welcome to "news4 this week." ♪ >> hi, yeneveryone, i'm veronic johnson. we're going to show the something stories making news this week. among them, a historic visit to america in just three days. pope francis diving into a wlirlpool of u.s. -- whirlpool of u.s. politics. as we'll show you, some of the most animated moments happened on the streets of the capital. >> i was stunned, and i was amazed, surprised, all of the above. and then i was angry. >> the pontiff making history this week, declaring a new saint for the first time on american soil. and as the holy father made his way around washington, a class of preschoolers led a popemobile parade of their own in front of their school. just an incredible week this

has been for the district of columbia. one that we won't soon forget. from addressing a joint session of congress to mingling with the poor in washington, the holiest man in the world made history here in our city over and over again. wednesday we saw pope francis circle the ellipse in the popemobile following an elaborate welcoming ceremony at the white house that all started at 17th street on the west side of the white house grounds before turning down constitution avenue and up 15th. the holy father waived, giving blessings to the crowd, even taking time to kiss babies as he made his way along the route. here's news4's pat collins. [ cheers ] >> reporter: it was a parade of just one man, but the impact it had -- simply stirring. >> he went by, i was like, oh, my god, i hope he turns around. please turn around. he got to the corner and turned around. ive w-- i was done. i felt so excited.

>> reporter: the main venereal wasn't at the white house. it was in the streets around it. tens of thousands of people lined up for a glimpse of the holy father. some waited for hours. >> this is like last minute. you know, we're going to see the pope. >> reporter: are you left at ten sdplk. >> yeah. >> reporter: last night from pittsburgh? >> yeah. >> reporter: you slept in the parking lot to see the pope. >> yeah. >> reporter: some had traveled from other countries. you're from where? >> canada. >> canada? >> reporter: you came from canada to see the pope? >> yes. >> reporter: what does he mean to you? >> he's love. [ cheering ] >> reporter: some cheered and sang as the anticipation grew. [ wild cheering ] >> reporter: and then there he was. in that popemobile, waving and blessing the crowd as he went down the avenue. he paused to kiss a baby. a baby handed to him by a secret

service agent. he waited as the little girl bought him a t-shirt. then more waves and more blessings. though there were thousands and thousands of people -- [ cheering ] >> reporter: -- many thought the pope was really just there for them. >> i felt that he was looking right at my face. i don't know if he was or not, but he looked like he was looking -- he went like it. and i went, yes! ♪ >> this week you saw the first canonization ever to take place on u.s. soil. 25,000 people looked on at the basilica of the national shrine of the immaculate conception as he made serra a saint.

the event was as controversial as it was historic. >> reporter: you may not know him but his face is west of the best known in california history. junipero serra who at mid-life decided he needed a change. >> what he was doing as an academic was not exactly the kind of thing he felt he was ordained to be a priest for. >> reporter: robert sancowitz is a history professor and new book on sea. he writes how serra arrived to set up a system of catholic missions and bring gospel and make native americans citizens of the british empire. >> he wanted to make them catholic and teaching european agriculture. >> reporter: before his death, serra founded nine of the 21 missions in california, converting as many as 90,000 indians to catholicism. john ford is a theology professor at catholic university. >> he is a founder of

catholicism. sometimes he's called the apostle of california. >> reporter: saint pope john paul ii bee atified serra in 19. earlier this year, pope francis announced he would elevated serra to saint and called him a saintly example of the church's universality and a special patron of hispanic people of the country, but not everyone is on board. >> i was stunned and amazed, surprised, all of the above. then i was angry. >> reporter: anthony morales is chief red blood of the gabrialino tonga band of indians near los angeles, one of self groups against ser -- several groups against serra's conn canonization. >> our people were beaten, tortured, our women were raped. it was forced labor and, of course, religion. >> reporter: the mexicana has held protest and has arkccused e

church of genocide. >> a mix of coercion. a difficult thing to understand in the 21st century. >> reporter: serra said it it was a one-way street of sorts and indians who tried to leave it were found and disciplined, usually flogged. across the entire mission period, european diseases from which native americans had no immunity killed up to 150,000 native californians. >> they argued the pope by canonizing serra is kind of canonizing the whole mission system and accepting and even approving the kind of huge death rate that happened there. >> reporter: sankow at this z thinks the places of safety considered missionaries protectors. serra's revered position in history takes hold as the church moves forward with canonization. at the basilica, serra stands prominently among figures in stained glass in the sacred room reserved for priests to prepare for mass. and just below the mosaic of

