with jim and pat. right now at 5:00, three stories you'll see only on news4. a paycheck problem, affecting dozens of city employees. hear about the mistake that all d.c. taxpayers will now be charged for. plus, breaking the rules, a former school leader accused of giving special treatment to some parents, responds to the allegations. >> and a twist tonight in the battle over airbnb, why this company says this ad is raising some serious questions. news4 at 5:00 starts now. and first at 5:00, heavily armed police still on the hunt for an escaped prisoner. i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly. this intense search has been going on now for about seven hours in and around howard county. they are looking for this

28-year-old david watson who escaped from a van taking him to a hospital in jessup. chris gordon has the latest on the search. >> reporter: well, pat and jim, police tell me they are planning this search hour by hour. let's go up overhead to chopper 4, as we tell you just recently they expanded the grid, the wider area now overwhich they are looking for the escaped prisoner. and they're about to have to make the difficult decision of deciding whether to continue the search tonight, once it gets dark. the search team has found articles of clothing that the escapee was wearing when he fled into the woods. so they don't know exactly what he might be wearing right now. they don't believe he has a weapon, but he is considered dangerous. >> he's currently serving a sentence of more than 100 years in delaware on attempted murder

in addition to the delaware charges for conviction, he's also currently facing charges in another county for attempted murder. >> reporter: this evening, 28-year-old david m. watson is on the run. watson was being transported to clifton t. perkins hospital for evaluation before trial on those charges. he's previously been found incompetent on other charges that date back to 2012. two detention officers in a white van brought watson here for a 10:00 a.m. appointment. when a guard opened the door, watson shoved him aside and fled. >> does it happen often that a prisoner escapes? >> no, never here before in the last years i've been working. >> reporter: police searched a truck looking for the escapee. there are a lot of industrial parks in this area. >> are you concerned? >> i don't know. no, i know they're going to do their job out there. we've got some very goodic

him. >> reporter: now, ahead, how the prisoner escaped his handcuffs and waist chains to make his escape. back to you. frightening ordeal there. chris, thank you. meanwhile, hundreds of d.c. government employees may not have been paying social security and medicare taxes for as long as a decade. the district government's accepting responsibility for this error and marking to make the employees whole now. here's marg segraves with a story you'll see only on news4. >> we are so sorry that this has happened. >> reporter: the average pay stub has lots of categories and deductions, which may explain why hundreds of d.c. employees didn't notice that their withholdings were wrong. on some government employee paychecks, the line item for social security and medicare tax withholdings was omitted, resulting in no

wheld from paychecks and no money paid into the social security and medicare funds. a team of auditors at the d.c. department of human resources discovered the problem just this week. gibson, the director of the department of human resources says they've identified of current, former and retired d.c. government workers who have been impacted by the error. she says the problem dates back at least ten years. >> there is no pattern. it's throughout the city, it's years of service, it's types of service, it's different retirement plans. and even those independent agencies that are not under the authority of the mayor it impacts as well. >> reporter: gibson tells news4, employees will not have to pay the money back. it will be the d.c. government's responsibility to pay the money that should have been wheld. gibson said her agency is working with the irs and social security to correct the records of employees who have retired and are collecting social security. gibson says the problem has been

employees who have been identified, but she acknowledges that means those employees will begin seeing less take-home pay next week. >> i'm sorry so sorry about it, because i can imagine what kind of a blow this would be to someone, especially someone who is living from paycheck to paycheck. >> reporter: gibson said the problem appears to be a coding issue or human error, but she does not believe it was intentional. mayor bowser has authorized the hiring of an outside accounting firm to determine the entire scope of the area and just how many employees were impacted. mark segraves, news4. breaking news new involving metro's latest safe track surges. you'll need to make some pretty big adjustments for the fanel two surges on the orange and red lines. instead of single tracking, metro will shut down lines in segments. five stations will be closed for nearly a month, beginning on the 16th of

that surge wraps up, begins the next one on the red line and buses will replace trains between shady grove and twin brook stations, but no dates are set for that yet. former d.c. school chancellor kaya henderson violated rules and gave special treatment to other government leaders, according to the district's own internal investigators. scott macfarlane broke the story in the nbc washington app today and joins us now with more on the accusations and her response. >> yeah, just got that response. officials with d.c.'s inspector general's office say kaya henderson improperly used her discretion as school chancellor. their investigation of henderson, which we obtained today, says she gave special treatment to the powerful, helping move some students to schools outside of their boundary. a violation of d.c.'s school lottery system. that lottery is a competitive system in which parents vie to ac

