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right now on "news4 this week," eclipse hangover. we take a look back at the amazing sights and sounds from our area and from around the country. traffic nightmare. talks begin to fix one of the worst commuting headaches in our region. and classroom safety. it's a story every parent needs to see before sending their kids to school. up next, a news4 i-team investigation into the risks inside some local classrooms and why some adults do not need a license to work around your children. >> announcer: welcome to "news4 this week." hello, everyone. i'm leon harris. the story of the week was out of this world. we're talking, of course, about that amazing solar eclipse. by now you've seen some of the amazing images from towns along the path of totality acrs

images from celebrities, families, co-workers and perhaps the most emotional responses were those that work with science every day. our chief meteorologist doug kammerer was in south carolina. he and chuck bell witnessed the eclipse firsthand. >> this is just -- wow! >> we can see the corona, chuck. look at the corona. >> that is so cool. we have venus out to the right of the sun. just to the left you can see the star just to the left of the sun. >> oh, yeah. >> they turned into a couple of little kids. so there you see how the pros reacted. so what about the pros in training? news4's kristin wright got some reaction from some of our youngest sun gazers and those who are young at heart. >> a once in a lifetime moment. >> it was amazing. it was just joy. they are so

speechless. >> it was beautiful. i think it's, you know, almost the totality that we were going to get here in d.c. and it was beautiful. >> reporter: people came to the national mall to experience the eclipse together. >> i love space. i love sun, the moon. >> beautiful to see. >> reporter: even the littlest ones knew this was a special day. landon with a help from big sis. >> the moon blocked the sun. >> we saw the sun and it kind of looked like the moon right there. and every time you look at it, it gets thinner and thinner. >> reporter: the consensus, it was worth the wait, all 99 years. >> well, before the moon passed in front of the sun this week, we are wondering, how would the animals respond? we sent our pat collins there to check out the scene and the animals weren't too impressed. >> reporter: at the national zoo,

when they said it was the right time to put on those special glasses and look to the sky, well, well, it looked sort of like -- i'll let some of the watchers explain. >> and if you look up there, i mean, how would you describe it? how much cover? >> it was about -- i would say it was about like this. upside down pumpkin smile. >> you can still see your shadow on the ground? >> yeah. >> what do you make of this? >> an 80% eclipse. not a 100% eclipse. >> are you 80% happy? >> one of the best zoo shots of the day, the shadows on the sidewalk. little smily faces all over the place. >> you know, evil, that the

is going to die or the world has to stop. whatever. now we just know it's just the moon moving. >> just the moon. >> just the moon moving. >> if you weren't satisfied with mother nature, well, there was always the pat collins' eclipse kit. >> it will happen before you know it. >> uh-huh. uh-huh. >> whoa! >> wow. >> scientists say this was the most studied, most viewed and most photographed eclipse in history. some people who are watching even cried at the totality. many say they are gearing up for the next u.s. clips coming up in just seven years. and the first family took time to view the eclipse. they watched from the white house balance ccony. however, at one poihe

without his glasses. a staffer yelled, don't look. we posted a gallery of some of the best moments from around the court. just open up the app and search eclipse photos. now, here on earth, if you drive route 28 in northern virginia, it's a mess. in fact, a stretch of the busy road in manassas is considered among the most congested in the d.c. area. that could be changing. adam tuss looks at the options. >> reporter: route 28, no matter what section you're driving on, it will usually look like this, whether you're here or here or here. the traffic on 28 is simply relentless. >> it's always this bad at this time in the morning. >> reporter: day after day after day. >> you just have to deal with it. >> there's no other way. >> it is really amazing to watch the traffic pile up along this section of

the stretch between the prince william parkway through manassas on up to bull run has been called the single biggest source of congestion for traffic in all of northern virginia. and that's saying something. and now some are trying to identify a way to fix it all. there's talk of widening the road but that would likely take moving businesses and drivers aren't sold. >> you're going to make it worse. the more you widen it, there will be more cars. >> reporter: the solution may be to connect this area. northern virginia transportation leaders are studying all of the concepts but admit they are not cheap. something needs to happen to this entire corridor as it crawls along. along the route 28 corridor, adam tuss, news4. when we come back, crooks going after your money more than ever. the warning signs you should look out for at gas stations and atms.

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you may want to take an extra second before filling up the gas tank. credit card scammers are growing more popular and they are harder to find out. back in april, the news4 i team told you how to protect yourselves. give a tug on the card reader to make sure a device hasn't been placed over it. many skimmers are on the inside of the machine and gas pumps have special security tape over the lock so if that tape says void or open, walk away. president trump says he likes winning but it's some gift shops that it's becoming hard to

decline since president trump came in office. they are placing smaller orders to see if items actually sell. mr. trump's signature make america great again red hat is the store's overall top seller. still ahead, you take your kids to school and expect them to be safe there but one mother says that didn't happen for her and her family. tonight, she's telling the i-team what parents need to look for to spot signs of abuse. plus, it's a major barrier for some when trying to get a job. a new effort in the district to help former inmates return to

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new faces are arriving at school at this time of year and we're not just talking about the students. educators in every local school district have to pass a background check before they get the job, right? not all of them are licensed by the state. an investigation by scott

macfarlane and the news4 i-team revealed that staffers didn't have their license and much to lose if they break the rules. when the bell rings on the first day of school, the kids meet their new instructor. >> you all liked him? >> we did. we liked him and trusted him and thought that he cared about our kid. >> reporter: this student took a theater class in silver spring in 2012. with aaron lamir. we're not showing her face to protect her son's identity. >> this is a guy who saw kids regularly? >> all day. >> nights and weekends, too? >> holidays. >> lamir became close with her teen and then took advantage. >> it happened on school grounds? >> it happened behind the theater stage in a room that you can take the child into and you can lock and check the door. >> reporter: lamir eventually pleaded guilty to a sex offense and indecent exposure. >> i'm scott