blessed junipero serra commemorating his journey to and mission in the new world. in washington, aaron gilchrest, news4. the other big talk around town this week is the holy father's humble choice of transportation. for three days, we saw pope francis zig-zag around in this humble fiat 500-l. a local sdip crediting the holy father with helping close a couple of deals. at least one woman was on the fence about the fiat until now. >> called me this morning and said, "hey, i think i've reconsidered my purchase of the fiat 500. i'd like to come in and get one." >> then, of course, the popemobile. that was a modified jeep wrangler which is also a product of fiat chrysler. if you preorder the new iphone 6, pope francis may be the reason that it has yet to arrive. u.p.s. announced this week that deliveries may be delayed due to traffic restrictions around the d.c. area. if you haven't gotten it in the

mail, u.p.s. suggests tracking your package on line. just that easy. all of our coverage on pope francis' visit is on line. download the nbc washington app when you get a chance this weekend, please do. check out the special papal visit section. five years late and $80 million over budget, the silver spring transit center finally opened this week. ahead on "news4 this week," was it worth it? and criminals passing drug tests even while they're high. the news4 i-team tells us why it's about to change. ♪

i was at my shop tied up with a customer when i realized the time. i had to get to the bank before it closed, so i made a break for it. when i got out it was almost closing time. traffic was bad. i knew i was cutting it close. but it was ok. i use td bank. it's got the longest hours and stays open an extra ten minutes every day. i'm sid. and i bank human at td bank.

welcome back to "news4 this week." the silver line continues its expansion out to dulles. a new construction project is about to kick off. crews will be expanding the bridge over centreville road in herndon. that means that centreville road will be closed at times, and a lot of the drivers, if you are one of those that hit the road,

you'll be impacted. we know that construction will start in the next couple of weeks. the long-delayed silver spring transit center debuted on monday. for years, commuters have waited at stops for buses scattered across silver spring. now they're all in one location. despite a long history of problems and delays, things seem to be running fairly smoothly. this week, the district got a big boost from the obama administration for police body cameras. d.c. received a million dollars in federal cash to equip its police officers with controversial cameras, all part of a larger $20 million being distributed to dozens of agencies across the country. 2,400 body cams were purchased with that money. >> once we actually procure the cameras and get them outfitted for officers, the district of columbia will have one of the most robust body camera programs in the country. >> the council and mayor have

yet to work out final details. among the issues, who is allowed to see the footage and whether or not it will be subject to frame of information request. the council expects to answer all those questions by the end of october. just be patient. the d.c. court system is about to become the first in the nation to test all offenders for synthetic drugs. in a news4 i-team exclusive, tisha thompson takes you inside the district's lab for the first time to show you how the people were cheating the system and why that's all about to change. >> reporter: in this lab, every cup you see contains a hidden story. a tale about someone who just went to jail or recently got out on probation or parole in washington, d.c. >> everybody who comes through lockup at superior court and in the district court, we ask them if they would want to give a urine specimen. >> reporter: cliff keenan runs the pretrial services agency and says this is the first time he's

ever allowed a television camera inside his lab because he's made a major decision that he hopes will dramatically change the drug culture in the city. for decades, pretrial services has used machines like this to prescreen for marijuana, cocaine, pcp, amphetamines, and opiates like heroin. >> this is testing positive for marijuana. >> reporter: forensic chemists like kendra anderson process about 143,000 tests a month. >> the prescreening will say, for example, that are you on opiates. this confirmation will say the opiate that you were on is codeine. >> reporter: until now she's relied on these gcms machines to tell her how much of the drug was in someone's system. one machine for each type of drug. >> this is a moment of truth. this will sail whether you're yay or nay. >> reporter: they knew their tests did not cover synthetic drugs. they allowed the doctor at the maryland center for substance abuse research to analyze their leftover samples to see what

they might be missing. >> among young men in the district, as much as 50% of the people who pass the limited type test test positive for synthetic drugs. it's amazing. >> reporter: he says it became quickly apparent why the number was so high. >> if people are aware that they're going to be part of a drug monitoring or drug-testing program, they know what drugs are tested for. they know marijuana is being tested for, but not synthetic. they switch and use only the synthetic canamenoids during the period they know they'll be tested. >> reporter: he tested a small sample of violent offenders this july which revealed 20% were on synthetic drugs when they were taken into custody. but these new tests are expensive. keenan says it costs $1.60 to test for the traditional drugs. but a private lab charges about $25 a sample to test for synthetics which is why he bought this new lcms machine.

