rbed by your body. megared. the difference is easy to absorb. right now on news4 "this week" one of d.c.'s most prominent figures is moving on. what police chief cathy lanier says about her retirement and plans after that. >> problem after problem at the washington monument. why the landmark shut down for several days. and remembering the son of d.c.'s mayor for life christopher barry's death and what we can learn from his life. >> welcome to news4 "this week." >> hi, everyone. we begin with that huge announcement. police chief cathy lanier is retiring after nearly a decade as the top officer in washington. next up, she's taking a job with the nfl. news4 tells us about the major shake-up. >> chief cathy lanier was in good spirits as she appeared before a tg

>> i heard they have air conditioning at the nfl. >> when lanier was appointed chief ten years ago by mayor adrian fenty, she was one of the youngest chiefs in the nation. >> for me retirement makes me feel old. >> lanier says she wasn't looking for a new job but the nfl reached out to her, asking her to head up their security. she decided it was the right time to move on. >> i feel like the transition for me now to the nfl, it is america's favorite sport. and that also deserves that same sense of safety. >> mayor bowser says she'll begin the search for a new chief right away. >> she will leave a tremendous legacy here. since her tenure as chief, she has overseen a 23% drop in violent crime in the district of columbia. >> while lanier can look back at a long list of improvements she's made as

chief. >> lowest days for me are days when children or the elderly are victims of crime. >> lanier will collect a pension from d.c. of about $180,000 a year. she wouldn't say how much the nfl will be paying her. >> my mother taught me it was not polite to ask about salary. but i will refer you to the public information office at the nfl. marianne christopher barry, the son of former d.c. maria bartiromo-on barry was only 36 years old when they died. his death is bringing renewed attention to the problem of drug abuse. more about barry's death and profound effects of his struggles with addiction. >> reporter: police and an ambulance were call to this apartment sunday morning. 36-year-old marion christopher barry collapsed. a police report says the son

had smoked k-2 and pcp drugs, acting crazy different and suddenly dropped. he was pronounced dead at george washington university hospital, the latest victim in a national drug problem. >> we have in this country 78 deaths a day just from opiate overdoses, not to mention all the other substances that are out there. >> reporter: this doctor, a psychotherapist in washington and maryland noted christopher barry struggled like many mormany years with addictions but failing one final time. >> although many people seek help, not everyone actually makes it into recovery. >> reporter: dr. smith, herself in recovery two decades, says addictions can destroy people and wear out their family and friends who try to help. >> that feeling is very common among friends and family members, you know, second guessing what they did, what they didn't do.

sometimes walking away is exactly the right thing to do so that the person can hit bottom and wake up. other times you walk away and they die. >> if we can have a moment of silence. >> reporter: there was a moment of silence at the city's wilson building and friends are marking his death. >> a great guy, great brother, great friend. he had his struggles but we all have our struggles. news4 has been looking at problems with addiction in america, specifically the opiate epidemic in this country. 78 people die from overdoses every day. to find new ways to cure and prevent addiction, we have to find better ways to cope with pain. news4 shows us what's already making a difference. >> doing really well. he's got me on saboxone. >> saboxone is used to

people addicted to opioids are heroin. >> it's one of the best medications developed in the past 10, 20 years. >> this doctor prescribes it for his patients at this health clinic in anacostia. >> it's partial opiate. the way it works, it does address the need for opiates in the system, but it has a ceiling effect on it so you don't ever achieve the euphoria. >> it's administered under the tongue once a day. in may, the fda approved a six-month implant which a handful of people have already gotten, and which has already shown some positive results. but doctors are also looking more closely at what and how they are prescribing. >> you have to balance the need with providing adequate pain medication for people while not creating new problems. >> this past spring, the centers for disease controlue

