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. among them, power to the rider. metro's gm is proposing more bold changes after that week-long shutdown, and it could mean that you get back a little money. plus they're life-saving devices that are often going unused because they are so complicated, but are defibrillators easy enough for a sixth grader to use? the i-team tests it out. ♪ they say it treats me unkind >> music is in his blood. we visit owen danoff to find out where he gets his inspiration to compete on "the voice." metro riders may be about to

never had before. when there are massive delays, they could be allowed to leave the system without paying. the transportation reporter, adam tuss, tells us the proposal is part of a broader refund strategy for the entire transit system. >> reporter: it's one of the most frustrating parts of being a metro rider, tapping into the system only to see a big delay and then you tap out and still have that pay. now metro is trying to give you the ability to tap into the system, tap out when there's a big delay and not be charged. metro calls it the grace period. riders will have a 15-minute window to leave the station without being charged if there's a major delay. >> i think that's something that they should implement. if you're standing and waiting for a train ten minutes and you decide you have to get out, get an uber, you're still paying $1.50 to stand there and do nothing. >> reporter: this wouldn't take effect until july 1st but is expected to be approved. it's

refund riders when things don't go right. the general manager is going to ask his board to waive fares when there are emergency situations. >> these are complex organizations and you've just got to manage them. can we do a better job? yes. >> reporter: the gm says frankly he shouldn't have to think about refunds. >> we've got to do a much better job so we never get to that stage. what did we learn and how do we apply that. >> reporter: this is the first time any gem manager has the broad authority to give you your money back if the service level declines. the future is looking brighter to ten d.c. students that's sure to bring relief to their parents. you're looking at a senior at duke ellington school of the arts who found out that she's getting a full ride to george washington university. gwu's president, steven knapp, hand delivered the scholarship letters.

about what was going through her mind when she knew that she won. >> i just knew that it was for me, that it was just my time. i worked so hard and to know that your hard work paid off. it's a blessing. >> absolutely, absolutely. she says that she plans to become an anesthesiologist one day. the scholarship program will cover tuition, room, board, books and fees for all four years. well, you may not pay much attention to it, but the google home page featured the work of a talented local high schooler this week. akilla johnson is the national winner of the latest google 4 doodle contest. she reimagined the logo as a braid over a brick wall mural that celebrates her upbringing in afro-centric culture. as part of the contest prize, the school will get a $50,000

a $30,000 college scholarship. all right, way to go. well, it's that time of the year again. at least two black bears have been spotted in virginia. fairfax county police say a bear and cub were seen at a home in vienna. the bears did not pose a problem, but they did stay on the property for about an hour. if you come close to a bear this spring, police say back off, give them a little space. if it's safe, you should bring your pets inside and remove all possible food sources, including trash. report any sightings to the virginia wildlife conflict help line and we have that number on our nbc washington app. all right, well, it's the workplace of some of the most influential men and women in the world, and now, now there's a new man in charge of protecting the u.s. capitol. we'll introduce you to him next. plus a local bomb squad is hoping to bring some smiles to children's faces this easter with some unique easter eggs. you've got to see this.

well, the agency charged with protecting the u.s. capitol has a new leader. matthew verderosa was sworn in as the capitol police chief this week. he's a 30-year veteran of the agency and he takes over at a pivotal time. congress is considering adding dozens of officers and millions of dollars to the force. a series of security threats have targeted the capitol in recent months, including a gyrocopter landing on the grounds. >> the biggest challenge you're facing? >> i think the biggest challenge is always maintaining safety and security in an environment where we're welcoming everyone to come to the people's house. >> the outgoing capitol police chief, who also once led the city of frederick police department, officially retired this week. well, members of the prince george's county fire department bomb squad built beeping e

eggs for the visually impaired children. the 48 beeping eggs will allow the kids to chance to hunt for easter eggs by using a different sense. the eggs were constructed to allow for rough handling. the beeping eggs were donated to the vision program, which is part of the department of special education for the county. well, could a sixth grader save your life if you had a heart attack? coming up next, the result of the news4 i-team test that could help determine how easy it is to find an aed during an emergency. and soccer has always been part of their lives, but for the first time, they'll actually be able to run. how an amazing gift is changing the lives of these amputees. fios is not cable. we're wired differently. in the last 10 years our competitors have received a few awards. but we've received a few more, including jd power who ranked us highest in customer satisfaction for the third year in a row. only fios has the fastest internet