desirable public schools in the district. the inspector general's office tells us their investigation found seven incidents in which she gave preferences to the other government officials. the agency says it did not find criminal wrongdoing and did not recommend criminal charges. in part of a statement to news4, henderson says, i made a number of discretionary placements for students when extraordinary circumstances applied. i stand by those actions. she told news4 there have been, quote, continual attacks on her integrity to besmirch her reputation. the inspector general is not saying which other government officials are linked to this investigation, but we're still digging. >> so she resigned in 2016. so when does the inspector general say this happened? >> in 2015. over several months. what's more, they

notified the d.c. public school system in april 2016. you might recall, pat and jim, kaya henderson announced her resignation in june 2016. but d.c. public schools says there's no connection between the investigation and her resignation. >> thank you, scott. the pentagon is trying to figure out if two army rangers killed in afghanistan were victims of friendly fire. joshua rogers and cam thomas were conducting a raid on the headquarters of an isis leader. the pentagon says today it was an intense three-hour firefight. the investigation is looking into whether the rangers were hit by friendly fire from afghan forces. the fight happened in an area where the u.s. dropped the so-called mother of all bombs two weeks ago. shutdown averted, at least for now. congress passed a short-term budget extension to keep the government running for another week. lawmakers will have to come back

out a deal to fund the government through the rest of the year. the president previously dropped his request that funding for a border wall with mexico be included. but sticking points that remain, funding for puerto rico, and health insurance for coal miners. from washington to atlanta where donald trump became the first sitting president to address the annual meeting of the nra since ronald reagan. the president thanked nra members for their support in last november's election, telling them, they come through for him, and now he'll come through for them. president trump's visit comes on his 99th day in office. as we just mentioned, he'll usher in his 100th day without a shutdown. leon harris joins us now with a look at the administration so far. leon? >> jim, this has been the first 100 days like any we've ever seen. president trump has certainly shaken up washington politics, that's for sure and he's followed through on some of his campaign

are still a work in progress. perhaps the most clear win for the new administration, the supreme court. although the senate did have to change the rules and use the so-called nuclear option for the first time ever to confirm neil gorsuch to the bench. once a critic of the practice, mr. trump has signed 30 executive orders, more than mr. obama and clinton combined. and hasn't been completely smooth sailing. the travel ban orders have been temporarily blocked. the president has not had a major legislative win. on trade, he maid good wide goo out of the tpp and he's renegotiating nafta. also still to come, the president's budget which calls for big defense increases and cuts to nearly every other agency. all of this has happened with the cloud of a russia investigation hanging over the administration

korea. in an interview with reuters, mr. trump said this, quote, this is more work than in my previous life. i thought it would be easier. jim, pat? >> leon, thank you. let's get the word on the weather. it is friday, it is finally here. and are you ready to start cooking out there? doug kammerer, just how high are we going do climb? >> i think we'll climb to record numbers across the region tomorrow. out here right now, it's beautiful. especially in the shade. in the sun, though, it's on the warm side. humidity also going to be a factor tomorrow. you can see there some humidity in the atmosphere this afternoon, a little hazy going on right there. sure looks like a summer day. look at the numbers, 83, d.c. 83, philly. 82 in hagerstown and richmond coming in at 85 degrees. we're talking record heat tomorrow after a great evening tonight. enjoy it if you're getting dinner outside. maybe doing the barbecue in the backyard. still a tough forecast for sunday. but a great day

but tough forecast temperature woos. and yeah, a big storm next week. i'll see you back inside -- i might stay here a little longer. see you back inside in about ten minutes. >> all right, doug. well, it was supposed to be a music fest laike no other. a once in a lifetime event. it was anything but. how it descended into a nightmare for party goers. >> i'm at tyson's corner center, where just moments ago, we got our hands on some surveillance video that appears to show a woman entering a store here at tyson's with a toddler and an infant and then using that toddler to help her pull off a shoplifting crime. we'll show that video to you, we're going to it right now. and you'll hear what police

if you've bonn twitter at all today, you've probably seen mention of what was to be the music festival that turned into a complete disaster. the firest festival had been hyped up as a once in a lifetime festival, promising culinary delights and luxury in the bahamas. but people have been posting photos. far less than luxurious. organizers canceled last-minute

