new at midday, praise for the new archbishop of weak. wilt gregory will lay out his plans for the job. grief and disbelief how residents of a townhouse community are feeling after a deadly fire. hear from a family member of the victims. plus here is a le look outside with our city camera tracking clouds in spots and sun. how warm we get this afternoon plus the latest on rain tomorrow in my forecast. >> announcer: "news4 midday" >>starts now. ood morning. welcome to "news4 midday."

i'm pat lawson muse. >> and i'm cory smith. we begin witws the breaking unfolding this morning. pope francis appointing archshop wilton gregory of atlanta to the archdiocese washington. >> he brings with him a record of leadership, when dealing with sexual abuse crisis after overseeing landmark changes to hold priests accountable. he seeds donald wuerl accusing church officials of coveringxu abuse. gregory said this is a time for closure, for manyim that is today. >> erika gonzalez is live at the archdiocese of wton where we're hearing from the new archbishop for the very first time, erika? >> reporter: well it is a new day for the catholic faithful in the d.c. metro region after months ofrt unnty, the archdiocese of washington now has a new appointed archbishop. >> i would be naive not toow

ks -- the unique t task that awas us. yet i know as i have always known that i can and will rely upon the grace of god and on the goodness of the people of this local church to help me fulfill those new responsibilities. >> that is washington's new archbishop wilton gregory, quick to address what his new role means. the news broke this morning. the vatican announcing 71-year-old archbishop wilton gregory of atlanta haste acc pope francis's invitation to be theis new arcp of the diocese here in washington. at this press conference minutes ago donald wuerl sad side-by-de with his successor, facing mounting criticism, heed resiast fall after a pennsylvania grand jury report alleged he didn't do enough to stop predator priests when b he washop of pittsburgh. the church both globally and

locally has beenpe s in sexual abuse scandal. former cardinal theodore ccarrick defrocked after being found guilty of sex crimes including solicitation in sacrent of confessio and now assuming the responsibility of uniting the catholic faithful at a time when so many have been disappointed with the church and even lost hope of real change but he said he wants to provide new reasons to stay. archbishop gregoryaithat he intended or how he intends to start the ministry is to spend time in the field as he put it. in the pews with parishioners and speaking with the priests. his officl installation ceremony will -- will be on tuesday may 21st. erika gonzalez, back to you in the studio. and as you might imagine, the newsf this announcement is stirring reaction. >> we have a team coverage on the breakinneg ne 4 justin finc locals are saying about the new

archbishop. >> reporter: well aftut one week's worth of speculation today it became ,officiope francis announcing atlantaop archbiilton gregory will take on the role here in washington. the first african-american archbishop here as well. he is, as you might imagine, reacting to his own appointment. rowe have this quotehim saying i look forward to encountering and listening to the people of the local church as we address the issues that face us as wontinue to grow in the love of christ that sustainss. and we did speak with parishioners this morning here at st.atthews about the news and here is what they had to say. re >> archbishopry is a great man. i lived in atlanta and had him as my bo-- my bishop and he did great job for thehurch. and he was great about the00 abuse change when he was in charge of the u.s. council of catholic h bishops sos -- he's exactly what we need in -- right

now. >> he keeps up the faith and helps the people -- helps the church reunite more and i just hpe he does the right thing. >> reporter:e in washington, news of his selection comes on the anniversary of the death of martin lking jr., that not lost on many people as well. in northwest, i'm justin finch, juc4. >> in, thank you. and now this prominent new appointment has been six months in the makinas news 4een working for you every step of the way. you could view our extensive reporting concerning the catholic church in o nbc washington app, just open it and search "catholic church". >> turning to the weathernd the sta of a very pleasant spring day. >> amelia is here with wult we expect on this thursday morning, hopefully a lot like wednesday did. >> it won't look exactly like yesterday, because we do have more clouds out there. but it is go -- going to feel similar. riow the temperatures are in the low 60 as cross the area. 61 i washington and frederick.

