truly remorseful. that's what lawyers are tellingo a judgeut paul manafort who is to be sentenced today. prosecutors are describing president trump's former campaign chairman very differently. look out, d.c. police are warning drivers about thisar lge sinkhole. we'll tell you how to avoid this tire buster. and another cold day in store. temperatures right now only l i th to mid-30s as we look to the weekend, we warm up, rain chances go up as well. i'll let you know what you can expect in my upded forecast. announcer: "news4 midday" starts now. good morning, and welcome to "news4 midday."

i'm erika nzalez. >> iat lawson muse. in just a few hours former trump caaign chairman paul manafort will learn his prison sentence. he was convicted of several financial crimes a failing to report for and lobbying. >> thencing guidelines for those crimes could put manafort away for more than 20 years and for a man that turns 70 next month that could be a life sentencett >> tracie pos has more fm capitol hill. >> reporter: 69-year-old paul manafort finds out today if he'll get the maximum, 24 years after a federal jury in virginia found him guilty of failing to report $16.5 million in consulting fees with a ukrainian government. the justice department say manafort repeatedly and brazenly violated the law. he cut a deal but lost it after lying in witness tampering while on bail. next week in washington, manafort faces another ten years on similar charges, none of it connected to the trump campaign.

meantime, former trumpmi lawyer ael cohen delayed reporting to prison to finish testifying privately aout efforts build a trump tower in russia during the campaign. >> the hearings went very, very well. i believe that all of the members were satisfied with the statements and the responses that i gave to them. >> he answered every question that was put to him by members parties. he was fully cooperative with the committee. >> reporter: cohen reportedly brought documents to prove trump lawyers try to change his testimony. >> democrats should actually focus on doing their job, not just attacking somebody. >> reporter: trump lawyer called cohen's allegations completely false. nbc has not reviewed the documents that cohenmi sed to the committee. now they want to see more and cohen says he will cooperate. ws, ie potts, nbc washington. so take a look at this. we are waiting to learn how this car ended up crashing into a

home in gaithersburg overnight. it completely destroy the front entrance there. fire officials say five peoplew in the home, thankfully none of them were inalred. offiays there was one person inside the car, no word on their condition or what may hahe caused to crash into the home. the american red cross is helping theow displaced commuters had a tough go of it this morning in northwest d.c. this is a lk at a large sinkhole on western avenue in northwest and you can see driversping the brakes, trying to take it easys they were driving over this giant dip in the roadway. d dot says water crews will be working to repair that area. there's no word as to how long that will take. the rain and snow we got this winter could beo blame for a lot of problems on the roads and there's more in our forecast. the low temperatures are also sticking around this morning. let' check in now with meteorologist amelia draper. s how much going to warm up

today? >> not all that much. high temperatures in the upper 30s and lowhi 40s, so wton currently coming in at 36 and a high temperature here of 42 degrees. still 34 degrees in and 36 degrees in manassas and leesbu leesburg. we're starting to sunshine develop across the area right now. here's a live look outside. it's looking pretty nice out there but th you step outside and it's a bit of a different story. we'll have a mix of clouds ane sunsut there for your thursday afternoon and a bit breezy as well. ez not as b as yesterday. the winds today out of the northwest at 10 to 15 miles an hour. when you factor in the winds, we are dealing with a wind chill factor today of only 30 degrees. on saturdal, f feeling more seasonable but i am tracking rain tomor ow as well r the weekend. i'll have more on that timing coming up at 11:20. >> thank you. there's major changes coming

for drivers who use some of the district's busiest roads. the next phase of a new project begins next week. megan mcgrath ise l this morning with a look at what you need to know before the work gets undery. >> reporter: good morning. this is going to happen. the shift is going to happen on the etbound side of the suitland parkway right here where it goes underneath 295. you can see these new signals here. they're still covered up at this point but they will be apart of this new nfiguration. this work was supposed to happen tonight, the shift was supposed to tappen tonight butre was a delay. so drivers can expect to see t new pattern monday night. suitland parkway at the 295 overpass in southeast. construction has snarled traffic in the area for a while now and things are about to get even morecomplicated. >> oh, good, that's good to know. that will be fun. looking forrd to that. >> reporter: next week, a new traffic pattern takesct ef