circumstances. they canceled flights in and are working to arrange flights for others to get home. >> what a mess. only on 4:00 tonight, we just got hold of surveillance video that appears to show a rather troubling shoplifting case. police tell us a woman used a toddler to help her steal clothing. our northern virginia reporter david culver is live to explain. you watched the surveillance video, is that right? >> reporter: at 4:30, you mentioned to folks that i was reviewing that video. i was down at the police station, and we were going through it. we did get a hold of the video. we had to blur some of the images because it involves a toddler. the video you're about to see, it appears to show a woman using that toddler to help her with the shoplifting. we should mention, no charges have been put forward in this case, but i want to show you this video. take a look. >> let's take you back to february 12th. cameras rolling inside the true

center. in walk two women, a little girl, and an infant pushed in that stroller. over several minutes, can you see the pair making their way through the store, an employee checking in on them periodically. at one point, one of the women appears to check in on the instant in the stroller. but watch again closely. she stuffs clothes into the stroller next to the infant. then the woman hands clothes to the toddler, the little girl, just standing right next to her. that little girl then walks to the front of the store, apparently trying to test the sensor alarm. she also gave the toddler clothing and he would walk towards the entrance and come back into the store to her. >> testing it out for her? >> i'm not sure what her motive was. >> the group then leaves the store. >> reporter: as i mentioned, charged in that incident that you saw, dating back to february, are still pending, but police believe they'll move forward with them and they believe they know who the main suspect

this is 26-year-old zandra smith from washington, d.c. the reason this is surfacing now, police arrested zandra on wednesday for a separate incident that they say happened right here at tyson's. they say that she went into an apple store and started taking various items and stuffing them into her purse. we do know in that incident, police say she acted alone, no children were involved. i did try to reach out to her. we have a contact number for her, i gave her a call, shot her a text message, i have not heard back. we're standing by for that, but that's the latest as of now with that video that we just got our hands on, and that you'll only see right here on 4. >> thank you, david. the primary for virginia governor is still months away, but you can apply to vote absentee online or at your local registrar's office. once approved, you can vote using

different conditions that will allow you to vote early. you can find all of those in our nbc washington app. just search absentee. and tomorrow, the two democratic candidates for governor, tom perriello and ralph northam will have their first debate. we'll stream it live in our nbc4 washington app. tom sherwood will moderate. >> after the midterm elections, my advisers asked me, mr. president, do you have a bucket list? and i said, well, i have something that rhymes with bucket list. >> it's a tradition that dates back decades. the white house correspondents dinner is set to happen this weekend, but noticeably absent this time around, the president himself. joining us with a preview is emily from "the washington post" reliable source. so this is definitely going to have a different vibe or feel, if you will, from the past years that you've covered. presidents have always been

a few themselves, and made some history. some cleverly writing, we know. >> absolutely. this year is gonna be a very different sort of scene. the last time the president wasn't in the room for this dinner was one time ronald reagan missed the dinner and he had a pretty good excuse. he had been shot. so it's a tradition for presidents to come and to crack jokes. they typically do a monologue themselves and then there's a professional comedian who cracks jokes at the president's expense and at the media's expense. it's a good natured night. donald trump has had a very different relationship with the media than previous presidents have. and he just wasn't going to break bread with the people that he calls fake news, failing piles of garbage. he just wasn't going to have that sort of a night. and so he boycotted this event. his staff

so it will be a president-less night. i wrote recently that it's going to be -- a lot of people call this nerd prom. i think because of that, because of the diminished fire power, both with not having white house staff, and then there just aren't that many hollywood celebrities who are terribly interested in coming. it's going to be all nerd, no prom. >> all right, so maybe not something you want to wear as a badge this time around. so emily, we know what the president is going to be doing instead. tell us about that and does this make it tougher for "the daily show's" hassan manage to deliver tomorrow night? >> i do think it does. the president has scheduled an event to coincide. i originally hoped what he would be doing would be sitting back at home in the white house and watching on tv as he does so often watch tv and then sort of mean-tweeting about it. d