60 in gaithersburg. and now i'm tracking cloudiness but hazy suhine and it is going to be the trend in the afternoon. partly cloudy skies acrnds the area lighter winds than yesterday. we hit a high temperature today of 67 degrees.iv that is about degrees above normal. if you are wondering, yesterday at reagan national our high was 72. so a few degrees cooler on your thursday. now here is the latest on storm team 4 radar. we're dryingniut after mt i can't rule out light showers moving in as this storm system approaches the area and then tomorrow weather story.erent we're tracking rain and cooler temperatures throughout the day. i'm going to have the latest on the rain when it movesn and moves out at 11:20, pat. >> thanks, amelia. now to the tragi developing story in chesapeake beach. several famies are homeless after fire destroyed their homes in calvert county. >> and one of the families is

mourning the loss of a mother and 13-year-old niece in the fire. this is capture the moment o of townhomes collapse as firefighters douse it with water. >> megan mcgrath is live where it happened and talked to family members still trying to comprehendhat happened there. so heartbreaking, megan. >> reporter: it is. and you could see how extensive the damage is. all of the townhomes are all gown and they burned to the grouy and the fire was not o destructive, it was deadly. a woman and her teenage granddaughter could not escape the flames. now taking a live look here, you could see that the maryland state fire marshals are on the scene and they are trying to figure out exactly what started this fire. neighbors embrace each other giving support in the wake of tragedy. as fire marshals begin their investigat cn, a familyes to grips with a terrible reality.

>> i don't even know whatth to k right now. i just can't believe i'll never see either one of them agai >> reporter: kathleen link said her mother wendy welch ander niece 13-year-old stephanie link were trapped inside of the burning home. they were on the phone with 911 but the flames were so intse they could not escape. >> they told her to jump out of the window and the house collapsed and the phone went dead. they we together. they found both of them together with their arms around each other. >> reporter: five townhomes burned to the ground. a pile of charred debris is all that is left. the neighborhood is right behind hethepeake beach water park and when residents saw the t flamesy began banging on doors. thomas grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to help but the fire was too far gone. >> it was traveling underneath the house from the first one and was literally movingdnderneath hen it engulfed the second one and there was another -- it kept on spreading uer the houses. and then they all just turned

into match teicks. >> rep investigators don't know the cause yet but preliminarily they say it appear to be accidental. the quick spread helped along by the wind. >>w i k that being close to the bay here you have some serious wind that comes through. yesterday washink an extremely windy day so that probably helped to spread this fire. >> reporter: and the families at -- who lived in these townhomes now looking for somewhere else to live and as you could see, with this kind ot damagey're not going to be able to salvage much of anything. the red cross is helping them out. back to you. >> thanks, megan. a virginia man is facingge ch after police say he secretly recorded dozens of men at local spa. kwame anderson is accused of using a phone to film people while they were nude at spa ntrld in centerville. fairfax c police found 81 victims including underage boys

on more than50ideos taken at the spa. they say he recorded those over several years and then sold the videos online. the investigation started when a victim saw a naked video of himself for sale on social tdia. police sre are additional victims in similar videos filmed at other locations. and police in d.c. arrest a man accused of sixssaults in northwest. they all happened in an area circle ih of dupont the 1200 block of 20th street. police say officers wereas cang the neighborhood last night after the first report. when they found a person who matched the lookout. he washo arrested w incident. turning to politics now, from the allout attorney general's summary of the mueller report. investigators for the special counsel tell "the new york times" the final report was more damaging than attorney general willar barr revealed. "the new york times" reports mueller investigators are frustrated bause barr did not adequately portray their conclusions and barr wrote a

letter last month sayin trump was cleared of collusion and did not make aetermination on obstruction. the attorney general determined he did not obstruct justice. barr w fuft ratedhat mueller didn't make the decision about obstruction himself. nbc news has not independently confirmed the "times" reporting andeanwhile the house judiciary committee has requested the r barr will release a redacted version. next month he will testify fore congress about the 2020 budget and the first opportunity for lawmakers to question him. and another battle brewing between trump and house democrats. the house ways and means committee richard nl request six years of the president's tax returns from the treasury department and democrats say it is part of the congress oversight duties but counter saying that this could set a dangerous precedent of using tax returns for political gain. the president continues to refuse to release his tax documents because he says he's been audited by the irs.