eastbound traffic on the suitland parkway will shift to the left and share the westbound lanes and new traffic signals will occasionay stop traffic coming off the 295 ramps. the ramps have been widened allowing an extra lane, but the new configuration may be a bit confusing at firs >> we wanrivers to pay attention to the additional roadway fines that we put up. >> reporter: the latest construction is part of the larger douglas bridge project. the old river crossing will ultimately be replaced by a slick new span with bike lanes and pedestrian overlooks. >> i think it's going to be good because as far as w they're going to do, this is t only thing that we have right now, we'll just have to deal with it. >> reporter: drivers hope the short-term pain will ultimely be worth it. and while those lanes are

shifting, d. dot says drivers will still have two lanes in ch direction. back to you all. >> all right. thanks so much. today a prince william county judge will sentence a mai to life prison for killing his wife and a rookie police officer. ronald hamilton gunned down his wife and ashley glendon in 2016 after a domestic call. a jud imposed a life sentence for hamilton after the jury was deadlocked over the dth penalty. two other officers were wounded. ur> some new information in a charles countyr case this morning. police are looking into the possibility that two shootings in the same neighrhoodould be connected. a 23-year-old man was shot on sunday ening. he survived. but then early tuesday just after ,midnight 18-year-old walter thomas was gunned down while walking home from a friend's house. police found his body near a bike path. his mother spoke with news4 pat collins about her son's last

moments. >> i told him don't run and he ran and theyho my baby and he ran and wasn't even nody with my baby. >> walter was the youngest of four sons and had plans to go eventually and open his own barbershop no arrests have been made in either of those shootings.hi morning we're learning about the troubling and hateful graffiti discovered inside an elementary school in bethesda. >> a swastika was fou in the boys bathroom tuesday. there was also a curse word next to it. s the bathroomn the hallway with fourth and fifth grade students take classes. they don't know how many students saw it but the graffiti has been removed. n a statement the princip says, this, quote, does not reflect the value of our schoo

and will not be tolerated. from now on, the school will have students signout to use the bathroom and check the bathroom every hour to prevent any more graffiti. virginia governor ralph ham is elevating his public profile weeks after the bl ikface scandalolving the governor's old medical school yearbook. tonight the governor wl speak at the outstanding faculty uards in richmond, recognizing college andversity employees. governor northam came under fire when a pture of somebod in blackface was found in his yearbook page and he says that person is not bm, he did wear blackface on another occasion. right now there are more than a dozen ways to get into the national zoo but there are major changes coming to the beloved touristspot. >> justin finch is following this story for us this morning and he's got more othe proposed changes. >> reporter: there's a real challenge here for t planning commission here. they want to balance the need for security, of course, at the zoo with the welcoming

environment that zoo visitors love and neighbors, of course, they sayre value but they have to do something to secure the zoo perimeter. what they'll do is, 4,000 plus feet of fencing will be added. you'll have chain-link fencing in hdo reach areas and as for the zoo space itself getting in, getting out, you may already know there's some 13 ways to get into the zoo, the plan now is to drop that number down to about six. still allowing access to mainpo als such as connecticut avenue, the bus lot redropoff and access from parking lots a, c. d what is off the table, though, is going to be those tsa style security checkpo that so many people gave an instant no to pretty much right off the bat back during the summer. we do know that today at 1:00 p.m. the national capitalmi planning cion will hold a hearing on this. they will allow publicnd

commentary there are still people out there who want to continue to weigh in on the future of the national zoo and the public's access t it. in northwest, i'm justin finch, news4. >> another sign of the times. president trump heads to alabama tomorrow where communities are still dealing with massive amounts of damage. >> just why, why, why, you know, why did this have to happen like this? >> ten members of this woman's family were killed in the tornados. how she is dealing with the overwhelming loss. and singer r. kelly is bacn bebars. what he needs to do before being released?

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extended family members died in thestorms. nbc's gabe gutierrez has their heartbreaking storie >> reporter: the pain in alabama is just beginning. devastated. s she's lost ten extended family members. her parents, jimmy lee and mary louise jones had bee married for 64 years. cora's house was spared but then came a horrifying silence. did you try to contactour parents? >> yes, i started calling. >> reporter: there were frantic moment she and other relatives rushed passed debris like this to finds what was left of her parents' home. >> reporter: you foundour dad? >> i found my dad. >> reporter: her father, ther, brother and seven other extended family members would later be confirmed among the tornadoes 23 tvictims. mohan 90 others were injured

