>> kristin wright is live tonight, she was the only reporter at today's student town hall. what are the students saying after this? >> reporter: well, student government association president taylor dumpsen said, i cannot solve racism in my one-year tenure as president. but she said, what we can do as students is build up this community. >> i'm appalled as a student second, i'm outraged, i gnawsiated. as a target, i'm numb. >> reporter: taylor dumpsen opening a town hall meeting to find solutions, to find ways to move forward. standing room only, students, staff, and alumni. some of the topics covered, what is a hate crime, why do some incidents get more attention, what's the protocol when things happen at au and our campus police keeping track of the

incidents? the tone of the town hall stayed positive. >> issues like this will continue to happen in the future. not just here at au, but around the country as well. now we have the opportunity to be proactive and to help create a procedure so that members of our community can have a level of transparency and support that is necessary when dealing with bias-related incidents in the future. >> reporter: of course prompting the town hall meeting today, the banana incidents on monday, those hate crimes. this is surveillance video from campus police of the person of interest in this case. they are still looking for that person. there's a $1,000 reward. coming up, wendy, tonight at 6:00, whether students at the town hall meeting found it to be productive. back to you. >> thanks, kristin. congresswomen who are members of alpha kappa alpha sorority are strongly denouncing this incidentnd

joined that group on capitol hill this afternoon. the group noted the symbolism of hanging fruit, recalling the dark period in our history when african americans were lynched. >> some people may try to call us gorilla bait, but the women of alpha kappa alpha are among the most accomplished women in the world. we are women of substance, women of pride, and women of integrity. such incidents may make us momentarily feel down, but they will never, ever, ever take us out. >> congresswoman sheila jackson lee, who is a member of the judiciary committee is asking the justice department to investigate this incident. now to the weather, back to our top story tonight, and the historic flooding in parts of the midwest, blamed for five deaths across five states from illinois down to missouri. chec

the air. people in those states dealing with yet another round of heavy rain today, and that same system is the one that is in route our way. let's bring in chief meteorologist doug kammerer. doug, what's the timeline on when that stuff makes it here? >> it could get here quickly. over the next couple of hours, we'll see the rain moving on in. some of it will be heavy in about two or three hours. that's how fast it's moving in. as you mentioned, radar is dry across our region. it's a cool night tonight considering whether we've been over the past week. the rain is not here just yet, but it's just down to the south. take a look at the yellows here, the reds, these are individual thunderstorm cells as well, but areas of heavy rain. this is all moving up from the south. and the wider picture, showing the storm itself, way back to the west. a lot of moisture with this storm, a flood watch in effect for areas in the southwestern

zones. rappahannock county, and areas to the southwest. still a lost rain here, over an inch in many locations overnight tonight and through the day tomorrow. we'll talk more about the timing of it, what to expect for your friday morning commute. we'll see you back here in about ten minutes. and also tonight at 11:00 and tomorrow morning, we'll be in weather alert mode. so stay on top of things. be sure to download the nbc washington app and make weather your home page. there are allegations of sex abuse with a 47-year-old soccer coach, accused of inappropriately touching a 7-year-old girl while the rest of the team was running laps. mark segraves is in montgomery county. police tell him there may be more victims. >> it happened here two years ago, on this field at centerway park in montgomery village. the victim, a 7-year-old girl. the suspect, her 47-year-old soccer coach, miguel

investigations division followed up those leads and information, developed enough probable cause to charge flores with sexual abuse of a minor. >> according to charging documents, the girl who is 9 years old now, recently reported the alleged abuse to child and family services. she told investigators that flores would touch her under her shirt in the middle of this field while the arrerest of them was running laps. and he told her to keep it secret. >> detectives believe there may be other victims who are reluctant to come forward. we want them to come forward, talk to investigators, let us know. >> reporter: flores was arrested yesterday evening right on this field as he was coaching his team. as of last check, he had not made his first appearance before a judge. montgomery county police want to stress they believe the a

people to come forward, and they say immigration is never an issue when witnesses or victims come forward to montgomery county police. that's the latest in montgomery village. back to you. >> mark, thank you. president trump says obamacare is essentially dead after scoring his first big legislative win since taking office. the house passed the gop health care plan by the narrowest of margins. republican members boarded buses for a celebration at the white house. as protesters outside the capitol chanted "shame," the president says this effort is bringing the party together. news4's leon harris joins us with the 4 things to know about this bill. leon? >> well, the non-partisan congressional budget office is yet to do a scoring on the latest version of the gop health plan, so there's a lot we don't know about it. but there are some estimates of how many people would be covered in the new plan and how many will be left out. we still don't know