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well, life is looking a lot better for a group of liberian amputee soccer players here in d.c. news4 was there when five men walked on two feet for the first time in a long

has the story from rockville. >> reporter: in some ways, these men are taking their first steps in many, many years. they were just fitted with new free prosthetics. samuel eastman lost his leg when he was just 14 years old. >> it's like a dream come true, because we couldn't afford it on our own. >> reporter: the men are refugees from liberia. they lost their legs in war, bomb blasts, shootings and machete attacks. they didn't have any way to get new legs. these guys are part of an international soccer team for disabled players. up until this point they played using crutches. this is a game-changer today. it was through that soccer team that the men came to the united states. they're living at a homeless shelter in d.c. as they apply for permanent asylum. catholic charities got the ball rolling for them and the medical center prosthetics and

made it happen. >> it is so amazing. these gentlemen are so appreciative of being able to have a leg. and then as you watch them and see them get up and moving, it's more than heart-warming. >> you'll see with some of the guys that are above-the-knee amputees, it becomes more complex and they require more rehabilitation to get on with those devices. >> no crutches. >> reporter: the men feel the new legs will open new opportunities for them to get work and take away the stigma of having to walk with crutches. >> do you feel like you've been discriminated against to some degree in the past? >> yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, very much, yeah. but now things are going to change. >> reporter: in rockville, darcy spencer, news4. >> doctors say sudden cardiac arrest is responsible for more deaths than breast cancer, lung cancer and hiv combined. but unlike those diseases, they say we already have the telo

but aren't using it enough. we show you how some in congress are trying to change that and why their success may depend on a group of sixth graders. >> reporter: there's nothing quite like sixth graders meeting for the first time. meet lawrence, sara, olivia, lee and brighton, five very talkative, totally typically middle schoolers who have no idea what's waiting for them behind this door. but before we show them, we're going to make them sit there for a little bit, because we first have to take you on a trip to houston, texas. >> i biked up through here. i made it to about right here. >> reporter: that's where we found scott, who was just 41 years old when he collapsed on this popular hiking trail. >> i fell off the bike with a cardiac arrest. i had no pulse and no breathing and was essentially dead. >> reporter: he said an automated external defibrillator or aed brought him back to life. >> only 5%

restaurants have aeds. many exercise facilities don't because they're threatened by the laws. they believe if they have one, they'll be held to a standard of care of a medical facility and, therefore, be at risk. >> reporter: he went to his congressman, pete olson, who says too many nationwide chains told him they're afraid to install the devices in their stores. >> they're worried that if they have it in their stores and somebody drops down, they'll be sued. >> reporter: he pointed to his own congressional office building here in washington, d.c., where the aed warns it can only be used by trained persons. because, the congressman says, d.c. has a complicated liability law. but just across the border in virginia, you can put one up with no restrictions. olson says the rules vary so much from state to state, he's introduced the cardiac arrest survival act to protect any business that installs an aed and anyone who uses it from being sued. >> these devices are designed to be used by folks who are not trained medical

is a nationally renowned cardiologist at george washington university and contacted the news4 i-team after watching our recent investigation, which found one out of five aeds in our area were locked up in offices or hidden away behind security desks. >> they should be out in the open rather than locked in an office. >> reporter: the doctor thinks too many local businesses lock up aeds because that complicated d.c. law makes them think defibrillators can only be used by trained personnel. but he said there's a huge amount of scientific research showing the devices are so easy to use, you don't need any training at all to bring someone back to life. >> my favorite study is the study that compared sixth grade kids to paramedics. >> reporter: and that is why our sixth graders are sitting here. we demonstrated what that university of washington study did by bringing each child, one by one, into the studio where they were greeted by captain lee silverman. captain