>> he would not speak with the i-team about his case. >> it's a horrible thing to look at your child and see the amount of fear in their face. >> reporter: he still has the fear? >> yes, he does. >> lamir wasn't a teacher. he wasn't licensed to teach by the state department of education. he was a media technician who helped run the theater program. a news4 i-team investigation finds a rising number of unlicensed educational professionals accused of assaulting students. all local schools require background checks to ensure kids are safe and requires a state license, too, but only for teachers, administrators, counselors and psychologists. not for security guards or some aides or coaches. according to child safety advocate, the unlicensed have less to lose if they break the rules. >> they're not licensed. they leave the school and no one is the wiser. >> no formal red flag? >> no formal red flag and that's extraordinarily dangerous.

>> reporter: in recent months, local police have arrested a series of unlicensed educators in our area, including carlos bell, a charles county school's instructional aide pleaded not guilty to charges of sexually abusing at least two dozen students. and deante, a former elementary school aide who has pleaded guilty to federal charges accused of sexually assaulting elementary school kids to create child porn. >> are they able to groom a kid as well as a licensed teacher who sees a kid 50 minute as day? >> they are oftentimes more better able to groom kids. >> because they may have more access to the students outside the classroom. >> those people are often alone more one on one and often have intimate relationships with kids because they're helping kids who have been acting out or talking to kids about why they've been acting out. >> police arrested montgomery county school security guards and found that virginia nor

maryland state law requires school security guards get licensed. only prince george's which uses licensed police in their schools does so. >> told you so. >> that's why this mom says she's been advocating that schools consider more licenses and oversight over the adults that are around our children. >> they are implementing systems to have better systems to watch over these volunteers or these paraeducators that come onto a campus but it's nowhere near where it needs to be. >> the i-team revealed hundreds of job openings in three major local school districts and found a third of the jobs found no state licensure and the that includes montgomery county school which says licensure is just one tool to protect kids. they use background checks as well. the government taking a bold step to keep you safe on metro. this could potentially punish the transit agency if it doesn't follow proper safety procedures. president trump recently signed a resolution to create the metro

an eye on safety issues across the entire transit system. as news4 was first to report, the federal government has been overseeing safety on metro since february. calls for a new oversight group go back to the crash in 2009 that was deadly. once the new commission finds offices and employees, there will be a formal handoff process. you know, we hear all the time about people who get out of prison and have nowhere to go to turn their lives around. this week, we caught up with a dad in the district who has turned his life around. tom sherwood reports, he's part of the new effort to help thousands do the same. >> reporter: the quiet before dawn in the district, streets just coming alive. >> let me see here. >> reporter: richard salman is wrapping up his overnight job as a parking ticket rider,

ruining someone's morning with a dreaded ticket. >> a lot of people are trying to play a game. i get paid to play the game with you. that's my job, to catch, you know, violations. >> reporter: salman knows about violations. serious ones. the d.c. native spent five years in prison after being caught with two pounds of marijuana and a gun. >> i'm a christian so i asked the lord to basically work with me. >> reporter: religionally oriented his life, he earned his commerce license and helped him land a good-paying job with the city and now each day he can walk his 6-year-old daughter to school in southeast. and he sleeps while she's in classes at stanton elementary, a school that supports many single dads. >> we have a group where all the fathers are together. that's one of them over there. >> reporter: he's part of the d.c. government retraining effort that is going to be opened to help 5,000 others leaving incarceration returning citizens find jobs over the next five years.

prison or jail, they will connect to all of the resources and services that we have here in the district of columbia. >> reporter: in the district, tom sherwood, news4. when we come back, the exclusive club of babies born during an eclipse and the special

this week's solar eclipse was special for families who grew during that special moment. news4 jackie bensen reports on the eclipse babies and what the astrologists believe it all means. >> he's smiling a little. >> reporter: while the rest of d.c. was putting on eclipse glasses and scanning the sky, this baby was coming into the world. three weeks early, 2:45 p.m. at

mom china mcmiller beamed at her newborn's tiny face. >> i guess he was ready, yeah. >> we have for unused eclipse glasses in the bag. >> reporter: just six minutes earlier at the same hospital, little cecilia joined what is a fairly exclusive club. babies born during a solar eclipse. >> we definitely talked about the idea that it would be funny if she came during the eclipse. >> reporter: both sets of parents were unaware but delighted to believe that many astrologists believe that babies are believed to be endowed with great capacity for strength and leadership. prince william born during the eclipse in 1982 is often pointed to as an example. for right now, the perfection of these d.c. residents is more than enough for their tired but happy parents. >> it's pretty cool. a younger me would have thought th

the world. >> potential to be a leader? >> of course. but me now is just glad that she's happy. >> news4, jackie bensen. >> little cecelia could maybe run for president 50 years from now. that's all for "news4 this week." i'm leon harris. we'll leave you with more amazing images from this week's solar eclipse. thanks for joining us. have a great week.

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watching television that'sis educational and informational. the more you know on nbc. narrator: this is dr. michelle oakley, vet to pretty much everything that moves. on this episode, it's all about animal education and dr. oakley wants to make sure all her clients get an a on their health exams. she'll meet a porcupine with a crooked smile. michelle: i can see her teeth sticking out of her mouth, she needs it done. man: she does have goofy teeth. narrator: an alpaca in dire need of a haircut. michelle: oh that's beautiful fiber, huh? narrator: and some bunnies that have a growing problem. michelle: she's pregnant, this one's pregnant. woman: oh my goodness. narrator: plus, she'll meet a meerkat family that's getting their first checkup. michelle: wow, fantastic.