good morning and welcome to news 4 midday on an extremely busy morning. >> starting with a sex assault case closed after more than 20 years. the man held responsible well-known in this area for the murders of two sisters. the action taken in court in the past 90 minutes. messages of hate found inside this georgetown dorm. i'm justin finch with how the university is responding. also, the search for who did it. and i have new updates on hurricane maria. it is still spinning and it is still a major hurricane. i'll show you the 11:00 a.m. advisory and what it means potentially for the u.s. coming up.

metro this morning. what it calls new safety concerns and what that means for riders. what you need to know to avoid the wait. >> announcer: news 4 midday starts now. first this morning on news 4 midday, messages of hate found at a local college dorm. >> the president of georgetown university sent a letter out to students today. it says, "someone found a swastika and other derogatory language painted inside the residence hall. it is a disturbing trend in recent weeks. >> justin finch is at georgetown this morning with a look at the university's response. justin. >> reporter: erika good morning. right now it is rosh hashana for those of the jewish faith which signals the start of a new year, but this is no way to start a new chapter for anyone. for a second time, this school year a swastika was found here at the lxr dorm. it is the third swastika to be found in a

as many weeks. >> definitely not a great thing to wake up to, especially after celebrating rosh hashana last night. i'm glad we know what's going on. >> reporter: sarah barron lives at georgetown's dorm where wednesday night a painted swastika and hateful graffiti towards women were found in a women's restroom stall. for sarah, a disturbing message made even more so by the perpetrator's timing. >> it is not just someone who is like ignorant about it, someone who knows enough about the jewish community. >> reporter: sarah joined a group of jewish students to post what they call counter graffiti overnight. here at georgetown's red square right by the intra cultural center, all kinds of support. this one reading, "fight hate with love." that one saying, "we will not be intimidated." even on the ground, this one reading, "be strong, be strong and we will be strengthened," messages to, for and from georgetown's jewish

university president john degioia sent a campus-wide e-mail about the incident noting georgetown and d.c. police are investigating. for many students, an encouraging update. >> i think they need to really speak out against this because it affects a lot of students on campus, even those that aren't jewish. you know, the whole community. >> reporter: after all, georgetown students and faculty are from around the globe, different countries, different cultures and different faiths. even amid such diversity, hate speech is something this world class university has been grappling with. >> there were two swastikas at the beginning of the school year and some in the spring as well. i don't know if it is like one person who is doing this in a string of attacks or a lot of people. i mean both are awful. >> reporter: and in those cases and now this one, the university is condemning all forms of hate speech and vowing to punish to the fullest extent whoever is responsible for this latest incident. we're live here in georgetown. i'm justin finch. back in to you.

switching gears, hurricane maria continues her deadly tear across the caribbean. the storm battering the dominican republic this morning. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in puerto rico where the long-term devastation is just coming into focus. >> reporter: it is extremely difficult to get around san juan this morning, and this is part of the reason why. power lines are down throughout this area. power is out virtually to the entire island. many roads here are impassable as well. some streets are flooded, and we're just starting to get our first look at the extent of the damage as the sun comes up. this building torn apart, the siding crushing this car. now, puerto rico's governor has imposed an overnight curfew as authorities here just begin to assess the damage. this was a powerful category 4 hurricane that slammed into puerto rico, the first category 4 to hit the island since 1932. now, maria is continuing on its path through the

reintensifying into a category 3 storm as it lashes the dominican republic. here in puerto rico, the extent of the damage is still being assessed. water rescue teams including some from the u.s. mainland will be here today to try to help those in need. authorities fear it could be a catastrophic event and that power could be out for some areas for four to six months. back to you. >> turks and caicos is also in danger this morning as hurricane maria moves north. >> let's turn to meteorologist shayna parveen. what are you expecting the storm to do next? >> we will be watching the storm as it continues north. you can see the satellite picture here but here is a look at the track. it is still a category 3, now north of the dominican republic. watch what happen as through time. farther east of the u.s., so we will watch it stay off-shore but it could cause an increased risk of rip currents along maybe the north ro

