right now on "news4 this week," moving up. maryland's top prosecutor gets a job at the u.s. justice department. we'll look at one of the biggest cases he's leaving behind in prince george's county. memorial mess. a solemn reminder of metro's biggest crash in need of a makeover. we'll tell you when it could happen. and keeping kids home. we go behind the social media explosion surrounding d.c.'s missing children and debunk some of the myths. >> announcer: welcome to "news4 this week." >> hi, everybody. i'm lauren ricketts. maryland's top cop is leaving. long-time federal prosecutor rob rosenstein begins work in the coming days. that's u.s. deputy attorney general. while rosenstein is stepping into a new role, he'spp

one of the biggest in prince george's county. scott macfarlane sat down with rosenstein to talk about the fup of that case. >> reporter: rod rosenstein oversaw thousands of local cases, serving since 2005 in three presidential administrations. among the big local cases he's handled, the high-profile ongoing prosecution of deante careaway, the prince george's county elementary school aid who has pleaded guilty to exploiting children to produce pornography. rosenstein brought federal charges in that case and secured the guilty plea without needing to call any of the children to court as witnesses. >> when they are facing that federal prosecution, most defendants who are guilty will realize it's in their interests to plead guilty. you don't have to go to court at all. it's really important to be able

to protect children from being subject to the emotional stress. >> rosenstein says an acting lead prosecutor will take over in his office and his case will not slow down. careaway is scheduled for sentencing in june facing up to 100 years in prison. his defense attorney declined our request for comment. scott macfarlane, news4. it's hard to believe but this june will mark eight years since the deadliest accident in metro's history. nine people were killed when two red trains collided in northeast d.c. the memorial that honors the victims has become more of an eye sore with unfinished work. transportation reporter adam tuss takes a look at when the fixes will be made. >> reporter: the grass and weeds grow. the landscape patchy and raw. today's rain hangs on. this isn't some random stretch of parkland. this is the memorial to the victims of the deadly metro 2009 red line crash.

it overlooks the tracks where the accident happened. this is what legacy memorial park looked like the day it was dedicated nearly two years ago. today, though, it wallops. >> this is ridiculous. it looks scrubby. would you sit on a bench and contemplate the people you loved or read a book? >> reporter: barbara is commissioned by the d.c. arts and humanities to create the works for legacy memorial park. she is not happy with what she sees. >> this shouldn't be just mulch. i loved doing it. i was really proud to get the commission and i feel so powerless not to get it done. >> she believes this isn't a huge fix. maybe two days of landscaping to make this look great. the d.c. department of general services in charge of the project tells news4 landscaping and utility work does remain. >> weeds, tall grass, really an unkept memorial here, something

the city does confirm that this project has not been fully finished. >> for the families of those gone, this woman who lost her stepdaughter veronica, this place, this park should be more. >> it could start with the lighting. just the bare minimum. they can even put a flower or a bush out along the wall or something. it has enough there. it's enough property that they can do a lot more. >> reporter: the city tells us the project will get a facelift and upgrade expected in july. in northeast, adam tuss, news4. and we're pleased to tell you, after we aired this story, we learned that crews were sent to clean up the memorial. these pictures show that they have made some progress. electrical and utility work still needs to be done. well, all this week, we took you behind the viral movement surrounding d.c.'s

we also debunked the myths and social media rumors about the number of cases in the district. news4's justin finch reveals the biggest misconception. >> reporter: in the shadow of the capital, what became a national conversation, prompted by these flyers of young, missing faces that many might not have ever seen until the metropolitan police department put them on social media. >> do you think that social media getting more eyes on this has awakened a lot of people? >> without a doubt. without a doubt. we're glad to have that attention brought to it. >> reporter: the thought, the more eyes, the higher the odds the missing would be found, though many came home on their own. >> we are focusing on it. that's great. that helps us out. >> reporter: but then the social media outreach was obstructed. viral postings claiming girls of color were disappearing in droves, their cases overlooked. those claims were proven false. npd counts 2,243 missing

almost 200 reports from 2015. >> it's about 50/50 between boys and girls and i think that one of the misconceptions is that it suddenly became this big deal. where it's been a big deal for us all along. >> reporter: in the district, the hope is that soon no child is left to fend for him or herself. justin finch, news4. well, we posted about the facts behind the story on the nbc washington app. check out our interactive timeline of the key moments exploring this issue. search d.c. missing teens. when we come back, is that fish you ordered at the restaurant actually the fish listed on the menu? researchers went to d.c. restaurants to find out. plus, a big airport benefit is going away for members of congress.