some new information from the po liminary report ie crash of that ethiopian airlines what we now know about the crew's final actions. and former vice president joe biden is addressing az accusations he inappropriately touched several women in the past and the cha ng

what's funexpected? a getaway where marching to the beat of a different drummer is encouraged. so, it's best to just go with the flow. that's greater williamsburg. at's funexpected. plan your vacaon at visitwilliamsburg.com/fun new this morning, ethiopian authorities released a preliminary report into aeadly crash involving that boeing 737 max 8 jet. the report calls on boeing to review the aircraft control ability standard and review the flight control systemef m--e it is cleared to fly again. the crew performed all of the procedures provided by the manufacturer to get the aircraft under control. ethiopia authorities say the aircraft was air-worthy and the takeoff appeared northal.

krirs jielsen is making a three-day visit to the border, the same border president trump ishreatening to shut down. tracie potts explains whys he presidenlies are urging himk to b off. >> reporter: at the southern border with mexico, immigrants are racing against the clock, rushinge into u.s. in full view of officers to request asylum before president trump closes the border. >> it is just very muchhe overwhelming system. >> reporter: at legal ports of entry there is 1hour back-up for delivering trucks coming in agentsxico after border were sent off to deal with immigration. at stake, in these trucks, goods worth $1.7 billion aday. >> closing down the bder would have potentially catastrophic economic impact on our country. >> reporter: that is mitne mcconnell,f the president's closest allies on the other side of this fence with other republicans concerned if the border shuts down, the

economy may take a hit. >> he ought to take into consideration the extent to which closing the border would do. >> reporter: president trump seeing both sides. >> sure, it h going te a negative impact on the economy. >> closing b tder would be a profit--making operation. when you close the border, you will stop the drugs from coming in. >> reporter: he heads to cawfornia tomorrow to v new border femeing. nd security secretary kirstjen nielsen joins him after a trip to yuma, arizona, today, one of the busiest sights for immigrants entering the u.s. but there is big concern about trade at the border. the president's chief economic strategist larry kudlow say looking at closing the border but leaving the truck lanes ope for commerce. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. right now in annapolis the secretary of the navy and army and air fngce are hos a discussion about sexual assault and harassment at america's colleges and universities. the superintendent of the naval

academy said that the campus is no differenthan any other higher learning institution and he said the academy is seeing some rests from their education programs. >> whave invested in peer education through a program we call shapes, sexual harassment and we know that to be n'effective. do result in no events happening of unwanted sexual contact but the midshipmen told us it is very effective. >> senator martha mcsally is keynote speaker. you may recall she was praised for telling a senate committee by ang that she was raped supervisor while serving in the air force. former vice esident joe biden is speaking out. several women have come forward sayinge made physical contact they felt inappropriate but none have accused him of sexual harassment. yesterday he tweeted out a sho video response. >> and i've never thought of how

politics is cold a antiseptic and thought about connecting with people and i hasaid,ng hands, hands on the shoulder, a hug, encouragement. now it is all about taking selfies together. social norms have began to change and they're the boundaries of protecting personal space have been re-set and i get it. it.t >> biden is expected to make a run for the white house in 2020 and leading early polls. no prom innocent democrat has suggested he stay out of the race becau of the allegations. virginia lawmakers voted in amendment to get change a law impacting the driver's licenses of nearly a million people. before now anyone who had unpaid court fines or fees had their licenses suspended. gethat is no l the case. supporters of the measure argue it unfair punishes poor people. a previous bipartisan attempt to overturn this law failed.

louisiln senior started as a janitor and became a trail blazer. yesterday the prince george school system named its facilit building after the first african-american to run the department and the first african-american to run anyn departmenthe county's school system. bure chief tracee wilkins has his story. >> reporter: when louis wilson began cleaning schoolsor the ince george countries school system he surely didn't expect a building to be named in his honor. >> you never know how much your work and effort is going to affect generationsme to >> reporter: today the spotlight was osht life he livednd the barriers during the 36 years of service, soqu contial former leadership returned to pay honor. >> the wilson fily is a great contributor to this community. they deserve to be recognized, their father deserves to have his name on this building.

