hundreds of thousands of teenagers fight for spots in press tee jus colleges every year getting in takes a lot of work and a lot of money. >> tonight the justice department says some parents with money a privilege paid aibes to get their kids i they knew what they were doing was against the law. >> the fbi calls this operation varsity blues. they say wealthy people, includingwo hollywood stars paid to guarantee their kids' admission to elite schools, aches and administrators took bribes disguised as chair table donations. it invold cheating on entrance exams and in which stents posed as athletes in sports they didn't play. we begin with jay gray. >> reporter: today federal agents in the u.s. attorney's office announced charges against at least 50 people in what they describe as the largest college

admission scam in e history of the agency. >> talking about deception and fraud, fake testscores, athletic credentials, photographs, bribed college officials. >> reporter: all aearently at direction of this man, william rick singer the foder of a college prep school, seen in this video. investigators say he charged parents between 15 andfo $75,00 someone else to take college entrance exams or correct test answers for their sons or daughters. edurt documents show other parents paid hun of thousands of dollars to designate their children as recruited athletes or other isfavored aons categories. agents say singer used some of the $25 million collected in fees to bribe college officials, coaches, and test administrators. >> singer's foundation purported to be a charitable foundation but was actually a front he used to launder the money parents

paid him. >> 33 parents face charges including actresses lori loughlin and felicity huffman. >> they're a catalog of wealth and privilege. >> reporter: operation varsity blues continues. jay gray, nbc news. one of the coaches named in the federal probe used to be head tennis coach at georgetown university. he'scced of taking millions of dollars in bribes. mark segraves continues our team coverage with a close lookt the local connection. mark? >> reporter: he coached here for years. and while he was here, he was part of the a list in waington d.c. a member of the chevy chaseb country cnd taught the obama daughters and first lady michelle obama tennis lessons. now he's facing jail time. >> gordon ernst coached women's and men's tennis at georgetown for 12 years.in

accog to prosecutors he was one of many coaches involved in the scam. parents paid bribes between 20000 and $6.5 million and thenedhey cla that money as charitable contributions. >> it points to the broken syem that this country has -- is dealing withte is of education. they have -- people have to go en, you know, insanehs to try to get into these institutions. coaches involved in the other conspiracy would tell the admission office he was offering th students a spot on his team, despite knowing the students were not competitive athletes. according to charging documents, nst took $2.7 million in bribes. helping at least 12 studentshe falsify applications to georgetown. including some who did not play competitive tennis. one family paid$400,000.

prosecutors say their investigation is still ongoing. >> based on the charges unsealed today, all of them knowingly conspiredhe t their children either cheat on the s.a.t. or a.c.t. and/or buy their admission through fraud. >> reporter: a spokesperson for georgetown university issued this statement. georgetown university is deeply disappointed. georgetown cooperated fully with the government's investigation. we are reviewing the details of the indictment and will take appropriate tion. now, georgetown university just sent out a letter to students saying they severed ties with ernstey late last year after noticed irregularities in the recruiting practice that they say were unrelated to this investigation. he's now the tennis coach at rhode island. the athletic director there didn't know t abo indictment until i called to tell them about it. he said they have placed him on

e.administrative le as for the 12 students here at georgetown we asked the university if the be able to graduate or not, the university declined to answer that question. back to >> thank you. pete williams is also covering onthis storyht for nbc "nightly news." he'll join us with a preview of his reporting a little later in the broadcast. just two days after the deadly ethiopian airlines crash, pressure is mounting for boeing to ground its 737 max 8 in the u.s. or for the federal government to step in and do something about it. today the entireuropean union joined a growing list of countries grounding the jet. here in the u.s. thea is standing firm saying the planes are safe to fly. it's not clear yet what caused the crash but we know this is the second deadly accident involving the plane in six months. adam tuss is live at reagan

national airport, he has more on the safety concerne.with this pl adam? >> reporter: that's right, leon. souch attention nown the 737 wx 8, a plane that just a few days ago probably unknown by most air traveler. lookt how manyf these planes are in the sky over the united states right now. this is a m from flight aware that shows you the dozens of 737 max 8s that are out there flying. boeing, the maker of the airplane are trying to calm the about it, but this is happening as ohe choru calls to ground the plane continues. today calls from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to keep the 737 max 8 out of u.s. skies for now until they can all be f checke safety. >> it makes sense to ground aircraft that's been involved in o very tragic accidents. >> the 737 max 8 should be grounded. >> reporter: look as chopper 4

