welcome to news 4 this week. >> hi, everyone. i'm veronica johnson. lots of interesting and important stories in news for this week. it was back to school for several major districts in our area. we'll show you how one district is taking high tech to a new level this year. and it's being compared to handling an inauguration and marathon at the same time. a look at how our area is getting ready for the pope. we'll take you to what's called or what was called a local woodstock. it happened some 30 years ago and it was all caught on camera. you've got to see. this first up the end of the summer and start of another school year for lots of kids in our area. montgomery, charles, loudon, prince william county went back

this week. in montgomery county kids are getting a chance to use a high tech teaching tool this year but it was almost in danger. news 4's chris gordon has the story. >> reporter: it's actually a surprise these new chrome books arrived. they were cut from the montgomery county school budget. but the board of education found money to buy them by using funds intended for another purpose. >> instead of replacing desktops, reliewe're using the desk tops and it wednesday toward chrome books. >> reporter: they've arrived at elementary schools and 150 middle school classrooms. >> basically a one on one ratio for each student. it gives us lots of flexibility in the classroom to enhance our instruction. >> reporter: these chrome books can be used for reading and writing, making videos and using graphics. and they're especially good, i am told, for esol students.

>> i can translate apps for students who speak another language. they're able to access the exact same curriculum. i don't have to modify anything. they're able to read the same textbooks. >> this just gives students many more opportunities to tap into their learning styles and help teachers reach every student. >> reporter: it is being called a partial chrome book rollout. montgomery county public schools want to provide chrome books to many more students. but that will have to wait until another school year. chris gordon, news 4. if you haven't heard, pope francis is coming to town in just about three weeks. and this week we learned about some of the big challenges our area is going to face to keep those huge crowds moving. news 4's transportation reporter adam tuss has more on what you can expect during the pope's visit. >> reporter: the pope is coming.

and it seems everybody wants to see him. >> are you going to try to stay away from this area that day? >> i will come. i want to receive my blessing. >> coins, crosses, shirts, excitement. >> he's more of a pope in our time. >> getting around will be tough. a complete list of road closures not yet announced, but pope will be landing at andrews air force base the afternoon of september 22nd, moving around quite a bit. the main event september 23rd here at the basilica of the national shrine of the immaculate conception as the pope will say mass outside. students at nearby catholic university being warned about the crowds. >> i think basically the whole campus is going to be shut down. >> reporter: when pope francis says his mass here at the basilica, 25,000 people are going to be down there on the lawn watching. >> fortunately for us here at the shrine, we've done this before in 2008 with pope benedict xvi. >> reporter: monsignor walter rossi is director of the basilica at the national shrine.

his advice if you're lucky enough to have the ticket -- >> take the metro. >> reporter: metro says it's preparing like an inauguration and will be running near rush hour service the day of the mass. metro buses also expected to be detoured. our local airports say they haven't seen an uptick in private jet requests for the time the pope is here, but they'll know more as the date gets closer. >> you can learn more about the papal visit and traffic changes by searching papal visit on our nbc washington app. a heart-breaking story that has dominated the headlines. the shooting deaths of a reporter and photographer at a roanoake, virginia tv station. closer to home, the n,ewseum pad tribute to the two. a tribute has been set up inside. ward proposed to his fee awn stay at the newseum. this past week we spoke with

ward's fiancee and allison parker's boyfriend. you can find those interviews and much more coverage on our nbc washington app. be on the lookout for some work to improve one of our most iconic land marks. in the coming days the national park service says it will drain water from a 30-foot section of the reflecting pool at the lincoln memorial. to repair a damaged part of the pool basin. 95% of the reflecting pool will still have water. the work should be done by next summer. it's a boy. this week the national zoo announced the surviving panda cub born to meishung is a male. they also revealed meishung's long time mate is the father. they say the little guy is gaining weight and is in really good shape. >> he's gaining weight, which is a good thing. so we know that it's nursing successfully and it's growing. >> you might remember the cub's smaller sibling that died was also a boy. zoo officials think the cub

developed pneumonia from accidentally breathing in a small piece of food. more than 700,000 cars have been stolen in the past year. ahead on news 4 this week, we're going to show you the cars and the trucks that were stolen the most in our area. plus your tax dollars buying starbucks coffee? the iteam is investigating whether government credit cards used to buy that coffee were stolen.

you might have thought this, but now it's valid. d.c. is the most expensive metro area to raise a family according to a new study. the economic policy institute analyzed new data from 2014 and found the official federal poverty level for a family of two parents, two children, was about $24,000. the least expensive metro area for a family of that type is morristown, tennessee, where they would need an income of about $49,000 to make ends meet.

