right now on "news4 this week," vehicles vandalized. more than three dozen cars damaged. a group of teenagers is responsible. mayday protests. thousands of immigrants speak out about tough new policies. and history in photos. the amazing stories told by a new set of pictures at the national museum of african-american history and culture. >> announcer: welcome to "news4 this week." hi, everyone. i'm chris lawrence. we'll start with the big day mayday marches across the country and right here in washington this week. the protesters came from all directions, from dupont circle to arlington. all of them wound their way to

the trump administration's immigration policies. meagan fitzgerald looks at what they hope to accomplish. >> reporter: from large crowds in dupont circle -- ♪ >> reporter: -- to malcolm x park, mayday protesters made sure their messages were heard. they want the trump administration to stop deporting undocumented immigrants that don't have criminal records. >> to fight for humanity, fight for the injustice that they are going through. especially with the new presidential regime. >> reporter: there were rolling street closures as demonstrators made their way down 16th and on to u street as they marched towards lafayette park. ♪ >> reporter: once the crowd arrived, chants grew louder and they were met by notable speakers like tom perez and members of congress. >> i want to make sure

gets the message that we don't support his politics or agenda. >> reporter: opponents say they are wasting their time and that they need to accept the fact that trump won the election. but activists believe these demonstrations will inspire people to get out and vote. >> i'm here because martin luther king march. i'm here because rosa parks sat down. i'm here because of all of the people that sat on lunch counters. and nobody thought that would make a difference. this will make a difference. >> reporter: meagan fitzgerald, news4. a group of teenagers is in big trouble in montgomery county. police say they stomped in the windshields of three dozen vehicles this week and it happened at an apartment complex in gate thers behaith thers ber. pat collins has the story. >> reporter: it happened with military-like precision. one right after another. wids

in two communities in gaithersburg. >> you call the car dealership to fix your car, right? >> right. >> reporter: and called the police. so how did they break all this glass? baseball bats, golf clubs? take a look at this camaro. footprints on the hood. it appears they jumped on the hood and kicked out the windshield with their feet. in fact, crime scene search techs were out taking foot impressions. foot impressions from the car hood as they tried to build this criminal case. >> you made a lot of calls? >> reporte >> all morning. >> reporter: what's your morning been like? now, police say this happened around 1:00 in the morning. a short time later, they had three teenaged boys in custody. one 14, two 15, all

this man's daughter's windshield broken out this morning. >> now have to pay the deductible. trying to go after the parents. >> think you'll have any luck? >> probably not. but somebody's got to start taking responsibility. >> reporter: i'm pat collins. news4. you know the old cliche, a picture worth a thousand words but how about 15 pictures now part of the new exhibit at the national museum of african museum and culture. >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you. >> reporter: washington native sharon farmer making her way to this photo of this 97-year-old woman working the hula hoop. >> no matter how old you get, you've got to keep moving. >> this is for no matter what age you are. >> or w

keep moving and doing stuff. do not just vej state away. >> reporter: farmer was among a group of photographs and curators doing a media preview of 150 photos spanning more than 250 photos of history. in 1862, a photo of alexandria, virginia. modern day protests, a beach scene of a father and son. >> what do you want people to feel when they come in here? >> a connection. an emotion. maybe somebody in your family feels like she feels. >> reporter: farmer's 1982 boom box photo in anacostia park is among the work. farmer sees the full scope of history. in the 1990s, she was the first african-american and the first woman to oversee the white house photography office. she has a philosophy about being a

>> if somebody is going to be first, pick somebody, would you? otherwise your historical status don't mean nothing. >> lonnie bunch called all of the museums 25,000 photos, not just 150 on display, the joy and struggle of life. in the district, tom sherwood, news4. we have more of these photos and tips for how to get to the museum in our nbc washington app. just open it up and search african-american museum. and when we come back, it used to be free to park around the national mall. all of that is about to change and we'll explain why. into plus, music changed his life. an opera star with a troubled past shares his story with