got 737 max 8s taking off and landing from bwi airport today. it takes off and flies from all of our airports mt notably southwest and american use them. travel ers say they trust it's safe. >> i feel complete confidence with american. >> reporter: the calls to ground the plane has grown louder but boeing standing by its planes. the ceo on the phone with president trump saying they're safe. saying in a statement, since its certification and entry into servic it's completed thousands of flights safely. >> reporter: we've heard pilots announce to passengers on the plane what type of aircraft they're flying on, so you can tell there's a bit of a

heightened awareness now. >> a lot of nervous flyers at the moment. thank you, adam tuss. chopper 4 captured a successful rescue in germantown the last hour. a construction worker buried up to his chest in dirt has been pulled tosafety. montgomery county firefighters spent an hour digging him out along germantown road. he was standing on a ladder in a hole that suddenly filled with we don't know his condition but he was alert and talking to rescuers. as we await the special counsel's report, there's a lot achment.about im nancy pelosi sent a strong message to her caucus about that today. blayne alexanders looking int how that message is being received. blayne? >> reporter: doreen, that message quite simply is she is not for impeachment. house speaker nancy pelosi has made it clearhe does not believe that president trump is fit for office. but she says unlessts democra

and republicans agree on impeachment, the process is ju f too damaging the country. today strong reaction after house speaker nancy pelosi made clear she is not for impeaching president trump. >> divides the country. unless there's some evidence that takes us to that place. th reporter: nancy pelosi tellingwashington post" magazine of the polarizing process, president trump it just worth it. the nation's top democrat getting key smport f within her own party, including the chair of the house intelligence committee which is a investigating the president. >> i see little to be gained by putting thegh country throu that kind of experience. >> reporter: the issue polarizing, even among democrats. her commentseen as trying to reign in other members who have for impeachment. >> we have a duty to impeach when we see that crimes have been committed. >> including freshman congresswoman talib who used an ibe theve to des

president back in january. >> we're going to impeachhe [bleep]. >> reporter: the white house on the divide. >> i think nancy pelosi is starting to lose control of her party. r: saying president trump is doing a great job so they were never concerned about impeachment.he as foreport from robert mueller? >> there's -- >> reporter: keeping the door open for the end of mueller's investigation. today the senate's top republican is also weighing in on those comments from speakerp si saying impeachment is not worth it. today mitch mcconnell td nbc news simply, i agree. leon. >> got n. impeachmen the only question being considered today. will he run? former vice president joe biden dr his biggest hint yet today in a speec to a firefighters' labor union. >> thank you. >> that's run joe run the

firefighters are chantg that, waving signs provided by the union. four years ago the union invited presidential candidates from both parties to come to this event. this year only biden came. he's not yet joined the race for the democratic nomination. >> save it a little longer. i appreciate the energy you showed when i got uphere. save it a little longer, i may need it in a few weeks. >> with that being said, biden is insisting he has not yet made a final decision. they say if he does decide to run, his message would likely balance an agenda on reviving the middle class with an appea to move beyond the smallness of our current politics. the uk's departure from the european union and another deal is dead.p coming u is there another option to avoid economic catastrophic in a matter of weeks. a mother you met on news4

next weekerakes case to state lawmakers. an oscar winner is headning this year's environmental film festival in washington barbara harrison has some of the other films you can see starting this week. temperatures about 10 degrees cooler than they were yesterday in the afternoon, what about the next couple days? they go back in the right direction. we'll talk about that and the next chance for rain

i know what it means to have reliable support. i found a company who believes in me. they look out for me. and they help me grow my career. at comcast it's my job to constantly monitor our network, prevent problems, and to help provide the most reliable service possible. my name is tanya, i work at the network operations center for comcast. we're working to make things simple, easy and awesome. dearest britain. we love you. maybe it's your big hearts. your sense of style. welcome to ba100. (ba100, you're clear for take-off). how you follow your own path. you've led revolutions... of all kinds. yet you won't shout about it. it's just not in your nature. instead, you'll quietly make history.