>> reporter: wilson, a graduate of douglas high school worked as a janity wore in while in 1959 and became his full time job but he advanced and in 1976 became the first african-american tony direct department in the school system. >> it was doing inter --gr inion period and it was predominantly white and mr. t wilson made tchange, he changed the system. >> reporter: as director of plant operations he hired more minorities and mentored children of color in the school system. now the building he i worked is named after him. he passed away last year. >> we're just trying to carry on his legacy today. >> reporter: his sob and grand son also named louis wilso worked for the school today and are proud of their namesake. >> hhe just wanted to do right thing all of the time and i think his legacy is just carrying on what you see today w we have allks of life out here celebrating him. > reporter: in honor of mr. wilson's legacy and the path he

took to become a director, the prince george county school system has an apprenticeship program to teach how to become r janitor to for the school system after if they like. i'm tracewilkins, nbc4. >> congratulations to him. >> what a great story. >> to him and to his family. well, w if you think havet wt takes to star in the hit broadway s hamilton, here is your chance. >> they are holding auditions here in the district. hamilton is look for singers and rappers, pat, to perform in coming productions. the deadline to apply is tomorrow to do it now. last week the kennedy center announced it will return to d.c. next year. if you are interested in applying, we have more information in the nbc washington app. >> do you>> rap? in the shower. >> in the shower. the only songs i know. no free-style. >> does experience count? >> no, does not. >> and if you are near the tidal

y blossoms could impact the area. >> and do d.c. street signs confuse you? we'll tell you how to report problem sp ot

the tidal basin is one of the most beautiful areas to check out this time of the year. we know that. and now it is officially a national treasure. on the o stepsthe jefferson memorial yesterday, the national with theice joined trust for the national mall and the national trust for historic vation to declare the time to save this national treasure is now. the tidal basin was designed in the 1880s and the park service saids noto designed handle millions of visitors. >> on a daily basis walkways surrounding the basin are flooded at hightide, making them impassable for visitors and compromising the routes of the trees.erry the area was never designed for

the volume or kinds of use it sees today. >> the new designation willick off a multi--year effort to create a master plan for the tidal basin to hopefully protect it for decad to come. well latin month stasnbc nb looking at the change of climate and see how it is impacter your family and money and even your commute. it airs on earth day, april 22nd, right here on nbc4. and on a day like today there are a lot of folks down there checking out the cherry blossoms and enjoying the tidal basin. runnd it is beautiful and down there often and every time it is high tide you know the water is lapping up -- you were there yesterday and over the cement so folksn can't walk certain areas so part of the problem is climate changend how many people are down there and the warmer temperatures so we'll have much more on how climate change isng impac our area on april 22nd.

so climate is what you think of -- whet you expect you step out of the door in the morning. it is early april and it's a spring day. and probably expect a chill or shower.pril weather what is you are getting. it changes day-to-day and climate is the average weather over a period of time typically that period 30 years. talking about our weather today, partly to mostly cloudy skies and lighter winds out there. as we look to tomorrow, i'm going to be traing rainor the majority of the day. maybe a fewak bduring the morning hours but for the most part it is looking like a rainyr friday, tw the kind of day, it is grilled cheese, tomato soup kind of dayith the weather. not only rainy but chilly as well. as we look to d,e weekt is okay. it is not blue skies and fantastic but it is notainy either. i'll have more on the weekend coming up in a little bit. but first, here are your temperatures this afternoon at 4:00 p.m.th notice we're i mid to upper 60s.in 65 in waon, frederick and gaithersburg and leesberg and 66 in manassas as we move toward