to stay further out to sea. the track is keeping it further out to sea, good news for the u.s. here is a look again. north of the dominican republic but still affecting the island countries here. we will continue to watch this thing. when the eye gets bigger like this it usually means it is starting to weaken. as it heads north we expect it to become a category 2 and eventually a category 1 as it gets closest to us but remaining off-shore. today our weather feels more like summer than fall, and fall officially starts tomorrow. i will show you the local forecast and what to expect as we go through the first week in the fall too. that's coming up thanks, sheena new this morning, massage envy worker accused of violating customers is making first court appearance. news 4 mark sea graves in the courtroom. he is accused of assaulting two women. one came fof after seeing the report on the first incident. the assaults happened 12 days

massa massage envy fired him after his arrest. two women sexually assaulted by lloyd lee welch back in the '90s faced him today. >> one telling him, you took my innocence. he learned his sentence for these crimes a week after being sentenced for killing the lions sisters. >> news 4 meagan fitzgerald live in manassas with more on an emotional day in court. meagan? >> reporter: incredibly emotional. those two women took the stand today. they said they waited more than two decades to look their abuser in the eye and tell him how he ruined their lives. keep in mind though, one of the victims is 28 years old, the other is 30. one woman said she lost custody of her child because of the emotional trauma. the other victim said she was suicidal and in a dark place for so long, but today she said that it all ended. we want to show you video, and also want you to keep in

welch sexually abused these girls in two separate case also when they were nine years old and the other was six. this happened in 1996. investigators say in both cases welch was friends with the victim's mother and was allowed to spend the night at their home. it was then that both of these women described how welch sexually abused them. we caught up with the commonwealth attorney who called these crimes heinous and disgusting. >> sexual assault of a young person has everlasting effects. >> reporter: now, the judge sentenced welch to a total of 12 years for this particular crime, but the sentencing is a bit confusing. we will break it down for you. if you will recall just last week, welch was sentenced to 48 years for the murder and the sexual abuse of the lions sisters back in the '70s. then, of course, he was sentenced to 48 years. so the sentence that he received today, that 12 years, is going to run concurrent with those 48 years.

years that he will serve for those three crimes, the lions sisters and the two girls today. that will start, however, as soon as he's done his sentence in delaware, which he has 11 years in prison left. once he has finished that, then he will start this 48-year prison sentence. so essentially he will spend the rest of his life in jail. back to you. >> megan fitzgerald, thank you. d.c. police now confirm two people died following a double stabbing late last night. we are told one of the victims was a man and the other victim was a 16-year-old boy. this is video from that scene at the intersection of 13th and downing streets northeast. at last check, police don't have any suspect information and the victims' names have not yet been released. but check our nbc washington app for updates on this story as the day continues there were a lot of upset passengers on metro this morning. metro sent out an alert there would be fewer eight-car t

concern with the union. passengers noticed the overcrowded trains immediately. there were lots of tweets complaining about the crowds and long waits between trains. metro has suspended mechanical inspections on 7,000 series rail cars which means they can't operate. metro is hoping to resolve the issue today during a meeting with the union and rail car manufacturers and we are waiting to find out what the new name of jeb stuart high school could be. the fairfax county school superintendent will post the recommendation for the name online at some point today. it comes after the community voted over the weekend. the leading choices include stuart or stuart raiders and some variation of thurgood marshall. the superintendent will present the recommendation to the school board next week we have breaking news now from the governor of maryland. maryland's site of the beltway set to get new express plains. >> news 4's transportation

reporter adam tuss ck calls thi monument. we have a live report in about 20 minutes. stay with us for that. >> in mexico, rescuers trying to pinpoint the exact location of a 12-year-old girl trapped beneath the debris of an elementary school. look how the crowds stay quiet to help. >> on capitol hill, t final he

ralphcandidate for governor,rtham, and i sponsored this ad. they're studying for 21st century jobs. but ed gillespie supports donald trump's plan to take money out of virginia public schools and give it to private schools. as a washington dc lobbyist, ed gillespie worked for lenders

illespie's plan to cut taxes for the wealthy could cut virginia school funding, too. ed doesn't stand for education.