cake. beds. poetry. trouble. love! hope! and rather a lot of tea. the best of britain, from the moment you step on board. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ scott macfarlane at the live desk with breaking news on britain's brexit problem. it just got woe. the british parliament has dealt

another blow to theresa may. they just denied her brexit replan. they a just two days left until the united kingdom leaves the eu. tomorrow parliament will vote whether to leave without a deal. that option is expected to beny rejected bye who's not a brexit hard liner. it's predicted that would be a disaster. tonight's defeat a crushing political blow for the prime mini it's noted in 2017, may was a cabinet secretary for the prime minister who lost his job when britain voted to leave the yuan yuan. a gunman wanted in a terrifying d.c. bar shootingw i n custody. a second shooter and accommsice turned telves in this morning. surveillance video shows the gunman firing into a crowded

room. detectives say it's diego bellton. he and accused accomplice, tamara williams are charged with intent to kill. a third suspect is already charged in this case. an s.o.s. is going up to save our school. >> reporter: two years ago we introduced you to the class of 2017 here at national collegiate prep, a charter school in southeast d.c. udent was accepted into college. but this year they're fighting to save their charter. i the school being forced to shutdown in 2020. >> it's sad because i mean, kids usually want to give back to their school, revisit, come and see the teachers that help them get to where they are. >> they said we needed to be osed because we demonstrated a ralow graduation , below the state standard. >> reporter: the school's ceo is

referring to the d.c. public charter school board. the board voted to close the school in 2020 because it saidt had performance issues like low test scores, reenrollment rate and graduation rate over the past few years. error innd we had some our processes. >> reporter: ross says the class of 2018 lost several of its students who moved to different areas and schools and't they di keep track. so it looked like they dropped out of school when she said that wasn't the case. the school says for a decade they have iinvested and changed the lives of so many students giving thempo unities to see the world and gain more than just an education. >> they're going to build you up to be what they know you can te. >> rep the schoolhouse the support of councilman trayon white and other community leaders. they said their next plan of action is try to encourage the

board r toerse the decision. >> i don't understand how you close w schooln they made eight of their nine goals. > one of the oldest and largest film festivals of its kind is getting ready to kick off here in washington. >> the d.c. environmental film festival openings up this week showing more than 100 films. barbara harrison here to preview some of the films you c see. >> reporter: we're not taking simp educational films. you may check the box on that, but many of theseave box fice appeal for their sheer entertainment value. many are beautiful that's true, but nail biters that will leave you on the edge of your seat. >> that's really scary. >> real. >> if we lose elephants -- >> life. drama. >> erybody stop. >> that will leave you on the edge of your seat. sound like an add for the latest box office thriller? these are scenes from this

year's informative and entertaining fair at the9 2 environmental film festival here in washington d.c.re >> w entering our 27th year, it's the longest running film festival in the united states. >> reporter: many of this year's films focus on people as they face environmental challenges around the world. shark water extinction is a spell binding tale that follows rob stuart in a dramatic high se effort to expose the billion dollar illegal shark fin industry. >> he tragic cli passed away during a dive on this film project. so his parents continued to produce the film. >> reporter: "the river and the wall" bound to spark debate during the conversation that always follows each of the films screenings at the festival. >> it takes on the issue of the wall are the separating mexico and the united states.

but it does so in the context of how would it affect the environment in that area, the ecology, the wild life. >> there are no guides. >> reporter: another thriller comes from bill and lori benson. "the lost city of the monkey god" there has been a rumored lost city we heard about for a long time. >> reporter: the film tracks an expedition after generations of failed and deadly attempts uses new age technology to try to nd the lost city. do they find it? >> you have to come to a screening to find out. >> reporter: this year features a local film maker, shawn patel. >> i've been here for about two years. >> reporter: he took his interest in the world's dwind dwindling elephant population to myanmar to do a film on saving them from poaching and eventual

extinction. >> i thought about it every year. >> reporter: it's called "free solo" the winner of the 2019 oscar for best documentary. it's also an entry in this festival. >> it focuses on a rock climber. he free climbed the 3,000 foot rock face of elcapy tan. >> it's opening night but it's bound to keep people wanting to come back for more. >> even though you know t end of the film it's absolutely thrilling. >> reporter: i can barely watch thatt >> that's j the preview. >> reporter: the d.c. environmtal film festival opens this thursday and runs through march 24tthh. e are 25 locations you can see the films, embassies, museums, even the national zoo. eventsre are screening tickets are $10.

