one of them. >> reporter: a transformer that takes power from the power company and converts it to electricity caught fire. it burned for hours. there was frustration throughout the entire day. johnathan krum says he's an hour behind schedule and is just trying to make it hope. >> this is ridiculous. >> reporter: has been the communication been good? >> no. i have to call people to find out what's going on. i don't know what's going on. >> reporter: others with similar stories. >> i've been trying to commute for about an hour and a half now. so i guess, what are you going to do? >> reporter: of course all of this happening at a bad time, everyone being urged to take metro while pope francis is in town. and now metro has to worry about ficti fixing this substation. >> it puts all the more pressure on our power folks and personnel coming in here. >> reporter: one official looked

like he needed some extra oxygen after it all. metro is telling riders on their way to the nats game tonight is drive to a green line station and take the train from there. there are still speed restrictions through here, even though service has been restored. coming up at 6:00, why did it take firefighters so long to get a handle on this fire that burned for hours? wendy, back to you. >> thank you, adam. our team coverage is continuing now with -- adam had his umbrella up. how is the weather going to impact the pope's visit? >> check out the radar. juicy skies out there. storm team 4 meteorologist doug kammerer has more. >> you say the heaviest, that's really just light to moderate rain. that's the heaviest, down towards the warrenton and manassas areas. you can see the rain making its way across the region. a lot of the area right now seeing the rain. not much in most of montgomery

county, up towards luray, towards fairfax county, in and around the beltway and prince george's county. the good news is, this is out by the end of the day today. by wednesday, looking very nice, if you're heading to the ellipse to get a peek at the pope. nice weather on wednesday morning, 64 degrees for that. 76 by 1:00 towards the basilica. we'll have more in just a few minutes. >> doug, thank you. folks, the barricades are up, no-parking signs displayed on meters, and some roads in the district are also closed as we anticipate pope francis's arrival. meagan fitzgerald is live at the basilica shrine of the immaculate conception. >> reporter: jim, a lot of

progress. people out here are excited. they've been coming throughout the day, taking pictures and marveling at that progress. you can see behind me the portrait of the missionary that will be canonized at that historic mass. along with the preps comes a lot of road closure. it's quite the sight here at the basilica. decorations are almost complete. pope francis will celebrate mass here, and the 15,000 chairs are quickly being placed on the lawn of the east portico. >> i'm excited that he's coming. >> it's fantastic, a great time for dc and for the country. >> reporter: it's certainly going to be a great experience for those who get to witness pope francis when he arrives. but if you plan on driving during that time, it's likely going to be a much different experience. you can already see warning signs that road closures are coming. near saint matthew, where the pope will be on wednesday, no-parking signs are already up,

starting at 6:00 a.m. that day, to 3:00 p.m. on thursday, rhode island at connecticut and 17th will be closed. another major traffic headache will be around the basilica when pope francis accecelebrates mas. many roads will be closed, like michigan avenue between irving and 10th street. no doubt millions of people are looking forward to one of the highly anticipated events of the year. but some might consider watching history unfold on tv. >> there will be too much road closures and too much congestion on the streets. >> reporter: now, the road closures and detours, we know it's a lot of information to take in. go ahead and download our nbc washington app, we have all the information you need to know there. coming up at 6:00, what officials say you need to know about security when the pope is in town. jim? we've also got everything

you need to know about the pope's stay in dc, including what you can and can't bring with you as you travel throughout the city. check out the papal visit section on our nbc washington app. a man is in custody now for a deadly hit and run outside a dc hospital. officers arrested the man earlier today, charging him with involuntary manslaughter. he's accused of striking and killing a man just outside the united medical center. this was last month. she had worked at the hospital as a physician's assistant and was hit crossing southern avenue on her way home. court documents reveal what a suspected drunk driver said moments after he caused a deadly crash in spotsylvania county. a woman was killed and another car hit hers head-on along brock road last week. investigators say two men in that other vehicle had been drinking. they say the pair had already hit one car. then the two switched seats

