week," heart-breaking ldagedy. five cn killed in a terrible c crash. family members still trying to comprehend their loss. calln the feds. the new plan to curb the district's outbreak of violent crimes. and the history of black face. irginia ake of the governor's crisis, we take a oser look into why it is such a painful symbol of racism. >> announcer: wcome to "news4 this week." hello, everyone, i'm leonis ha we're going to begin with a family in mourning this week after horrific crash in bowie. five children, all of them related, killed in the she were riding in when it swerved off the road. darcy spencer spoke with family members who are dealing with an unspeakable loss. >> reporter: these are the facev

of the children who died when the suv they were riding in ran off theroad, crashed through the wood line and spun out a snowy field. police say they were all thrown from the suv. >> it's just heart breaking. i jt don't even know what to say. it's overwhelming. >> reporter: the snow has melted revealing a heart-breaking debris field. car parts sttered as far as you can see. even a car seat. family members of the victims came her to see firsthand where their young lives came to such a tragic end. james lost his granddaughter. he says it's reminder for families to stay close. >> that's the message i get out of all of this. that's the only sense i can make out of it. here today and gone tomorrow. >> reporter: police say dominique taylor was behind the wheel when the suv crashed. she survived. taylor is the mother of two of the little girls who died. paris was 5, london was 8. their dad set up a go fund me

campaign to help with funerco s. grief counselors were at the elementary in bowie where they attended school. >> they were talking to the students. teachers had lots of hugs and support if necessary. >> reporter: relatives say 6-year-old raquel, 14-year-old zion and a 15-year-old were siblings and curvousins with pa and london. >> she was a happy baby she was 6 years old. >> reporter: stephanie lloyd showed a video of h granddaughter raquel and described her as sweet and full of life. >> s was the happiest baby you ever wanting to meet. i'm not saying any more than at th >> reporter: now they're making ans for five funerals and a future without these smiling faces. darcy encer, news4. it is the district's latest effort totop the scourge of gun violence across the city. the fbi and federal prosecutors will taker big role in investigating violent shootings

and murders. hundreds of local cases will now be tried in federal court. t news4's mark segraves reports that move could create some ps for the courts. >> reporter: crime scenes like this areecoming all too miliar across the district. the u.s. attorney for the district of columa stood with the mayor and chief announcing the feds will be taking a bigger part in fighting violent crime in d.c. >> particularly the recent is,ease in homicides, which quite frankly, completely unacceptable. >> reporter: the new plancl ines prosecuting some gun chars, known as felon in possession cases, in federal court rather than d.c. superior court. c targetines where convicted felons back out on the streets are caught using anllegal gun. in addition, federal agencies like the fbi would now help with investigating gun crimes. while there would be more resources to investigate these cases, shifting them to federal courtsuts a heavy burden on the public defender's office.

there are oy about ten attorneys and three investigators handling federal cases, compared to 62 attorneys and 24 investigators assigned to the local court cases. the american zsizzl civil liber union calls it a slap in the face to d.c. residents. d.c. council chair phil mendellson thinks it's a bad idea. the top prosecutor declined to say whether she feels safein wa the streets of d.c. >> i think that it's, again, very hard to generalize, but think what we all need to do and what i would ask the community to join with us in doing is to collaboratnf with lawcement and with the mayor's administration to make this city as safe as orssible. >> rr: in the district, mark segraves, news4. all week we've been following the controversy surrounding virginia politicians wearing black face in their

past. here i washington, t national museum of african-american history and culture has an exhibit expining the origins of black face. news4's derrick ward spoke with visitors at that museum about the hurt that imagery still causes. >> reporter: it's hard to believe but there was a time when images like this were acceptable, or maybe just tolerated by a large portion of american society, mostly white american among the earliest, jim crow, a regular character and creation of an actor named thomas dartmouth rice in the 1830s. >> you know that comes from the knock jim crow. >> reporter: it wasn't a flattering b image it resonated, so said the director of african studies the american university. >> it was the consistent andri en stereotype of african-american people, particularly as it relates to cultural and artistic behavior.