in d.c. a family of four must bring in about $106,000 annually. vehicle theft has fallen dramatically in the past couple of decades. but last year thieves stole more than 700,000 cars and trucks. there's new data from the national insurance crime bureau that shows the honda accord at the most stolen vehicle in 2014. it's also the most stolen last year in virginia in both d.c. and maryland the top spot went to the dodge caravan. >> generally what they're doing is they're breaking them down and selling the parts. they're worth more in parts than they are as a whole vehicle. >> experts say that one of the surprising causes of car theft, leaving your keys in the car. just don't do it. we've posted a link to a full report in our nbc washington app just search stolen cars. buying coffee with stolen credit cards. it's happening on your dime. we'll have the news 4 iteam investigation coming up.

and lots of students need financial aid to get through college. we'll tell you why and the way they access that money could cost them big time.

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it's a news 4 iteam investigation. your tax dollars buying starbucks coffee. last year the iteam told you how some homeland security employees were swiping their taxpayer-funded credit cards to buy tens of thousands of dollars in starbucks drinks. and the iteam scott mcfar land found out some of those cards had been stolen. >> reporter: it was last fall. the news 4 iteam found some federal employees at the u.s. department of homeland security made dozens of starbucks purchases with their government-issued credit cards. $30,000 worth of coffee in just one year. a bad use of taxpayer moneys says former federal prosecutor and government auditor brian

miller. >> you want wise and careful planning. and you want things done so that everyone benefits. >> reporter: turns out the coffee wasn't the only thing brewing. so too was an internal investigation inside agency headquarters. members of congress and homeland security's inspector general saw our story and investigated who was buying the coffee and why. their findings just released. they revealed at least some of the purchases were "inappropriate" drinks bought for personal consumption. >> we shouldn't tolerate it. people running out and purchasing what they called personal purchases at starbucks was a federal purchase card? that's unacceptable. >> reporter: the investigation showed those personal drink purchases were reimbursed but also show at least some of the agency's credit card information was stolen then used to buy starbucks coffee. >> that's troubling especially at dhs. and that is troubling. i'm not sure if it is rare,

scott, but it is very troubling. >> i see a bit of an irony here. internal investigators say 15% of purchases they reviewed involve stolen cards. we asked the department of hemland security how often their cards or card information have been stolen. they declined to answer. parents sending their kids to college, take note. there's a new study finding that students experiment with different drugs at different times of the year. the report by the substance abuse and mental health services administration examined data from nearly 70,000 students across the country. this is what they found. stimulants like aderol and ridalin used in november, december or april right around exam time. marijuana inhalers and alcohol were used during the summer, not during the school year. students experimented with cigarettes in june, september and october. a lot of college students wouldn't make it through school without having some type of financial aid. but the way students access their financial aid, their

money, could come at a cost. consumer reporter erika gonzalez reports on an issue creating a heated debate at campuses all across the nation. >> reporter: it's back to school for college students. for many, financial aid is a lifeline to education. and it pays for more than tuition. >> for books, transportation, maybe lunch? because stuff is expensive here. >> reporter: after tuition is paid, students can choose how to get the rest of their money. some colleges like prince george's county community college pay a third party company to make sure students get the remaining balance. hire one is a company that dominates the market. it offers different options. students can ask for a check, have the money deposited into an account, or have the money put on a higher one debit card. >> it's more convenient so you don't get personal money confused with school money. >> reporter: students can use higher 1 atms for free. we found some students like jada

didn't know debit cards can come at a cost. >> every time you use it they charge you 50 cents. so i saw it on my statement. i was wondering what it was. it didn't seem like a little bit but over time it adds up. >> reporter: this same fee has surprised students on college campuses across the country. including akaisha who attends a private school in michigan. >> every time i use my pin number with the debit card they gave me they have been taking out 50 cents. and they've been doing this for years. >> reporter: we interviewed her via skype. he's been using her higher one debit card since 2009. that's right. she's been charged 50 cents every time she made a purchase with her higher one debit card for the last six years. >> they didn't bring it to my attention. >> reporter: higher one says overall it serves 1900 college and university campuses. more than half of the schools it partners with to disperse financial aid refunds are community colleges. the in our area the company