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you can expect to get carded the next time you buy booze in montgomery county. starting july 1st, employees at

will card everyone who make as purchase. doesn't matter if you're 21 or 91. county officials say this is to protect employees from subjective carding. previous rules required that employees check i.d.s for everyone that looked under the age of 35. information will start going out to consumers fairly soon. bike lanes are on their way to old town alexandria. the city is putting new markings on camera and print streets which run parallel to king. the lanes will run most of the distance between the king street metro station and the old town waterfront and in an effort to improve safety of all modes of transportation, there was the zero plan which aims to cut down on all traffic-related deaths. the next couple of weeks, you'll see new parking meters along the national mall. starting in june, you'll have to pay along the streets that border the mall. there are 1200 spots currently free. revenue from the meters is going to go towards programs that

experience. these new meters will be the first in the district to be in effect all year, which includes sundays and holidays. still ahead, the changes coming to the school lunch line and whether any of them will really impact our area. plus, an opera star talks about his rocky past and how his voice sparked a remarkable turnaround. ♪ happiness is powerful flea and tick protection from nexgard. a delicious chew that protects for an entire month. ask your vet for more information. reported side effects include vomiting and itching. nexgard. the vet's #1 choice.

hundreds of police officers joined for blue mass, part of national police week activity in washington. ♪ they have been holding blue mass every year at st. patrick's church in downtown d.c. it pays tribute to the 144 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty last year,

here in our area. the trump administration agricultural secretary says it's time to make school meals great again. we stopped by a loudoun school to find out he's easing up on some of the obama era school nutrition rules. julie carey got reaction from parents. >> reporter: loudoun county parents and other residents holding protest signs and munching on apple. this is to let the ag secretary know that they don't like his plan to lax school nutrition standards which was championed by michelle obama. >> it's putting our children in pawns of a political game going on and it's devastating. >> reporter: inside this school, new ag secretary sonny perdue says there's a problem with school nutritional rules that cut back ona

skim milk only and whole grain. too much school is getting tossed. >> meals can't be nutritious if they were not consumed and put in the trash. >> reporter: he signed a proclamation that will keep salt restriction at the current level rather than to further reduce sodium. they have moved to 100% whole grains and also halted that and 1% flavored milk will be back in the lunch line. supporting the move, this senator has pushed for more flexibility. >> it's made out of whole grains or, for that matter, if you're from the south, some grits or -- i mean, it just doesn't work. >> reporter: but these moms fear relaxing standards will have consequences. >> when we relax the nutritional value, then we pretty much relax their opportunity for the future. i mean, healthy kids, unhealthy kids have a problem learning. >> reporter: but here in loudoun county and much of our area, the revised rules

make much of a difference because these places already meet or exceed the stricter obama era nutrition rules. in loudoun county, julie carey, news4. ♪ world renowned opera star at metropolitan opera was hailed as a show stopper but he's not your typical opera star. his name is speedo green from virginia. when he was 12 years old, green was sent to a detention center for threatening to kill his family. but one trip to the opera totally changed the trajectory of his life. as mark segraves reports, he's sharing that with other at-risk teenagers. >> i was actually shackled and put in a back of a police car and drove me 3 1/2 hours to a detention center and i

and it was the scariest part of my life, like it was actually traumatizing. >> reporter: ryan speedo green was in d.c. monday afternoon talking to a small group of at-risk teens about how he was transformed from a 12-year-old on his way to prison to a young man on his way to stardom. at 6'5" tall and 300 pounds, speedo green can be an imposing figure off and on stage. until you see him smile. [ laughter ] >> reporter: today, green's life seems perfect. a career that takes him around the world doing something he loves. ♪ but the bass bearritone is candid. he could have ended up like his two older brothers did, in a gang or in prison. as a young boy living across from a crack house where gun fights were routine, hemi