>> reporter: ironically the elementsinvolved, the mask, the movements have origins in to african telling. there were even african-americans that sd 82 the elemts that were used against them. >> i told my class it's not black and white, oh, mygo it was derogatory, it was bad. yes. >> reporter: but they made those who sought to mock their culture agents to pserve their culture. >> when africans came to the stage, they brought with them sand dancing, they brought forms that would have been lost. >> reporter: still the negative connotations are so prevalent that witho context, they generate controversy. one place where you can find t images likt these days are places like this, the museum. not where they're prais or put up on pedestals, but where they can be studied. that'sruly unacceptable today. >> it's not okay on any level. >> reporter: derrick ward, news4. when we come back, big renovation also mean big closures at one of theational

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the city of fairfax has a new police chief. the city announced that it hired aaron scheibel to replace carl who retired last year. he snt nearly three decades working for fairfax county police, most recentlys the deputy chief of patrol. she will be the firstal f chief and is scheduled to start later this month. if you're heading to the air and space museum on the national mall, don't expect to see all the exhibits. the museum has closed down nine galleries on the west side of the building as part of a massive renovation project. those exhibits won't be reopened to theublic until 2022. the seven-year-long renovation is expected to cost $900 million. it also includes upgrades to the museum's entrances and exterior. more galleries are expectelo to

be cd later this year. we'll keep you posted. when we come back, the secret to a good night's sleep could be right there on your phone. the apps that you should download and the other things that you can do to help you sleep better and longer. plus, a local program works to help teens avoid taking the wrong path in life. just ahead i'll share a success storythis week's harris' heroes. people aren't talking about how much money they saved buying giant-brand chicken. they're not talking, because they're eating. oh, hello. at giant, it's the little things that make mealtime easy, so you have more time with the people you love. are so thick... so fluffy... so delicious... (whisper) karen, karen you've got to try this

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fresh grab and golking salads and sandwiches. they're not talking, because they're eating. oh, hello. at giant, it's the little things that make mealtime easy, so you have more time with the people you love. region are taking advantage of got.armer weather we' they're going on a pothole palooza. as new 4's megan mcgrath ports, we're seeing more of them, thanks in part to the recent wild temperature swings. >> reporter: it'sehat tim of year, and potholes areopng up all around the region. hit one and you could be shelling out big bucks for repairs. >> flattened my tire the other day over in southeast. i mean literally r over the

pothole and the tire blew out. i had to drive on the tire to get some help. >> reporter: in the district, they have seen twice the number of pothole repair calls this nth than during t same time last year. why? well, you can blame mother nature. >> a lot of it is really because of the weather. we saw heavy volumesf rain this year, and that freeze/thaw roads eally impacts the and increases the number of potholes. >> reporter: crews are out making reirs, but it's a big job. new potholes keep opening up. if you see a problem, report it. don't assume that it's already on the radar. >> a lot of them, like they're everywhere. they mess your trucks up. it's very bad. on the south side, uptown. >> reporter: once they know about a pothole, most of the jurisdictions in our area say that they can typically get it fixed within 72 hour buagain, they need to hear about it. in the district, megan mcgrath, news4.

are you struggling to sleep through the nit? by now you've probably heard that a good night's sleep is crucial for your mood and your mind andour health, right? but millions of americans are not getting enough shut-eye. news4's doreen gentzler tells us your sleep t problems could be right in your phone.ep >>ter: are you tossing and turning at night? well, you've got a lotan of co out there. 60 million americans suffer from insaum n insomnia. >> people expect to slide into the sheets lik they're sliding into third base and i'm ready to sleep now. >> reporter:r. katherine sharky says insomnia impacts more women than men. >> the encouraging news for women who are struggling with insomnia is that there are more treatments availabler than eve before. >> reporter: and that includes smartphone apps, like sleep

better, which tracks everything from light sleep to deep sleep and how much timeou spend moving around restlessly trying to go to sleep. sleep time is another popul app. with the tap of a button it analyzes your sleep cycles and creates graphs to help you analyze your behavior and make choices.t it also features white noise to help you fall asleep faster, and it can double as an alarm clock too. and theillow app uses advanced science and math to track how your weight, blood pressure, dietes and s level impact your sleep pattern. dr.harky says the key is to be consistent about your sleep, even on weekends. youreck and make sure that sleep time between work days and non-work days are not by too much. if you're asleep on saturday and sunday for three hours later than you get u the rest of the week, then those three hours monday morning, your brain is going to say weren't we asleep

yesterday? >> reporter: anoer piece of advice, take notes. >> you know, they say that you can lose weight if you keep a food diary because you have to write everythin down. st keeping a sleep diary to see, gee, are y cheating yourself. >> according to the national sleep foundation, adults need seven to nine hours of sleep every night. children and teenagers need even more. breaksed a chart that down the recommendations for sleep by age group. nbc l find that in our washington app, so go check it out. now, for this week's harris' heroes, we're revisiting a story that we first shared with you almost a year ago. e credible messengers program has figured out a way to help teens heading down the w path. these teens are paired up with men and women who know that path all too well, andeceed to reintroduce you to one of their success st>>ies. i got my high school diploma on april 5th. i got accepted by two colleges. >> reporter: last time we talked was last year. tell me what your life has been like since then? >> i've saying little things i