that. but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. he's done counter-programming of his own, but i think not having the president in the room makes it very difficult for the comedian. you mentioned hassan manage, a daily show correspondent, he'll be entertaining the crowd. it's one thing to make jokes about the president, to crack those kind of jokes when he's there, he's laughing along. it feels sort of like he's in on the joke. in this way, president trump won't be there and so the target of the jokes isn't going to be there. so it kinda feels a little bit more remote. it feels much more like a late-night comedy monologue. where it's much more removed. so i do think that makes the job tougher. it's already a tough gig. you have thousands of the most skeptical, gim let-eyed crowd. so it's never been

he might be able to get away with a little more without the president and first lady there. >> we'll see. i've never seen anything like it. >> emily, we'll look forward to reading your coverage online and of course in the sunday morning "washington post." thanks so much. have a great time. >> you too, thanks, jim. well, get ready, folks, we are facing our first 90-degree day of the year. doug is tracking some reco-breaking heat headingrd o

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so, doug, is this record-breaking heat going to be a one-day blast for us? >> it really is. the exception could be in our southern zone like fredericksburg on sunday could get close to 90 degrees. whereas baltimore on sunday may be 75. that's going to be the difference. >> what a change. >> that's why sunday's a tough temperature forecast. but that's it. tomorrow's forecast, not tough at all unless you have to work at all or have to be outside. a long day. the climate march tomorrow, yeah, that happening on what could be a record high of 92 during the day tomorrow. that's going to be quite amazing down there. so make sure you drink plenty of water if you're out and about tomorrow. if your kids or you have games, make sure everybody's hydrated. try to stay out of the sun, wear sunscreen as well. 83 degrees, right now, winds out of the south, 9 miles an

it's a fantastic friday. and this evening is going to be great. i'm actually excited about my dinner break tonight. because i can eat outdoors. 86 in fredericksburg. still cool along the water, but cool is relative, 77 toward the pa pawtuxet river. average high is 70. there's a system to the west, could bring shower activity later tonight and overnight. not expecting much, but maybe some shower activity around 12:00, 1:00. 83 in d.c., 87 in raleigh. the heat remains during the day tomorrow. future weather tonight, 11:00, no big deal. 1:00, notice some showers back to our west. but everybody stays dry. these showers that you just saw coming through, come through overnight, out of here by tomorrow morning and then we deal with the heat. 92 degrees is what i'm going for. hot and humid. a few afternoon thunderstorms, not

line, the pennsylvania border. 83 on sunday, but again, that could shift, could be a few degrees warmer or cooler. depending on where that front sets up. we are definitely going to see more clouds. better chance of rain late monday night or afternoon, could be a couple of strong storms with a high of 83. rather breezy if not windy on monday and tuesday too. and looking at a possible big storm late next week, next thursday and friday. amelia draper will be back in a few minutes. if you're a pollen sufferer, i know both you guys are. >> oh, yeah. thank you, doug. after 97 years, a change at the glen echo park. that's finally giving the carousel the honor it deserves. plus, a twist in the battle over whether airbnb is helping or hurting neighbors in d.c. what the company says you need to know about this

you're watching news4 at 5:00. >> i'm tired of feeling like an outsider in my own neighborhood. >> it's the tag line of an ad that flooded d.c. airwaves, slamming the popular tourist rental market of airbnb. but the news4 i-team found there's a good reason she feels like an outsider. she is

that woman in that ad really is. >> i was 5 years old when we moved to the neighborhood, but it doesn't feel like the place i grew up. >> reporter: the woman in this commercial is an actress who lives in new york city but you wouldn't know that from watching her passionate plea to stifle airbnb's position in washington, d.c.'s tourist rental market. >> they buy up our homes, sometimes entire buildings, kick out tenants and make more money renting to tourists. >> reporter: gretta really does live in the neighborhood shown in the ad. >> it's a real community in historic anacostia. >> reporter: when she saw the ad, she reached out to her neighbors. i'm like, who's this lady, she's never been to a meeting, never come to a social gathering. so everyone said, we don't know who she is wp. >> reporter: she listed a room

for getting her doctorate. >> of course there's a need for airbnb. i think everywhere. >> reporter: but it's become a bitter fight with advocates from both sides flooding wednesday's council hearing. supporters say short-term rentals undercut the city's supply of affordable housing and want to limit how many properties a homeowner can list and for how many days per year. the ad strikes an emotional tone, saying short-term rentals change the feel of an area. >> i'm tired of feeling like an outsider in my own neighborhood. >> first of all, d.c. is a tourist city, and i think every washingtonian is an ambassador to the city. and for to say it doesn't feel like home and tourists walking down the street, it's ridiculous. >> reporter: the ad was paid for by a group called the share better coalition. a spokesman told news4, the ad is intended to reflect the airbnb experience in many neighborhoods, even though anacostia is written on the