firmly. here's what we know that will change. this bill would freeze expansion to medicaid. and it adds work requirements for most able-bodied recipients who are not pregnant or caring for a child under the age of 6. now, this also allows states to opt out of the program for existing protections for people with pre-existing conditions, including that insurers have to charge the same amount to all people. an amendment adds funds to fund pools for high-risk people that do opt out. states can also request a waiver to change what qualifies as essential health benefits under obamacare. it currently includes er visits, prescription drugs, new born services. and this ne measure still has tt

through the senate where republicans have a slimmer majority. a lot more to learn in the days to come. >> thanks, leon. a disturbing find in prince george's county. somebody stumbling upon a body in a wooded area in berwyn heights. the discovery on nevada street. news4's meagan fitzgerald is there with the latest information. meagan? >> reporter: police tell us someone was walking along last night around 9:30, when they stumbled across this body. we're told it was about 200 yards inside this wooded area here. of course they called 911 and police were on scene investigating for hours. neighbors say this berwyn heights community is fairly quiet is peaceful. >> oh, my gosh. i didn't know that. oh, dear. >> reporter: which is why there was complete shock when they learned a man was murdered and his body was found in this wooded area near nevada street and yards away from their homes. >> the police, the fire department, the

>> reporter: it was just before 9:30 wednesday night when bob said there area was flooded with police. >> it's very frightening. so i'm quite dismayed by that. >> reporter: lana isn't the only neighbor on edge. >> there was a body that was found? >> how far apart? >> half a mile. >> reporter: it was less than a mile away that just last month that a body of a retired maryland professor was found. in that case, investigators say he took his own life. >> i'm anxious, i walk my dog. >> reporter: neighbors are hoping the case will be solved soon. >> i hope the police going to do something quickly. >> reporter: police say that victim died from trauma to the body and they're leaning on the public right now. they say they need clues because at this point, jim, they do not have a suspect in custody. >> meagan, thanks so much. an easing of a ban

churches and other religious groups. it's just one part of a controversial signing today by president trump. when we come back on nudesews4 5:00, what his order on religious liberty means. we love the outdoors, but a warning for the weeks and the months

fios is not cable. we're wired differently. maybe that's why we've been ranked highest in customer satisfaction by jd power 4 years in a row. and now you can love fios too. get 150 meg internet, tv and phone. all for $79.99 per month onlinefor the first year with a two-year agreement. it's the only internet with equal upload and download speeds. cable only offers upload speeds that are a fraction of their download speeds. plus get hbo for a year and free multi-room dvr service for two years. and verizon wireless customers can stream tv on the fios mobile app, data-free. get the best. go to getfios.com and folks, we are still sugar-free here at news4. we'rery

despite some attempts at sabotage from my colleagues. and speaking of colleagues, while we were setting this project up last week, we discovered our very own pat collins has been way ahead of us when it comes to going sugar-free. take a look. >> i'm pat collins and this is my lunch. i'll show you what's inside in a minute, but first i gotta tell you, do you know what they call people who go off sugar for just one week? amateurs. i've been off it for two months. i've lost 20 pounds. we're good friends, aren't we? let me show you something. this is my belt. this is pat collins in february. this is pat collins now. 20 pounds i've lost, but i didn't do it by myself. i had some help. i want you to meet janet salman, my

she's the one that taught me that sugar is the devil. >> what are four things you should never, ever do to stay away from sugar? >> skip meals. because then you're blood sugar level will drop and you'll be starving. two, avoid all carbohydrates. your body won't be balanced. some people say i'm never going to eat bread, potatoes, rice. three, never avoid fresh fruits and vegetables. and four, never drink excessive artificially sweetened items. you get a basic sandwich and a drink a lot of water. >> and now for my lunch. 100 calorie bag of popcorn. protein bar, less than four grams of sugar. i don't think of meat anymore. i think of protein. this