screams are just -- this is more dramatic video out of mexico city, this one showing the side of the building crumbling to the ground during tuesday's 7.1 magnitude earthquake. you could hear those people screaming there, running to get out of the way. it just gives you chills. the quake has killed at least 245 people in central mexico and injured over 2,000 people. today the tedious and the very massive rescue effort continues around the clock. people refusing to give up on the chance that victims buried under the debris will be found alive. >> as nbc's miguel almaguerr reports, the school has become the symbol of loss and hope

>> reporter: in mexico city glimmers of hope after two days of heartbreak. children found alive after their elementary school crumbled to pieces. some of the youngest victims in this quake still buried beneath a mountain of rubble. their tiny school bags hang just feet from classrooms that firms responders are desperately trying to reach. >> these rescues have to be carried out with extreme precision. they're listening for any sounds, possibly tapping. that's what led them to previous rescues. >> reporter: more than 20 students lost their lives here. luis carlos says he has no idea how he got out. in 30 seconds, he says, my school was down, my best friend, his little sister died. this morning rescuers believe more children are trapped. teams working righthr

night. >> translator: there's a little girl, she says her name is freda and there's two more children near her. >> reporter: as more images of devastation emerge -- families desperately wait for word on their loved ones. gloria hernandez clutches a photo of her 24-year-old son ivan, buried beneath six floors of rubble in his office. time is now the biggest enemy. she says, my son has been buried for hours, nobody will tell me a thing. mexico's deadliest earthquake since 1985, leveling 38 buildings on tuesday and an untold number of homes. president enrique pena nieto vowing to help those in need. maria elena vargas who lives near the earthquake epicenter says her neighborhood is in ruins. funerals here on wednesday. a

made it out alive. but this morning, the search goes on. rescue teams asking for silence. they can hear faint calls for help. the names of those pulled from the rubble are written down on paper for waiting families to see. but this is what they are praying for, a sign of hope amid a sea of disaster. >> meanwhile, thousands of people now homeless are filling up gyms and other designated emergency shelters. not sure where they're going to go next. however, grateful to have a safe place to stay at least for now president trump's approval rating is ticking up, that according to the latest nbc news "wall street journal" poll. mr. trump's overall approval rating stands at 43%. that's up three points since last month. 52% disapprove of his job performance. the poll also looked at how the

care debate. just 27% approve how he's handled that. the poll has a margin of error plus or minus 3.3%. health care is once again dominating the conversation. >> senate republicans are hoping to vote next week on a new plan to repeal the affordable care act, but the question is will they have enough votes to do it. news 4's tracey post htts has t latest. >> reporter: demonstrations stopped the last repeal. democrats are planning more on saturday. >> it is an emergency, all hands-on deck. red alert, all hands-on deck, everybody on board to make this fight. >> reporter: republicans are expecting to vote next week on a health care bill known as graham-cassidy named for the senators who wrote it. >> i don't believe you can fix obamacare. >> reporter: it would scale back medicaid because starting in october it will take 60 votes, not a simple ri

>> reporter: are you riddy to support it? >> no. >> reporter: senator rand paul is against it. he calls amnesty for obamacare. >> when i see people trying to undo the hard won progress for the 50th or 60th time, it is aggravating. >> reporter: meantime, president trump says he's made up his mind. >> well, i have decided. >> reporter: about whether to pull out of the iran nuclear deal. >> let the cards fall where they may. let the dust hit the ground where it hits. >> reporter: sources familiar with what is happening say he will give allies three months to renegotiate or decertify and force congress to deal with it. tracey potts, nbc news, washington president trump says he is putting more sanctions on north korea. he made the announcement earlier this morning during a meeting with afghanistan's president. north korea is likely to be a major topic when the president meets with the leaders of japan and south korea today. meanwhile, the north is reacting

