewis find four earthquake victims buried beneath the rubble. the first thought in my mind that was of relief and then i thought about all the victims i saw the moms and the kids sitting on the side of the road you know crying next to piles. you smell some very bad smells. and you know why they are sitting there crying. and then you see that family member and they have the spirit of hope that flows from them into you. >> set the device. >> reporter: it's called the finder. >> it is scanning the pile. >> reporter: several search and rescue teams, including virginia's task force one have been testing and providing feedback to the designers. they hope this final prototype will be a lifesaver. >> instead of having to dig or break rock two or three feet

away, we now may be able to dig or break rock right next to somebody and be able to get them out a lot faster. >> reporter: using microwave radar technology, the finder cannot only pick up a human heartbeat in the debris it can also pinpoint the victim's location within five feet critical information when every minute counts. >> when you need to find somebody somebody's lost or somebody's you know, trapped in a building every minute counts because, you know they only have a certain time to live depending on what if they have injuries and things like that. >> reporter: finder was developed by nasa's jet propulsion lab and homeland security science and technology directorate and it is going commercial going to be manufactured in the private sector so that search and rescue teams around the world can use it. megan mcgrath news4. mayor bowzer is changing her tune in an effort to bring the redskins back to washington. last year then-council member bowzer signed a council resolution calling for the team to change its name.

in the past she said the name change should be part of talks about bringing the team back to d.c. but the mayor recently started using the name in tv and radio interviews. bowzer is not disputing reports that she is talking with the team to bring them back to washington. well there are still many however, who want that name changed. that includes the senate's top democrat who blasted the nfl on the heels of this week's deflategate controversy. senator harry reid says he finds it stunning the nfl penalized the patriots in one of the league's most recognizable players over air in a football while allowing the redskins to keep a name that denigrates native americans. >> the redskins name is a racist name. acting swiftly and decisively to change the name as it did about not enough air in the football. >> reid was one of nearly 50 senators who signed a letter last year urging the nfl to

change the name. team owner dan snyder says he will not be changing it. it's almost that time of the year when thousands of people from our area head on down to the beach for the weekend, causing, yeah traffic headaches for miles. hitting the brakes at the toll booth, about to change the cost a little less. a dramatic drop to use several bridges and tunnels in our area about to take affect including the chesapeake bay bridge. if you pay with cash prices are dropping from $6 to $4. with an e-zpass, the toll is dropping from $5.40 to 2.50. all starts july 1st and transportation reporter adam test has some enthusiastic reaction from drivers. >> reporter: almost like correcting a test as a teacher, governor larry hogan putting red pen to toll prices and changing them. >> this is what i promised to do it's what i've been talking about for four years. >> reporter: it didn't take long for word to spread especially here near the bay bridge. >> yes!

yes! that's great! >> reporter: richard diamond says he will be more likely to head across the bridge now with the lower price. that's great. better deals, a lot of good stuff across the bay bridge and the restaurants, things like that. >> reporter: okay. so why the drop in tolls? maryland governor larry hogan calls it tax relief but the state will lose money that previously went to maintenance. how will they square that away? >> we have crafted this plan very carefully with modest budget reductions and taking a look at our financial situation, we were able to comply with all our financial parameters. >> reporter: the state also doing away with the monthly $1.50 charge for e-zpass and will increase the discount drivers get if they use an e-zpass. >> it's pretty amazing to thing something is coming down not going up right? >> it is unusual. >> reporter: hey, residents say they will take it. >> i will take it too. i'm all smiles on that one. for the first time in a decade there is a new council member in d.c.'s ward 8 ruby may won the special election for that seat. according to the unofficial results, she beat her closest

competitor white, by just 79 votes. mayor bowzer strongly supported may, but the margin in the race is actually narrowed since the special election last week. the rules still have to be certified. late commuters go to the see a pretty incredible sight during their drive earlier this week. hundreds of cyclists took part in the police unity tour bike ride. chopper4 flew over the group as they pedaled up route 1 in the lawyeren, virginia they eventually made their way to the national law enforcement officer's memorial in downtown d.c. like other events this week the ride honors officers who died in the line of duty. it all raises money for the police memorial and museum. well it was a unique feature of the kennedy center expansion, but it is no more. why designers are tanking an idea for a floating stage.

and they can't fly anymore, but they certainly remember world war ii. vets help us relieve ve day, next.

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well the kennedy center is tweaking its plans when it comes to a unique part of its expansion. the $100 million project will no longer include a floating stage on the potomac. instead a pavilion will be built on the land to host performances events and a cafe. the center's president says the land-based stage is more practical and establishable for the future. the change will delay the project by about a year and a half. it was a rare sight over the national mall. world war ii planes roared information as a crowd of hundreds gathered below. the event honored the 70th anniversary of the allied victory in europe. news4's derrick ward was there and he captured the impact of some of the very men who piloted the planes back in the 1940s.