a cheese stick. a really good snack, and a big apple. and in my off hours, i don't get in the same zip code as beer. why i had some crafts over the weekend, but no beer. having crafts without beer is like having peanut butter without jelly, but i don't do that anymore either. >> go, pat. more notches in his belt. back to us amateurs in the studio here, and if you have questions, check out our nbc washington facebook page all this week. tomorrow morning, we'll have an expert who will be answering some of your questions you've asked and make sure to check back in with us here tomorrow afternoon for more as we go sugar-free. >> well, as it warms up, we're spending more time outdoors. something to keep in mind this spring and summer. it's expected to be severe for tick-born l

kristen dahlgren went into the woods with scientists who have been studying this for decades. >> we saw an absolute plague of white-footed mice last summer. what you see after that, is a very large population of infect infected ticks that are capable of making us sick. >> i always associate deer with lyme disease. why is white-footed mouse now the major culprit? >> a lot of people call it the deer stitick, so you think of d spreading it. and in many cases it's this white-footed mouse. they're little bit more prolific, they live in our homes, and wood piles and leaf piles. so it's predominantly this white-footed house that the ticks jump onto, get infected if

off, wait on a piece of leaf or something for a human to walk by, and that's when they bite a human and can spread lyme disease. so they look at the white-footed mouse population to see when there's going to be a boom in ticks. unfortunately, that researcher that's been doing it for 25 years, says last year was the worst year that he has ever seen. he said, there were hundreds upon hundreds of these mice they were catching and tagging and so they know that there are going to be more ticks out there this year. and that is just a really forbidding forecast for lyme disease, which continues to spread across the country, wendy. >> are the ticks repellant, or deet, will it work on ticks as well? >> there are things you can do. the repellant does work. i don't know if you noticed i was wearing a white suit.

clothing when you go out there in the woods, tuck your pants into your socks so that the ticks can't crawl up your legs and get onto skin. with the light-colored clothing, you'll be able to spot them. and the important thing, do tick checks. this happens in places where you might not think you could pick up a tick. we spoke with one girl outside of detroit, and she now has lyme disease. he got a tick on her. she said she had never heard of lyme disease. she hadn't known anyone bitten by a tick. she got a tick, her doctors immediately poopoo'd the idea of lyme disease, she pushed for the test and she has lyme disease. >> and kristin will have more tonight about this. president trump signed an executive order today

believes will expand religious liberty and allow for more political activity. this order weakens enforcement of the johnson amendment, which prevents churches and other tax-exempt groups from endorsing or opposing political candidates. mr. trump says no one should censure sermons or target pastors. >> for too long, the federal government has used the power of the state as a weapon against people of faith. bullying and even punishing americans for following their religious beliefs. >> today's order also provides relief to organizations that object on religious grounds to certain obamacare mandates, including that employers sproid contraception services. this is an issue that so many families struggle with, caring for a loved one who is losing their memory. there's a new initiative in prince george's county that is trying to make that care easier. and the heavy rain heading our way overnight. it's going to be a big

for your morning commute. but how long will it stick

>> we are going to get soaked. we really are. and it's a quick storm. the storm will stay with us and we'll feel the effects for a bettar

days. but this storm, rain wise, it will be out of here by probably early tomorrow morning. through the mutcommute, it will quite heavy. this right now, if you walk outside, you feel a little bit on the cool side, a little breezy. this is the kind of weather i expect to see over the next week to ten days. not a lot of sunshine in the forecast. temperature wise, 66 degrees, winds out of the southeast at 15 miles an hour. that wind gusty a little bit and it will be gusty with the rain. as far as temperatures go, on the cool side. 64 towards culpeper, remember, our average high is in the low 70s. we're not going to be anywhere near there, except for tomorrow throughout this period. earlier i was talking to the second graders, i used to play basketball in the gym. this is the underground school for you guys who know that area around reston.

that. thanks to them for having me in. tomorrow, everybody needs umbrellas and boots. the rain is coming quick. this is heavy rain around danville, just south of the richmond area, all moving to the north and we'll see that rain moving in tonight. the storm itself, spinning back to the west. and it has two moisture sources, out of the gulf, out of the atlantic. you can see it coming out of the atlantic. that's why we'll see so much rain and have the flood watch for shenandoah valley. 48 in annapolis, 61 in nashville. last few days, i've been showing you 70s and 80s. there's no warmth anywhere along the east. we'll see much cooler weather for the next six to ten days. tonight, 7:00, north american virginia inundated with rain already. heaviest to the south. but most of this is west of 95. i think that will be the case through most of the night. 10:00, same

