up details and will have more at 5:30. >> thank you, leon. rape charges are dropped against two immigrant teenagers in a case that made national headlines. i'm wendy rieger. >> i'm jim handly. a 14-year-old girl accused them of attacking her in a bathroom at rockville high school. here's how the case unfolded. march 16th, the students are arrested for rape. then the white house weighs in. march 21st. citing the need for stronger immigration laws. >> but a court filing by the defense team claimed that the sex was consensual. fast-forward to today. the rape charges dropped. chris gordon is outside rockville high school tonight with reaction. chris? >> reporter: wendy, this case has attracted international attention because the two teenage boys are undocumented immigrants and their lawyers tell me, they each traveled alone here to get to montgomery cou county to join their families, that they

high school. some people are wondering if they're coming back here. tonight, we have the answer. the two teenage boys will not be returning to rockville high school. no matter the outcome of their cases. >> we need to provide them an education, but it will not be in a school building, it will not be during the regular school day. it will not be a typical school experience. >> reporter: 18-year-old henry sanchez-milian and 17-year-old jose montano are no longer charged with rape or sex assault for the incident in mid march. prosecutor john mccarthy is dropping those charges after what we called a thorough investigation. >> we have concluded that the facts in this case do not support the original charges filed in this matter. >> reporter: defense lawyers say the 14-year-old girl sent text messages to montano, agreeing to have sex in school the next day. >> video, very graphic videos, very vile pictures andow

charge our client with something that she created and sent. >> reporter: defense lawyers say it's unfair that prosecutors are now using the video to file new charges of possession of pornography against the teenage boys, as well as distribution of pornography against montano. >> obviously because they can't make the rape, they now turn around and charge our client who is a juvenile, with pornography. >> reporter: parents are trying to understand today's developments. >> even if they dropped the rape charges, there should be some charges against somebody for what happened in the school. because that's just disgusting. if we don't get some justice -- >> you don't get no peace! students at american university staging a sit-in to protest the messages of hate

week and the target of that hate, taylor dumpson, had to have police protection. a post written on thursday, by a white supremacist encouraged others to harass here. meagan fitzgerald is live at au with the latest developments. meagan? >> yeah, wendy, i spoke to a lot of protesters, they tell me they feel like the university is not listening to their concerns and not adequately addressing racial issues. today we saw them march on campus, shutting down the tunnel at one point, and they say they will continue these acts of resistance, as they call it, until the university starts listening. >> hoping this time the administration will listen to us. >> reporter: concerns continue to grow for many students of color on the campus of american university. they say the administration isn't effectively addressing racially charged incidents on campus. so today -- >> if we don't get no justice -- >> then you don't get no peace! >> reporter: -- more protests. students

hanging from a noose has impacted them. >> we're basically asking the administration to give students of color extensions on their finals, as well as any exams or tests they've taken after the first banana incident occurred, if they could be revisited first. >> reporter: and just last night, the university said a white supremacist made comments online. the university sent out an e-mail, saying, the author encouraged followers to troll the president of american university student government, taylor dumpson. the university immediately dispatched law enforcement to her home to provide her and her family with additional security. >> things that are happening on our campus are not in isolation. >> so in response, university officials went on facebook live to offer safety tips and answered questions. >> we recommend that people restrict the access to their social media accounts. so that they're private, only their friends and family members. we recommend that no one use

you're posting something. we suggest you turn that off. >> i applaud the administration, because one of the biggest things we've been asking for throughout this week, more transparency, more e-mails, and we haven't gotten that in previous situations. >> but the student protesters say there's still more work that needs to be done. >> reporter: now the students who were protesting say before they even took to the campus to demonstrate, they already had a meeting set up with scott bass on monday, but they say their concern is what they saw this past week, they canceled a meeting with students. so they fear he might cancel on them, which is why they demonstrated, to try and encourage him to meet with them on monday. back to you. >> thank you, meagan. turning to the weather now, this is what a lot of us had to contend with this morning. were you caught up in it? y