>> reporter: legendary machines with names like course air, mustang and flying fortress but they were only metal, wood and glass without the flesh and blood and spirit of the men that flew them. men like earl morrow, he flew a flying fortress out of england until he was shot down after 17 missions. >> i lost three of my boys and i was a p.o.w. then till the end of the war. general patton came in and liberated me. >> reporter: today, an unusual sight in the skies of the nation's capitol, dubbed the arsenal of democracy. these legendary aircraft flying low and slow for all to see, thousands of eyes turned skyward, some with tears. >> i remember everything. all memories. some good some bad. >> reporter: one man recalls what he did on ve day. 70 years later, he counted among the good memories. >> headquarters and went to

belgium. >> as the news spread and people poured into the streets to celebrate in new york london and paris, cheers and laughter mixed freely with tears. and even in the midst of one triumph, we vowed to fight on and finish the war in the pacific. >> reporter: it was the end of four years of full-scale american involvement in world war ii's european theater. by this time 70 year ago, ve day, 116 million americans had served 138,000 had died and this place will remember those that did not come home. memories and thanks for those who did. >> and i can promise you that we will be here every day of every year watching over this place to keep it to protect it to pass on the stories of the heroism

and sacrifices. >> one pilot from those world war ii planes had to peel out of formation. the vintage plane made an emergency landing at reagan national airport. the pilot thought that he had a hydraulic leak. firefighters and medics were there. when the plane landed the pilot wasn't hurt. the plane now fixed and air traffic at reagan national was not impacted by the emergency, but the airport already had fewer flights because of the flyover. if would you like to see more video and images of the spectacular air show over the mall open up our nbcwashington.com app, real easy just click, click, click, click, click. last week it was all about celebrating mom, so i figured i would share a little bit about my mom coming up when we return. and it's video you won't want to turn from. we meet a new k-9 cadet that is melting your hearts.

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well all last week we celebrated our mothers on nbc 4. my children, they tell me all the time that i'm becoming my mother. years ago, i may have squirmed at the idea but today, i can only hope. she is the strongest woman that i know because of her past and her accomplishments. it's been years now but i used to dustle with who i was and who i wanted to become. what would define me and how would i be remembered in life? that was then this is now. i am older, wiser, and clearly becoming my mother. to know me is to know her. she is the strongest person i know and the most determined. born in germany and raised by another strong woman, my mother learned at a very early age responsibility and discipline. h key kid today, taking care of her younger brother. as a young girl myself i listened to the stories she would tell of growing up in germany in the '40s and '50s,

spending summers on her grandfather's farm in poland so her mother could work more hours. the world was not always kind. despite war and its outcome, my mother came up through a time that was far from easy. so if you were to ask me what i picked up from my mother i would say first the traits of german people. i learned at an early age, discipline how to be efficient, organized and on time. in the early 1960s, my mother would meet my father get married and move to the u.s. without the history lesson the outside world would make life hard many a day. i was born third, so my parents and i was a handful, you know what they say about the third child. here i am before getting my ears pierced. i have been told it took quite some time to quiet me down. whatever the activity i have always enjoyed that one-on-one special time with my mother. she has always been encouraging by her presence and her strength alone. i fashion myself to be strong courageous and daring and so

far, i think it's gotten me pretty far in life. my mother did all the things that mothers do. she tucked me in at night and always had my back. when i became a mom myself she continued to graciously give her time and help shape who my children would become. instilling morals of always telling the truth and being true to who you are, doing things the right way the first time. her best piece of advice to me to focus on myself and not worry about what other people are doing. my mother always wanted the best for me and in the end, she gave me just that everything. here i am now, not just a mother but a grandmother, and mother karen is still teaching. well you can see more on our web webb app, stories from all of the female anchors here. just search mother's day. well mother's day came a little early for some very special women in our area. we asked you to tell us about

some of the moms in your life who deserved a special delivery of flowers and we sent news4 out to surprise four wonderful women, like the mother of six and has been a foster mom for more than ten years. and june elder, who has battled thyroid, bladder and breast cancer and now, parkinson's. you can see all of the special deliveries on our nbc washington facebook page. it has been a year but the memory still very much alive. when we return the story of struggle and loss and an entire community will honor this

well one year ago this week the george mason community said good-bye to one of its own. lynn mary conception died after a battle with cancer. hundreds will gather for a race

in her honor, the motto, live mary strong. >> reporter: too weakened too sick to walk to the water, so the george mason women's rowing team past and present, carried the boat they dedicated to lynn marie conception to her. in october of 2013 lynn was diagnosed with cancer. she died seven months later. >> no one had any doubt that lynn would beat this and beat it with her head held high beat it with class and it was because of how strong she was that peoplecouldn't believe there was one thing in her life that was going to beat her because she had beaten everything else. >> she asked me why her. and i have to say because her light was too bright. and she needed to be up there.

that is the truth. she was too great to be here. >> we had a moment where we were rowing and she -- she said you know i'm just so happy. strange. she said i'm dying, but it's just -- i'm so happy. and she started crying. just that strength that she showed and such a low part of her life was outstanding. >> i am a fighter because i am a mason alumni because of my parents and all my family. and i want you to always remember that. >> you can help lynn mary's family raise money for george mason's scholarship in her name in lake rbi middle school in woodbridge virginia. find out more on our website by searching lynn mary. great knew the lip mary bolt race by george mason's freshmen eight this past weekend received a silver medal in one of the

biggest collegiate regattas. it is the highest medal received in program history. way to go. well this maybe one of the most delightful stories of the week. this is cj the fairfax county police department's newest k-9 recruit. cj is an 8-week-old bloodhound still in training that will last about a year. when she is done she will help her human handler find missing people. you can see more video of cj visit nbc washington and search bloodhound. pelt stories, animal stories, they always get you, right? that's all for news4 this week i'm veronica johnson. thanks for joining us, we leave you with more video from the world war ii flyover from the capitol. be safe be kind, be happy, everybody.

and at 6:00 right now, a search and rescue team making its way home from nepal. >> what you need to know to plan ahead on metro. good morning, everyone. it is saturday may 16th. i'm angie goff. >> we are expecting a return of summerlike weather. the heat, the humidity. chuck bell tracking it all. >> in his summer suit by the way. >> he is in his summer suit. >> so we don't like my suit now? it's before memorial day, but it's going to be