activity mostly west of 95. but tomorrow morning, it gets everywhere, 4, 5, 6:00 hour, and there are periods and spots of very heavy rainfall. that morning commute is going to be a really tough one. even around 8:00, still seeing the rain in parts of the area. by 10:00, it's trying to get out of here, but we still have a chance for more showers or tomorro thunderstorms during the afternoon. but just know your morning commute will be quite rough wet roadways and ponding. 75 tomorrow ahead of the system. but then the system itself brings in much cooler air. look at that. 63 with showers on saturday. breezy conditions there. 62 on sunday. most areas on monday may not even make it to 60. although i'm trying to go 60 right now. >> yikes. thank you, doug. new development in northern virginia is sparking an interesting debate. >> and it pits the issues of parking against public transportation.

university of maryland police are investigating the discovery of a noose here at this fraternity house. ahead, how students are reacting on campus.

you're watching news4 at

5:00. right now at 5:30, what's going on, on our college campuses, that now at the university of maryland, police are launching a hate crime investigation there. >> that discovery involved a noose found in a fraternity house, days after the hate crime at american university. this evening, we're getting reaction from students at the university of maryland. and news4's chris gordon is live for us on the campus in college park. what are they telling you? >> this is the fraternity house where the noose was found. it has members that are white and members of minorities. the university president wallace lowe condemns this act as being despicable. saying the community has to stand against craven acts of bigotry. word is spreading at the university of maryland, the headline in the diamondback student newspaper reads noose found in phi tau kitchen.

police investigating hate bias incident. >> i think that honestly it's a pretty unspeakable action. i know 99% of people around this campus don't condone this type of behavior. >> reporter: the noose was discovered last thursday at phi kappa tau, i asked the fraternity's president to comment on camera, but he e-mailed me a written statement, saying, we are shocked and appalled. the chapter's reaction to this event has been confusion and outrage. for all of us, it is beyond the realm of belief that anyone could have perpetrated such a heinous act. >> being a black student is heartbreaking, i live behind there. i didn't think it would happen on my campus. it sucks to have racism so close to home. >> reporter: two years ago a fraternity wrote a letter that was leaked and led to protests at fraternity row. it used slurs, saying don't invite black,

hot. >> racial violence is not necessarily in the sense that everyone is outwardly showing signs of racism. it's more subtle things. >> reporter: he tells me overall he feels comfortable at the university of maryland. >> although this type of thing happens frequently, i don't think it's indicative of the university. there are definitely good people here. it's disappointing when this kind of thing happens. >> reporter: ahead, what a black student who is the president of the fraternity which has a house right next door, says about this racial incident and friends of his who live here. that's coming up at 6:00. jim, back to you. >> see you then, chris, thank you. in both this case in maryland and the incident at american university, the noose is a major part of the controversy, and that's because of the place it holds in american history. back in the late 1800s and through the 19

arose as a means of enforcing the belief in white supremacy. there was an epidemic of lynchings that swept across the country. the tuskegee institute reported 4,700 people hanged in that time, with three-quarters of those killed being african americans. the frequency of lynchings lessened after the 1930s, but the noose, it never went away. it's often used as a racial threat and a sign of intimidation. there's now a class action lawsuit connected to a deadly division between that baltimore school bus and the mta bus last november. that crash killed six people, injured nearly a dozen others. the ntsb released a report urging baltimore city public schools to take a good look at how it chooses its bus drivers. the ntsb investigators say the school bus driver had a history of seizures. in the past five years, he'd been involved in at lea

a new debate is growing tonight in alexandria after a number of parking spaces were removed from a new development. our transportation reporter adam tuss is taking a closer look at whether it's too much parking in the city. >> reporter: like so many parts of our area, alexandria is fast developing and now the question is, do we need more of this, parking, in the city? the city council recently voted to take away ten parks spaces off a new development, and that has spurred a whole debate in the city of alexandria. is there enough parking here, like along king street, where it seems like there's plenty of places to park? some say that if you encourage more parking, then you discourage things like biking, walking and metro. we talked about it with a city council member. >> i'm a believer in right size parking. we should have enough parking, but beware of

tends to encourage people to drive. >> reporter: coming up, much more on the parking debate in alexandria. what does the city say about all this and will it be an issue with future developments? >> and while we're in alexandria, you need to know that you could be paying hundreds more in property taxes. the city council plans to vote tonight on a plan that would raise property taxes by an average of $350 a year. that extra tax, it would go to address years of overcrowding at the schools. the outdated sewer systems and of course funding for metro. the new rate would march current property tax that is applied in fairfax county. wizards back in town, trying to prevent their backs up against the wall tonight. wizards have yet to win a game this series, but they are favored tonight in game three. carol maloney joins us with what we can expect.

