welcome to news 4 this week. >> hi, i'm veronica johnson. we're going to show you the interesting stories making news this week. among them, no wait at the dmv for this one. a new driver-by test is coming to virginia that won't even slow you down. and we know what you need to do to pass. rallying around beer. more than 20 local breweries are creating the ultimate drink for the ultimate cause. it's something many of us might take for granted. a bench at a bus shelter. i'm mark see graves. coming up, why many of these benks have gone missing. 87 lawsuits were filed against metro this week, one year after the deadly smoke

incident at la font plaza station. passengers say they're still dealing with the emotional effects. one describes feeling helpless while stuck in a smoke-filled train. the other says she's haunted by the image of a woman who died. >> we're told stay put, like the best thing you can do is stay put. if you open the doors and get off of the train, the train can't move. you would be jeopardizing everyone else if you tried to get off of the train. there was nothing to do but wait and hope that the smoke didn't get worse. >> her being unconscious and everything, that's the main thing that sticks into my head. that was a memory that i still live with of them carrying her through the train. >> the 67-year-old carol glover of virginia is the woman who died. the 87 lawsuits filed are in addition to the lawsuit already filed by her family. well now to a new program in virginia that could make getting the emissions test a whole lot

easy per. drivers can by. pass their mechanic to get the test done. >> this is going to be a huge change for thousands of drivers here in northern virginia. here's how it works. you drive through the green boxes there, an infrared beam is shot across the road, it measures your emissions on the spot and if you pass, you get a bill in the mail and pay it. there are some simple things you can do. this is a test you want to pass. all across northern virginia this rapid pass program being deployed to test emissions as cars drive by at regular speeds. now a lot of drivers will know on the spot if they pass. so what's the best way the get an a-plus on your emissions test? jim sands is the president of the inspection service running the program. >> keeping your car maintained, keeping the air pressure in your tires at regular levels, doing the oil changes.

those are just good solid maintenance issues that some people just don't pay any attention to. >> if you do pass, and only if you pass the test, you'll get a let near the mail saying you passed and have the option op paying your emission fee online. it's the same $28 charge you would pay at a typical garage to get the test done. matt howard was the first virginia resident to get the letter. >> i got the notice in the mail and i had never heard of rapid test, i thought it was junk mail. but i did open it and it appeared to be legit and i went online and sure enough, it was a piece of cake. >> you may soon get one of these letters in the mail and the state wants you to know it is real. they held a press conference today to say so. >> we're partnering with rapid pass virginia. you really can get your certification this way. >> you can go to the rapid pass website or go to the nbc washington app where we have a link. along i-66 in northern virginia,

news4. >> i like it. anything to speed things up. a warning from police in arlington county. they're investigating a string of home burglaries linked to housekeeping services booked online. in each of the cases, a homeowner handed over a key to a person they trusted to clean their home. but when they returned they found items missing. police say all of the victims contracted the suspects thieves from the same third. party website designed for connecting you with house kooepers. police aren't naming the website just yet. janine garcia owns maximaids and has advice for those looking for a housekeeper. >> found out who a company, how long have they been in business, are they really screening their employees. do they really train them. police say also be vigilant and hide your valuables. and if you can, try to be home during the service. well there's something

missing from some d.c. buses. someone has been stealing the benches. mark sea graves found the problem is getting so bad that d.c. is now asking police for help. >> there are hundreds of new bus shelters across the district equipped with new maps, electronic signs with real-time bus information and benches. but as news4 looked up and down 14th and 16th streets in upper northwest, we found shelter after shelter after bus shelter with no benches. >> i see that. no place for me to sit. >> benches are held in position by four bolts. easily accessible from the rear of the shelter. and while scrap metals only go for between 20 to 70 cents a pound, officials at the district's department of transportation which maintains the bus shelters believes someone may be stealing the aluminum benches and selling them. >> a lot of elderly has to catch the bus here and there's in place for them to sit,

especially during rush hour when the bus stop is crowded. >> in a written statement vdot tells news4 we're aware of the vandalism and we're working with local scrap yards to bringing attention to this illegal activity. anyone caught stealing vdot property or receiving stolen goods will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. vdot is also working to better secure the benches. after we informed vdot of all of the misses benches, the agency asked news4 for our list so they could come back and replace the benches. news4. it's, his home for almost eight years. but with the days counting down until the president leaves the white house, the obamas are looking for a new home and many think it will be right here in d.c. it's called a six-second break-in and it could make your garage vulnerable to robbers.

how they do it, how to protect yourself next on news4 thi

boy have i got a job for you. do you like to cuddle? here's an opportunity for you. a virginia farm is looking for volunteer to snuggle their baby goats. yep. this is down in the county. around 90 babies are going to be born next month and they need help snuggling and bottle feeding them. the goats don't drink their mother's milk because the farm uses that milk to make goat cheese. sign up now. the first family has about a year left to enjoy that great big old white house, a 20,000 square feet. it's safe to say they'll be downsizing and many think they're going to stay right here in the d.c. area. >> there are ten houses currently on the market priced between $4 million and $6

million that would aptly provide for the obamas. >> do we need another motorcade in town. >> are you kidding? do we want president barack obama to live in washington, d.c.? you bet. >> real estate agents have also suggested the neighborhood as an option. the obamas are expected to stay in town until their two daughters finish school. with maryland governor's cancer in remission, his hair is starting to grow back. we like it. the governor had his first haircut since finishing chemo and took this picture. he was diagnosed in june. after months of treatment he announced in november that he was cancer free. well, she's just 5 5'6" and 150 pounds. but she has the strength to lift a car. the super human fete that this 19-year-old pulled off to save

her family. and helping this one woman fight cancer. the story behind the special brew next.