search filmestival in the nbc washington app. >> be transported to some of that scenery. >> i think a lot of people thinu they'retional films, which are good too but these are more than that. >> just going by the award season, this is a good year for documentaries. >> absolutely. >> it'll be worth going to check it out. the one that won the oscar -- >> i don't tnk my stomach can handle it. >> thank you, barbara. coming up a multimillion dollar fraud settlement for lumber liquidators. >>thain is in forecast.

today is the day that has us all dreaming of spring, doug. >> sure looks o like side. if it doesn't feel like it it looks like it. >> today about a degree bel average. you go on a first date or something, a degree below average, do you go on a second date? maybe you switch thingsli up a le bit. tomorrow we go well above average. so that's looking good. >> who knew you were so picky: a picky guy. a degree below average i can't take it. out there right now what are we looking at? sunshine o across area. sitting in the 50 s, 52 degree winds out of the north at 15 miles per hour. it's been breezy. 52 is a little on the cool side, close to the average high temperature for thie of year. up to the north, 48 gaithersburg, 49 baltimore. so there's a wind chill today. but this is going to be a lot better tomorrow. less wind still some sunshine across the area and temperatures that will be close to 5 degrees

rmer than where we are right now. yesterday we were ten degrees . warm tomorrow up to 59 degrees. sun and clouds a fantastic day. i think we'll see a few more clouds during the day on your wednesday, but all in all not bad at all. some areas to the south may hit 60 degrees. satellite and radar showing we're clear in our area. we're tracking a system farther back to the west. this is o system in chicago bringing rain towards that area. but i'm lookingt the storm way back across the entire country. right here, that's goiak to its way into the plains tomorrow. this is going to become a monster of a storm in this area. blizzard warnings, tornado watches, high wind warnings, just a nasty storm. for us hower it comes in on friday. what does it bring? it brings us warmer temperatures up to 67 on your thursday, 69 on friday. could bring thunderstorm but this is not a big rain maker for us.

thstorm passes way to our north but it doesool things for the weekend, saturday 54. going on one of the numerous pub crawlsn st.patrick's day, i'll have that forecast coming up. when we come back at 6:30 some breaking news in that ethiopian air crash. the tifaa putng out a statement saying it will not ground those boeing jets. >> reporter: most folks celebrate a school being renovated but here at central high parents a concerned about theirids being relocated from this school to another one for a whole year. her daughter's killer just alt out of prison. today a l mom takes her fight to state lawmarskeev

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>> announcer: you're watching news4 at 6:00.> it took more than a decade for detectives to find the man who killed a high school student in hyattsville. >> now after less than a decade in h prison,s out. nia owens was a abducted o strangled on her way to school years ago. >> her kler used a little known law in maryland to get out of prison years early. >> reporter: these women know the pain of having a loved one murdered and the fear the killer will get out of jail before serving all his time. in maryland convicted killers cant earn cre for good

behavior and time knocked off their sentences. >> to know he's out and around this area only makes many me want to move to another area. >> reporter: thean who killed her 14-year-old daughter walked free after serving just eight years behind bars. she's jning oth survivors in annapolis to have good behavior credits eliminated for murderers. >> if there's any typef good time credit it need to be something they earn in the prison to affec them in the prison, not coming home to society. >> reporter: the credit system was set up as an incentive t prisoners. if they work, if they take classes, ande if they good, they can earn time toward an earlier rele ce. buttics are saying it's just not appropriate for convicted killers. gail's teenage daughter was murder in bowie. she said the man convicted is set to get out in a year.