prescribing opioids. last month the american dental association urged dentists to review their pain-killing prescribing procedures. a lot of times dentists will routinely prescribe opioids for routine procedures and a lot of times those prescriptions aren't necessary and may be the start of new addictions. now many are looking for safer pain relief alternatives. >> i just had a full knee replacement three months ago. once i got outside of the hospital i decided to avoid taking any opioids. >> that's volleyball champion gabrielle reese. >> seeing the epidemic and how many people it influences. that why i wanted to get involved in this campaign of choices matter. like the doctor says, equip the patient, empower the patient and give them all their options so they have the opportunity maybe to

they don't need them. >> reese's recovery is heavily dependent on physical therapy. here is medstar georgetown campaign, choose p.t. >> i'm feeling better and better. certain pain i had for over ten years, i don't have any longer. i am staying diligent on the physical therapy. >> that first game is getting closer and closer. redskins' training camp is over. the special way it ended. big developments on the national mall. the plans and the problems. that's next.

there is big news on the national mall. we now know all about the party they had planned for the new smithsonian museum, african-american history and culture opens september 24th. president obama and other

dignitaries will take part of the ceremonies. it's part of a three-day festival. the public can watch the opening on the jumbotron. it is free but you have to have a timed pass to get in. only a few feet away from there, the washington monument had its share of problems recently. it hasn't been the best time to take a tour there was a power outage. three people shut in the elevators. crews shut the monument down. after it reopened, they had to close it again. elevator doors wouldn't budge almost 500 feet up. after that, a cable connected to the bottom of the elevator broke loose. coming up -- more on the recovery from that deadly explosion at an apartment complex in silver spring. the step leaders are taking and fears residents still have.

ben cardin took a look at get strux

apartment in silver spring. a building blew up killing several people and keeping dozens of others from their home. how leaders are reaching out to help the people affected. >> at the long branch community center, montgomery county executive mike leggett met residents hurt by the fire. >> the challenges, trying to find traditional housing and permanent housing for people. >> some residents of apartment buildings located near the explosion say they are living in constant fear. >> they were sleeping in the car for a while. now they returned to the apartment, but they're afraid to turn the gas stove on still. they are afraid to cook. >> at the meeting in the community center, residents received assurances that washington gas has checked out the surrounding buildings. >> the residents of the adjacent buildings should not experience a problem withhe

if they do, they should contact us. >> the senator wants to make sure people here are comfortable coming for help, no matter what their immigration status. >> there is a concern of democrat communities as to whether they can trust governmental services. i wanted them to know as their federal partners, this is all about providing help. >> chris gordon, news4. >> a major sex trafficking ring busted, setting dozens of victims free. they zeroed in on a website called back page. tracee wilkins tells us the troubling details. >> reporter: they discuss the benefits of hard work leading to success and following dreams. in reality -- >> they use it to recruit women to sell their sexual services for profit. >> reporter: they are both charged with sex trafficking dozens of women since 2013. their indictments were announced in a press conference with the

maryland attorney general and prince georges law enforcement. >> at least two of the women who are mentioned in the indictments were teenagers when this started. >> we are vigorously prosecuting both pimps and their customers. and we will continue to bring them to justice. >> reporter: the ring called its pink pleasure entertainment and recruited victims through ads on back page.com, promising $400 to $1,000 a week for escorting. >> once they removed the women from their homes and familiar surroundings, they would control and direct the location and movement of the victims at all times. >> reporter: prosecutors say the group relied on back page.com to build their illegal enterprise. >> back page was used first to recruit the young women and then second, it was used to recruit their customers. i don't think they could have -- they could not have engaged in this enterprise without back page. >> reporter: there are other

sex ring. no word on if they are expecting more indictments. tracee wilkins, news4. turning to northern virginia now, in fairfax city, there is someone new in the mayor's seat. interim mayor steve sambras is in charge until february when the city will hold a special election for the seat. scott silver this thorn resigned after being arrested in a drug for sex sting. >> it is my pleasure to work with this council to facilitate a robust community discussion about the direction our city is headed and who the right woman or man is to lead us as our next mayor. >> he is a life-long virginian who served three terms on fairfax city council. he served as chief of staff to former house majority leader eric cantor. he will not be a candidate for mayor in february. the redskins are saying go-b