"totally destroy the country if provoked." the country's foreign minister describes it as the, "sound of a dog barking." ivanka trump makes an admission on daytime tv many mothers can relate to. she told dr. oz she experienced postpartum depression with all three of her children. trump called it a very emotional and challenging time for her. health ex prperts say though symptoms usually develop within a few week also of giving birth, it may not manifest for up to six months. ivanka trump urged women to give close attention to changes after giving birth i want to switch gears and i want you to look at these new medals for the 2018 winter olympics. the medals for the winter olympics were unveiled yesterday. the korean alphabet spelled out on the medals.

represents the country's delicate and refined beauty. the games will commence in south korea on february 9th. be sure to tune into our coverage right here on nbc 4. today is the last day of summer. we're going to check back in with sheena parveen with how much longer the warmth will stick around and when we get to see some fall and the emergency legislation that could ease restrictions on dogon restaus ra mark herring: my mom always worked hard to provide for our family. at one point, she got fired for of all things -- getting married. that was a lifelong lesson for me: when people are hurt, you need to stand up and do something. and i've never forgotten that as your attorney general. whether it's protecting veterans and seniors from shady debt collectors,

i have one guiding principle: do what's right for people. i'm mark herring, candidate for attorney general, and i sponsored this ad.

right now we are getting a look at the damage in dominica, the eastern caribbean island hit by hurricane maria days ago. the storm is now pushing to and through the dominican republic. >> the virginia task force one is helping hurricane maria victims in puerto rico. they tweeted this video showing their crews clearing out downed trees after the storm. the group of elite first responders from fairfax county was originally sent to the island to help hurricane irma victims, and they had to ride out the latest storm on the island. no rest for that team. they've been really busy. >> yeah. take a look at this. news 4 cameras were there as members of maryland task force one loaded up in montgomery county. the urban search and rescue team will find out where they're headed to today. that brings us to the weather. >> yeah. and what are we goio

>> it is a cat three. >> heading out to sea though? >> heading to sea. >> right direction. >> that's the good news right now. track is still east of the bahamas, and this is typical. when a storm stays east it has a better chance of staying out to sea. it gets caught in the bermuda high and we see it continue with that air current. so then it stays away from us. the one thing it could be doing as we go into next week is causing a higher risk of rip current along the north carolina coastline, maybe locally, but looks like hurricane maria is going to stay off our coast. so this is great news for us. also good news if you like fall. well, it starts tomorrow. if you like summer, well, that's going to continue tomorrow too, believe it or not, because it is going to feel like summer all the way through next week. so this weekend for the first weekend of fall, i know a lot of stuff going on locally for the first weekend. it will be dry, so that's good, but it is going to be pretty warm out there. it is 82 already in washington. 80 in manassas, 81 fredericksburg, fredrick coming in at 75. win chester a comfortable 77 right now,

normal as we go through the afternoon. so unseasonably warm for this time of the year here is maria. it is currently north of about the dominican republic, category three. look as we go through time. it stays off-shore. it is making more of that east turn, catching the flow around the bermuda high. we will see this thing staying away from us. tropical satellite shows the center of it north of the dominican republic and it will continue to the northwest and finally take the term. we all have tropical storm jose in the same spot, still a tropical storm. not a concern for us. we are nice and clear and as we go through the day today if you are exercising, it will be a hot one again. by lunch time 84 degrees, this afternoon 88 for a high again. like yesterday, we hit 88. another sunny one for the start of fall, not feeling like fall, feeling like summer through the weekend. we will look at your fall forecast plus the ten-day coming up. >> sheena, thank you. the washin

that you took back. the hotel turns 100 next year and it is trying to round up some of the memorabilia that checked out over the years along with the guests to celebrates its centennial. the hotel will be used all of the past memorabilia collected to create a permanent display. >> don't want those dingy towels. all right. going to switch gears with breaking news, major changes proposed for the maryland side of the beltway express lanes, added lanes. the surprising announcement made by maryland's governor. >> a man finally free after 13