6:00 p.m. we continue to warm a few degrees with a high of 67. even 9:00 tonight, taking the dog out andinding down and temperatures still comfortable. until the upper 50s across the area and then tomorrow we do have rain at timmp with the ature of 55. coming up i'll have future weather hour by hour when the in moves in and when it exits, around 11:40. >> thank you. new at midday, a report on your drinking water and just how safe it is. why d.c. may not be doing enough to monitor led levels. and plus the latest on a team claimin to be an illinois boy who d

. alome breaking politews now. another democrat has tossed his hat into the ring for president. ohio representative tim ryan made the announcement a few mites ago. he said he will work to win back working class voters.

washington has a new archbishop this morning. the pope appointing archbishop wiltonregory of atlanta, georgia to now lead the archdiocese of washington. gregory is considered by catholic church experts to be a transitional figure. in 2002 he led the conference of catholic bishops and oversaw landmark changes that held predator priests accountable. gregory succeeds cardinals donald wuerl who resigned after he was accused of covering up sexual abuse. well if you or someone you lo livesn the district, you want to pay close attention to the results of the new d.c. inspector general audit report on d.c. water. >> that rigort looked into d.c. water procedures for monitoring lead in water and it found that those procedures could be improved. d.c. wateresigned and implemented controls to ensure that lead levels in d.c.at drinking are at or below the standard established by the

environmental protect however, the monitoring showing there are still measurable amountnk of lead in the dg water. and while d.c. water may be replacing lead pipes in the public domain, homeowners may k natw if they have lead pipes and mayot know the risk. the audit found that d.c. water could do more to educateco umers on the issue. so here are some important things youkn shoul. there is free testing available. homeowners, not the city, are responsible for replacing lead pipes on their property. and financially assist sns -- assistance is avaable and contact d.c. water for information. and confusion for the damaging street signs across the district and you remember thews 4 i-team that reported hundreds of complaints being made to the city. >> and now the d.c. mayor muriel bowser will replace the signs but that is not all. as nbc4 mark segraves reports, the report is creating new jobs. >> reporter: driving around the district at times could b

frustrating. even the mayor admits some of around the signs city are confusing. >> this usually happens when w have multiple signs that are at first glance are confusi. as sometimes when second and d glance as well. >> if i want to park, legally which one of these takes precedent? >> we aren't trying to confuse anybody. >> reporter: today the mayor announced the good sign d.c. campaign. away to allow drivers to let the city know when there are s problems witeet signs. >> it is important, too, that signs make sense. that they are in the rights. locati that when they are damaged, they are replaced. when they don't mak sense, that they're removed. >> reporter: if you know of a daged or confusing street sign report it on social media usings theag goodsigndc or call 733. in the district, mark segraves, nbc4. developing this morning, the family ofs an illin boy whose

been missing since 2011 may have had their prayers answered. police in newport, kentucky, are trying to verify the story of a teen who turned up yesterday and said he is that boy. timmothy pitzen was of years old when he disappeared during a road trip with his mother. during that trip his momas found dead of an apparent suicide in a rockford, illinois, motel room. reports indicated she had left a note saying that her son was safe and was in someone's care but s didn't say who the caretaker was. this morning we're learning more about the moment that the teen was found yesterday wandering through a new pord. neighborh >> he looked out of place. he looked scared, he was lost. two ladies were i sitting her a car and somehow or other i oless he motioned enough to them to call thee and they called the police. well the police came finally and they talked to him and we couldn't hear what they were saying, they searched him and put him in a car. >>he teenageaid that he and

his two abductors were staying at a red roof innn cincinnati when he escaped. this morning rescuers are trying to find an american woman and her driver kidnapped at gunpoint in uganda popular wildlife park andeing held for a half a million dollars ransom and ambushed byour armed gunman out on a safari ride on tuesday and didn't have an armed with them which is protocol. the state department has not released the woman's name ands unclear who is behind the kidnapping and tre is a number of active militias in the region. e fda is reporting three dozen reports of people having seizures after vaping 2 from0 to this year. >> and as gadi schwartz reports, many of the users were young adults. >> reporter: they come in all shapes and sizes. e-cigarettes could be as discrete as a flash drive. but this morning newer concerns he popular products. the food and drug administration announng they will investigate a possible link between vaping