well, when you order seafood at a restaurant, do you really

researchers at george washington university wanted to find out. they ordered 12 seafood dishes from six d.c. restaurants and concluded dna tests on them. there were no health-related concerns but 33% of the items were mislabeled. for example, more expensive types of seafood were swapped out with cheaper versions or they were substituted with seafood on the endangered species list. despite the findings, researchers said compared to other cities across the country, d.c. restaurants are doing a very good job of getting diners exactly what they ordered. well, congress lost a big perk this week. the v.i.p. parking at reagan national airport is being closed for five years while the airport expands the areas needed contractors to park and stage their equipment. all members of congress, supreme court justices and international diplomats use the lot which is just a short walk to the gate. but now they'll have to park in

passengers. except they won't have to pay. that privilege costs taxpayers $132,000 a year. well, when we come back, from prisoner to professor. we'll introduce you to the man who used his time behind bars to turn his life around. plus, politics and the power of flowers. we'll take a look back at history and the one thing the obamas have said they miss most about the white house.

well, it's one of the country's most difficult law schools to get into. now some students at georgetown law will take lessons from an ex-con. news4's chris gordon introduces us to the man who turned his life around and went from prisoner to law professor. >> reporter: 41-year-old shawn hopwood followed the most unlikely career path to become a professor. he was a bank robber.

co-defendants with guns, told everybody to get on the ground and then went and grabbed as much money as we could in a minute or two and then left. >> reporter: he was arrested by the fbi, charged with five bank robberies and pleaded guilty. he became a jailhouse lawyer while in prison writing briefs for fellow prisoners. his third appeal went all the way to the u.s. supreme court. by unanimous decision, he won a reduced sentence for a friend. >> i was told time and time again by lawyers, mostly lawyers, that i would never be able to go to law school and that i would never get a law license. >> reporter: hopwood defied the odds. he recently posted this tweet. "eight years ago i was released from federal bureau of prisons custody. today i accepted offer to be a full-time law professor." >> i think before we met him, some of the people here thought, wow, this is a person with a

record that raises some flags. >> reporter: georgetown law professor paul rothstein says there are no longer any questions. >> this guy is really going to make a contribution to our students and bring a perspective here that no one else can. >> reporter: you might think that shawn's goal in life is to appear and argue a case in front of the u.s. supreme court. but that's not it. he wants to teach students here and the community about prison reform. >> and i hope that my job here will inspire people that a second chance is possible. >> reporter: reporting from georgetown law center, chris gordon, news4. in prince george's county, there was a special tribute to police officers honored for their dedication to duty. [ applause ] the county hopes that its 40th annual public safety luncheon in

greenbelt. a number of officers received valor awards. among them was colson who died just over a year ago during an ambush at one of the county's police stations. president trump will be headed to italy later this month. his first major summit with the international group known as the g-7. while every nation has its own language, there will always be one language at the table that's universal. news4's barbara harrison explains how flowers helped bring the world together. >> reporter: this was camp david, the last time the u.s. hosted the summit of the world's leading economic powers. for the eight different languages spoken here, interpreters were available, but for one you might call silent voice at the table, no translation necessary. that's the person who arranged it. >> for me, a floral diplomacy means that flowers are more than just decorative placement.

they are actually a very powerful tool for communicating diplomatic messages. this bouquet was on the dining table for all of the leaders and had symbolism and meaning. the yellow roses, it was yellow flowers, spring flowers. >> reporter: in her book "floral diplomacy," laura says flowers communicate all kinds of messages and have for centuries. george washington may never have slept here but on the banks, the beds are still filled with subtle color metaphor, as you might say. yellow flowers represent friendship, trust and respect. but if flowers are talking, is anyone listening? it seems there are some rules in life that require knowing the language of the garden. as former chief floral designer at the white house, laura says it should be part of the job.