rush hour. and there may be more scattered showers if you're heading out this evening, along with cooler air moving in for your weekend. >> and we have a developing story from fairfax county and there it is. a tree falling onto a house on hamlet road in the springfield area. this is live from chopper4. we don't know if anyone was in the house or was injured, but you can see that is going to be some heavy damage. this is another example of why we say turn around, don't drown, folks. they had to bring in a tow truck after a driver got stuck in a flooded out roadway this morning along lawyers road, in fairfax county. and in the district, clingel road in northwest is open after a tree came down into the westbound lanes, shutting down traffic for several hours this morning. let's get to doug kammerer, the hardest working man in the business, right, doug? >> that's right. i'm just glad

the weekend coming. but unfrgortunately, not going be that nice. still shower activity now, not too bad for most of us, but still tracking showers after one to two inches early today. loudoun county down towards luray and culpeper county. this shower coming up route 15, towards leesburg, quick downpours. there are a few more showers just down to the south. these are trying to move into the rest of the region. so we're not done with the rain just yet. this weekend, a big area of disturbed weather. giving us clouds, showers, and you mentioned much cooler air upon some of you could wake up to temperatures in the 30s. see you back here in ten minutes. >> yikes. fairfax county police describe it as one of the biggest organized crime operations they've ever busted. more tha

charged in connection with a tobacco smuggling scheme that raked in about $30 million. that scheme involved money laundering and bank fraud. julie carey is at the bailey's cross road area of fairfax county to tell us how this operation worked. >> wendy, that is a staggering amount of money, isn't it? this is one of the areas where the suspects were operating. this is where they were getting their money to fund criminal enterprise. and this is what they were buying. lots and lots of low-cost cigarettes, down in the richmond area, then they were taking it up to the northeast, where they were selling the cigarettes at twice the price. >> fairfax county police say name most any major bank in the area and they were probably targeted by the cigarette smuggling ring. their money-making scheme started with several types of bank fraud. a fairfax county detective got wind of it in january of 2015, when a

a half million dollars. >> it's gotta be one of the largest organized criminal groups we've had. >> reporter: here's how it worked. the suspects would set up multiple bank accounts, use their debit cards to get rental cars, but then clear out the account for the company finalized the charge. drivers would head to the richmond area, go from one convenience store to another buying cigarettes. over the last year, more than 600,000 cartons, then they'd head north. >> the price of cigarettes in richmond is extremely low. the price of cigarettes in the northeast is extremely high. so what they will do, they can go into richmond and purchase large quantities of cigarettes and then transport them up to new york and they're going to double their profit. >> reporter: as the investigation grew, the fbi, state department, and homeland security joined fairfax county and police. this week, 43 richmond area suspects were invited and at least a dozen people have been arrested in northern virginia, including this alexandria man. all of them, from the same

nation of mauritania. in the richmond area, the suspects were getting increasingly involved in violent crime, as some rival factions began to splinter off. >> to include shootings, robberies, home invasion robberies, that sort of thing. carjackings. these groups would target each other with the large amounts of money and basically use violence against each other. >> reporter: police say not all those indicted are behind bars yet, but they're confident they will capture them. so if they made $30 million off the cigarettes, where has the money gone? a look at that when i join you at 6:00. >> julie, thank you. we now know the punishment a 2015 investigation by the i-team caught an admitted cigarette smuggler in the act, and that northern virginia man will spend a full year behind bars. scott macfarlane joins us to explain. >> this was a crime partly captured on video by the news4