>> i expect a widely entertaining game for sure. the series has lived up to the hype. now the wizards are back home and favored by five and a half points, getting love from the odds-makers, because of their home court magic. they're undefeated at verizon center this postseason, ready to bring it again tonight. >> it's intensity. we gotta play harder. it's the playoffs. that's just what it is. we won two at home. atlanta beat us two at home. so we know our home court advantage, and can get the next two. >> we have a good feel and comfort level on our home court. but we have to play well here. they're not going to give us the game because we're on our home court. we're going to have to execute and we're going to have to compete and we're going to have to do the little things. >> you look at it, you can't look at regular season or in the postseason. but home team has won every game so far, but all we can do is come out here and try to compete and take care of home court advantage. >>

advantages now and no more room for errors. trailing 3-1, last night looked like playoff games of the past. some really bad luck, killing the caps, this despite washington outshooting the pens by 20 shots. one more loss and the caps are done. game five in washington on saturday night, right here on nbc4. so saturday night, the caps drop the puck at 7:15. wizards will tip-off at 8:00 p.m. for both teams, the most important games of the season. are we having fun yet? he's known as hip-hop's howard stern, but it almost took a miracle for him to get that status. ahead, radio and tv personality charl main the god shares the story of his struggle and his success. rain on the way. a lot of it could make plans difficult for the weekend and a lot cooler temperatures.

stronand restoringding a a father's faith.. it's standing tall after one surgery... not six. stronger is being a typical kid... despite a rare disorder.

and coming home sooner. stronger is seeking answers... and not giving up, until you find them. because we don't just want your kids to grow up. we want them to grow up stronger. fios is not cable. we're wired differently. maybe that's why we've been ranked highest in customer satisfaction by jd power 4 years in a row. and now you can love fios too. get 150 meg internet, tv and phone. all for $79.99 per month onlinefor the first year

e only internet with equal upload and download speeds. cable only offers upload speeds that are a fraction of their download speeds. plus get hbo for a year and free multi-room dvr service for two years. and verizon wireless customers can stream tv on the fios mobile app, data-free. get the best. go to getfios.com we are working for you in the community. tracee wilkins had the honor of hosting the 40 under 40 awards in mitchellville last night. tracy presenting awards to 40 leaders under the age of 40 who make a difference in their community. this group of

blazers is being recognized for their work in public science, health and fitness and the arts. prince george's county social innovation fund is sponsor the annual awards ceremony. >> congrats to all. he's a sometimes controversial fixture in new york radio. charl main the god, it outlines his guiding life principles to help you live your truth. he sat down for an interview with our barbara harrison, and she asked him about his brutally honest style and his mission to help people un-lame themselves. >> yeah, we used to say that all the time. unlame yourself. >> tell me about that. >> some people are just lame and don't even know it. so in the book, i talk about is live your

you don't have something nice to say, say it anyway. and that's part of it. if somebody's lame and doing lame things, you should just tell them. i feel like it's your place to tell them. >> oh, my gosh, i love that. >> his book cracked the top ten on the "new york times" bestseller list. it's called black privilege, opportunity comes to those who create it. >> unlame yourself. kids are diagnosed with concussions, get this, at a rate of three million a year. coming up, there's a new test that can help better advise you parents on how to deal with your child's injuries. if you're caring for someone with dementia or alzheimer's, we understand how difficult that can be. coming up on news4, the small but potent group of folks are trying to fige outur

sthmpt dementia is a difficult condition to understand and cope with. your loved one looks the same and is here physically. but the person they once were is gone. patients and their families can't navigate the illness alone. so prince george's county bureau chief tracee wilkins explains a new local initiative that's offering help and raising awareness. >> my father got lost in the hardware store and called my sister and said, where am i. >> reporter: as people shared stories ofow

dementia impacted. >> translator: lives and t-- -- their lives and the lives of loved ones, it's clear they can't make it alone. >> reporter: today members of the prince george's county south chapter invited the faith-based community and church leadership in for a conversation. >> in the african american community, the incidence is higher and the outcomes are more negative than with other communities. much of it is because of access or lack of access to health care, lack of access to diets that are healthy. >> it's not an easy journey. >> bonita, a former lobbyist discovered her early onset driving to the state house she went to every day. >> and i said, i want to go to annapolis to the state house. and he said you're not that far from it. i said, i've tried six