♪ we're following breaking news involving roadways that millions of people travel every day. maryland governor larry hogan announcing three major transportation projects just a short time ago. this involves bringing toll lane also to some of the most congested highways in the d.c. region. >> let's get to news 4's megan mcgrath in gaithersburg with what drivers can expect. >> reporter: hey, guys. i'm standing along 270. you can see how busy this corridor is even at this hour. now, this announcement is

not just one major highway but along three highways. take a look at the map here. we are talking 495, 270 and 295, specifically four lanes a all three highways, two lanes in each direction. all of those new lanes will be toll lanes we're told. the capitol beltway, there they're talking four additional lanes from the american legion bridge to the wilson bridge. so that whole stretch here in maryland. 270, four more lanes from the capitol beltway to i-70. that's all the way up to fredrick. they're now negotiating to have the 295, the ownership transferred from the national park service to the maryland transportation authority so that they can add four more lanes there as well. governor hogan says he thinks this will really help with grid lock. >> added all together, these projects will substantially and

highway system and traffic throughout the region. maryland was recently ranked as the most innovative state in america. today we are turning that celebrated innovation into real action. >> reporter: so the announcement of just one of these projects would be big news. all three of them, that is really major here. now, governor hogan says he doesn't need approval from the general assembly in order to expand 495 and 270. he says he believes he will need perhaps congressional approval for the improvements on 295 as well as he's going to need the transfer of ownership of 295 from the federal government over to the maryland transportation authority. back to you guys in the studio. >> all right. it should prompt a lot of reaction. it is already getting a lot of reaction. express lays are pretty controversial. thank you, megan one baltimore man is getting the

murder charges brought against him 13 years ago. his attorneys say three new witnesses confirm johnson was not the gunman from a 2004 east baltimore killing. >> first i want to thank god for blessing me with my freedom. then i want to thank my mother for -- for always having my back and believing in my innocence. >> johnson was originally sent enls en ensed to life in his trial in 2005 after witnesses said he resembled the shooter. johnson's attorney with the mid atlantic innocence project believes the jury ignored any evidence proving his innocence back in 2005. the george washington university nonprofit spent seven years proving his innocence. the king of beers is teaming up with a top ride-sharing service to provide safe rides for folks in d.c. who want to enjoy a night out on the town. budweiser and lyft announced yesterday free round

starting tonight d.c. residents can go to budweiser's facebook and instagram pages to get a $20 ride credit to use on the lyft app. you have to use it between 5:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. on thursday, friday or saturday, which shouldn't be hard for a lot of people. that's normally when people go out. it is available every weekend through the end of the year if you can believe that. good partnership there you have probably been at a coffee shop or a restaurant and seen somebody else there with a pet. >> yeah, we see it all the time. right now in d.c. though it is actually illegal. that could soon change. this week the health inspector ordered all dogs off the patio at the midlands beer garden in the petworth neighborhood. the business is partially own by the son of news 4 reporter tom sherwood. the d.c. department of health warned the beer garden to keep the pets out or face a $500 fine. customers thought it was pretty ridiculous. >> nobody is in the kitchen with th

i mean it is an outdoor venue any what. there are birds in there. it seems like they're way dirtier than domestic animals. >> the health department says it is reviewing the regulation. one d.c. councilmember is considering emergency legislation to allow dogs at some restaurants right now the hiking trails at douthat state park in millboro are closed after a woman was attacked by a bear. she was hiking with two dogs on sunday when she was attacked from behind. her legs were injured in the attack but she was able to walk away and find help. she is expected to be okay. bear traps have been placed on trails throughout the park to try to get that bear. the trails will remain closed through tomorrow we've been hearing more and more lately about how local law enforcement is using drones. >> and this week in stafford when a boy disappeared and night fell, it was a drone that came to the rescue. bureau chief julieer