before striking the second vehicle and going over the line to collide with the war. the second driver, brandon williams, reportedly told police he was drunk when they asked him questions. he has not been charged yet. the first driver, jermaine jackson, is charged with dui. a widening mystery in virginia. buildings from herndon to leesburg are in an investigation into bullets fired into buildings. northern virginia bureau chief julie carey is working the story and will join us live in a few minutes to explain why police think all the the shootings are connected. the search is on tonight in arlington for a trio of thieves who robbed a hotel right near reagan national airport. police tell us these men went into the crown plaza hotel with shot guns. news 4's pat collins is live

with more. >> reporter: jim, sometimes you wonder why criminals do what they do and whether or not they give it any thought before they do it. in the plastic world we live in, where many people charge just a cup of coffee, why would anyone want to rob a hotel? >> i wouldn't think they would have much cash. >> they're kind of stupid. >> i don't know. it's sort of a mystery. >> reporter: why use a gun to rob a hotel clerk? >> the shock value. because they wanted their three minutes of fame on tv. >> reporter: why rob a hotel at 3:00 in the morning? >> i guess they assume there's nobody there. >> people rob hotels at 3:00 in the morning because there's money there, perceived money there, and because the banks are not open. >> reporter: here now, the story of the crowne plaza caper. last weekend, three guys stormed

into this arlington hotel, looking for cash. >> there are three employees there at the time, at which point they forced them to open up the cash registers, had them lay on the ground, at which point they were able to flee. >> reporter: these are still pictures from security cameras. police say the robbers were all dressed in black. they were armed with shotguns. and they threatened hotel workers. >> when you have a shotgun held to your head, that is very threatening off, you know, our witness testimony from those employees, they were extremely scared at the time, fearful of their life, and complied to their demands. >> reporter: investigator sources from around the region say a number of cops from a number of jurisdictions are taking a close look at this robbery. coming up at 6:00, i'll explain why. wendy, back to you. >> pat collins, thank you, pat. an investigation reveals the

university of virginia violated a federal law against discrimination. now the school is changing its sexual violence policy. the u.s. department of education says today that uva did not follow the title ix requirements balls the university did not respond to complaints of sexual violence in a timely manner. the university will now create a system for tracking and reviewing these reports. uva's president says the school has already implemented policy changes. the school has been under investigation since 2011. the man who founded one of northern virginia's most bustling communities has passed away. robert e. simon died earlier today. simon was the visionary behind reston, one of the first planned communities in the country. the reston historic trust is remembering him tonight for his keen intelligence, wonderful wit, and spirited involvement in all things reston. simon told us last year he wanted to bring a european field to virginia and was most proud

of lake ann's plaza. robert e. simon was 101 years old. nbc news has confirmed in about an hour wisconsin governor scott walker will announce he is getting out of the race for the white house. he's holding a press conference at 6:00. walker was once a front-runner but in a recent cnn poll released this weekend he earned less than half of 1% of support. sources say money is also an issue. we'll bring you some of what walker has to say about his decision, coming up at 6:00. news 4 was first to report that laurel hospital was closing its doors. find out what it means for healthcare workers and what the county executive had to say today.

we're tracking breaking news. paramedics are airlifting a teenager to a local hospital after a bad wreck in charles county. chapper 4 just arrived over the scene, awe thorn and mitchell roads outside la plata. that intersection has now been shut down. sheriff's deputies tell us a school bus and three other cars were involved. the teenager was driving a pickup truck. he suffered a head injury on his way to the hospital now. there are three to four kids on the bus, but deputies don't believe any of the kids were seriously injured. we're working to get more information.