>> it's very expensive. not a little bit expensive. very expensive. >> reporter: it can test for any kind of drug, including synthetics, for about $3.50 a sample. >> people who will are using some of the street drugs like b bizarro and scooby snacks and k2 who thought we were not able to detect those drugs or see they were being used, we'll be in a position to identify those. we will be reporting back to the court or to the supervising officer the fact that this person, in fact, was using the drug. >> reporter: keenan says this machine makes them the first agency of their kind in the nation to test for these types of drugs and hopes that as word spreads, these samples will tell a new story about people no longer using synthetics to cheat the system. tisha thompson, news4 i-team. >> and tisha has put the first batch of violent crime numbers linked to synthetic drugs on our nbc washington app. click on "investigations."

still ahead on "news4 this week," the salmonella scare threatening a popular new d.c. restaurant. what one woman says happened to her after she ate at fig and olive. hope for a local high school student in need of a new wheelchair. wait until you see how the community responds. ♪ hand-crafted...layer by layer. the new macchiato from dunkin' donuts. experience the flavor of fall with a new hot or iced pumpkin macchiato. it's from virtually anywhere.rn of danger it's been smashed, dropped and driven. it's perceptive enough to detect other vehicles on the road. it's been shaken, rattled and pummeled. it's innovative enough to brake by itself, park itself and help you steer. it's been in the rain... the cold... and dragged through the mud. introducing the all-new mercedes-benz gle. it's where brains meet brawn.

dunkin' has a dark roast coffee that's deliciously roasted just right for a bold start and smooth finish that's never bitter. put down the dark roast you've been putting up with and reach for the one you deserve. a trendy new restaurant in the district is back open, but now they're facing legal troubles. it's after several salmonella cases were reported by customers who ate or drank at fig and olive restaurant at the city center d.c. over labor day weekend. the women who filed the multimillion-dollar suit all claiming personal injury and negligence. she says that she collapsed during a half-marathon in the early stages of the illness. up to a dozen others have reached out also to an attorney. the man who founded reston, virginia, more than 50 years ago

died monday at the age of 101. news4 talked to him in may. well, as he led students at lake anne elementary on a bike-to-school day, he told us he was most proud of lake anne's plaza. this week, he was remembered as a visionary. he founded reston on april 10th, 1964. one of the first master planned communities in the united states. there's been an outpouring of support for a local student inspiring a whole community. ibra has cerebral palsy and desperately needs a new wheelchair. his classmates at what the kins mill high school in gaithersburg -- watkins mill high school in gaithersburg started a campaign to raise money for him. they've surpassed their goal, raising more than -- get this -- $30,000. all that money will help ibra's family get that wheelchair and pay for some other medical expenses. still to come on "news4 this week," it was supposed to be a traffic nightmare in d.c. this week. how did metro hold up to all the

crowds? and the papal parade that you didn't get to see complete with secret service protection and a secret service protection and a bishop's escort.

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. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ in the days, weeks leading up to the pope's arrival in the district, his visit had been billed a potential traffic nightmare. transportation experts warned that it could take up to two hours to get around the area, but most drivers say it wasn't that bad. not as bad as expected. earlier in the week, the petition began to circulate to get pope francis to bless the metro system. maybe it worked. saving one of the best moments of the week here for last, a papal parade brought to you by the students at st. jude catholic school in rockville. the group included students from a preschool all the way to eighth grade, 4-year-old maxamiliano hernandez played the pope.

other students played the cardinals and even secret service. students watched the real parade afterwards in the school auditorium. that's delightful. that's all for "news4 this week," and what a week it has been. i'm veronica johnson. thanks for joining us. we'll leave you now with some more moments from the pope's historic visit right here in washington, d.c. until next time, remember, be safe, be kind, and be happy. [ applause ] ♪ ♪ ♪

>> the pope

♪ >> welcome to "redskins chronicles." i'm larry michael at redskins park. each week on "redskins chronicles" we take an in depth look at a piece of the team's storied legacy. today we'll hear from the architect of all three of the redskins super bowl championship team defenses. redskins back in action on sunday hosting philadelphia. 1:00 kickoff at fedex field. both teams are 1-2. the redskins come off a loss