welcome to "news4 this week." >> hi everyone. i'm veronica johnson. we're going to show you some of the more interesting local stories making news this week. getting away is actually getting a little cheaper in maryland. what you'll be paying across the state's bridges and tunnels from now on. plus she battled cancer and won. the encouragement she's giving to a local leader who just found out he will have a similar fight. and just how clean is your neighborhood pool? the shocking results of a federal investigation. and the telltale sign that you should stay out of the water. but first, it could be one of the busiest fourth of july celebrations in years. tonight hundreds of thousands of people will stream down to the

mall. you may notice more security keeping an eye on the crowds. transportation reporter adam tuss explains why. >> reporter: given the significance of the fourth and what it stands for, some added attention from metro. >> the large crowd, we do have all hands for our police departments at bay. there are a number of events and we want this to be a safe and happy holiday for everybody. >> reporter: some departments are using internal memos we've looked at. >> i'm not going to let it stop me from enjoying this great place. >> reporter: and lots of people are expected to come here to the mall on saturday to enjoy it all. metro says it's expecting 600,000 to 700,000 riders on saturday and may have to adjust some stations around the mall to become entrance only after the show. >> what we're going to have is service ramping up around 2:00 to near rush hour service starting around 6:00 until after the fireworks to be able to handle that capacity crowd. >> reporter: metro will be charging regular weekend fares.

so in rush hour charge on the rails. and parking at all metro lots will be free. parking down here around the mall, that will be a challenge. and of course once you get down here to the national mall this is the spot. right here where the fireworks will be going off lighting up the night sky. the stage for the show going up so are the fences. and the anticipation building. from fresh fruit to fresh fish some new options are coming to the national mall. the company authorized to sell food on the nation's front lawn is expanding the menu at its kiosks. some items will be healthier around the lincoln memorial. you'll find fruit and cheese plates as well as veggie burgers and hamburgers. if you're by the museums of natural or american history, the food options will include pizza and barbecue. and near the air and space museum you'll be able to get

items like grilled chicken or seafood. how about you make your way through all of the locations. if you're planning a late getaway for the holiday weekend, it will be cheaper across maryland's bridges and tunnels. tolls drop this week at seven different locations across the state. they include the bay bridge bridges and tunnels around baltimore as well as the icc and i-95 toll lanes. there's going ton an increase ez pass discount. so a little something to look forward to. if you're still looking for a place to catch the fireworks with head to nbcwashington.com or the app and search fireworks. the app will also give a listing of locations and of course live radar and weather when you need it. a lot of bridges in prince george's county are upset at the criminal shop owner and federal government. in 2013 green was convicted of embezzlement. the federal government started seizing her assets including the

couture miss bridal and formal shop she owned. customers who already paid for dresses can't get them and weren't given a refund. >> i think i'm all cried out. she said the only thing i can tell you to do is to file suit. >> turns out there's more those brides can do. details on what steps customers should take and we've posted them on our website. well you may still be planning your summer getaway, but it's not too early to start thinking about escaping for the winter. and soon you'll have a new option to get to the caribbean. low cost airline norwegian announced new flights out of dwi marshall that includes trips on mondays and friday. and tuesdays and saturdays you'll get to the islands. here's how it works. norwegian says fares will start at $79 out of the u.s. 99 bucks for the return home. they'll start the new routes in december. so you'll have to wait a little

while. all the flights will include free wi-fi. well there's been an outpouring of support for maryland governor larry hogan since he announced his cancer diagnosis. one bowie woman says his story reminded her of her own cancer treatment. she says she's living proof that with aggressive treatment, cancer can be beaten. pat lawson has her story. >> i had an eggplant sized tumor in my chest. >> reporter: in her late 30s, shartice got a biopsy that led to a shocking diagnosis. aggressive large b-cell nonhodgkins lymphoma. >> i had a biopsy for the mass found in my chest because of a cough i'd had for less than two weeks. >> reporter: at the time 16 years ago she was the picture of health. >> i was an avid fitness enthusiast. i was 38 years old at the time mother of a 5-year-old.