and seizures. is after theda revealed since 2010 they've received 35 reports of seizures among teenager using e-cigarettes. the fda writing we have reports indicating that some people who use e-cigarettes, youth and young adults, are experienciniz es following the use and the fda increasing scrutiny on the booming industry. one company saying in part they will vigilantlyonitor for any safety issues and work with fda to combat youth according to the cdc, 3.5 million middle school and high school students reported vaping in 2018, more than ten times the number o teen users in 2011. last year the fda limited the males of flavored products to try to keep tut of the hands of teenagers. luca was a 14-year-old freshman when he startedng u e-cigarettes he quickly became addicted. >> when i tried to stop on my own i felt defeated because i

would not stop. >> for lucais and mother, the fda investigation is a welcome development. >> his behavior became explosive, he was very angry and it just wasn't him. >> reporter: luca said he had a severe seizure after a long night of vaping. >> i'm not o awa all of the full-on medical effects but there are some. >> after a 40-day stint in rehab he gave it up warning others of the cloud of controvesy. >> that gadi schwartz reporting. we're tracking rain for the kend of the workw and what you need to know heading into friday and your weekend. >> and youd a spot. a warning fromeoctors. wher people are fortting to gepu

in news 4 for health, you uty be for getting something when youn the sunscreen. a new study suggests you are doing it the wrong way and

eaving part of your pace exposed. erika edwards reports. >> welcome back. >> reporter: dermatologist elements always ask if patients are using sunscreen. >> and you'r applying sunscreen to all exposed areas every day.t >> reporter:hey don't ask how they are using it. dy a new stu from the u.k. finds people tend t eneglect theilids when using certain sun blocks, a special uv camera illuminated theeroblem. ark areas show excellent uv protection of the face, when people used regular sunscreen. but when they switched to moisturizer combined with spf, they eased up on covering ouelids. >> it is not to ask do you apply sunscreen or moisturizer sunscreen to the face but walk a patient through where and how they should be applying it. >> reporter: it is unclear why people avoided their eyes when using the spf moisturizers, i may be that chemical sunscreen

ingredients can sting. doctors say mineral sunscreens may be a better tor sensitive eyes. >> the mineral ones, that just haveinc or titanium not to burn sof. >> reporter: no matter what kind sunscreen you use, dermatologists say something is han nothing but if you want to protect your eyes invest in a pair of sunglasses and a hat. erik edwards, nbc news. >> sunglasses and hat and moisturize your eyelids. who knew we are less than 90 minutes from the start of the nats game. today the team is in new york for t for the -- the nats home opener and noah syndergaard, and a walk by rookie jail knoll in the bottom of the 9th won the game. and also the home opener for the o's, the field at camden yards looking great p.m. first pitch and "people" are already gathering outside of the stadium. the orioles are off to a strong

start and they are 4-2. we'll see if they could keep that up. history says no. >> and it is going to be a good day for baseball. >> it is n going to be a bad day for baseball and no surprise that people are already outside gettindy for the game. it is comfortable out there. there is no rain in the forecast. and we have high temperatures today warming t near 70 degrees. that being said, there is rain in the forecast tomorrs. here future weather at 6:00 a.m. notice cloudy skies already re across the that kind of whitish that you are seeing coloring. the greenra the . that is back around the 91 corridor into far western maryland. fast forward to the mid-morning hours and we're seeing showers in spots area-wide and otherwise overcast skies and a damp chill in the air. middomorrow rain across a good part of the area and rain continues into the afternoon and evening hours. while we could see a few breaks in the rain, dealing w sh rain frrt to finish. and temperatures only warming up into the mid-50s. if you have dinner plans out, bring the umbrella. know that you are going to be dealing withikely some light