the group also defends the decision not to disclose the woman as an actress. guidelines say ads with testimonials should represent the person's qualifications. >> when i saw what the ad was claiming about the neighborhood did didn't feel like her flabed anymore. that's so untrue. >> reporter: gretta criticized the ad and defended airbnb. >> if there are people who aren't happy, find a real person in our neighborhood and let us all talk and work something out. >> we reached out to airbnb. a spokesman called the ad deceptive, saying it's the latest effort by the hotel cartel to short-cheat the middle class. the d.c. council will not vote on the final legislation for two months. we left a message for the actress in that ad, she did not return our calls. >> interesting. great report. want to take a moment to say how excited we are to have you here. welcome to the team. >> thank you. >> we are

emmys, dupe onts and we're both from florida so we know the gator chomp. >> glad to be here. >> all right, thank you. a new virginia law aims to help snuff out cigarette trafficking. the governor signed the law which will require special permits for resellers for anybody who buys 50 cart onds or $10,000 worth of cigarettes. the news4 team has investigated the illegal tobacco trail for years, including how smugglers bought thousands of dollars in cigarettes at one time. traffickers can make big profits by selling the smokes outside of virginia in cities where they're heavily taxed. >> finding and rescuing people who are too scared to run away and save themselves. it sounds impossible, but kristen wright introduces us to a woman taking on that mission in a place you wouldn't expect. >> reporter: frederick county, maryland. not where you

world of sex trafficking. not where you expect to find a woman with the title, human trafficking outreach coordinator. >> i've already had people say to me, does human trafficking exist in frederick when they hear my position, because it is so unspoken. >> reporter: heather moreno is the first person to have the job at non-profit heartily house. first order of business, figuring out how many people are trafficked, before more victims are forced into danger. than >> we have had individuals come to our shelter that were trafficked? >> moreno says tracking victims and collecting datacya major challenge. >> and because of the transient nature of it, it's hard to always identify victims, especially where they're coming from and whether they're in our county or just passing through. >> reporter: she said interstates and major roads make frederick appealing to traffickers. >> what we know

thorough fare, route 70, and a lot of time traffickers will take their victims up and down highways. >> reporter: behind the locked doors of motels and hotels, in the shadows. >> i've also see the resilience that the women have in coming through these situations. >> with the help of a new woman in their corner. kristen wright, news4. breaking news now, north korea has just test fired a missile. early reports say it was not a nuclear missile and it appears this test failed. we'll have more on the story as it develops. they're a long-time nus an, becoming an expensive problem. robocall scams are on the rise and you might be surprised to hear who is more likely to fall for them. in news4 your health, the one thing you should consider taking to maximize your

work-out. >> and the caps are back in action tomorrow night. we'll like to see your pics. share your fan photos with us by tweeting us at nbc washington, or tag us using nbc washington on instagram. and join us for the news4 power play at 7:00 tomorrow night, a special hour-long program, pregame show before the caps and the penguins play in game two.

in news4 your health now, a good reason to make sure you're getting enough vitamin d. a new study finds vitamin d can be very good for the heart, especially when you combine it with exercise. researchers studied 10,000 adults over a 20-year period. over the long-term, people who exercised the most and had the highest levels of vitamin d were less likely to suffer a heart attack or a stroke. experts recommend getting 600 to 800 international units of d per day. if you're already getting that much in your diet, you don't need to take the supplement. folks, say goodbye to your favorite candies. we are here at news4, some of us are going sugar-free for a week. sorry, pat, i didn't hit you, did i? >> it landed right on me.