>> reporter: today was a start to trying to figure out how to increase awareness for early detection. improve access to medication and grow resources within prince george's for families living with these illnesses. >> we can all connect as one and i'm looking for forward to taking it back and sharing with my senior group. >> reporter: another complicated part of dealing with people suffering from these illnesses, protecting them from crime. coming up on news4 at 6:00, the resources available to help with that. in temple hills, i'm tracee wilkins, news4. a cheek swab may be more effective than the current methods in determining how long the symptoms may last in a child suffering a concussion. researchers measured the levels of a genetic molecule that helps regulate protein. they say with 90% accuracy, they could predict whe

such as headaches would be around for at least a month. as compared with less than 70% for the current standard method. lauryn, gotta be on a rooftop in downtown d.c. tonight. windy, rainy? >> i would say, it looks like we'll at least see rain showers moving into the area. a lot of the rain is west of 95, at least through the late evening, but i don't know how much i really believe that. i do believe that you're going to have to come prepared, take the umbrella with you. we'll have rain at least by midnight and points to the east. i'll show you all that on the future cast coming up, so you can time it out. but just know rain moving in tonight and then as we continue through tomorrow morning, everybody will have rain for the morning commute. leave yourself extra time. chuck, ee

get you through your morning. keep it here at wtop when you get in your car and they'll keep you abreast of where all the rain is coming in, and where the heaviest sports are. and then some showers on saturday and a lot of things going on, on saturday. this rain moving in quickly. i do believe there could be showers, 7, 8:00 in the d.c. area. heavier stuff will move in by late this evening and into the overnight. let me widen out the radar for you. we even had some thunderstorms down here as well. but a lot of this moisture is pumping in from the atlantic and also from the gulf of mexico, that area of low pressure is traveling out of western tennessee and it will continue to travel up towards ohio where it gets with another piece of energy, creating heavier showers through tomorrow morning at least. temperatures now, couldn't do better than the 60s today. 66 is our temperature in d.c. dulles at 62, frederick at 6

continue into the evening, dropping into the lower 60s. rain at southwest by 7:00 p.m. 9:00, we'll start to see that rain moving all in here from the southwest to the northeast. heavy rain late tonight in through the overnight and even through tomorrow morning. so tomorrow's forecast despite the rain and the clouds in the morning, we're still going to make it into the mid 70s. we have a breezy southwest wind to boost temperatures into the 70s as a warm front lifts to the north. again, here's 9:00 p.m., and that's when i hesitated talking about being on a rooftop at 8:00 p.m. in d.c. a lot of that rain trying to stay to the west of 95, but be prepared either way. if you are in the d.c. area, it points to the east. if you're headed out tonight. heavy rain in the shenandoah valley and in the overnight, still heavy rain pushing through. look at that 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, could have one to two

done, we dry out, could get spots of sunshine, but also could get spots of more rain. passing showers possible on saturday. sunday looks like the best of the days with temperatures still in the low 60s but drying out. and then we stay cool as we continue through the next couple days through this week. so tomorrow, weather alert day with heavy rain possible early. >> thank you, lauryn. and our crowded local schools are increasingly congested on the outside as well. >> scott macfarlane reports, sometimes parking lots are so packed, students are paying to leave their cars at neighboring homes. >> parking is difficult to come by at some montgomery county public schools. it's limited to only seniors in some cases, to those with high gpas, and those willing to spend f $75

the result is creative parking, in closer neighborhoods, including violating no parking signs, and some in permit parking only, which are meant for nearby homeowners. and we found this, private driveways looking more like parking lots. >> no comment from the homeowners, but county investigators told the iteam it found some renting the spaces to students, which the county says is a violation. >> it's a neighborhood. and to violate that brings in additional cars and it's impactful. pedestrian safety, children safety, pet safety. >> coming up tonight, what's being done to solve this parking crunch. and what happens to the students and others who break the rules. for now, scott macfarlane, news4, i-team. team 26 makes an