in 1985, when she moved to d.c. from washington state, she worked on the hill in public administration. but on a trip to paris with her husband in 2000, she fell in love with the french language of flowers, that is. she went back to classes and translated her newly acquired flare for floral design into a little shop in her kitchen. in 2009, she heard about the job at the obama white house. >> it's not like it's posted on the 1-800-jobs or something. what happened was i sent a letter of inquiry and a resume to the white house. i was so surprised when i got an e-mail that i was a semifinalist. >> reporter: this design won the face-off as the finalists at the white house. laura's first big challenge, the obama's first state dinner for the prime minister of india. >> we felt like it was such a beautiful decor, apple green linens with the purple flower. >> repo

all people remembered when it was over was the salahi gate crashers. and generally no one visits the white house who doesn't remember the flowers. no matter the season or the reason, laura shows us a white house filled with the beauty and fragrance of fresh flowers. >> the governor of washington state, my home state, came to the governor's ball a few years ago. he was seated next to the president at dinner and asked president obama, what will you miss most when you leave the white house? and apparently the president said, "well, i'll miss the flowers. they're special here." >> well, if you want to see proof of how far back the fuss over flowers go, check out the many photographs on the website of the white house's historical society. it has hundreds of etchings proof of how important it's been in our nation's history. when we come back, you hear stories all the time, a firefighter rushes into harm's way to rescue someone. well,i

we'll show you the regular joes who rushed to save a firefighter. at perdue, we take some unexpected extra steps to raise healthy chickens with no antibiotics ever. like putting oregano in their water. it has natural antioxidants and we don't have to use antibiotics in their diet. perdue. over 200 products no antibiotics ever.

includes supporting those in our community who need help. our energyshare program does just that, assisting with bill pay and providing free, energy-saving upgrades. it's more than helping customers, it's helping neighbors. ♪ stand by me we take some unexpected extra steps to raise healthy chickens with no antibiotics ever. for example, thyme. it's part of our 100% veggie diet

perdue. over 200 products no antibiotics ever. well, we've shared a lot of stories with you about first responders rushing into action to save someone but this week, that scenario was turned upside down. a local firefighter got a chance to thank the nearly two dozen people who helped save her life. news4's mark segraves was there. >> reporter: she's been a d.c. firefighter for more than 20 years. >> i thank god for being alive. >> reporter: she's alive today because of a community of strangers that came together to save her life. >> total strangers to recognize there was an emergency and they acted. >> reporter: she was on duty driving down pennsylvania avenue when she got near gw hospital and had a fender bender. this man was wain

his job at a local burger joint, he quickly realized it was more than a fender bender. >> when i looked back at her and she was leaned over the seat foaming at the mouth. >> reporter: he called 911. >> and 911 told us to pull her out of the car. >> reporter: they were pulling her from the car and brandon was walking by on his way to get a haircut. the first year med student at gw knew just what to do. >> i checked for the carotid pulses and didn't feel anything. >> reporter: as he began cpr, he called into the crowd for help and a student at georgetown happened to be out for a bike ride. >> he started chest compressions and i came over and he moved to mouth-to-mouth and i started -- i continued doing chest compressions. >> reporter: a local commissioner and boy scout's troop leader came to the fallen firefighter's rescue. today, she got a chance to thank her heroes as well as the 13 members of the d.c. fire department who also came to her aid and the doctor who led the team at gw. >> so thank you.

>> reporter: before that day on pennsylvania avenue, none of these people knew each other. >> i remember when i received the e-mail that she was okay, i was pretty emotional just knowing that all of these people had worked together. >> reporter: today, they'll forever be connected. in the district, mark segraves, news4. >> firefighter bonnie has not returned to active duty yet but hopes to soon. as for the young man who pulled her from the car says the whole thing has inspired him to become a paramedic or a doctor. well, that's all for "news4 this week." i'm lauren ricketts. we leave you with great pictures of police helping a turtle cross the road in prince william county. look at that. thanks for joining us and have a spectacular week ahead. ♪

clearasil rapid action begins working fast for clearly visible results in as little as 12 hours. but will it stop this teen from chugging hot sauce? ...oh jeremy. so let's be clear: clearasil works fast on teen acne, not so much on other teen things. whatwhat made them believeace carthat a two-ton behemothhop?

or that they could take on the elite in world motor racing, and win? we may never truly understand what drives mercedes-amg. but here's to another 50 years of it. mercedes-amg. half a century of driving performance. it's custom made so you know it's good quality. i'm just speechless because it's perfect.

and at 6:00, developing right now, multiple people shot, one of them killed. right now on "news4 today," we'll tell you what the authorities are uncovering in the homicide investigation. this is happening in montgomery county. and how a prisoner busted out of prison and what police want you to see to put him back behind bars. the first 100 days of my administration has been just about the most successful in our country's history. >> a bold claim and a key milestone. we are sorting through facts and fiction as president trump moves past 100 days in office. t