he had trouble controlling his anger. he recalls meeting his fourth grade teacher on the first day of school. >> i threw my desk at her and said she talks like a white woman. >> reporter: that same anger got him in trouble at the age of 12 when he threatened to kill his mother and brother. he was locked up for two months. >> and so i spent a lot of time in solitary, in my cell by myself because i wasn't allowed to be around other children. >> reporter: he spent much of that time in solitaire confinement listening to music on a radio that guards gave him. when he was released, he joined the chorus at school which led him to being accepted to an elite arts school. at the age of 15, he took a trip to new york to see the opera production of "carmen." >> seeing her on stage, it being my first opera, someone that looked like me on stage, then i knew what i wanted to do. i knew what my purpose was. i was like, i'm going to take that up. i told them at age 15 i was going to sing at the met. >> reporter: nine years

singing at the met. today at 31, green travels the world bringing to life classic operas before grand audiences. but it's telling his life story to troubled youths like these teens at this center in northeast d.c. that he considers ee kw equally if not more rewarding. green hopes that by seeing someone who looks like him who has faced similar challenges that they are now facing, the teens will realize that just like a kid named speedo, they can live their dreams, too. >> it took almost half my life to get to a point where i didn't hate myself or i accepted the fact that my past is my past and my future is where i make it. it's not that long ago, really, i wouldn't have been allowed to sing on an opera stage because of the color of my skin. >> mark segraves, news4. >> what a story. there's a movie in there somewhere. speaking of inspiring

one marine is helping wounded veterans and others with dis

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. as lieutenant governor, dr. northam is fighting to expand access to affordable healthcare.

progress every day. and he won't let donald trump stop us. clearasil rapid action begins working fast for clearly visible results in as little as 12 hours. but can ot fix this teens skateboarding mishap? nope. so let's be clear: clearasil works fast on teen acne, not so much on other teen things.

we do it so often, but driving is something that we take for granted. a local marine is doing what he can to get wounded veterans back behind the wheel and back to independence. news4's kristin wright shares this story. >> reporter: joshua joined the marines because his country needed him. >> we want as much normalcy as we can. and one of those things is driving. >> reporter: he co-founded driver rehabilitation center of excellence. he and his mechanics are transforming vehicles and lives. >> anyone who is a high-level quad pra leej jik or suffers from severe paralysis, we can teach them to drive again. >> reporter: the feeg

hard to describe. >> the joy that you feel, the sense of entitlement. >> reporter: he was awarded a purple heart and other honors. he'll add one more. he's being awarded hero of the year at a gala on thursday. >> you can never say thank you enough to the men and women who go off and volunteer and win our nation's wars. >> reporter: after serving, he earned two master's degrees in finance and economics. he's the numbers guy here. the total cost of a converted vehicle can be almost 200 grand. >> we have a great job here. working with a lot of nonprofits. >> reporter: the corporal says this is why he does it and for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. >> every one of them would change places with me today, even with the wheelchair. so that's what keeps me humble and keeps me motivated every day. >> reporter: the corporal and his team here hope to eventually expand the rce to help more

have disabilities drive forward in life. in northern virginia, kristin wright, news4. that's going to do it for "news4 this week." i'm chris lawrence. we leave you with pictures of the jefferson memorial. we learn more about how they plan to clean up the outside of the memorial. you can watch tom sherwood's report on the nbc washington app. thanks for joining us. have a great week.

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"news 4 today" starts now. >> and we are starting with a soggy beginning to your weekend. more showers on the way. we've got storm team 4 tracking how long rain and chilly temperatures are going to be sticking around, angie. racial tension at american university, the new response for students as the issue raises a national spotlight. and the fastest two minutes in sports, the favorites and the added challenge for jockeys this year as the kentucky derby races off from churchill downs. >> always an exciting time. i did get my horse tie on this morning. >> it's adorable. >> thanks. >> it is race day, not only in kentucky but here in the washington area as well.