>> somebody that's a cold-blooded killer you're not going to rehabilitate them. >> reporte this maryland delegate is one of the sponsors. >> we're trying to work on justice and cutting people breaks we have to realizehen ey're serious crimes and we don't have the death penalty anymore we need to make sure stice is done. >> reporter: in annapolis, darcy spencer, news4. now breaking news in theo push ground boeing's new 737 max 8 jet here in the u.s. after sunday's deadly crash in ethiopia. aviatioral administration just released a statement saying that will not happen. that statement released minutes agoba saying, quote, h far our review shows no systemic performance issues and provides no basis to order grounding the rcraft. it continues if any issues are identified, the faa will take mediate and appropriate action. tonight faa offic ols aren the

ground at the crash site and nbc's sara harmon reports. >> reporter: today the families of those on board flight 302 were allowed to view the crash site for the first time. the impact of the plane leaving asive crater in the earth. belongings strung across anna aa the size of a football field. ethiopian airlines said it'll take five days to id the bodies. >> in this case we need to find some identified until the dna that we can bury. otherwise if not find the person will stay missing through the rest of their life. >> reporter:ressure now mounting on plane maker boeing as a growing number of countries and airlines temporarily ground this model of aircraft, the 737 max 8. faa invesrs and officials from the ntsb are c at thesh

site assisting with the investigation. it's not clear what caused the crash but it's the second deadly accident for this model of boeing in just five months. what is clear, some people are afraid of fing on this aircraft and with the black boxes from the plane now bei examined, families say the answers can't come soon enough. sara harman nbc news more breaking news. let's take you to video just in, ahis is a small plane crash in ohio. lane crashed into a home in medera ohio. fire rescue crews say one person has been killed, no one inside the home has been injured. officials say the plane was taking aerial photos when it went down. no word on what cld have caused it. we learned new details in the suspicious deave igation at a seven corners

shopping area. a 49-year-old homeless man was found dead. shoppers found the man's body in an all and called for help. investigators hope nearby surveillance cameras will help figure out what happened. police have identified the victim and are telling the relatives first before telling us who he is. next year students at central high hool will be forced to attend forestville high school while a new hvac system is instaled. but as new tracee wilkins was first to report, not all students and parents are on board with this change. ol reporter: central high students in cap heights are moving toorestville high in forestville next school year. >> i'm shocked. let me say that. that's not a good thing. this is a neighborhood school for our kids. w i don't knre forestville high is. >> reporter: school officials say a $20 million hvac

construction project is too dents to be i s the building when it happens. >> the size and scope of this project really call for us to have to relocate central for one year. that's the goal is to move the out, the project is going to require a lot of abatement and there was no way t phase this project. >> reporter: while students here can attest for the need to replace the current steam nystem. >> one day you gethere it's freezing cold, the next day it's burning up. >> reporter: belinda queen who's a parent as well as a school board member said if yore going to move the kids they need more than hvac here. >> we're talking about spending $20 million on a school that got roaches and rats, it's old and outdated. eporter: she's concerned about kids used to walking to this neiborhood school having to catch a bus to another school. >> we have issues with our buses already where they're not picking kids up, bus stops are not coming. now we're talking about putting

more kids on a bus. >> it's time for the school to get an update. i think a lot of schools in prince george's needs to be updated. i think it's a good thing. >> reporter: parents are anxious to have their questions answered at thismunity meeting. forestville high school is now used as swing space since it's close. there's an elementary school in there right now and the plan is for them to move out this summer to make way for central high. the top story of the day, that admissions scandal involvf g some othe elite collegesnd universities, including georgetown. did you t knowhat this generation of women is more likely to die from complicationd relao childbirth than their mothers were. what's being done about a trend going in the wrong direction? not muchng a the east coast.

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working for your health with an upda on a public health crisis. a surge in the number of women dieing due to childbirth. american women today are 50% more likely than their mothers to die inil irth. the risk is three to four times higher for black women than f ine women regardless thi weeko knme own as the mo ma act. steps includesh estabg edtional protocols addressing bias and expandingaid coverage for a year after a mother gives birth. >> it was unbelievable that it was safe to have a baby 25 years ago than it is now. that's ceptable in this

country. >> it's horrifying to see while others, countrieheir rates are going down, ours are going up. >> more than 700 women die in the u.s. every year from pregnancy related causes. lumber liquidators will pay $33 million for lying about the amount of formaldehyde flooring made in china. this does not impact customers. the settlement is for lying to investors. the justice department said it will smiss charges a the company pays that settlement and makes changes to address the formaldehyde problem. hollywoo stars arrested for legedly paying their way inkidsy into colleges. into colleges. doug is back