long-time vegetarian. >> reporter: like maryland's governor she was shocked but determined to beat the cancer. unlike governor hogan's case her cancer was to a single organ. yet many have been treated successfully for this type of cancer. >> it is absolutely not a death sentence. >> reporter: oncologists say treatments have come a long way. >> other newer targeted therapies have all improved remission rates and are working towards improving survival. >> reporter: shartice even defied the odds and was able to have a second child who's now 10. she turned her nightmare into a dream job. helping others with her work through the leukemia and lymphoma society. >> having been a patient, now a survivor and now working with my colleagues across the country to help patients it is an

incredible journey. i'm living the dream. you know how many times do you get to come out of the woods and then to be able to stay in the woods, if you will and to help others to navigate their journeys and to come out on the other side. >> that is so true. well a local police force is finding a new way to ememberficerseireg is now living on in the k-9 unit. we'll explain next. and it's his chance to compete in the sport he loves so much. a local firefighter gets his motivation to tear it up on

the prince george's county police department is now honoring fallen officers through its k-9 unit. the department graduated a class of k-9 officers with two dogs named after officers killed in the line of duty. k-9 colonzo offers one who was killed in a crash while responding to a robbery in 2000.

k-9 leroy is named after an officer where a suspect stabbed him after an arrest in 1986. >> i hope we'll run out of names to name these k-9s after. i don't think that's true and i don't think that will ever happen unfortunately. but in the meantime it is truly an honor and a privilege to have these officers out here with these k-9s named after the fallen. >> the families of the fallen officers also had a chance to meet the dogs after the ceremony. that's so special. it's been an amazing week of competition. the world police and fire games wrap up this weekend in fairfax. jim handly met one montgomery county firefighter who's trading his fire helmet for a motocross helmet. >> reporter: for his job he fights fires and responds to emergencies. but to bond with his son, he trades in the fire truck for two wheels in motocross. this is gopro video of david lee living his passion.

>> it's scary. when you jump the jumping is the highlight of the sport. it's a major accomplishment when you can jump this 80-foot jump. >> reporter: lee took it up a few years ago not just for the thrill of it but to spend more time with his son trayvon. trayvon says his dad doesn't hold back when it comes to competing. even with him. >> when we ride together he's like overcompetitive and sometimes i don't want to ride with him. kind of irks me sometimes a bit. >> we're competitive with each other. that keeps us together. basketball motocross, anything we do. it's a big competition. >> reporter: this firefighter and paramedic will put on his motorcycle helmet to take on fellow firefighters in a three-day competition. all a part of the world police and fire games. >> it's just a wide open field. i'm going to be right middle pack you know. it's always a race within a

race. you sort of compete with them. so it's always fun. even if you're not up front. >> yeah. love that. and we love that the games have been right here in d.c. well here's a d.c. hero competing for a different title and he's doing it on national television. we track the progress of a d.c. firefighter's dream to become the next ninja warrior. and maybe you should smell before you jump. some signs that your community pool may not be too clean.

well the smell of chlorine for some of us means summer at the local pool but it could also mean that you're at risk for catching something bad while swimming. some new numbers from the government showed that cases of waterborne illnesses linked to bad hygiene are on the rise.

the dirty truth behind the new warning. >> reporter: you want to first of all say that this pool we're at has a good health and safety record. but pool managers will tell you whether it's a neighborhood pool or a resort or a hotel or a backyard pool whatever it is a big challenge to every day make sure the pool water is safe and healthy. and a warning here this topic is just a little gross. it's every pool manager's nightmare made famous in "caddy shack" 35 years ago. >> get out of here. >> reporter: a doodle in the pool. >> there it is. it's no big deal. >> reporter: but it is a big deal for the nation's health departments. a new cdc report finds 69 waterborne illness outbreaks over a two-year period. 1300 known patients probably many more 73 hospitalizations

and one death. the vast majority involved pools and hot tubs and very often a parasite called cryptosporidium. >> it could be someone failed to shower before getting into the water and washed off of their bodies. >> reporter: that parasite can cause serious gastrointestinal illness. >> this side is for ph and this side is for chlorine. >> reporter: here's something surprising. if you can smell the chlorine that's an indication it's mixing with urine. if your eyes burn other swimmers may have peed in the pool. >> i don't want them touching anything. they wear goggles religiously. they usually don't get any water in their eyes. >> reporter: the advice from the experts, talk to the kids about bathroom hygiene. make sure everyone in the bathroom showers before they go