partners with james madison, salisbury state, the university of maryland in baltimore and baltimore county. prince george's county community college told news 4 "it has been our practice to send information about higher one in the form of a pamphlet to all credit students once they are admitted to the college." but there are signs some students aren't getting the message, either from their college or higher one. and signs higher one hasn't always been transparent about fees. last year the federal reserve took enforcement action against higher one and a bank partner for its deceptive practices. in 2012, the fdic settled with higher one who agreed to pay $11 million back to students. and last year, a judge approved a $15 million settlement in a class action lawsuit against higher one. the settlement included disclosing fees seen here on its web site. >> the problem is that banks and colleges have teamed up to market bank accounts and prepaid

cards to students in a way that may not really give students free choice of accounts. >> reporter: we asked higher one about its transparency and allegations of deceptive practices. it says in part its account structure has always been transparent and the company believes in empowering students. it says on average its customers pay $4 a month in fees. students we talked to don't think there should be any fees at all. >> as a student at p.g., you shouldn't have to be required a fee to use your money that you're receiving from school. without it i probably wouldn't be in school. >> reporter: erika gonzalez, news 4. >> we're taking you back in time after the break. a look at a local music festival that happened in our area 30 years ago called heavy metal picnic.

what did iran's supreme leader get in the nuclear deal? to start with, $100 billion. they keep their nuclear facilities and ballistic missiles. there won't be surprise anytime-anywhere inspections. and after ten years, restrictions are lifted and iran could build a nuclear weapon in two months. congress should reject a bad deal. we need a better deal. he has no idea what's coming. my taste - so huge, yet so unexpected. i'm like a boxer in a ring. a small boxer. you don't expect much... and then, wham! i hit 'em with a whole lotta creamy goodness! left! right! uppercut! leaving taste buds... deliciously dizzy! look! his tongue is knocked out! oh! mom steps into the ring! bring it, girlfriend! rich, creamy, 100% natural cheese.

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and now my favorite story of the being, a local police officer's double dutch skills

was the talk of our facebook page this week. co corporal allen jones is with the prince george's police department. he pulled off this athletic spectacle. uniform gear and all for the first time. he said this was his chance trying double dutch. he said he didn't expect it to go viral. >> i thought it was just going to be like a goofy thing, like i would show my friends and that's it. and then it kind of went from there. i think if we can kind of humanize ourselves to people, then they can see through the uniform. >> i love it. we've got more of the video on our nbc washington app. just search double dutch. finally this week, we have a new look at a massive party that made headlines 30 years ago. it was a kind of local woodstock in potomac maryland. news 4 covered the aftermath. turns out someone at the party

had a camera. mark segraves took a look at what's now called heavy metal picnic. >> we're having a good time here. >> reporter: it was 1985. it was called the full moon jamboree. two days of concerts and fun on a farm just off river road in potomac, maryland. thousands of people showed up. >> to me it was the end of an era. >> reporter: the group of teens who lived on the farm had graduated from wooten high school and had been having parties for some time. because of encroaching development they knew this would be their last. >> we weren't quite willing to sacrifice our freedom for someone else's idea of safety. so we got a bunch of bands together from all different j genres. >> reporter: because the party was on private land the police couldn't shut it down. the party's over. but it was on this past weekend. for about 34 hours straight. much of the party was captured on videotape, something very rare for 1985.

a few years ago, a local filmmaker got his hands on that footage. >> so there was a high quality professional footage of this wild party going on in potomac, marylan maryland. >> reporter: he took that footage and produced a documentary "heavy metal picnic" it's a nostalgic look back at a time period where nobody was documenting it. >> reporter: today the old farm is now home to million dollar mansions along travilla road with neighbors who have no idea what used to take place in their own backyards 30 years ago. >> when was this? >> they play at the silver theater in silver springs. in potomac, maryland, mark seger news 4. that's all for news 4 this week. i'm veronica johnson. thanks for joining us. as always until next time be safe, be kind, be happy. we'll leave you with pictures of

meishung and her little panda cub. i was about to head to thecheck. bank, but out of nowhere it just started to rain. like really rain. [clap of thunder] i did not want to go out. [clap of thunder] but then i was like duh, just use your phone. mobile-deposit-techno-thingy to the rescue. i'm rayna. and i bank human at td bank.

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announcer: news 4 today begins with breaking news. that breaking news right now at 6:00 a.m. shots on a residential street in northeast, d.c. police telling us, at this hour, that the shooting happened on 25th street after 11:30 last night. when police got to the scene, we can show you what it looks like. three men shot, one critically hurt. there is no suspect information as of now. we welcome you to the news. i'm david culver. i'm angie goff. welcome to the show. getting ready for a holiday weekend, we'll have a cloudy start. >>ha