steven chen of fredericksburg admitted buying bulk churches of tobacco at big box warehouse stores throughout northern virginia and then reselling them illegally for profit. those cigarettes were trafficked to pennsylvania and new jersey to be illegally sold again, according to federal prosecutors. in those purchases at the big box stores, tens of thousands of dollars of cigarettes at a time. prosecutors cited the news4 i-team investigation in federal court to put him in prison, and that's where he is, in morgantown, west virginia, until mid 2018. wendy? >> thank you, scott. the parents of an infant found dead last christmas in the district are facing felony murder charges. police arrested them earlier today after officers found 7-week-old tiffany in

the medical examiner ruled the case a homicide last month, saying the baby died from mal nutrition. we're just getting started here on news4 at 5:00, a debate over transgender rights in fairfax county finds itself right in the center. still to come, why one group said fairfax is an example of what not to do when it comes to this issue. and a couple kicked off a delta airlines flight for refusing to give up the seat they paid for, for their 2-year-old. we take a look at that. plus, prom season on the way, see the steps some are taking to make sure the cost of a dress doesn't stand in the way of an exnsive event. pe

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progressive democrat. in the senate, he passed the smoking ban in restaurants, stopped the transvaginal ultrasound anti-choice law, and stood up to the nra. as lieutenant governor, dr. northam is fighting to expand access to affordable healthcare. ralph northam believes in making progress every day. and he won't let donald trump stop us. stronger is blasting without risking her bones. it's training her good cells... to fight the bad guys. stronger is less pain... new hope... more fight. it's doing everything in your power... and everything in ours. stronger, is changing even faster than they do. because we don't just want your kids to grow up. we want them to grow up stronger.

>> they can remove me off the plane. that's fine. >> you and your wife will be in jail and your kids will be -- >> by now, you've probably seen this video. this couple getting into a dispute with the flight crew as they tried to get home from a trip to hawaii. the couple had been traveling with two toddlers and they were told they had to give up one of the seats they had paid for, for their children. this has raised questions and some confusion about traveling with little kids. news4's leon harris joins us now to tell us about the story. >> another week, another reason to be outraged at the airlines, this the latest

high profile videos. brian and brittany schear sent their teenage son home on an earlier flight, and wanted to use his seat to travel in a car seat. however, they were told, the toddler had to ride in their lap. they told them they would be arrested and their kids put in foster care if they didn't comply. >> what blew me away was when they said, if you don't give the seat up, you're going to go to jail, your wife is going to go to jail and they'll take your kids away from you. >> all right, now, here's where things get confusing. children under the age of 2, yes, they can ride in a parents' lap, but the faa recommends they go in a car seat for safety reasons. now, in the video, you just saw, schear said they bought the seat for his son, but they changed it. the issue here, is that in nearly all cases, you cannot transfer tickets from one person's name to

delta's website states that name changes are never permitted be the reason for that is security. and as for the comment about being taken off and going to jail and putting the kids in foster care, a law expert said yes you can be fined for insulting flight crew. in a statement, delta says it has apologized and did refund the schear family for their travel expenses and even threw in extra on top. but the schears don't think it was enough. >> thanks so much, leon. d.c. lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it easier for doctors in the city to refer patients for medical marijuana. this bill from mayor muriel bowser streamlines the process and would allow that physician to provide patients with access to pot for medical reasons. are you ready

broccoli city music festival in the district tomorrow? >> no. >> you know you are. it's got a number of artists ready to perform. organizers held a news conference today. the idea, building thriving urb urban communications. angie goff hosted the meeting. if you'd like to learn more about the broccoli city festival, i love the name alone, you can get the full line-up, tickets, a link, everything, is on our nbc washington app. just search broccoli city, which means you have to know how to spell broccoli, which i'm not real good with that one. >> a festival with a lot of fiber and more. drumroll, please. we are nearing the end of our sugar-free week at nbc4, and we've seen the good, the bad, even the ugly. yes, i mean you with that piz