to the preseason. to cap off training camp, they had a special session for the loyal volunteers. >> reporter: just three of the 150 training camp volunteers who helped keep order as ambassadors. >> never thought i would ever be representing my redskins in this way. >> when i found the opportunity to volunteer up here with the redskins, i literally jumped out of my skin to come and do it. >> he doesn't have a job. i will do it for nothing. just like i am doing it for nothing. >> weeks of heat. >> i sweat when i think about sweating. >> rewarded with a private practice and meet and greet with their favorite redskins players. >> 110 degrees the other day was trying to make sure everything was right. got to spend a few minutes, sign autographs. we don't mind to give time back to the people who give time us to. >> my intention is to stay strong with the ki

much as i can and do all i can to make sure my team gets the best that they need while they're here in richmond, and wherever they go. >> it's just one more example when you look at the volunteers and how many people are helping why this organization, the fan base is such a special team, such a special thing for the city and the community to get behind. gives us all that more reason to want to go out and give them something to cheer about. >> very appreciative of everything they do. they're here all day, making sure everything is working the way it should. we appreciate everything that they're doing. >> not all the volunteers wanted an autograph or picture. some just wanted to wish the players a healthy and successful season. from richmond, jason pugh, news4 sports. that was a serious hat. a mild bike ride to the capital building. why he is calling it a ride for recognition. next on news4 "this week."

a special homecoming for a hometown hero. bethesda's golden girl katie ledecky landed to cheers fit for a champion. >> she came out with all her medals including four golds. now that she is back home, the 19-year-old is excited to do some normal stuff. >> eating a home-cooked meal and sleeping in my home bed. moving into college and i'm excited to go to college and swim. >> ledecky will attend stanford university. one thing the olympian said she needs to accomplish is getting her driver's license. 1,500 miles, over 74 days and 100 degree heat. a vietnam veteran from texas rode a bicycle from his hometown outside of dallas to capitol hill. he calls it his right for recognition, an effort to get the names of his fallen ship mates added to

veteran's memorial. he explains in his own words. >> i just decided that it was time to do something. just out of frustration. these men, they answered the call to their country and their country refuses to honor them. >> we were on a darkened ship. doing submarine warfare and we couldn't see one ship from the other, and somewhere in the night in those zig-zag movements when heading to the back of the ship, we got in front of the ship and there was a collision course, there was no correcting it. both ships tried to correct it, but they were unable to. within three minutes' time, the forward half of the ship went down. >> these men deserve to be honored. to see their son's name on the

i consider it a disservice to the 74 men. they deserve to be on that wall with their brothers. they died just like the rest. >> something should happen to these guys to get on the wall, i would be tremendously proud of the efforts i put in. i'm just a messenger. the 74 that died are the heroes. their families are the heroes. they gave their sons to this country. this country owes them that debt. that is all for news4 "this week." thanks for joining us and have a great week.

hey mom, i could use some basil. oh, sure thing, sweetie. life is eating out of a flower pot. wait where's the? right. it's being a food paparazzi. honey, your rump roast just broke the internet. as it should. and a takeout romantic. dessert! happy anniversary. life is mucho, and grande. life is eating, laughing, loving and a place to enjoy it together.

>> announcer: "news4 today" starts now. at 6:00 right now on "news4 today," the controversial surrounding four u.s. swimmers and the action they may face as surveillance video brings new questions to light. more athletes in trouble. the players held by police for several hours after a competition. why several now have to pay a fine. check this out. look at bei bei. growing, getting older. what a difference one year makes, as the panda cub celebrates a major milestone at the national zoo. on this saturday morning, welcome to "news4 today." i'm david culver