killed at sandy hook elementary school. the volunteer cyclist ride hundreds of miles to lobby congress for tougher gun laws. the ride begins in newtown, connecticut, and ends in d.c. but there's a change of course this year. >> so we're going to leave here today. we're going to turn our backs on congress and ride away. and ride to the states that are actually working hard for gun violence prevention. to maryland, to delaware, to pennsylvania, new jersey, new york, and connecticut. and arrive home in newtown. >> in 2012, a gunman killed 26 people inside sandy hook, six teachers and 20 students. and tomorrow, two parents who posted controversial videos with their kids on youtube will be appearing in a frederick courtroom. mike and heather martin are accused of abusing their kids with those so-called pranks that they shared with viewers on their youtube channel and made a lot of

the kids were removed from the home, placed in the custody of their biological mother and tomorrow the judge will rule whether the children can return to their father and stepmother. the martins claim the videos were a prank and that the [ female announcer ] are you one of millions of women embarrassed by hair loss or suffering from thinning hair? you have a personalized, proven solution right here. welcome to hair club. i had my self-confidence back.

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social media. for its final act, ringling will broadcast its last performance on facebook live. the goal is to let everyone experience the greatest show on earth. they had a 146-year run. the curtain closes forever may 21st. it's where tarzan meets jane. tomorrow fairfax county opens its first woodland obstacle and zip line course in springfield. this new park offering is a partnership with go ape adventure company. a trek takes one to three hours and features more than a hundred suspended obstacles. there are nine zip lines, an especially designed course for kids, costs range from 28 to $58. that looks cool. >> that would be a fun date. >> for the adventurous, yeah. >> he was here somewhere. he was just

arlington where students love staying after class because they get to do this design, make and then race their own go-karts. >> as julie carey reports now, they end up learning a lot more than how to use power tools. >> reporter: they start small at the beginning of the school year, with basics, learning to use power tools. at first, creating tiny gok art prototypes out of cardboard. >> to sort of give them a 3d representation of their objects. >> reporter: then they turn big sheets of plywood into these, racing machines. each complete with a custom-paint job. >> this is the steering wheel. when is the brake. >> reporter: steve ellis runs the after-school program at gunston middle school. the downhill derby club was created three years ago, to give the kids something fun to do, but it's become much more. >> i just like the experience of hands-on

>> i never imagined i'd be making a car with working brakes and working steering. so it just amazes me how much you can actually do. >> reporter: and more than half the teens here are girls. it proves that what girls can do what guys can do. >> reporter: what's been building all along here, confidence. >> we've even had stories of kids that come back and tell me, they fixed the kitchen cabinets at their house that the mother was going to pay a contractor to do. so those are the types of stories that we want to hear. >> soft steers, daniel. >> reporter: most of the year, all preparation for the downhill derby race, the competition for 2017 bragging rights. in the end, it was the crazy eight team versus the bleeding hearts, and experience won the day. the eighth grade girls, victorious. in arlington, i'm julie carey, news4. >> go, girls. >> the club is not finished

boats that will be afloat before the school is out. >> i like the look of those things. if you want to take a peek at the only mishap of the day involving our photographer chester, go to our nbc washington facebook page. >> way to go, chester. news4 at 6:00 starts now. >> first at 6:00, the calm before the storm. heavy rain will move in over the next couple of hours. it could have a big impact on the commute in the morning. >> yeah, there's already a flood watch in effect for parts of our region. doug is tracking it all. what's the timing looking like on this? >> the timing moving in over the next couple of hours. so you look outside right now, we have the clouds and that's about it. but the rain is very close to our region. you can start to see the rain, this is different from just last hour where there was no rain on the radar. now you can see it south of luray, all moving up from the south, but we still haveim

one to get home, should be fine. 66, 270, 95, 50, all dry here. looking good now. but here's the rain just down to the south. you can see it moving up pretty quickly. notice the yellows, oranges and reds, enhanced rainfall. most of us in northern virginia will see the most rain this evening and then everybody gets in on the action from the big storm as it moves our way. you can see the spin in the atmosphere. a lot of moisture making its way here. there's a flood watch to the west, including parts of the shenandoah valley and the blue ridge. i still expect to see some areas over an inch of rain. it will impact your commute. see you back here in 15 minutes. >> thanks, doug. as the conditions change, we invite you to stay with news4. we're going to be in weather alert mode tonight at 11:00 and tomorrow morning. we also invite to you download the app to track the conditions in your own