wednesday. >> but as we wrap up, we'd like to answer some of your questions. doreen took them to an expert and is here with some of the answers about sugar and where it's hidden. >> didn't we all have a lot of questions as we tried to look into this? tried to do this thing. taylor wallace helped us answer some of the questions that you shared with us online. one question that we saw a lot, is it okay to eat brown rice? we know white rice and breakthrough can turn easily to sugar, but what about brown rice? well, absolutely, says taylor wallace. 100% whole grain race ice is be. it slows the breakdown of carbs into sugar and whole grain help keep you full and help you from eating more foods. >> i think we all like to have a glass of wine at the end of the day, but you weren't

drink any wine. >> we weren't supposed to. we cheated a little bit last night. >> what is the issue of sugar in wine and what happens when it hits your body? >> so the answer is that wine can convert easily to sugars in the body. so according to our nutrition expert, it is best to abstain. but if you must have a glass of wine, it is friday night, she recommends for women a four ounce glass of dry wine per day. and for men, two four ounce glasses of wine. four ounces is pretty much like a thim bell full, right? >> exactly. >> have you ever taken a glass of wine and then poured it into a measuring cup, and holy moley, that's a lot. >> so if you want to have some wine, let's say one glass per day, let's say you hold out for the weekend. >> exactly. >> that's a tough one. >> it is. fi

sugar with, in bread? >> well, if you're baking your own bread -- >> which i do, weekly. >> well, i guess the question relates to what sugar substitutes are best to use. some food companies use stevia or others, they're safe and can provide texture and bulk properties like sugar. most importantly taylor said and we've learned this week, read the labels, especially on the convenience foods that you eat. read the labels before you make decisions, always helpful. >> we're reading a lot more. >> it's surprising to see how much sugar is in things you don't think has sugar. >> salad dressing, yogurt, milk. >> are you going to stick with it? >> i'm going to apply the things that i've learned this week and try to keep my sugar intake

quite that low, i'll try, but a glass of wine, a piece of birthday cake, a homemade cookie, i'm still going to do that i think. how about you? >> i think i am. i can button this jacket now. couldn't do that last week. a virginia woman wins a lawsuit linked to baby powder and ovarian cancer. the detail of her record-setting award and a look at what's next. and cooler temps, and there's something else.

live picture in chopper4. look at this. this is a tough task. they are trying to put a window into the capital one building. but they're having trouble here in tyson's with the wind kinda shifting all over. they've been at this for a while. these are pictures from chopper4. the wind has been whipping today. >> that's a big window. >> huge. that gives you a great proportion. >> my whole house could be put inside that window. >> move to the left. your other left! >> the wind was so bad at the river, i put it on my facebook page, the wind was howling out of the east southeast, the rain was going sideways, it got under my shingles and i had 40 leaks in my sun .

>> it really was. same time i was taking my kids to the bus stop. so sitting there with the umbrella. it was coming down. >> my daughter was like, can i go out and play in it? no! she had everything on, the rain coat, the umbrella, the rain boots. she was ready to go. out there now, pretty nice afternoon, but don't let that fool you. still seeing showers out there. if you are heading out this evening, good idea to take the umbrella just in case. 74 degrees currently. winds out of the south at 20-mile-per-hour, mostly cloudy skies. we have seen the numbers warm. it was 78 down towards culpeper, but we've seen shower activity down there. so cooling a little bit. look how much rain we've seen. over two inches of rain in martinsburg, close to that in winchester. d.c., down towards fredericksburg. we've seen a lot of rain and there's more to come over

next few weeks. rain around hagerstown, loudoun county and down south. these are good downpours along the potomac, farther south, loudoun county, rappahannock county, lightning and thunder now with this storm moving up to the north. culpeper county, also showers and more down south. the wider view here, shows more than fredericksburg, but they're all moving up towards the north. i think if you're west of d.c., a better chance for showers tonight. even in the district, we may see a couple showers. the upper low is sitting here and spinning. anytime you have an upper level low, you get cooler area. it's in the 40s in alabama and northern georgia. just amazing. this storm tomorrow will bring us cooler weather as we head into the weekend. first off, showers, around 6:00, 9:00, mostly west of 95. by tomorrow, clouds to start and mo