>> this is the drone that came to the rescue monday night. a special needs student from mountain view high never made it home after school. a search suggested he might be near campus, but it was 9:00 p.m., dark. enter the drone with its thermal imaging equipment. >> one of the benefits you have with the drone technology is the thermal imaging capability. so it is able to see at night when humans cannot. >> reporter: it took a few passes, but on the fourth swing success. the young man was found, returned safely to his family. >> when we have an occasion like this, it is powerful. we believe in the technology. >> reporter: technology that can help find people with always hypothetical erms ora advertise tick children and adults. today captain ben wooster showed us how it works. i played the part of the missing person. to demonstrate what the drone can do, i'm going to walk around a little bit now and see how well it tracks me. >> look behind these structures. >> reporter: the thermal image

bright sunlight. >> we have a heat signature consistent with the movement of a person. you fly in, get a closer look. >> reporter: sure enough, it is not long before the drone is right over my head. they found me. >> yeah, looks like we got her. >> light pole on the far end of the field. >> reporter: the sheriff's department started the drone program last november. earlier this summer they used it to find and capture an armed fleeing felon. on the department's facebook page, mostly praise. one resident writes, great job. those drones are worth every penny. in earlier discussion, others question whether the drone will intrude on privacy. >> ul can dryou can drop in alt >> reporter: he expects more departments to follow their lead. julie stafford. >> kind of cool, you think? >> uh. >> kind of creepy, you think? >> i think clearhe

areas where strict boundaries need to be applied. it is beginning to look like fall. >> sort of. the forecast for the first d anayd ♪ anayd do you want to do a monster check? yes. no monsters. ♪ how about the drawer? ♪ no monsters. nightly monster checks

is what makes it all possible. amazing finds. always great prices. make home yours.

this is the best. this ride is the best. we get to tour. can we show it real quick? look how cute and awesome that is. >> that's foam henge and the kids can play around it. by the way, angie goff is here. >> angie, wave. there's rob and adore ah. >> before we get too far into this i want to say the festival kicks off tomorrow. the hours are 10:00 to 6:00 seven days a week? it runs through the first week of november that's millett and sheena hanging out this morning at cox farms in centerville. the

tomorrow. you can head out there for pumpkins, games, food, all kinds of fun stuff for the kids. >> perfect time, perfect weather for that kind of thing. >> yeah. not going to feel like fall at all. >> yeah, they're in shorts. >> perfect meaning dry and you can be comfortable. >> yes. >> you can definitely wear shorts and a tank top out there. they have so much cool stuff. they have the whole petting zoo for the kids. they have 80 goats, 8-0. that's a lot of goats. the kids can milk a cow. so if your kids complain at home about their chores, let them go milk a cow and they won't complain when they get home. here is a little goat i was holding this morning. oh, he was so adorable. >> cute. >> i named him joey. he didn't have a name so i got to name him. he was the sweetest thing. if you want to head out there with your kids you can pet joey. for all of the area fall festivities and events head to the nbc washington app to find out what is going on near you. if you like summer and you don't want fall to get here just yet, youav

worlds. fall starts tomorrow but it will feel like summer through the weekend. 82 right now. completely sunny skies out there. looks good currently. 83 gaithersburg. 80 manassas, 79 in clemdon and annapolis at 89 degrees. we are still watching maria, even though it looks like it will stay well off-shore we're still watching. it is a gat corey three off dominican republic. it is going to stay east of the bahamas and head out to sea. it could causse increased rip current. it might be a few days before jose moves away. there's nothing to push it. parts of the new england coastline dealing with problems from this along their coast with water being pushed on shore, but locally for us it is not going to come back here so we can expect nice conditions. a few clouds north of the district, but as we go through the day today it looks pretty good. tomorrow first day of fall technically it starts at 4:02, but