we're back with this new video of a guy who terrorized a dc store clerk, from a holdup on mlk avenue and w street on wednesday. the robber came up behind the store clerk, forced him to open the register, then took off in front of a busy bus stop on mlk avenue. two years after city officials announced they fixed the drunk driving breath test program, they have new problems now, contributing to a drop in

dui arrests this summer. mark segraves has more. >> reporter: jim, back in 2011 the district stopped issuing its breath tests because they were found to be unreliable. the city paid out more than $300,000 to 20 people who sued after they were convicted of dui after using the machines. hundreds of cases were challenged in the courts. officials say this time the problems aren't that far-reaching, but just like in 2011, it all revolves around the reliability of the breath tests. in 2013, when then-mayor vincent gray rolled out the new breath test machines, he put the responsibility of maintaining them in the hands of the chief medical examiner. the new machines appear to have worked fine until this summer, when the person in charge of maintaining the machines quit. >> any time you have one indispensable person in your operation, it's a recipe for failure. >> reporter: lat last month

defense attorneys and judges were informed that the breath test program had been suspended. police continued to enforce drunk driving laws using urine tests. >> a medical professional draws the blood and then you have to get the results. >> reporter: there is one working breath test machine in the fourth district in northwest. >> you have to transport the prisoner to get processed. >> reporter: according to a spokesperson for the police department, dui arrests are lower than this year than last year when the testing machines were all working. between july 26th and september 15th of last year, there were 249 arrests, compared to 179 arrests this summer. >> for a police department in the nation's capitol to only have one int toktointoximeter f impaired driver program is

unacceptable. >> reporter: we got an e-mail from the office which says they have hired someone to maintain the machines and hope to have them back in operation by october 3rd. at 6:00, you'll hear from police as to why they think this could be impacting the prosecution of the more than 170 people arrested this summer. >> mark segraves. there is an arrest in an overnight shooting in the hybla valley area. officers there found two men in a home. one had been shot to death. freddie rodriguez is now charged with second-degree murder. now to an urgent search in prince george's county for an 80-year-old man who disappeared after a picnic in a park. no one has seen him since the senior picnic at watkins regional park in upper marlboro on friday afternoon. police tell us the man told a staff member at the picnic he

needed to use the rest room. he has been seen since. officers searched watkins park until 2:30 a.m. and say they don't believe he's in the park. >> we're hoping someone will have an idea where he is and will have seen him. in our opinion it's become a little dire. it's been a couple of days now. >> we're told the man is from the virgin islands and has a thick creole accent. police say he suffers from severe dementia and may appear confused or distressed. the pope is ever closer to washington. pope francis wrapping up his historic visit to cuba just a short time, landing in that country's capital city of santiago. he's expected to visit a shrine there to cuba's patron saint. santiago is his final stop before he heads our way tomorrow. earlier today, tens of thousands gathered for mass at revolution plaza. pope francis told the crowd to

follow christ's invitation to overcome resistance to change. people lined the streets to see the pope as he traveled in his popemobile. the pope's visit to cuba also included a visit with controversial leader fidel castro over the weekend. this comes more than 50 years after castro cut ties with the catholic church during the revolution. the vatican said the meeting was relaxed, friendly. the pontiff is credited with helping repair ties between cuba and the united states. pope francis later met with castro's younger brother and successor, president raul castro. the pope's visit to the u.s. is creating quite a security challenge this week. here's nbc's stephanie gosk in new york city. >> reporter: we're out with the nypd harbor unit on one of their brand-new boats as they get ready for what the police commissioner says it going to be the biggest event ever in his career. and he's seen a lot.

the pope will be here at the u.n. with the largest group of world leaders gathered in world history. the pope is also hitting dc and philadelphia. we'll take a look at the massive security operation underway to protect him and people who come out to see him. major change is coming to the dc court system with many hoping it can dramatically alter synthetic drug use inside the district. tisha thompson explains how the courts are now closing one of the biggest legal loopholes in the new war on these synthetic drugs. >> reporter: this summer, we told you how dc's police chief and others in law enforcement said the city wouldn't be able to effectively fight synthetic drugs until the court system started testing offenders for these new and ever-changing drugs. tonight we take you inside dc's pretrial services. we're the first television crew ever allowed inside, to show you how this federal agency

drug-tests nearly everyone who goes to jail, is on supervised release, or on probation or parole inside washington, dc. they knew a lot of people were using synthetic drugs to cheat the system. we'll show you what pretrial services did to become the first agency of its kind in the nation to start testing offenders for synthetic drugs. you can see it all tonight on news 4 at 11. tisha thompson, news 4 i-team. if you live outside the beltway, the pope's visit could impact your commute as well. we'll explain the changes you may see on the i-95 during this visit. we'll be right back.