1:00, more showers coming through. maybe you have plans, games, some of them are going to be canceled because of all the rain. but more than that, make sure you keep the umbrella handy tomorrow too. 63 degrees, that's early. temperatures may actually fall. midday showers and it will be cool. speaking of cool, let's call it what it is. cold. breezy and 62 on sunday. 60 for a high on monday. many of you will not make 60 degrees. mid 40s in the city. some of you may be in the upper 30s on monday and tuesday morning. that is cold. and look at next weekend. hey, mother's day, it's raining again. >> thank you, doug. it's a debate over gender identity and inclusion in public schools. up next, why one group tells us fairfax county is ground zero in this battle. >> and mark segraves and working to find out more about the arrest of this man from d.c. on both gun and terror charges.

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you're watching news4 at 5:00. now at 5:30, a former marine behind bars tonight for buying an ak-47. but it's what he wanted to do with that weapon that has police on alert now. according to the fbi, clark callaway wanted to

d.c. police station. but that's not all he wanted to do. mark segraves was in court for his first appearance and has more on the investigation. mark? >> reporter: good evening, jim. prosecutors say they first started this investigation last summer when an fbi employee noticed his facebook postings. prosecutors today say that clark callaway had multiple facebook postings, multiple facebook pages, some of them were proisis, some of them were racist, targeting white people. prosecutors say clark callaway purchased an ak-47 from an fbi informant, while living in this apartment building in northeast d.c. according to charging documents, callaway told the informant he wanted to kill police officers and was targeting the first district police station in southwest, d.c. callaway was polite and reserved as he appeared before a federal judge, facing two gun charges. he has not been charged with terrorism or making

that callaway posted pro-isis messages on several facebook pages, as well as racist messages. callaway stands 6'6" and is a former marine where populahe ha weapons and explosives training. he did not have to enter a plea today. he's charged with gun charges so far. he'll be back to court next week. coming up at 6:00, we'll tell you how much those fbi informants were paid by the fbi. that's the very latest in northwest. >> thank you, mark. questions surrounding the rights of transgender students in fairfax county. they're now part of a national conversation and the conservative group, the family research council is hosting a discussion for parents who are concerned about the school system's gender identity policy. david culver is joining us here in the studio to explain all of this. >> here's the deal. this is an

school leaders hope the supreme court would have helped them solve. but in march, the high court decided not to hear the transgender case, and here in the district today, some fairfax county parents and one school board member are asking, what's next? >> you cannot shove down the throat of a system, parents, employees, fellow students, the issues related to gender identity. >> that's fairfax county school board member elizabeth schultz, addressing a group at the family research council. the topic, gender identity, and how it relates to non-discrimination policies. >> these policies are unreasonable and they're extreme. they're totalitarian. >> this mom wants to prepare parents for how she thinks they should address the transgender concerns within their kids's schools. >> explain to these people that it's just not reasonable to let men into intimate spaces reserved for women.

>> reporter: what will science classes teach when it comes to chromosomes? >> reporter: watching on, robert rigby, a fairfax county teacher, we caught up with him outside. >> when it comes to grammar, the use of male and female, science, the use of chromosomes, when you hear those questions, what are your thoughts? >> they are good questions. >> reporter: rigby says he understands things can get complicated, confusing, even. and people are coming up with solutions to those. people are answering that. as far as kids go, you call them by the pronouns they want to be called by. >> reporter: he thinks the questions are inflammatory and questions why schultz would take part. >> i think if organizations invite people to speak and we shut down the opportunity for dialogue, you should down the opportunity to problem solve. >> as i was standing in that room, you notice there w