we're coming out of our sugar coma. did i really agree to a week with no added sugar? we're limited to ten teaspoons. i was surprised how quickly that it add up in salad dressing, even yogurt. even lime as well. all next week, we'll be reporting on our progress. doreen gets ler will have information on the effects of sugar on your brain, your mood. and doreen and others are doing it along with me. this is a.m. versus the late-night team. so you might be eating some added sugar. >> so are you going to be suffering withdrawals? >> i think we might. it starts midnight sunday. so sunday night i plan to just have all the fun in the world. >> i think it's wonderful that you can have at least ten teaspoons. >> right. and honey, you can't hav

have that. it's the added sugar you don't want to do. >> so you can have a teaspoon in your coffee and then you have nine teaspoons to go. >> the whole day is shot. thanks for reminding me how tough this is going to be. >> you can do it. i have faith in you. the district moves ahead with a plan to turn entire apartment buildings into housing for the homeless. >> with the kids, you know, they feel like they're in a home. they don't feel like they're somewhere, like an institution or shelter. >> it's the face of the homelessness. it's not what you're used to seeing and why they say this plan is sorely needed. the horses, ostriches, rabbits, they'll all be running

d.c. mayor bowser wants to lease apartments across the city for the homeless. they say it's a safer tlerpt for children. news4 talks to a family that says this program has changed their life. >> ups and downs, but good. >> melinda and her husband have been married for more than a decade. but 2012 was one of their lowest points. >> what happened was, we had a gas fire, and they asked us to leave. we got evicted because we didn't have apartment insurance. >> they lost everything and have been homeless since, along with their seven children. >> since then it's been a constant struggle. >> reporter: until last

they can now live in their own apartment that's run by the city. >> like i said, it feels like home. we're able to make our own food. >> reporter: and their children have a place to sleep. it's a different experience from living in a motel where more than 500 d.c. homeless families live. >> we want to have smaller, short-term family housing that is not in one major institution, but is within communities and all eight wards of the district. >> reporter: the director of the d.c. department of human services, she says the mayor's plan is to lease apartment buildings throughout the city for families like the bryants. >> everybody needs help sometime. and we want to provide that help in better ways that is an environment that's going to feel safe and secure for them and their children. >> stuff makes a difference, especially to the kids. >> reporter: ezra and melinda say they feel safe and are grateful for a second chance to create a better life. >> i just finished school and i'm looking for a job as well. and we are just trying to

>> meagan fitzgerald, news4. robocall scams are more rampant than ever, and you might be surprised at who they are targeting these day. a survey found americans lost $10 billion to scammers this year. up 60% from the year before, and the crooks are going hi-tech too. robocall scams are targeting the most tech-savvy generation and millenials are taking the bait. true caller says millenials are six times more likely than any other age group to give out their credit card information. their survey also found that men are twice as likely to get scammed than women. storm team4 is calling for record heat tomorrow, but if you want to be outdoors, a great place to be would be under the shade of the trees at glen echo park. barbara harrison joins us to share all the excitement of the park's spring opening. barbara? >> we were out at the park, checking things out and it couldn't look better.

jewel of the park, the beautiful carousel, will get the honor it so deserves. after 97 years, they're changing the name of the opening day from family day to carousel day. and that happens tomorrow. sounds of the season, the clanks of the giant doors opening. letting the unmistakable signs of spring outside in. and inside is where these onlookers want to be, opening day can't come soon enough for them. >> the only thing really left to be done is a little bit more sweeping. >> burt kenyon retired from his job maintaining jet engines in the air force. for nine of his ten years at glen echo park, he's run the carousel operation. >> what did you do when you first got here? >> i was a happy worker bee for about the first year. >> reporter: not to say that he's not happy now, taking care of every little detail of maintaining and running the carousel, with its

hand-painted circus animals and endangered species, were it not for the loving care and maintenance they get. do you like it? >> of course. that's why i'm still here. >> it's fun? >> absolutely. >> reporter: that poker face certainly doesn't betray all the fun he's having here. but when he flips the switch for the lights, the joker face says this is a place for smiles. and one more thing on the to-do lift to brighten spirits, cranking up the organ. ♪ ♪ >> this military band organ was ordered for the carousel in 1926. it's a masterpiece. a rare attraction itself. it's just a few years younger than the carousel that came to the park in 1921. this year marks the 97th year the carousel will celebrate an opening day. and there will be lots of other events to enjoy on saturday, apri9

park will be open to the public. we'll have open artist studios. you can come and see the artists doing their work. all of the art galleries will be open. free craft activities for kids, and also performances on a couple different stages. but on carousel day, this will be the star of the show. >> reporter: saturday's opening day will, as always, be filled with lots of smiles. >> you'll be smiling on saturday? >> of course. >> let me see how you're going to smile. because i haven't seen you smile. >> you haven't seen me smile yet and here i thought i was. [ laughter ] >> it officially begins tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. there will be lots of activities, music, performances, face-painting, story-telling and the carousel rides. the carousel operates from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and folks around here are