gave each of our sixth graders the same directions used in the scientific study. >> we're going to pretend that this mannequin on the floor, his heart has stopped and his breathing has stopped. what we need you to do is use this automated external defibrillator. we can't help you and i can't give you any directions, but everything you need is in this box. i want to see how fast you can do it. >> ready, set, go for it. >> reporter: we timed each of the kids as they had to first figure out how to open the box, turn it on, find the pads and figure out how to stick those pads onto the mannequin, something that tripped them all up for a bit. some of the kids tried to zap the mannequin too quickly, but the machine would not let them do it until it was safe. >> push to shock. >> the pads are in the right place, so you did well. >> reporter: with no training the kids all figured it out on average in two minutes and one second, plenty of time to save a life.

takes an average sixth grader just 20 seconds longer to deploy the device when compared to trained paramedics. >> every kid could do it. >> reporter: dr. riner says do not be afraid to use an aed. you can't kill someone who's already dead. as these kids learned, it will only shock someone if they have no heartbeat. >> we did it in a few minutes. >> reporter: because, says our brave little group of sixth graders will now tell you. >> they can do this and they should know how to do it so they can save someone's life. >> congressman olson says the bill doesn't cost taxpayers a dime and is a rare bill that both republicans and democrats can both support. but to pass, he says he needs more co-signers and is asking folks to e-mail their congressman to tell them to support the bill. experts say it always helps to have a little bit of training. of course you can go to our nbc washington app for a quick demo on how to use one.

for nine years but could you soon be seeing a ball game at a park with a different name? what news4 is learning about the naming rights to the stadium. naming rights to the stadium. life's sharing a meal. and a kitchen with room for everyone. spend $4000 or more on a new kitchen and get 15% back at the ikea kitchen event.

life's sharing a meal. and a kitchen with room for everyone. spend $4000 or more on a new kitchen and get 15% back at the ikea kitchen event. oh, it's that time of the year and heading into their ninth season at nationals park, the nats will be ready to cash in on naming their home stadium. news4 confirmed the team is working with the advisory firm to find a naming rights partner. now, only about a third of major league baseball teams play in stadiums not named after a corporate sponsor. the division rival, new york mets, have the richest stadium name deal in baseball. at 20 years and $400 million for the name citi field. >> you really did the job. the winner is owen. >> owen will move to the knockouts. >> y

"the voice" this week. owen danoff. as owen prepares for the live shows, mark segraves spent some time with him and his grammy-winning father, two generations of musicians taking two very different paths down the same road. >> reporter: bill and owen danoff have been playing music together for years. ♪ when bill was 26 years old, he had his first hit. when djohn denver recorded "tak me home country roads" which danoff wrote. now his son, owen, is 26 and is a contestant on "the voice." ♪ i gave her my heart but she wanted my soul ♪ >> i consider myself an artist. i'm a huge paul simon fan, bob dylan fan. i love john

didn't list his father among his musical influences. >> we have to keep him humble around here. >> reporter: a few years ago when the two were asked onstage to sing one of his father's biggest hits, owen had to ask his father how it went. >> he never learned this. he doesn't know any of my songs. >> i had to ask him for the chords about five minutes before i went onstage. >> reporter: fighting back the tears as his son got all four juj judges to turn around, danoff knew his son's path to success wasn't going to be like his. >> if you got a hit record that was the ticket to getting an album. >> reporter: while owen's voice is in the spotlight right now, it's his song writing that he hopes the fans will come to know. >> everything comes together but for me it's about the lyrics more than anything else, so that's my big focus. >> reporter: while owen didn't learn his dad's songs until later in life, it was an early sign he wanted to be like his dad. >> the grammy disappeared off the piano. >> i took it and tried to

>> reporter: listening to the father and son share a song, it's clear it may not be the same path, but it's very much the same journey. ♪ >> reporter: in the district, mark segraves, news4. >> he's great. around here, we love supporting local talent. go, owen. that's all for news4 this week. i'm veronica johnson. thanks for joining us. we're going to leave you with some images of the new first family of eagles. until next time, remember, be safe, be kind, be happy. bye-bye, everybody.

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