special beer is brewing in northern virginia. it's called curry's cure, named for a young mom battling stage four cancer. her husband owns a brewery and his colleagues are now stepping up to help. >> when matt rose and his wife learned last year she was pregnant after years after trying, they were elated. little lance was on the way. then in her 27th week of pregnancy, a terrible discovery. curry had stage 4 stomach cancer. >> it's not a diagnosis you ever want to hear at any age and we heard it -- we're very happy that lance is okay. that's the fist and foremost. >> because of the cancer lance was delivered early in september.

curry is now hospitalized, chemotherapy didn't work so she's receiving immune no therapy treatment. husband matt rose runs a brew works. casey jones owned mayor wind brewing. >> it hit her hard. what the you do. we immediately turned and said, let's do what we do well. let's brow a beer. >> so the idea for curry's cure and the breweries against cancer was born. word went out and 20 brewers answered the call, gathering today to make this very special batch, a belgium pale ale. all 20 will soon offer the beer in their tap rooms. proceeds going to help with curry's medical bills. >> the dollars go to her. we want it to sell well and sell fast. >> overwhelming. there's so many good people

here. it really does, it just makes you feel like everybody is on your side. >> on top of raising money, though, these brewers hope this turnout will lift curry's spirits. >> curry to know if a visible way that it's not just cards and flowers in the hospital room. there are a whole bunch of people pulling for her and there's a whole bunch for drink in the tap room. >> matt says his wife is overwhelmed too. >> she broke down in tears. everybody has been no nice and amazing to her. >> the new beer will be on tap january 29th. for a look at the 20 brewers who are offering it, open or nbc washington app and click on brewer. news4. well she's a soft spoken teenager who found super strength when she and her family needed it most. her father pinned under an suv in the garage. then the smell of gasoline and an explosion. her grandmother and 3-month-old niece among those still in the

house. news4 jackie benson explains what this virginia teenager did next. >> the minute the jack slipped, almost instantaneous smell of gasoline and then whoosh. >> eric describes the scene in the garage of his vienna home the night of november 28th. he was pin nd under the old gmc truck from which he had just removed a wheel and the garage was catching fire. >> we had a bunch of propane containers and they were cooking off and just, you know, fireballs. >> after ten minutes of fruitless struggle, the door opened and his last hope at survival ran in, his 19-year-old daughter charlotte, all 5'6", 120 pounds of her, barefoot. but he knew his daughter, knew the steel and strength that had earned the former pole vaulter a place at the u.s. air force academy. >> i felt the weight shift and i said, you almost got it. and then it was just suddenly

i'm, you know, pulled out. >> then he says charlotte realizing the truck's gas tank was about to explode and possibly engulf the house, jumped in the drive's seat and somehow gunned the truck sideways out of the garage on the three remaining wheels. tonight charlotte, surrounded by the members of her family spard from home that night was given the fairfax county fire department's citizen life saving award presented by jim moran. burns to her feet and hand and back injury have kept her from returning to the air force academy right now. but it's no surprise her future plans include public service. >> if i can't do any of the military branches, then probably intelligence or government, just something. maybe fire. fire and rescue. i don't know. right now i'm healing up and making sure everyone in the family is okay. >> in vienna, virginia, jackie benson, news4. he's half the man he used to be in a very good way.

a virginia man's incredible weight loss transformation is now inspiring others around the world.

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well all it takes is a youtube video, six seconds and a burglar can do pretty major damage inside of your home or garage. chris gordan talked to one d.c. couple who learned that lesson the hard way and has since learned how to keep burglars out for good. >> if you think your automatic garage door keeps thieves locked out, listen up. this adams morgan couple learned an expensive lesson when wine and bicycles were stolen through three recent burglaries here. >> the first time we had seven bicycles parked in the garage. they took five of them. after that we replaced two, they hit us again. >> they wondered how the thieves broke in by passing their alarm

system. brian searched the internet and discovered youtube videos showing the technique called the six-second break-in. brian also found ways to fix his automatic garage door to lock thieves out. >> it slides through the frame, through a gap in the frame, and then you can actually put a padlock on the other side. and so now you can put a board and you secure it to the top of the garage and it goes over -- there's a ledge here. and eliminates the gap. eliminates the ability for somebody to put a coat hanger up. on the internet, the other solution that's suggested is to put a zip tie around the lever to prevent that lever to be able to pulled down easily. >> each one of these locking

techniques costs less than $10 and you can do the work yourself. if you want to learn more about t protecting your home, you can go to the nbc 4 washington app and search break-ins. >> that's a good idea. people from all over the world have asking a virginia man for help with weight loss after his success landed him in "people "magazine. austin schifflet is featured. she dropped more than 160 pounds in just a year. and he did it with daily intersize and the atkin's diet. his first step was getting on the scale. it read 324 pounds. >> i was like, this can't be right. i stepped back off and got back on thinking it was a mistake. i hit rock bottom then. >> austin says his next goal is to work as a personal trainer so he can help others with their

weight loss journey. we want to say things to everyone who came to our nbc 4 health and fitness expo last weekend at the washington convention center. we hope you learned some healthy tips, got in a great workout, were inspired by our speakers and exhibitors. hopefully you had a lot of fun too. we did. we're planning for next year and hope to see you again. thanks for watching "news4 this week." i'm veronica johnson. that's all. we're going to leave you with some video of the first snow of the winter. until next time, be safe, be kind, be happy, everybody. ♪ ♪

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