emotions in there. one mom telling me, she fears the policy has dangerous implications. i want you to hear from her and see how it goes well beyond fairfax county. >> david, thank you. today was the annual senior signing day at charles herbert flowers high school here in spring dale. the event mimics ncaa signing day, where students publicly unveil where they chose to go to college for the fall. the school has done this now for four years. former education secretary john king addressed students during today's event. it's prom season now and prom can be expensive, but in fairfax county, no student has to stay away from the prom because of the price of a address. centreville high school's dress shop now open at fair oaks mall. for 11 years, fashion marketing students have led this give-away to make donated dresses available to the financially strapped students from any middle or high school. >> people can't afford prom dresses all the t

opportunity to feel pretty and go out to prom wearing a new dress, and i just think it's a great option for people to have. >> if a student feels they need a dress and cannot afford a dress from retail, they're welcome to come. we don't question their financial needs. >> the shop is open selected hours on the weekends for the next three weeks. looks like they have lovely stuff there. already, it's do ear dor die for the caps. after game four, the penguins lead the caps in the series, 3-1. still no word on whether penguins star sidney crosby will play after suffering a concussion earlier this week. meanwhile, a possible change for the caps. ovechkin may not start but could come in later in the game to give them a spark. you can see all the action right here on nbc4, starting at 7:15 tomorrow night. a personal shake-u

the story today that has a lot of people talking. and france getting ready to choose a new president. what's at stake as the highly contested election comes to a close. and still tracking some scattered showers on storm team4, maybe even a thunderstorm. all this comes to an end by midnight. and then we're in for a cool weekend a

narrator:to do time is what is right. ralph northam. army doctor during the gulf war. volunteer director of a pediatric hospice. progressive democrat. in the senate, he passed the smoking ban in restaurants, stopped the transvaginal ultrasound anti-choice law, and stood up to the nra.

althcare. ralph northam believes in making progress every day. and he won't let donald trump stop us.

the white house has fired its chief usher. angela reed was the first woman to hold that post. she was hired back in 2011 during the obama administration. "the washington post" first reported her dismissal and said no reason was given. but earlier today the white house said reed left on very good terms and wished her the best. a chief usher works closely with the first family and is responsible for managing the residence, staff, and overseeing events there. we are now in the final hours of an intense presidential campaign overseas in france. today far right candidate marine le pen, booed by voters during one of her final stops. the polls show le pen is now behind her opponent who is a centrist. a lot at stake here, not just for france, but for all of

marked by candidates who are polar opposites, pitting the young centrist banker, emmanuel macron against the far right marine le pen. >> there's a lot of fear. >> reporter: at stake, the future of france as a member of the european union, and government policies about immigration and even the nation's five million muslim citizens. the centrist candidate macron is being endorsed by former president obama. >> he is committed to a better computer for t future for the french people. he appeals to people's hopes and not their fears. >> reporter: while the polls predict macron will win by a landslide, there's anxiety that hackers or planted news stories could influence sunday's vote. france has been shaken by a number of isis-inspired attacks in the last year, including a deadly shooting on the eve of the first round of the elections here two weeks

the tensions between macron and his rival le pen have been clear for all the france and all the world to see. they squared off in a blistering televised debate. macron calling le pen the high priestes of fear, for her hardline anti-immigrant protectionist stance. tempers are flaring among voters too. le pen was pelted with eggs yesterday, but she has support too. and promises a surprise when the polls open on sunday. marine le pen claims to represent the forgotten people of france and says she's been inspired by president trump. richard engel, nbc news, paris. a controversial bill signing at the white house and the leader of the catholic church in washington was front and center. what he says about that experience tonight. and the verdict in a trial that links ovarian cancer with talcum powder. and a look at what's nexin this ct as