showers. this rain mainly out of here by midnight on friday. setting us up for a mainly dry weekend. i say mainly dry because i can't rule out a few scattered light showers and maybe patchy drizzle early on saturdaymorning. as the day wears on, we look to une sunshine developing and a high temperature a 70 degrees. it is a tricky forecast on sunday. but i am seeg the compute models come into more agreement there is a small chance for showers early a i thenis looking mainly dry for the majority of the day. mostly cloudy out there on sunday. and very similar feel with a high temperature 70 degrees. winds are not an issue this weekend. here is a look at your storm team 4 five-day forecast. again today a high of 67. 55 tomorrow with a bit of a breeze at times and from start to finish. not a lot. light rain through -- a light rain throughout the day. temperatures on saturday and sunday around 70. monday it is balmy. near 80 degrees. with a chance for rain maybe even a few thunderstorms later

in the day. i'll have another peek at the ten-day forecast at 11:55. >> near 80. >> we'll take it. >> that soundfantastic. >> a d.c. actress is taking on a new role in the musical "black pearl sings" and meet her next and how the audience could get involved. >> and mystery illness. >> and mystery illness. a simple fall ♪

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to build the home and life you love. our products and services bring moments like this to every family. shop top-brand appliances including kenmore at sears. it tells the story o two extraordinary women living in black pearl sings is partly era. based on the story of honey ledbetter, the blues man known as led belly and stars actress ros white from d.c. she's here in the studio this morning. welcome. >> thank you. >> so tell us about your character. >> my character alberta pearl johnson was a -- an amazing wo

n. it is a fictitious character of course. but she represents the women of the guller region. she grew up in hiltonhead and then moved to texasith her husband at the time. and unfortunately circumstances land her in a texas prison. where she meets susanna who is a song collector fm the library of congress. and she hears pearl's amazing voice and wants to record her and save the songs from people from -- rht before slavery and sores from africa so t is a tug-of-war, which pearl wants tl get out of j and find her daughter and what susanna wants is to collect the songs and get this great job a>>harvard. ou played this role before. how does this production differ from your prior production. >> wre in a different space and a different director, tom jones is directing this one and he's directed many things i've be in, including betsy blues when i won a helen hayes award

for and we've been working together for 25 years so that is different and i'm different. i' a little bit older a wiser. done a lot more research on the people and found out my connection to the guller region and so that makes it special. >> it adds more depth to your role. absolutely. >> so the show is part of a larger d.c.-based project done in collaboration are the library of congress and withelington school of thearts. tell us about that. >> i am a faculty member of the school, also a graduate, class of 1988. and susan gal who is with theli ce brought the library of congress to get the museum studies and theater kids involved in a project to go and visit the library of cangress get their library card and do research on the region and then create their own content and so they are going to be theater students creating a prect called t guller journey which i'm directing and then the museum stu who are now interns on our production so they w get tok do all of that work and it is a big part of a

partnership we're proud of. >> and that you've oiously going to -- you are more excited about because of your ties toe school. >> absolutely. >> so we understand that after each performance the audienced s invi stay and discuss the play. what kind of discussions do you expect to come out of this? >> well,e with alliance for new museum theater the audience is encouraged to give their opinion and talk back -- we call it a tack back to the actorsuend askions of the characters that we wouldn't get to answer because we're on stage and we're saying our lines and we're restricted but with the audience talki talking back we have a more flowing dialogue. >> ros white, thank you. and so the alliance nor a new music theater presented "black pearl sings" at the theater at the national memorial church in north west d.c. catch it and cck it out. cory. >> thank you, pat. now to a cautionary tale for parents. a toddler fell off the couch and several hours later couldn't move her body.

it was the first o signf an unfolding medical mystery. doreen gentzler has the story. >> reporter: instead of running around on her family farm in woodsboro, maryland, outside of frederick, paisley is here at john's hopkins hospital in baltimore getting around-the-clock care. >> you go from havg a healthy young little girl running around hoing hottle and feeding herself and then it's like in the five-hour period that went to bed until in the early morning she is paralyzed. >> reporter: her mother said the rambunctious 2-year-old was jumping and playing on furniture when she lost her footing and fell o her head. everything seemed okay at first. but her condition got worse .rough the nig >> and then i had ran to get her dad to let her know that something is wrong.