oh, it's raining! at least in parts of the area. just saw a tweet saying, something wet falling from the sky, what is that? we haven't seen a lot of it. that's why a lot of you are saying things like that on

twitter and facebook. over towards the jefferson memorial and old post office, the rain is falling. looking pretty good if you need the rain, and we all do. we talked about this dreary, wet, cool pattern all last week. this is exactly what we have across the area now. 67 in dc. that's cool. but look at these numbers. 54 in luray. 59th, win chester. a very cool afternoon and it will continue to be a cool evening. if you're thinking about heading down to the nats game as we take on the orioles, i think it will be a tough one to get in. there may be a delay. i would expect that. if you're heading down there anyway, take the poncho, you'll need it. we've got rain continuing to develop. notice this line of heavier showers that has developed in through washington. more rain towards the i-81 corridor, and western portions of virginia. right along 66 here and 50.

we'll just zoom into the alexandria region, falls church, all seeing that rain, annandale. yellows are on the light to moderate side. once again, heads up if you have plans this evening. take your umbrellas with you. it's all because of a northeasterly flow. clouds are moving southwest to northeast. that northeasterly flow off the ocean keeps us on the cool side and will continue to do so overnight tonight and through the day tomorrow. tonight, around 6:00, notice more showers activity right around our region. right around 10:00 it should be diminishing. we may get the game in tonight, it may be on the delayed side. 10:00 tomorrow, isolated showers, west of i-95. but everyone sees the cloud cover. at 1:00 p.m., everyone on the dry side for the most part, a few showers toward the west. we'll see some clearing late in the day. high temperatures tomorrow, back

into the 70s at least for the most part. warmer back towards the west. 75 in fredericksburg. 73 towards gaithersburg area. once again, rain tonight, but that's about it. the pope arriving tomorrow. that looks good for the pope at joint base andrews. 81 degrees on wednesday for all the pope's activities going on downtown. if you're out and about there, no problem on wednesday. thursday, a temperature of 80 degrees. then watching another system that could affect us friday, saturday, and sunday. veronica will have much more at 5:45. >> thank you, doug. even if you aren't going to papal events -- >> other events could create a collision course for commuters. >> reporter: i'm julie carey in leesburg, virginia. we've learned the investigation is widening into a series of incidents in which someone is shooting into office buildings, coming up.

someone is firing bullets into office buildings and banks across northeastern virginia. >> news4 has learned it's happened as many as seven times. and bureau chief julie carey first told us about this last month. now she's discovered there may be two more incidents this month. she's live in herndon at one

bank that was hit. julie? >> reporter: take a look at this td bank, the plywood still in place from september 2nd when a bullet shattered the window here. in fact this bank was one of two buildings hit that very night. now investigators think these shooting incidents might stretch all the way out to leesburg. the pattern in the shootings is similar. bullets from a small caliber weapon, fired into buildings during overnight hours. this photo shows the damage from inside. in at least two other cases, the bullets have taken out bank windows. and the shooter's range may be expanding. in addition the herndon area, police now think this leesburg bank may have been hit in the middle of august. no one has been hurt yet, but there were people in the building involved in an august incident. >> it's dangerous.

you don't know who is inside or who is beyond. >> reporter: police are urging residents out in the evening to pay close attention to anything unusual. >> if you're driving through, coming home late from something, and something doesn't seem right, someone looks out of place, call us. it's not a hindrance to us. hopefully a tip like that will lead to finding somebody. >> reporter: most of the residents we've spoken with haven't heard about the shootings. >> i haven't heard about it. that's really scary. what's going on in the world? >> reporter: she says she'll keep an eye on it now. ahead at 6:00, a bird's eye view of where these incidents have taken place so you can see how close it is to your neighborhood or where you commute. >> thank you julie. tonight we're working to find out more about the metro employee hit and killed this morning. a csx train hit the employee near the greenbelt station.