should have been saying. >> jamal is the firsterson in his family to go to college. he's come a long way sinceck beg up ten months ago. >> tell me how you wound up in that program to beg. wi >> ouble. robbing, trying to be cool. >> jamal credits his attitude ange to a large support system, starting with his mentor in the credible messengers program. >> he said, jamal, look, you've got to stop. i believe in yosa he , but the minute you stop believing in yourself, i'm doe. >> i was o jamal. you know what i mean? that's why i said that's what kind of made it work for us. i believe in the young man the very first time ihiet and i made it my business to show him that hey,ok you can believe in yourself. >> and in a nutshell that really is hat credible messenger all about. >> that's what it's all about. >> a credible messenger is someone once on the wrong side of theheaw using experience to put troubled youth

back on the right side of the law. jamal credits the instructor markita jones too. >> he said i'm going to go to college and i sa, okay, you can do it. i helped him with the financial aid process and he applied to four schools and g accepted to every one of them. >> jamal is studying construction management. >> i can definitely seeing jamal having his own business and naging it pretty darn good. >> he says the sky is the limit for this young e'man. >> in college. you know what i mean? he's in college. that's aig thing. >> i just have to do better for myself t like i haveo feel -- if i want to feel good, i he to do good. >> and he has a message for other kids who aren't making the rights. choi >> just don't wait until it's too late. stop waiting until it's too late and when you're already in hiouble. just do som different. >> doing something different certainly saved his life. >> jamal, that young man is ing places. if you'd like to learn more

about the credible messengers program, just search harris' heroes in ourto nbc washi app. they're really doing some good things out there. all right, nowhis one is like a plot out of a hollywood movie,s but i oh, so real. just ahead the engineers on the project to save the planet with a direct hit by an asteroid on what it's like to devise that kind of plan. here's your buick sir. actually, that's my buick. your buick doesn't have a roof rack! this is my buick. how are we gonna fit in your mom's buick? easy. i like that new buick. me too. i was actually talking about that buick. i knew that. did you? buick's fresh new lineup is full of surprises.

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saving the earth and everyone o it from a massive asteroid. that's a scene we've seen play out in movie, right? but it's a reality for a research team in john hopkins university in laurel. as news4's chris gordon explains, it's nasa's first miion not t explore space, but to defend against it. >> reporter: the movie t armageddon kep audiences on the edge o their seats. a killer asteroid threatening to put an end to life on earth. it's up to the hero played by

bruce willis to stop it. dr. adams says she's no bruce willis, but she does lead a team at the johns hopkins university applied laboratory in laurel, maisland. theiron is to build a spacecraft to test whether they can hitn asteroid in space, throwing it off course enough to miss the earth. >> every now and again when i'me feeling a lit fiesty, i say my job was to save the world. most of the time i say i work on nasa missions. this time i'm working on a dark mission that is going to move an asteroid. >> reporter: dart stands for the doublestoid redruirection test. they're building a spacecraft to target the moon revolving around this asteroid. it's the size of the washington m motment. >> ifould hit the earth, it would basvaally create ation on a regional scale. so that's the catastrophe we're trying to ravoid.

orter: it's a mission she says she's been training for since she studied astronomy in space camp. >> i'm confidentm in the t of people who are working on this, and i'm vty fortunate t this team is going to help us make this mission work. >> reporter: the applied physics b has been launching spacecraft since 1959. they are nowni des and building the one that will be used in the d.a.r.t. mission with launch scheduled for june of rt2021. reg from laurel, chris gordon, news4. that's all for "news4 this week." i'm leon harris. we're going to leave you with some scenes from the patriots victory parade after winning thei sixth super bowl. i'd like to see one of those happen here. thanks for joining us. ve a great week. searching for a way to help stop your cold sore?

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>> announcer: "news 4 today" starts now. sexual s after new assault allegations against the lieutenant governor, a state senator issues an ultimatum. step down or be >>impeached. > road work on the beltway could create a traffic nightmare this morning. we'll help you avoid the congestion. five years ago,e shot police officer but he wasn't sent to prison because of his mental state. now, he's facing new arson charges. good morning. i'm meagan fitzgerald. thank you so much for joining us. you are making up to t a retur winter this morning. temperatures have been falling overnight. after a nice springpreview this ,