including benjamin robertson who today is recovering at the hospital. >>ou could seeotation in front of the house like this so we were likeot we've to take cover.he >> reporter:, his wife and 5-year-old son huddled in a bathroom but were blown out of the house. >> i'm le this and i just see debris and pieces of the house around me. >> reporter: incredibly they all survived. as for cora jones, theoman who lost so many family members, sadsly she has spent the week planning funerals. two orgizations have helped to help pay for them so thankfully this community is coming together. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, alabama. journalists sometimes lawyers have felt like they were ing targete by their own government and now leaked documents from a government source show what those fears were warranted. data provided to our sister station in san diego through a homeland security source show a database list. individuals on that list include

joureylists, an atto and dozens of others labeled by the government as an organizer or instigatornd they all had a connection to the migrant caravan at the san diego and mexicoborder. agent collected information on the individuals and placed passport alerts that kept several people from entering mexico to work. our san diego station says the intelligenceathering was don under the umbrella of operation securene that's the operation designated to monitor the migrant caravan. the documents list people who officials think should be targeted for screening at the border and that includes journalists who are u.s. citizens. in november, unrest broke out as migrantsunried to through border checkpots or scale barriers. border protection did not denya the de exists and even defended it, quote, conducts interviews

and investigations to prevent future incidents that could causurther harm to the public, our agents and our economy, end quote. right now r. kelly is back in a chicago jail ascell. he taken back into the custody yesterday after failing to pay more than $160,000 in child support payments. his arrest came hours after an settling and emotional interview with cbs's gayle king where he died sexually abusing under aged girls. kelly faces ten counts of aggravated sexual abuse against four women years ago. he's pleaded not guilty. meanwhile a detroit woman has come forward claiming kelly had sex with her when she was just 13. detroit police say they are aware of the allegations. derrick butler was relentless in pushi the d.c police to finds his sister's

killer. her one time boyfriend was convicted for her murder. northern virginia borough david culver has the story fromaf strd county. >> reporter: we followed him on his path of justice. he was redirected to another doorway hoping to meet with thel common's attorney. derek got his meeting. hewi spent 15 minute the prosecutor. it is but a fraction of the many years he's pushed for answers starting with the 2009 disappearance and murder of his sister pamela butler. dateline nbc chronicallying david'spersistent. part of what led to police cracking pam's case, the death of jose'sex-wife. her remains found in stafford county, a few miles from where

jose told prosecutors he buried pam. >>t's difficult to reconcile shat part of me with the fact that someone tha supposed to be near and dear to me could have committed something so heinous, but at the end of the day the truth is the truth nott what. >> here we are 2019 and they still haven't done anything about it, 30 years later. >> reporter: and that is what motivated derek to mt with stafford prosecutors. >>th one o things i really wanted him to know that this is a person of color that went missing and too often we don't do anything about it. >> reporter: derek's been updating him every step of the way. >> there's that fear, that worry that it might just be under the rug because it's an old case, but i think she deserv >> reporter: two lives taken, their loved ones on that lonely quest for closure knowing it will not bring back the loved

ones but it is a step toward healing. david culver, news4, stafford county, virginia. on jeopardy he has all the answers, b this morning, alex tree beck faces the toughest fight of his life. >> the 78-year-old host revealed his suffering from stage 4 pancreatic cancer. >> i'm going to fight this and i'm going to keep working and with the love and support of my family and friends and with the help of your prayers also, i plan to beat the low survival rate statistics for this disee. >> "wheel of fortune" host pat say jack was among the first to extend positive images. there is no one i know who is stronger and more determined and i would never bet againsthim. trebek has been the host of "jeopardy!" since 1984. pancreatic cancer is the third

leading cause of dth in this country. 55,000 american will be diagnosed with the disease this year. only 5%ie of ps live more than five years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. early detection is key but most people don't have any symptoms until the tumor has grown and is in the advanced stages. this morning the first lady is helping to recognize women of courage. coming up, the extraordinary women she is honoring. and we broke the news here on "news4 midday." peak bloom expected early next month, but cherry blossom fever is already hitting the area. we'll explain.

if you're sick of these bitter cold temperatures, this may cheer you ngup. sp is almost here and we finally know when you'll be able to seed.c.'s cherry blossoms at their best. >> corey smith has the details we've all been waiting for.