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a jury has awarded a virginia woman a record-setting $110 million in a lawsuit against johnson & johnson. louise slimp says the company's baby powder with talcum caused her ovarian cancer. slump said she used the product for more than 40 years. 2,000 women have filed similar lawsuits, because of their concerns about the health damage caused by the extended use of talcum powder, which contains a couple of metals. johnson & johnson disputes the evidence behind the allegations and says it will appeal. you may have

responds. >> we're celebrating a one-year anniversary since launching a year ago, the number 4 responds team has, look at the numbers rolling, recovered nearly $1.2 million for your viewers. >> and susan hogan joins us in the studio with the best ways to protect yourself and get help when we need it. >> absolutely. we have received more than 7,000 complaints. >> wow. >> it's crazy, right? here are four things you can do to protect yourself before calling us and it will make your life easier when you encounter a consumer issue. number one, you gotta do your research before making a large purchase or using a new business, look for reviews, do a quick google search and check out what consumers are saying about that company on social media. secondly, pay with a credit card when you can. if something goes wrong and the business refuses to work with you, you can file a claim w

number three, if a problem arises, try to work with the company first, ask to speak to a manager, a supervisor, or the owner. be sure you're communicating with someone who can really help to try to resolve the issue. number four, gosh, you gotta keep the records. if you end up needing to contact nbc4 responds, it will help your case, it will help us to have everything documented and save emails, write down dates, times, names associated with any phone calls and keep any receipts and paperwork. we are one year in, but we are not slowing down, you guys. if you have a problem you have not been able to resolve on your own, contact us. you can fill out an online form on nbc washington.com/responds. and we always say to folks, do your homework, do what we just said first, and if you hit a wall, then contact us. i'd have a cake for all of us to celebrate our win here, but it's a sugar-free week, so there's goes the cake. >>

great work. incredible. i'm going to tweet out your cell phone number for everybody. >> okey-doke. good. amelia, what a busy day for storm team4. >> cold and drizzly, what do you think? >> it's feeling like fall out there this weekend. we'll get a break from the heat we've had and cool things down. take a look at your weather headlines. not only is it cool this weekend, but we'll have scattered light showers around tomorrow for the morning and midday hours. it then stays on the chilly side for the next ten days. wait until you see how cool it could be next weekend. and also, some rain in the forecast right now. next weekend as well. next weekend is mother's day weekend. take a look, tracking this broken line of showers, not picking up any lightning right now on storm team4 radar. this is moving up to the north at about 30 to 40 miles an hour here in the metro

dry. but still a few scattered showers are possible, until about midnight. it's mild and this is the warmest it's going to be over the next ten days. 74 right now in washington, 71 in manassas and gaithersburg as well. also feeling humid out there. that humidity drops overnight and by tomorrow morning, 59 degrees. scattered showers in the morning hours. by lunch time, only around 60 and we hang out around 60 into the afternoon and evening hours. maybe some limited late-day sunshine. coming up on news4 at 6:00, doug will track the rain in your neighborhood hour by hour. but the weekend weather outlook. first of all, not the pollen count, that was washed out today, but i think grasses will return to high over the weekend. it's just that time of year. but apple blossom, i think if lauryn did not hear us mention apple blossom festival in

would be very sad. so it's looking cool with showers on saturday. but dry on sunday, we have the funk parade on u-street. if you're looking to get the car washed this weekend or do anything else outdoors this weekend, sunday is the better weekend day because we keep it dry. but it's going to be breezy at times throughout the entire weekend. take a look at the numbers on your ten-day forecast. 63 tomorrow for a high, 62 on sunday, monday we're around 60 and then we're in the 60s tuesday, wednesday, thursday and friday. we start to see the chance of rain and showers on thursday and friday. and then next weekend, we don't warm up. we actually cool down. 57 for a high saturday and sunday. not normal this time of year. we should be talking about low 70s on that ten-day forecast. >> yeah, we should. amelia, thank you. president trump signed an executive order this week, aimed at making it easier for churches to participate in politics.