she's not movin whatsoever. >> reporter: the family called 911 and paisleyas airlifted to the pediatric critical care unit at hopkins for sudden on set paralysis and doctors rant tes and she was treated for acute flaccid militis the rare and seriou polio-like condition we've heard about in the news. >> we see stories like this happen and you think it is not going to happen to your child. and you look at life with a whole totally different perspective. >> reporter: afm treatment didn't help and doctors also found that h paisley a structural abnormality aat the base of her skull that required surgery. but when neurologists still nt afteree any improve the surgery they went back to the drawing board to search for a diagnosis. >> andhey did tell us as well is you could leave out of here and not have a diornosis. >> rr: right now the leading theory is something called central cord syndrome, a

spinal cord injury that impairs movement caused by sudden trauma to the neck. it is aondition that mostly affects older adults. there is no cure but some patients recover near normal functionnd therognosis is better for younger patients. >> love you. >> reporter: as time goes by, paisley is making progress. >>he's starting to g lifting back with her left arm and can move her fingers and kind of grab stuff. it is swly getting better which is a good thing and hopefully continues that way. >> reporter: she'sth pulling on strings of balloons in her hespital room and even riding a bicycle around hallways. t we went from working having a normal life and then we're here and we'he bee for 18 days and this is all we've done. we haven't left her side for one minute. >> what a strong little girl. that was doreen gentzlerpo ing. her parents hope the story will help others know the sign oa possible spinal cord injury.

if your childf complains neck or back pain or has paralysis and paisley was released from the hospital last week and her family sent us this video of her taking her first steps at home. she will need intensive rehab but doctors are optimistic about her rs overy au can imagine, the medical bills are a piling up. and the family has set up gofundme page to cover the costs and if you want to help we've posted the link on nbcwashington.com. f >> good her. >> what a relief. >> help those folks out. >> for her and her parents. promise something teenagers look forrrd to and remem for years. >> yes, they do. coming up, the group makg sure finding and payingor the f

the most memorable thing from high ayhool promot be where it was or who you went with. t i remember both >> so true. for many it is what you wore. that is why an organization in prince george's county is making sure high school seniors have no regrets. >> molette green has details on a prom dress pop-up. >> this is a small sampling of the dresses and the shoes and accessories and men's wear donated. this is pat lawson muse's dress, one of the many people from the community to came out and support this free prom pop-up

with the designers in the community. nd check out courtney and demonty wearing some of the donated items. his suit alone worth $1,500. you are wearing it. okay. so i want to bring in the care representative to talk about this. chantal, asada, this is expensive because parents put out money but there are parents and families that can't afford it. >> that is why we wanted to host the event. everything is free at our pop-up shopnd we're having special guests so come down and enjoy light refreshment and choose your gown and tuxedo and shoe and accessory and pick out air stylist er and and everything. so come down and the event is free and at the cand lit community center. >> and maybe laca will do your makeup because she made courtney more beautiful than she was when walked in the door and at the kentland communienr in

landover. so we're ready for prom? back into you. and i remember everything. >> and i love that story because you donated so many of your fabulous dresses so what a great event. what a great cause. and today nice and pid o-- mild with a temperature of 67 for the to mostlyartly cloudy cloudy skies. tomorrow rain at times. 55. chuck is out tomorrow live at the auto show. i'll be back bright and early here in the studio, pat. >>hanks, amelia. and thank you for joining us for "news4 midday." we're back on the a this afternoon, first at 4:00. >> and as always get the weather and any news updates a time on the nbc washington app. the nbc washington app. have a great day. you still stressed about buying our first hous sweetie?

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we're live in 5, 4,3, 2, 1. ♪he >> god s sexy, dancing to survivor. the new women's history month challenge, #womendancingtogether . what a way to start our friday. welcome to access live. >> you go. >> remember she's the oscar winning -- >> we had her on our show. >> from bck panther. she challenged hallie t