swimming. and never swallow pool water. >> if they're sick don't get in. regular bathroom breaks tight-fitting diapers. all of these prevent the outbreaks in the first place. >> reporter: the cdc when they looked at lakes, rivers, oceans near pieces of land they often found the same thing. high bacteria counts and sometimes e. coli. so the recommendation is the same that you're swimming in those environments don't drink the water and when you get out, make sure you shower off. i'm tom costello news4. >> i should have said happy breakfast, everybody. right? a warning before that story. well they are just one win away from a world cup title. and local soccer player narrowly missed being there with the u.s. women's team. her story of heart break and hope next.

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>> yeah. there he is. he's usually trying to put out fires, but this week mike bernardo torched the american ninja warrior course. he rebounded from an early exit last season to wind up in the top 20 in pittsburgh's qualifier. >> we're not saving the world out here. we're not curing cancer. we're not solving hunger, but it's symbolic for all the struggles we face in our everyday lives and the things we strive to become better at to help ourselves and help others. so i'm going to keep doing it as long as i can. >> he's one to watch. he now moves on to the city finals for a chance to win and head on off to vegas. tomorrow usa will play in the world cup final. but for one local player it's been a bittersweet moment. she was one of the last players cut from the american squad. while she plays for the

washington spirit she tells our carol maloney being left off the team really hurt. >> reporter: for all her speed and skill -- >> she's a game changer. >> loosen up a little. >> reporter: she's also the class clown. >> she's such a contagious personality. so warm so loving always joking dancing, singing. >> she's a big player now and she's, like famous. she's always the same crystal to me. >> reporter: yet the washington spirit's spirit leader shut down for a week when the world cup coaches told her she didn't make their team. >> for me it was a really rough week i remember. i turned my phone off. i didn't want to talk to anybody. i felt like part of me died inside. >> when that roster came out, she was upset and we were upset for her. it was a little weird seeing her not her bubbly self. >> the team needs her there to be successful, to be better. i think they can still succeed.

but they would be better with her. and then also told her it was important, wherever you go or don't go you still have the ability and power to control whether it's good or bad. >> life goes on. that's my motto in life. you're going to have bad days but there are greater days ahead. >> reporter: those days include watching from afar and producing on the field. seven goals in ten games this year. creating for the spirit and her future. >> women's soccer has come a long way. and i think they need to gain as many followers and obviously i'm still a big fan of the national team and i think the future's really bright for women's soccer. i am hoping to be part of it. >> reporter: carol maloney, news4 sports. >> check out more of dunn in action, head over to nbc washington app and search crystal dunn. a bit of political and romantic history was made 62 years ago this week. it happened in martin's tavern in georgetown. booth three by the window to be exact. if you believe the stories,

that's where jack kennedy proposed to his girlfriend jacqueline bouvier. one man who claims he was there that night stopped in for dinner with his daughter. 98-year-old marion smock says at the time he didn't think that much of it. >> i didn't think of it as anything so unusual for a young couple sitting in the window booth. >> that's right. you just never know. the booth now has a plaque that reads "the proposal booth." but there are some historians who say the proposal actually happened in boston. others claim jfk proposed via telegram when jackie was in london. i don't know. that's all for "news4 this week." i'm veronica johnson. thanks for joining us everybody. we leave you with amazing video of a hammerhead shark coming ashore in ocean city. until next time be safe be

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announcer: news 4 today starts now. at 6:00, good saturday morning. today is independence day. we are going to show you the road closures parade routes and fireworks you can expect on this fourth of july. >> plus, getting around town on metro. what you need to know as we prepare for large crowds on the mall. good morning to you, i'm kristin wright. >> i'm david culver. welcome to news 4 today. >> we are hoping for nice weather. >> yeah. >> you know it's tricky today, though. >> we'll check in with that. we have amelia segal in for chuck bell. what are we thinking as far as showers are concerned? >> it is not a pic