degrees. normal high is 78 degrees, so that shows you how much above normal we're going to be. look at the weekend. looks good. sunny and warm even into next week. those 80s are going to system around. >> all right. >> i'm eyeing the follow weekend. that's when we get into the 70s. that's what i want to see. >> can't wait to see what the heat does to the fall leaf show. >> oh, yeah. today there's new concern about the safety of turf fields at some area schools. the testing that prompted the warning a child hit by a foul ball at the yankee's game. the playe

i'm a lawyer, and i have clients, and i am proud to do what i do on behalf of my clients. narrator: the clients john adams and his team are so proud to work for? banks accused of

big corporations accused of defrauding taxpayers. and mortgage lenders accused of unfairly foreclosing on homes. now he wants to be attorney general. john adams: the best attorney general the powerful and well-connected can buy. i'm mark herring, candidate for attorney general, and i sponsored this ad.

look out. oh, my goodness. >> a scary moment for everyone at yankee stadium yesterday when a child got hit by a foul ball. the moment hitting everyone hard, especially todd frasier who hit the ball. he kneeled and took off his helmet after he saw what happened. the game was delayed for about five minutes as medics checked on the girl and took her to the hospital. the yankee's manager said he was told she's doing okay. she's going to be fine. frazier tweeted after the game seaing he wou saying he would think about her and family and asking people keep her in their prayers if you are planning to go to the game on sunday, think how you're going to

sundays and this week's game doesn't start until 8:30. right now the transit system has no plans to stay open late this week and and here is why. metro's policy requires event organizers to put down $100,000 per hour to keep the trains running late. so far washington hasn't paid up. >> most of you have kids who play on turf fields practically every day, whether during recess or sports practice, but there's new concern after fields after some d.c. schools failed safety tests. the problems were first discovered in july, but as new 4's amy cho explains, parents were not notified until august. >> this is almost -- this is -- >> reporter: mom pina alexander is first to tell you her boys love to play. when she heard the neighborhood turf was too hard it had her worried. >> what is cushioning their fall? you don't think they need to be wearing like safety gear to go to

arielle, is in firms grade at eden elementary. their turf field is one of 16 in d.c. that failed recent safety tests. >> we haven't had information in terms of follow up of what they're planning to replace it with. >> we understand their concern. >> reporter: d.c. general services promising action. they will be fixing the fields in the next few weeks, but some parents wondering why they weren't told of the problems sooner. >> i mean we give over our kids to the schools every day and, like, have to put a lot of trust in those educators. so obviously, like, safety and security are pretty high on the list of priorities. >> reporter: when it comes to her children's safety and those hard surfaces, she and many others aren't softening their stance. >> one teacher did an experiment to show her students just how important it is to wash your hands. she used three pieces of bread and wore a plastic glove to put the first piece in a plastic bag. then she washed her hands and

its bag. after that she let every student in the classroom touch the third piece of bread. >> oo! >> without washing their hands. here you see, these are the results. >> gross. >> this is what dirty hands-on bread looks like. >> yuck! >> that's what the bread looks like after it has been sitting around for a while. it is a good lesson for kids and adults. don't you think? >> yeah, but when you're hungry you don't think about those things. you just want to eat. >> all righty, then. that's what you're eating. you might still be paying off your credit card bills for all of the school supplies you bought for your kids. >> yeah, but a news 4 i-team survey shows the teachers are, too. some are spending thousands out of their own pockets for the classrooms. the i-team scott mcfarland explains. >> reporter: all of the kids are back to school this month which means all of the teachers are back to school, too. news 4 i-team review region wide found the teachers came out of pocket before they came back to school, buying hundreds of

school supplies for their classroom. not just typical things like pencil, paper and markers, but untraditional things, even food, sanitary supplies. they say they're needed in the classroom but not provided to teachers by our local school districts. >> teachers are buying glue sticks and pencils and papers and folders and tissues and all kind of things that are essential to doing their job, and they do it every single year. it doesn't matter if they're a first year teacher or a 30-year veteran, they're spending money on their students because they know it is what the students need. >> the news 4 i-team surveyed teachers throughout our area. some of the unexpected things we found teachers buying and how much they're spending and what happen also when we go along with a teacher on back-to-school shopping day. scott mcfarland, news 4 i-team thank you, scott. it was such an emotional night the puppet cried. >> we're