>> and the projected dates arer april 3 through 6th. >> reporter: in a month's time the district will once again look pretty in pink as thousands of cherry blossoms reach peak bloom, that is the national park services prediction is correct. >> as we say, if you can tell us exactly what the high temperatures going t every day from now until peak bloom, we'll hitt exactly on the nose but as your meteorologists know that's not an exact science. >> reporter: it's clear that cherry blossom fever is sweeping through d.c. there will be celebrities. thereilbe swag and for festival president, this will old. get >> today to me is like the first festival i've everone because each year the team works hard all year-round to create new and exciting, innovative fresh events and programming. >>teporter: that excitemen has kept park ranger coming back for the last 40 years. >> it feels like the lincoln a

memori night. there's just something special about living in washington and being able to experience this. >> reporter: for everything you need to know about this year's national cherry blossom j festival,t visit nbc4.com. cory smith, news4. we have been waiting, but we have to get through what's been coming now. >> ieally dohink that the cherry blossoms is what the park on, ce is saying is right maybe a day or two later. it's all about temperatures. it's about those afternoonigh temperatures and we're going to stay kind of chilly for the remainder of march. it has been extremely cold. we're not going to stay this cold but we're not looking at any 70 degree days in the long range tlook. don't expect those blossoms to come out any time soon, which is okay. earlil is something to look forward to. here are your weather headlines. 's another cold day out there. it's not as bad as yesterday. we hadindchills in the teens and low 20s.

today we have windchills in the 20s to 30 degrees. r tomorrow some rain showers in the forecast, wet snow will mix in n especiallth and west of washington where we might see especially oing the grass but really the surface temperatures are too warm for anythingsto k. we'll be dealing with that later friday potentially for friday evening comte and it is warmer for the weekend but some rain is in the forecast but some improvements as well. i'll have more on that coming up right around 11:40. we're at 36 degrees. we'll continue to see a mix of clouds and sun. l overe'll start to see more sunshine developing. 38 degrees at 10 p.m. a bit breezy out there still this afternoon but again, today we're not tracking any wind gusts out there. u still want the warm jacket heading out to run some errands or getting the kids from school. it isry completely 7:00 p.m. we're down to 38 degrees after a high of 42. this is tomorrow 9:00 a.m.

notice the air is dry. we do start off with plenty of clouds. after lunch during the afternoow hourhave rain showers moving in, snow mixing in north and west of town. in montgomery, loudon, frederick, rain down in southern maryland, 6:00 we continue to track rain showers with some slushy wet snow mixing inor of washington. as we move toward midnight, we're dry but then more rain later saturday into sunday. i'll have more on that in about 15 minutes, ladies. >> all right. thanks. a stunning revelation on capitol hill. >> i was preyed upon and then raped by a superior officer. >> a senator from arizona reveals she w raped while she served in the military. we'll have the latest on her fight for change. nd facebook new focus on privacy. a look at whether it will change the way you share wt you st.po

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"news4 midday." secretary of state mike pompeo and first lady melania trump spent the morning participating in the international women of courage celebration. this is video at that event. this is the first lady's third year athe event. the international women of courage celebration recognizes women around the world who have made a substantial difference in the lives of otherwomen. in a statement mrs. trump says, these women being recogzed are, quote, beacons of hope for many around the world. we go now to an emotional hearing on capitol hill yesterday about sexual assau in the military. things took an unexpected turnn when fresh senator and veteran martha mcsally shared her own experience with rape. >> kasie hunt hasmore. >> reporter: i stayed silent for many years. she made the emotional and personal revelation during a heingeaturing survivors of sexualssault in the military.

>> like you i am also a military sexual assault survivor. i was preyed upon and then raped by a soferior cer. >> reporter: she was the first woman to fly a fighter jet in combat, retiring from the air colonel. she didn't name the perpetrator at the hearing. >> i didn't report being sexually assaulted. like so many women and men, i didn't trust the sys time. he i blame myself. i was ashamed andco nfused. >> reporter: later she says she tried to come forward to her s. superi >> like many victims, i felt the system was raping me all over again. >> reporter: nearly 7,000 service members repord being assaulted in 2017, but advocates believe there are many whoar 't coming forward. >> i'm grateful for her courage. it tooknormous courage to speak that truth. >> that was kasie hunt in repo now after her testimony, the air force issued an apolo to the senator. they also said they are appalled by what happened andis id

they're committed to eliminating sexual assault from the ranks. t> the montgomery county elementary schoocher charged with possessing child pornography is now out on bond. he taught in the county for nearly three decades. most rently he was the gym teacher in bethesda. authorities arrested himevonday though police and fbi railed his germantown home last year. >> it's troubling that he was in the scol, but i have faith in the administrators here in this school and in the county that they're looking out as best they can for the kids. >> detectives do not believe the chil porn any students. it has been on administrative leave since january of 2018 when ors house was raided. prince 's county public schools addressed the state of its schools at its annual luncheon.