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people across the nation are experiencing the benefits of joining penfed credit union. with the penfed car buying service, they're finding the right car at a better price. and everyone is welcome to apply. join today at penfed.org checking your top stories at 6:44, the faa standing firm tonight saying it will not ground boeing 737 max 8 planes after that deadly ethiopian airlines crash. in a new statement released minutes ag the faa said its review has found quoteo systemic issues. the u.s. and canada are the hold outs here. women who lost loved ones to murder in marand are calling for changes to a little known state law that allows all convicts to reduce sentences through good behavior. now there's a push to remove

that possibility for peoplete conv of murder. the legislation that has failed in the past. dozens of people are facing charges in a federal aissions cheating prob investigators say wealthy m parents pailions of dollars in bribes to cheat their kids' way into elite colleges. in some cases it involves t fraudulentt scores others are accused of faking athletic credentials. >> prosecutors tell us this is the start of what's been a lengthy investigation. a lot of questions here, what happened to the parents inhe probe and what about the students. joining us with a closer look is nbc's pete williams. what can you tell us about thet guy a center of the probe who seemed to be directing all of this? >> reporter: he's the man who pleaded guilty today. williainr of new port beach, california. he ran a college prep progr at was legitimate on the one

hand but on the other hand the fbi saide accepted $25 million over the past seven to eight years from parentsd who wan to get their children into elite universities when they couldn't get in through test scores or athletics. they say there were two aspects to t am. one was a test score scam in which other people would fill t ou test forms for the students once they had started them and singer would bribe the proctors giving the test to inflate the test scores. the other part was this athletic side in which people would apply or schools and then he would phony up their athletic profiles. photo shoppingir facing onto pictures of actual student athletes, using their handwriting to make the rest of their applicationsitatch their own handwriting. and he bribed the tennis coach they say at georgetown,

$2.7 million to get 12 you ople admitted as players. and something like this was happeningt these eight universities around the country they said. and today singer pleaded guilty in boston. the coaches charged all face racketeering charges. charged facearents mail fraud charges. >> how about the students, pete? what's the impact on them going to be here? >> reporter: the student have not been charged. and prosecutors say they don't intend to charge the students. some of them clearly knew what was going on here. especially the tne p olaysho son they neverr played soc competitively. but they say a few of these students may not have known what their parents were doing, especially if they were the ones involved in having somebody doctor their test scores, their a.c.t. or s.a.t. qualifying exams, they may not have known d, t was going on, many some didn't. northwe in any event the authorities say

the schools aren't going to be charged. >> the schoolsave a decision to make, too, whether to kick the kids out. thank you, pete. a lotore of his reporting coming up on nbc "nightly news" with lester holt at the of the hour. doug is back with a cheopckn our weather and what's comndg soon what's on the horizon. >> i like how you put that, dore. coming in here, bruce who runs our prompter does our lights, ays what's the average temperature now and at the end of the month. i looked it up for you, we get to 61 degrees by the end of the month. >> all right. >> that sounds od. i think we'll be close to that by tomorrow. 54 is t average right now, we were 1 degree shy of that todayd you coeel it, couldn't you. sunshine, it was quite nice. thetind still a little of a factor. we had a little bit of the wind chill. now down to 52 degrees. wn as we move the next

hour. o 43 by 11:00. temperatures are going to cl quickly as a result of the clear sky. a cool 4 night,gaithersburg, 52 manassas. the radar, not much to show. we're going to say dry. this is a nice dry period we're seeing here. we saw rain over the weekend again. monday dry, today dry, tomorrow dry whereby thursday dry, and nen we have to look way out west, at this storm. this one is not going to be affecting us coming through st. louis and chicago. it's this one here. you can seeg it spinn towards the desert southwest. this is going to make its way into the planes and explode into aster blizzard around the denver area, parfkansas. look at this, these are the watches and warnings associated with the storm already. tornado watches, high wind warnings, blizzardng war from denver up towards bismark, north