it's $1.25 a ride. no age limit, either low or high. >> we love that guy. hope you're putting that on facebook. >> wasn't that a great face? >> lots of fun there, thank you, barbara. and there are faces frowning because of pollen. >> yeah. >> the tree pollen is high, it's been high, it's going to stay high. but the mold spores, we were eeking by in the low to moderate range. not today. the mold spores coming in high as well. so if you're really suffering, you probably have an allergy to mold as well as trees. take a look at your graphic. grasses and weeds still low. but through the weekend, we're looking at mainly dry weather. so that's going to have a low impact on the pollen count. temperatures in the low to mid 80s right now. 83 in washington. and we're going to be dry for the evening hours. but look at the system starting to push in to parts of ohio and kentucky. moving out of indiana and illinois eventually. this could bring us scattered showers late tonight.

i want to time it out with future weather. i'm starting you off at midnight. notice we're still dry, partly cloudy skies. mild across the area. 1:00 a.m., we start to see showers and thunderstorms potentially in far western maryland, parts of west virginia. stopping future weather here at 4:00 a.m., notice this line of showers moving through the area. this includes washington, arlington, alexandria, prince george's, montgomery, fair fofa loudoun, prince william as well. we track showers until about 6:00 a.m. and then mainly dry for saturday. maybe an isolated late-day thunderstorm. saturday, 7:00 a.m., already at 70. noon, in the mid 80s. a record high tomorrow of 92 degrees. record to beat will be 91 at reagan national. a record at dulles, kind of a low-thi low-hanging fruit, 87 degrees. we can't rule out a shower or thunderstorm with the heat and humidity. if it does deve

on the strong side. but most of us are going to be dry during the evening hours. mid 80s at that point. the weather certainly impacting your saturday. yard wo yardwork, get it done early. kids at the playground, keep nem in the shade and doug and i will be at the verizon center for power play at 7:00. 83 on sunday, more cloudiness. doug will have more on what you can expect next week on news4 at 6:00. positive self-image and self-love. i'm tracee wilkins. coming up on news4 at capitol heights elementary,

today at capitol heights elementary school the focus was all on girls. it was girl empowerment day and the staff went out of its way to make sure the young female students know just how much they matter. tracee wilkins was there and has this report. >> reporter: girls aren't afraid of bugs. >> it's so cute. >> reporter: and they're not afraid to dream. >>

a president of the united states. >> i want to become a lieutenant like my father. >> i rock. nice. >> reporter: today the girls got their own day of empowerment, learning how far they can go and how much they can do. >> it's fun and really exciting, because i never did this at my old school. >> reporter: they're building their dreams one rock at a time. >> what we believe here at capit capitol heights is all students, but particularly this day, our young ladies have a voice. >> you have to make sure your supplies will go in the village safely. >> reporter: the girls practice some activity by building trucks out of legos to carry supplies down a washed out bridge. and they create a skit demonstrating girl empowerment. >> just to be able to express the importance of togetherness, this is definitely needed in

every school. >> reporter: it wasn't a traditional school day, but these students learned a big lesson. >> my favorite part of the day was when we sat down and talked about goals in life. because they gave us good advice. >> we want them to know that what they do can and will and does really in this life matter. >> reporter: what's most amazing about this event, the principal, teachers, and administrators paid for everything that helped this girls empowerment day to come together. this is their second time doing this. they say they're going to do it every year. i'm tracee wilkins, news4. news4 at 6:00 starts now. developing now as we come on the air, the manhunt for an escaped prisoner in maryland stretches into its eighth hour. this is a live picture from chopper4 in the air as police on the ground search for clues. he's a wanted man. his name is david watson. he's 28 years old and was serving time on attempted murder charges for firing shots into the

>> the frantic search is intensifying after the inmate ran from the parking lot of a hospital. we're also learning more about the critical evidence that he left behind. all this unfeldiolding right no and chris gordon has the latest developments. >> reporter: heavily armed police follow k-9 units searching through the woods and along railroad tracks. a maryland state police helicopter flies overhead, looking for 28-year-old david m. watson. the prisoner who escaped this morning. watson is serving time for attempted murder in delaware. in another county, he faces charges of attempting to murder police officers. he was being transported here to clifton t. perkins psychiatric hospital for evaluation. two detention officers were in the white van when watson escaped at 9:40 this morning. >> a guard opened the door after the van stopped in the