marc trains use those same tracks. the train that hit this employee was not a passenger train. the controversial and costly silver spring transit center is now officially open for business. the transit hub opened yesterday. today's rush hours, though, were the first true test. this morning some people ran the bus stops as we caught up with them. others were running in circles trying to find the right bay. metro, ride-on, and other shuttle buses now come under a two-level concrete roof. there are also taxicabs and connections to metro and marc rail stations. the early reviews are in, and they're mixed. >> i mean, we didn't know about this. like everything has changed. it's really crazy. >> we've been watching it almost seven years. we're excited to have it open. >> she's happy. a lot of people were too. there were staffers in bright neon invesvests to help you gete you need to go. along with pope francis's

visit, there are a number of big events happening this week, for a long and complicated couple of days. >> traveling into and out of or around dc is going to take a lot longer. crowds coming to see pope francis will be sharing roads and rails with a lot of baseball fans. for the next three days the nationals are hosting the orioles in a battle of the beltway. all games start at 7:00 at nationals park. one of the most popular singers around is performing at the verizon center, tuesday and wednesday night, also around 7s:30. the pope won't be the only figure in town. the chinese president is making his first official state visit since he took office two years ago. he arrives on thursday, attending a state dinner at the white house on friday. if you have to go out in dc this week, take metro, or better yet, car pool. >> thank you, chris. if you use the i-95 express

lanes in virginia on wednesday and thursday, the lanes will reverse direction an hour earlier than normal. the switch will start at 10 apple. the southbound express lanes will open at noon instead of 1:00 p.m. the express lanes will be back to normal on friday. the pope's visit is generating excitement even among non-catholics. some leaders of other christian churches believe it's because of the pope's personality and the way he generates a positive discussion of issues that affects people of all faiths. >> what i enjoy about this pope is where he goes, he tends to create goodwill. he tends to leave people with a sense of grace and love and joy. and in so doing, he opens a space for all of us in the conversation we're attempting to have. >> he says the pope's message is relevant for all christians because he addresses the

vulnerable among us, the sanctity of life, creation, and our stewardship of the planet. these are all issues that he says all churches embrace. have you looked outside? rain is on the storm team 4 radar tonight. monitor the conditions on our app in the break. but veronica will explain when we can expect to see more changes. we'll be right back.

what can i make for you? how about one of our reuben sandwiches? choose from tender corned beef or oven roasted turkey breast, topped with sauerkraut, melty swiss cheese and thousand island dressing. enjoy one while they're here! subway. eat fresh.

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.

what a win for the redskins against the rams. first one of the year. sun is shining today. no rest, though. only three days until their next game, a division matchup on thursday against the giants. momentum is in the redskins' favor. all aspects of the team looking good, including the qb, kirk cousins. he threw a touchdown to pierre garcon and did not turn the ball over. the outside noise seeping in. a story today that cousins and rg iii do not get long, cannot even be in the same room today. griffin tweeted, when the hate don't work they start telling lies, i guess celebrating that your team won with your teammates is isolating

yourself, #httr. jason, i imagine the guys are more focused on the giants today than that report. >> reporter: carol, that's absolutely right. the redskins know just how good this giants team truly be. they could easily are 2-0 rather than 0-2. they just walked through that practice like you mentioned, about 40 minutes ago in the practice bubble today. it's a short week due to the thursday night game, so they held practice today. normally they would be off today. wednesday they fly out to new york. i had a chance to catch up with ryan carrigan a few moments ago. i asked him how quickly do you move on from yesterday's victory. >> almost immediately. right after we won we were in the locker room, high fiving and all of that. the linebacker coach says, guys, it's a wednesday to we've got to get back to work tomorrow. so that's kind of the way it is with these thursday night games.

that's cool. we're looking forward to this game. >> reporter: how challenging is it to prepare for a thursday night game? >> your body is pretty much fully recovered -- well, not fully, but thursday comes around wednesday. you're feeling good and ready to roll. >> reporter: quarterback david ammer has been released by the organization. he didn't play a single play yesterday against the st. louis rams. >> jason pugh with breaking news. we're going to have more as the redskins turn the page and get ready for the giants, coming up on news4 at 6:00. >> thank you, carol. how this catholic community has its own place in history in the mountains of maryland. [ female announcer ] business travel isn't just about the going.