>> it brings together educators and business leaders to support county schools. t the distr has been under scrutiny since a scathing state audit back in 2017 found graduation rates were being at in. new numbers show graduation rates dropped 4% in 2018, but the interim school's ceo says it's all part of the improvement process. >> i don't want our staff to be focused on a number and trying to achieve a number. what it does now is provide us y lear picture of where we're going and what we need to do to get to our ultimate goal of making sure that every student graduates from prince george's county. >> chang include stricter rules and access to the grading process. the state board of education has now declaged prince geor's county schools one of the most transparent districts across the state of maryland. 15 years after heed cre it, mark zuckerberg says he is changing facebook, the future his company is in private

messages, nothe current model of private conversations. people want to connect online the way they would in a living room and less like they would in a town square. the changes will happen over a period of years and it'll mean more communications with private messaging will be encrypted even from the company. start russe will close all ofts stores. the store filed in february. it said it would liquidate if it did not fd a buyer. it has more than 500 stores in rt49 states in prico including locations in colombia, national harbor, towh tyson's corner and springfield. i'm frank holland. a young golfer is shocking people on the course, but she know exact how good she is on the links. >> now she's even grabbing the

pros attention. morgan chesky has her inspiring story. >> reporter: give amyr bal a golf club and it's clear she's got this. people say you're really good at golf >> yeah. r orter: she didn't even pick up the game until five years ago which is what makes amy pull off at e phoenixpen even more unbelievable. are you amy? >> yes. >> reporter: pro-gary woodland invited amy who has down syndrome to play hole 16. with her dad playing caddy, amy did. >> nice. >> the brilliance and genius of amy is that she's not encumbered with self-doubt. this. n do >> nice! that is awesome! >> reporter: with one putt to go. >> i've got this. >> you got it?

let's do it. >> reporter: in front of a massive crowd, amy did. >> yes! >> that is so awesome! >> reporter: a gracious thanks for a golfer surprising everyone but herself. morgan chesky, nbc news, phoenix, arizona. >> that is so awesome. >> amy's gotit >> yes, she does. amelia told us about the chance ofronow tom after the break she takes a look beyond the winter weather to o ne a weekend warmup. >> yeah. the cold weather played a big part in this dramatic rescue. se

many of you saw dramatic rescue play out in realtime thanks to our pictures from chopper 4. a worke trapped 120 feet in the air on a radio tower yesterday

just off georgia avenue. he was beginning to experience hypothermia. with the wind whipping around that high it felt like the temperatures were in th teens. he went up the tower around 10:30 morning. he realized he couldn't get down on his own a few hours later. >> cold impacted him enough where he could not return along the same path that he initially travelednd felt he needed assistance, so we looked at a variy of plans a to see which one would work best and which one would work safely and this is thell successfu outcome. >> while weather was an they didn't want to rush their rescue plan. it took them three hours to g theorker down. once on the waground, he s in good health and he didn't need to go to thehospital, thankfully. >> that's the part of the story that's just incredible. thanks to the night vision on the fairfax county helicopter, one man is alive this morning. he went missing during the hike tuesday. the fairfax one team found him

along the potomac river in mcclain. he had broken his leg. firefighters used an atv to pull him out successfully. it sounds like he's going to be okay. >> more good news there. >> and not a day to be out there stuck like we saw these two different scenarios. what a frigid day yesterday. >> absolutely. when you factored in the wind, we had windchills yesterday in the teens and 20s and at thatt elevations even a few degrees colder. yesterday the coldest day in about a month and a half. today it's still cold but the winds aren't goi to be as bad out there thankfully. we have a high temperature tomorrow very similar to today of 42 degrees and we will some rain showers moving through mainly during the afternoon and evening ho ws, some snow mixing in north and west of washington, but this is really oking like a low impact event. the surface temperatures just too warm for anything to stick. maybe a slush inch out there.