ceremony, cardinal donald wuerl, the archbishop of washington. tracee wilkins spoke with the cardinal to get his take on what he hopes comes next. >> reporter: when president trump signed his religious liberty order yesterday, the archbishop of washington was standing by his side for a reason. >> anytime that there is a reinforcement of our basic constitutional rights, i think that's a good thing. >> walking together in the fullness of peace -- >> reporter: cardinal wurl said he was invited for the national day of prayer but asked to stay for the signing of the executive order that does two things. it calls for less restrictions on non-profit institutions like churches when it comes to political endorsements. recent polling shows that the majority of catholics are opposed to politics in the

>> there are other faith communities that want to be able to use the pulpit to address specifically partisan political issues, and they should be free just like anybody else. >> reporter: the president's order also calls for greater protection for religious beliefs, an issue fought in the supreme court by little sisters of the poor, who were also at the signing. their charity of nuns thought having to comply with obamacare requirements for contraception and health care. >> reporter: president trump leads for rome soon. we asked the cardinal about that trip r considering that pope francis has been critical of the president wanting to build a wall between the u.s. and mexico. the cardinal says he believes it's going to be a bridge-building trip. >> tracee, thank you. we wanted to know, what do you think is appropriate for religiousan

we asked you on facebook and most of you said, a large majority, 88% opposing it, say no. the montgomery county group that ended homelessness for veterans is turning its attention now to children. the coalition for the homeless honored volunteers, elected leaders and others for their efforts so far to raise money for the new effort. and there's leon harris emceeing the event. the group estimates there are 300 children without a place to call home. and they want to end all homelessness within the next three years. family members say he was full of life and willing to help anybody. >> and that he gave everything he had for the job that he loved. the massive show of support from his extended police family as they laid him to re

more news from our area and beyond traveling to delaware today to remember a state trooper there. >> trooper stephen ballard grew up from buoy, maryland, he was shot and killed last week while on the job. nbc's tim furlong was there as many people stood outside in the pouring rain to celebrate his life. >> reporter: this is the end of a tough week and a half in delaware. the procession to the funeral for delaware state police corporal stephen ballard. officers from 36 states here in the driving rain to support each other and ballard's family. >> seeing the way the public's responded and the police officersm

country, it really is touching. >> reporter: it all began april 26, ballard was gunned down investigating suspicious activity. the suspect went to his home in middletown and was killed by police after a 20-hour stand-off. immediately after ballard's death, the community responded. hundreds of school kids left flowers at troop 2. there was a ceremony at the wawa, a temporary memorial still grows outside. a permanent memorial hangs on the wall said in the store, and customers raised a couple hundred thousand dollars for his family. just yesterday, donations were left for a thin but line sticker on the back of their cars. and then there is today. the show of support continues, the bidens came to pay their respects. the senator gave the family the flag over the u.s. capitol the day ballard died.

in new york city. so that shows how far this story has gotten. >> it's important for us to be here and to share in the pain that the family, the law enforcement agency, and the community are going through in the loss of this great officer. now at 6:00, a terror plot foiled here in d.c. we'll tell you what led investigators to a former marine. he was allegedly planning to target a local police station. and tonight, hateful messages found on campus. tonight's new demand from students amid the latest online threat from a white supremacist. also, severe storms have moved out of our area. but more rain is coming our way. doug's tracking it all as we head into the weekend. news4 at 6:00 starts now. first tonight, a local case that got international intention and put a spotlight on students

illegally. >> tonight rape charges have been dropped against two immigrant teenagers, accused of attacking a girl at rockville high school in march. the case sparked outrage among parents and the white house used it as an example for the need to crack down on illegal immigration. >> investigators now say that the evidence just did not support those charges. chris gordon has our report. chris? >> reporter: jim and doreen, prosecutors have dropped rape and sex assault charges, but because these two teenage boys are undocumented immigrants, federal deportation proceedings against them have already started. in montgomery county district court the judge says charges dismissed. you can be released immediately. but lawyers for 17-year-old jose montano say he isn't free tonight. >> will your client be released? >> obviously right now he's being