it's also about the going home. and being connected all along the way. whether you're working or recharging, do business travel on your terms. acela. take off.

there are now more than a hundred employees looking for jobs at laurel hospital. today we spoke with prince george's bureau chief tracy wilkins, in a story you'll only see on news4. >> jobs are not that easy to find. >> reporter: the number rose to more than 100 workers laid off at laurel hospital when more than 80 people received pink slips today. >> people are upset. they're frustrated. >> reporter: the letter, suggesting workers reapply for their positions, was expected friday. >> there had been a big buildup to that. at 3:00 they said, oh, the person with the letters didn't get here yet, so you have to wait until monday. most everybody i talked to was

very disturbed by being treated that way. >> reporter: the icu and medical care units were impacted today. their layoffs will take effect in november. the maternity ward is closing in october. >> they made a business decision which i think is the correct one. >> reporter: the prince george's county executive has criticized by political leaders on every level, as well as residents, who say they have not heard from him on the downsizing. he told me today he supports the closure. >> the option would be for us to continue to put more money into a hospital that's losing money. and that means that the county, which is strapped, we just don't have the money. >> reporter: state lawmakers who represent the laurel area threaten if the hospital is closed, they may derail money planned for the medical center in largo. baker adamantly objects. >> my job is to make sure that we have a fully functional

access to healthcare here. >> reporter: coming up at 6:00, these employees are being told to reapply for their jobs, but are there any jobs to reapply for? tracy wilkins, news4. a big thank you to all our friends in price georges county tonight. we had an amazing turnout for our bluebird blues festival at prince george's college. many musicians took the stage. fun and food for music fans. our family represented, veronica johnson, pat muse, and veronica provided the amazing weather. it was just stunning out there. >> oh, my gosh. and the people were amazing that came up to talk with us. >> they were prepared with umbrellas, but not for rain. for sun. >> it was a hot day. i don't think we're done with the 80s yet, but boy, we're cool

today. showers in the forecast for the next couple of hours. keep that in mind if you're heading to the game, nats taking on the o's, the battle of the beltway. there might be a delay. temperatures of course in the 60s, coming on down. bring the sweatshirts and a ponc poncho. we're down to 64 degrees by last out. by then we'll start to see the rain tapering off, should be ending by 9 or 10:00. the areas that have been the driest, eastern parts of maryland, around southeast maryland, around waldorf, leonardtown. it's been dry for a good chunk of today. we've seen that rain edge eastward. we're wet from the beltway to i-66, up i-95, as well as around route 1 down south. road impacts for the evening. again, traffic could be a little slow. for the overnight, as the rain ends, you get the green light, and for tomorrow morning too, dry conditions, overcast sky.

thumbs up tomorrow, 66. temperatures around the mid-60s across our area. there will be limited breaks in the cloud cover, a little bit of early morning fog too. temperatures tomorrow topping out higher than today, at 75 in dc. 72 frederick. 71 around culpeper. again, mostly cloudy sky for tomorrow. here's a look at the skycast for wednesday. a lot of sunshine expected across the area. the pope heads on in and makes his way around the korarea by n. 80 degrees by 5:00. mostly clear by the evening hours. 81 degrees the high for wednesday. thursday, we're dry, as in upper 70s for the end of the week on friday. still a persifor saturday and s

we'll be tracking a system closely over the next a couple of days, because it could change. make sure you check back and make sure you download our nbc washington app. the early part of next week, upper 70s for high temperatures. i don't think we're done with the 80s yet. we could see our temps rising back to the mid-70s. we've got a lot more, that weekend storm system, coming up on news4 at 6:00. i tend to think i'm forrest gump, that i'm just showing up where i don't belong in this blessed moment. i witnessed history and the leader of my church up front and personal. friends of mine who are not catholic, whether they're jewish, muslim, whether they are