for most of us, it isng just g to be wet roads out there. the timing with the friday evening commute definitely going to be a little bit annoying. as weoo to the weekend, on saturday we start off in the mid-30s. plenty of cloudsround roughout the day. we're dry through about 5:00 p.m. the cha de for rains move into the area and the high around 50 which is normal for this time of year. sunday morning, 8:00 a.m. we're tracking rainhowers outere. 42 degrees to start off your sundays. we dry out around the midday hours and get in s one late day sunshine on sunday. look at our high temperatures, rees, so with the timing for rain moving up, we could have a better chance for sunshine and actually a pretty nice end to oureekend weather-wise. here's the latest timing with future weather. notices i said we're all dry at 5:00 p.m. 8:00 if you have dinner plans out we are tracking rain across the area. as we move toward the mid-morning and mid-day hrs on sunday, we do dry out and talking about our cherry

blossoms. ey're now in stage one out of six. this is the green bud stage. peak bloom is april 3rd. y yes, lastr we had peak bloom right around april 5th. similar, maybe a day or two later this year. here's your ten day. 66 on sunday looking really nice but the weekend, ladies, we also spring forward and we lose that hour of sleep as daylight savings time gins. xt week we're dry monday, tuesday, wednesday and a chance for rain onnd thursday friday. >> thanks. do you have a family dollar in your neighborhood? if cso, changesld be coming to the discount store. and gas price confusatn. wh you see on the sign may not be what you pay at the pumps. the change one lawmaker is the change one lawmaker is fighting

it hasn't always been easy, has it? ♪ there have been days when you doubted yourself. ♪ and days when you were ready to quit. ♪ but you didn't. ♪ because you had the courage to venture into something powerful. education. if i leave you with just three words of advice: never...stop...growing.

[cheering] it's a fight to save you

money and ustration. how many times have you stopped to get gas and you realize the price you're paying is morrithan the that was advertised? >> the great price on the sign is often for cash only and now there's a pus to change the way gas stations in maryland, at least, advertise their prices. consumer reporter susan hogan is working for you and working for your money with these details. >> right now the law in marylan says that gas stations must advertise the lowest price, but if you'reg not pay attention, you could be tricked by gas stations that offer cash discounts. >> reporter: oh, no your gas is getting low, time to s rt keeping your eyes peeled for keep gas. there's one, there's anoth and another. you pull in, swipe your credit card, pump your gas but then you notice you didn't payhat that huge sign advertised, you paid the more expensive pri for using your cre bt card, where was that price advertised? eh, there it is, the smaller

sign on th ground. >> that's bait and switch. >> reporter: maryland senator wants to pump the brakes on what she says is a deceptive practice even though is totallylegal. >> my bill, you either have to post thehe h price which is generally going to be the credit card price the price that most of us will be paying, or you can post both, your choice. >> reporter: 75% of consumers pay for gas with credit cards, but tt prices often times hidden or in some cases, just not even displayed. >> the gas station owners are worried that they're somehow going to lose business but i don't think any of us wl stop buying gas, we'll just feel better about not being ripped off. >> reporter: if her billpasses, it will n cost gas stations anything. the legislation is up forgs hearn both the house and senate. we'll track the progress and keep you updated.

back to you. earlierhis week we told you that there were more dollar stores in america than walma or mcdonald's. >> nowadays later we learned that one of those brands, family dollar will be closing 400 stores nationwide. hundreds of other w locationsl be rebranded. dollar tree bought the company in 2015 and almost immediately struggled to increase sales. family dollar sells itemsor f $10 or less. dollar tree sells everything for a single dollar. a local theater company is helping students find their voice. the younger perfo act in what they're learning about themselves that makes this program so unique. >> meghan fitzgerald shows us what sets this group apartlong with the conversations they start in a story that you'll see only on news4. ♪ >> reporter: row lando has

trained his entire life to be an opera star. >> this is whatoi've been for the last 20 years. >> reporter: he performed around the world, evenin debitt the metropan opera, but his journey led him back home. it's led him here. >> we're in our ninth year and it was found to really give students the opportunity to find their voice. ♪ >> reporter: these stunts from across the area work for hours i tr, practicing and create a performance seen by hundreds of people. this year is lay miserables but this isn your average production. >> what does crime mean when committed by someone whom society has abandoned? >> reporter: they're having open