got talent. here is what you may have missed last night. >> darci! >> oh, she is so good. >> yes. the fan favorite, 12-year-old ventroliquist darci lynne farmer took home the one million dollar prize. she will headline a stage show in vegas. >> oh, sweet girl. >> it is tough to believe she just started doing that about four years ago. >> gosh! she is just a natural. >> yeah, it is incredible. good for her. >> going to pay off. >> former beat out the 10-year-old singer angelica hale. she wowed the crowd with a rendition of is tim fony by clean bandit. she and another contestant opened the show with kelly clarkson. farmer sealed the doo with the beatle's classic, "a little help from my

>> another check of the day on this warm up on the last day of summer. >> a new movie that offers a gl

ralpand i sponsoredralph northam, canthis adfor governor narrator: ed gillespie says dr. ralph northam doesn't show up? dr. ralph northam was an army doctor and a volunteer medical director at a children's hospice. he passed the virginia law requiring concussion standards for school sports. the smoking ban in restaurants. and dr. northam is working to connect veterans to good paying jobs in virginia. ed gillespie is a washington dc corporate lobbyist. he shows up for whoever pays him.

you gentlemen are making a big mistake. >> this here is mr. thurgood marshall. the man is an attorney. you will treat him with the respect that he deserves.

african-american supreme court justice and won the case that desegregated schools in america, thurgood marshall was a lawyer from baltimore. he was called the man with a mission, and now that mission is chronicled in a new movie. as news 4's meagan fitzgerald explains, marshall's ties to d.c. run deep. >> people do forget, people do get complacent. >> reporter: scholars will be the first to tell you if history is forgotten it will likely be repeated. >> look at conference room two. >> reporter: that's why thomasina yearwood became president of the thurgood marshall trust. determined to keep alive the legacy of the first black supreme court justice. >> mrs. marshall adjusting his robe. >> reporter: before he became a supreme court justice he was fighting to ensure people of color received justice under the law, forcing the university of

winning a lawsuit not long after he was denied entry in 1930. >> he meantored young men in ths building, he wrote portions of brown versus the board of education in this building. >> reporter: he argued that case before the supreme court and won, which made segregated schools unconstitutional. now his life will be remembered on the big screen. >> i only represent innocent people, people accused because of their race. >> reporter: in the movie "marshall" viewers watch the challenges he faced while trying to free a black man wrongly accused of a crime. i sat down with chadwick boseman who played him in the film. >> who is the man with enough swagger, enough arrogance and selflessness to become the thurgood marshall we end up knowing. >> reporter: they both agree if history is not remembered there's a chance it could be repeated. >> he took the american promise and made it real. he said all men are created

that's a real thing and we're going to fight for that to be recognized in courts of law. >> reporter: meagan fitzgerald, news 4. >> can't wait to see that. >> yeah, uh-huh. turning to the weather, ms. sheena, when will it feel like fall? we know it is the last day of summer. >> the last day of summer, which i have not said until now. i said the first day of fall, but, yes, today is the last day of summer but it is going to feel like it today and through the weekend. not until next week, erika mentioned she liked the ten-day forecast because temperatures will be in the mid 70s next weekend. if you are doing fall festivities or fall events this weekend, it will be unseasonably warm. normal high of 78 degrees, we will be in the mid to upper 80s. it will feel like summer through most of next week. maria stays off-shore so we don't have to worry about that. >> i'm going to wait on the hey ride because hey under the shorts is not so fun. >> that's news 4 midday. thanks for being with us this morning. we are back on the air this aften

>> remember you can get news and

we're live in five, four, three, two, one. dorothy lynn! >> whoo! >> america spoke loud and clear. 52 million. stpwhro dorothy lynn along with oscar crowned the winner last night. the confetti won't stop. >> we have been