evangelical, mormon, even eig h athei atheists, recognize the pope's call to us to love one another. emmitsburg is home to two catholic shrines. eun yang has more. >> reporter: emmitsburg, maryland is a little town in e tthe mountains. rob judge is executive director of the basilica of the national shrine of saint elizabeth ann

seton. emmitsburg is where she founded the first gocongregation. mother seton became the first person born in the united states to be canonized a saint. >> that legacy of charity that's come from this town is really something that people in the area are very proud of. >> reporter: emeim etemmitsburg home to mt. st. mary's. >> there's a chapel in my dorm. what more could i ask for? >> reporter: it's the national shrine grotto of our lady of lourdes, which attracts students of many faiths. >> people are looking for places

where you can meet god, the biblical imagery of going up on a mountain, set aside technology, and hear god speak. >> reporter: father nolan is the director of campus ministries. he's traveling with students to philadelphia to celebrate mass with pope francis. >> i feel very close to him. i have a great love for social work and welfare. to see his great love for those things that i hold dear just makes it all the more special for me. >> i'm hoping he gives an awesome homily that will touch everybody's lives in some way. >> amen. >> reporter: while many saints have walked this campus on the mount, father nolan says you don't have to look to the past to witness god's work in action. >> it begins here. to grow in faith, to grow in discovering who they are and who they're called to be. >> reporter: father nolan

believes the trip to see the pope will inspire students to serve their community in many ways and carry on the catholic tradition when they graduate. >> in god's provenance, it seems like he chose emmitsburg to send his light from. >> reporter: eun yang, news4. >> follow eun yang on facebook and twitter for more stories on this historic trip. we've been asking all afternoon if you're changing your travel or commuting plans because of the pope's visit. a lot of you are split on whether to change your plans. you can keep voting on our facebook page. 4,000 people a day have their first cigarette. so why are so many people not getting the message? and what city leaders in the district plan to do about it. we'll be right back.

research has been telling us for decades that smoking can kill you. but thousands of people, including many young people, still take it up every day. >> as news4's tom sherwood shows us, the district today launched a week-long stop smoking campaign. >> reporter: at dupont circle

today, one tourist from florida was trying his hula hoop skills. do you smoke? >> quit 20 years ago. >> reporter: but he worries about his children. >> i have three children from a previous marriage and all three smoke. it disturbs me. >> reporter: the district today kicked off a week-long campaign to urge people of all ages to never start or to stop. the dc public health director knows the numbers. >> one in five adults in the district of columbia continues to smoke. in ward 8, nearly 40% of adults report smoking. in higher income communities, rates are much lower. >> reporter: the city is trying to show the ill effects of the habit. shortness of breath, even bad breath, higher risk of cancer.

>> we have e-cigarettes or hookahs that are being repackaged and specifically marketed to young people. >> reporter: at today's kickoff, some said it's hard to quit. >> it does take a village for this. this is very addictive. it is hard to combat once you're addicted to it. >> reporter: she knows. she started at 16 and smoked for 30 years before stopping nine years ago. tom sherwood, news4. now at 6:00, final preparations underway for the pope's visit to the u.s. his three-city tour begins here, as washington, d.c. gets thrust into the international spot, tomorrow. tonight, team coverage of the crowds, the road closures, and the security challenges as tens of thousands of people start making their way to the nation's capital. meagan fitzgerald is live outside the basilica with the excitement that's building there.

>> reporter: the excitement continues to build, because people are out here. they're looking at the preparations, they're seeing the progress, and they say it's starting to become real. in just two days, pope francis will be here celebrating mass. along with his arrival comes heavy security and road closures. it's quite the task when preparing for the pope's arrival. for the last week, crews have been working tirelessly to get the altar and east pour -- portico ready for the pontiff. no one will be allowed inside the gates without a ticket and going through a metal detector. >> it's a great time for dc and for the country. >> reporter: it's a historic event, but officials say one of the ways to ensure the pontiff and spectators are safe is by closing down several roads around the time the pope will be in the area. for instance, when he celebrates mass here on wednesday,