and honest conversations about the social issues in the play. >> she really only thinks that erath is the only way she can liberatelf from the situation. >> reporter: and how it relates to society today. >> definity theonversations we've been having at rehearsal has helped me connect with the character. >> it's unbelievable how little society hasan d. >> reporter: the discussions allow these stunts to perform better on stage. it also helps them to understand themselves even more and their own stor >> i for a lot of my life struggled with identity and fear no matter who you are and i feeo more cable and confident in the world. >> reporter: it's been a worthwhile journey for rolando who chose to return home to give back to a county that gave him so much. >> i always say that the rush i get from shepherding these kids through this process and then seeing the result of tir hard work is by far a bigger rush

than even performing. >> reporter: meghan fitzgerald, news4. >> those students will be performing les miserables next saturday at the swathmore. you can buy tickets at the door. their performance starts at 3:00. turning to sports now where the caps hav won their fifth game in a row. the boys are laser focused on the thice. e three goals were scored byve seral stars like backstrom, tom wilson and of course the great 8, alex ovechkin. the caps are back at home tomorrow night to take on the new jersey devils. >> now in first placeir in the division. caps fans, checkt, this this is a look at the team's will be bble head that given away later this month.

news4 sherree burruss is there. he says he's excited to add his bobble head to the collection, something they don't have back at home in russia. you can add one to your ti coll. they'll be given away at the team's game on tuesday march 26th, again the carolina hurricanes. very cool for him. the "today's" show hoda kotb the "today's" show hoda kotb so, you're open all day, that's what 24/7 means, sugar. kind of like how you get 24/7 access to licensed agents with geico. hmm? yeah, you just go online, or give them a call anytime. you don't say. yep. now what will it take to get 24/7 access to that lemon meringue pie?

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another cold day out there but n bad as yesterday. high temperatures today in the upper 30s and low 40s wixh a of clouds and sunshine and a bit of a breeze. it'll feel like we're around 30 this afternoon. plen of clouds out there tomorrow with rain showers moving in later in the day and wet snow mixing i a north west of washington. really no accumulation. we're just too warm at thesu ace. high temperatures tomorrow in the low to mid-40s on sarday. highs around 50 with plenty of clouds and rain saturday night into nday, erika. >> thank you. y are my happy. that's the title of hoda's new book inspired by her >> good morning, hoda. >> hi, erika, hi, pat, h are you guys? >> we're fine. tell us how bedtime inspired you to write this.

>> well, i mean, the fact that i'm sitting here in t talking to you guys about being a mom is like still blows my mind, the fact that that's even a thing and i love, like, tth end o day and just how beautiful that moment is and you know, writing this book avi healey got me thinking about saying thingsou oud, things that you keep in your heart for a long time and you don't express them for whatever reason. you're afraid if i say it, i can't have it. jsometimes there's a you want or something you want deep in your soul and you can't i say and all of a sudden it just dawned on me, say it outloud, i ev it's like a whit per to yourself and you never know what will happen. i have a 2-year-old. only because i said iut loud. it reminded me, no matter what your thing is, iay and see if it can come into being as a thatlt of >> that's really good encouragement and you can use that for so many different things but this in particular i think has struck a cord with so many people whoave been

thinking about being parents or walking through this perhaps for the first time like you are. like so many moms you are so busy, so how do you sdow everything, rein it in to create those speciales t with halley joy at bedtime? >> there are draw backs being an older mom but one of the good, good thing is, if -- when you wait for something for so long, you just don't waste time any more. i feel like when i'm at home with her, i try -- i fail sometimes, but i try hard to, like, be here now, to be there with her. when i'm at work, i'm going to be here now, i'm going to be a work. i don't want to be thinking should i do this or do that, what's she ing. i want to be present in every moment. now i struggle with it aon of times. i mess up left and right but i feel like that'sne of the lessons she's teaching me at this stage of my life. embrace it. when you go home, take your shoes off getn e floor.

oh, my gosh i have to do this and this, clean this up, forget it. just get in there and know that you're going to t havet moment with her and it's worth everything. >> you've embraced your happy and your joy and you're passing it on. fantastic. >> awe, thanks you guys. it's been fun ride. >> it has been fun to watch you experience this joy. thank you to hoda and the book is called "you are my happy." that's our news. "news4 midday" will be back on the air first at 4:00.

♪ we're live in five, four, three, two, one. >> how can i pay child support? how? if my ex-wife is destroying my name and i can't work. how can iet paid? how can i take care of my kids? how? >>if your ex -- >> use common sense. >> your ex-wife said you abused her, robert. >> lies! >> if you thought yesterday's r.kelly interview was disturbing, that was just the beginning. talie is on assignment. here we go. >> here we go. he wasaken into custody yesterday and