dakota. flood watches, wind advisories st. louis. this is a monster storm going to take shape tonight and into tomorrow. eventually moving our way. here's the good news. it moves so far to the northst d it one, brings us warmer temperatures, and two does not give us muchn e way of rainfall as it makes its way through another dry day tomorrow, chilly at the bus stop 37 degrees. 48 at recess. a nice day, though, especially :0after 1:00,where we get the day time heating, temperatures in the 50s at that point. going for a high tomorrow of 59 degrees. ahead of the storm moving in, nice and mild, 67 degrees on thursday. i think we'll see some sun but a lot of cloud cover ahead of that system. 69 and a chance of showers on friday, maybe even a rumble of

thunder with insbility there. behind that front we get cool for the weekend. saturdayend sunday on cool side. temperatures below average this weekend but st. d patrick' looking good. i'll take 52 and sunny. next week we are below average all next week but at least we're at 50 degrees or better. >> we like that. thk you, doug. >> coming up, the capitals say hello to some old friends tonight in wtha

>> announcer: this is xfinity sports desk. les talk redskins free agency, the team making moves today. >> this time of year bittersweet you can say. this time of year it's a reminder that football is more than a game. there's a business de. the redskins have 21 players that are free agents three of them will be joining a new team

when the team starts new year ow tomo. preston smith agreeing to a deal with the packers, a four year, $52 million deal. 16 of which is guaranteed. smith is redskins second round draft pick in 2015 had 24.5 sacks in hiseason with washington. the redskins need to find a pass rusher opposite rya kerr began. another loss for the redskins. offensive lineman ty nsekhe signing with the bills for $2.7 million. he's a very important player for the redskins the last few seasons filling in forrent williams and playing some guard and right tackle so. finally, gets a shot to start in the nfl, the burgundy and g md are going s him. you wanted a preview of playf hockey tonight you g it in pittsburgh.

if the post season began today, the capitals would face the nguins in the first round. there is so much history between these two teams,e two of biggest rivalries in hockey. no sugar coating heit, teams hate each other. the final regular season installment of the caps and pens saga. >> it always takes on a life of its own, these type of games. we'll see how it goes. they'v been playing really good e'hockey. her two points at stake, it's a competitive division right now. they're a strong opponent that we've seen a lot over the last few years so it should be a good game.y happy vernon davis day, thed redskins tight honored by mayor muriel bowser who declarea h 12th vernon davis day in the district of columbia, the announcement came at trucedale where he went to elementary

school. davis very active in the community, organizations like the boys and girls club and the covenant home. >> it's a treat to be here. this means a lot. but i wurted to make i was able to share this day and not just make it about me. of course, it's vernon davis but i wanted to share this moment and everything this day means with you guys, all of the kids, the school and everyone who supports me. >> i'm so excited for him. m so proud of vernon. it took a lot of work. he didn't just walk into it, it took a lot of work and time, and he had to have a lot of patience to get to where he got today. then there was a special surprise from one talented baller to another. azi greeted by elena deladon of the mystics. who presented her with the gatorade national player of the

year, the first sophomore to win the award. she made sure to make sure the extra special surprise was for another d.c. star. >> i'm still in shock. i'm still prossing right now. >> i get nervous every timee becausi want it to be perfect. i want t surprise to wor out. >> this is your trophy, all you. >> it iworked. >> like i'm just a sophomore, it ought to go to one of he upperchessman. >> she's super special, she's a great person. it's cool to see how humble she is, h she wanted to celebrate with her teammates. >> my parts always said to be a high character person, it's not about what you do when w everyone isching but the stuff when no one is watching. this award is an example of that. >> she burst ontohe seen in sixth grade. the sky is the limit for this girl. >> oe'sy a sophomore.

>> sophomore. >> all kinds of homet

breaking news tonight. shockwaves as hollywood actresses and top ceos are among dozens charged in a massive college admissions scandal. "despera housewives" star felicity huffman taken into custody, and "full house" star lori loughlin, a warrant issued for her arrest. >> they flaunted their wealth, sparing no expense to cheat the systems. >>hat they're accused of doing to get their kids into the nation's most elite colleges. and tonight outrage from parents, who say their kids played by the rules while the rich and famous and powerful cheated to get ahead. also breaking tonight, the u.s. standing nearly alone as most of the world from europe ts australia how grounded that boeing jet after two fatal crashes. authorities have the black boxes. so why don't they know what's on

them?