maryland prepares to fight for recreational pot, but will the mayor have to take on all of congress to get it done? capitol hill is often the scene of gridlock, buts it officially gone to the birds? this guy didn't even have good enough sense to have bo jack jangles ch. >> what caused feathers to fly between democrats and republicans. >> i'm a popeye's personmyself. >> listen, if you put a bucket or box of chicken in front of me, i don't care who it came from. it's gng down. go friday morning, everybody. i'm aaron chgilst. >> i'm eun yang. let's begin with the forecast and a commute on a friday morning. melissa mollet is standing by with a lookat he roads. >> i'm sorry. i just -- melissa's dress, i thought about that bucket of kfc. the col combination there. >> what? >> it's the red and white. >> melissa, that was a

compliment. >> i'm going to take it that way. i'm going to have to come in there right now. >> it's not you, i blame dylan. storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell is here tracking the possibility of strong storms. >> it's 4:01, ladies and gentlemen. >> those comments from aaron leave a mark, don't they? all oght. cly and mild after a couple of rounds of thunderstorms yesterday and during the overnight hours. another little taste of summer coming our w for today. likely going to have more thunderstorms later in the day today. i think the coverage and the intensity today will be less than yesterday. so that's good news.ed activity storm -- the storms could pa the skies with winds. gicouple of sprinkles along the virginia/west vira border. temperatures are on the mild side. mostly in the mid 60s for now. we'll have no trouble today climbing back up into the 80s. high temperature today around 85 degrees. again, keep it at 40 to 50% un

chance of thrstorms later on in the day. keep the umbrella ready to go. i think the w weekendl start dry, but i worry that it won't end that way. melissa, good morning to you.mo good ing. taking a look at the roads, inner loop, outer loop of the beltway, no problems right now on the beltway. you have to be nervous about laurel norbound bw parkway at 198. right lane is the only thing getting by the paving. f you're headed to bw parkway this morning, you're going to want to take 95 instead if it's soon. this is getting slow because of the paving project. southeast, southbound minnesota at randall shcircle, a cra blocking the right side of the road. and 66 into town looking good, 63 miles per hour. eun? >> thank you. this morning, fire investigators will continue to try and figure o what sparked flames inside a ft. washington senior home. >> they're looki into the possibility that it was a bolt of lightning. of fire started in the attic the center building in thisme yesterday afternoon. residents say they heard a

lawsuit bang and then smelled smoke. a nearby church helped prince george's county firefighters quickly remove the resints to safety. no one was hurt. some tenants are sure that building was hit by lightning. g lightning hit the build right over my apartment. 4:30. what did it sound like? >> just a big clash, big, big clash. >> reporter: several apartments were damaged by smoke and water. the red cro is helping those residents with a place to stay. some frightening video o you'rely going to see on news4. a woman had to scream for elp when a group of teens cornered her in her apartment building. this happened wednesday evening in southeast washington. the woman in the red dress was trying to get into her home, but ena group of tes talented her and tried to rob her. the group followed the woman intoler building. a family member heard her screaming for help and chased the kids off. the woman was not hurt. today ana former ny will be sentenced for killing an

8-year-old baby in glenarden. she was fou guilt of abusing and killing the girl in 2016. she was caught on home surveillance camera force feeding the baby and causing her to suffocate. right now there is a search f two missing elderly women from montgomery county. >> cory smith is at the live desk with the latest on this. cory? >> reporter: good morning. yes, it's strange, pretty rare to hear about two missing people in the same case. but montgomery county police want folks to take a good look to help them out. araldine evelyn costello delores paula kashewka left to go shopping on tuesday but never returned. we're told they both live in the 200 blockof booth street in gaithersburg. there's a panera bread and bb and b tnk there. one is 81, the other 89. the pair were last seen driving an ivory covered lincoln mkx, a small suv-type vehicle. it has maryla license plates. be sure to call montgomery county lice if you know where either of these women might be.

aaron, eun, back you. all right. thank you. 4:05. this morning, democratic calls for attorney general williig barr to r are growing louder.>> house speaker nancy pelosi has even gone as far as accusing barr of committing a crime. she sara the attorney ge lied to congress when he was asked whether he knew whether robert mueller was unsatisfied withfhis summary o the russia report. this week we learned mueller sent barr a letter telling him as much.ti at the, barr said he was unsure how mueller felt. yesterday barr refused to appear edfore a house committee because the democrats plan having a lawyer question him. the justice department said that was improper. tennessee congressman steve coen wanted to send a clear message to barr during yesterday's hearing. he brought with him a ceramic chien and aucket of kfc. yep. there he is. he ate it while the hearing ws going on and later repfeffered to the -- referred to the torney general as chicken

barr. it was a gag that did not sit well with republicans. >> what this rely boils down is theater. some of it almost to the level of comedy. you telle whether or not the chair of that committee is actually serious about this subject when you've got a guy eating fried chicken in place of where they wanted attorney general barr to be. there guy didn't even have good enough sense to have bo ja jang chicken. >> what is happening? >> the wheels are coming ofte >> afr the hearing, cohen said barr was appointed to be president trump' fixer and did it while holding the chicken. the democratic pool of presidential hopefuls grows each bigger. colorado senator michael bennett has announced flooethe's runing. he graduated from yale and clinton the administration. he planned to enter the race last month but was delayed

becse he was diagflowsed with prostate cancer. in mid-april he had surgery. no additional treatment is needed. bennett is the 21st democratic candidate to enter the race. 4:07.t's this morning, baltimore has a new mayor, jack young says his predecessor's resignation will only make the city stronger. young automatically became the mayor yesterday when katherine pugh resigned. pug accused of receiving roughly $800,000 fromsp hoal network and others that did business with the city of baltimore for copies of her children's books.pu yesterday gh's lawyer read a sttement to reporters. >> i am sorry for the harm that have caused to the image of the city of baltimore the credibility of the office of the mayor. baltimore deserves a mayor who can move our great city forward. >> pugh has not been seen in weeks. in more than a month ago she began was leave when she

supportized for pneumonia. happening today, a court hearing over the measles outbreak in rock land county,ne w york. the disease started running rampant in ultra-orthodox jewish communities in october. so far more than 200 cases have been rep ted. the historic outbreak prompted county leaders to issue a state of emergency. officials issued sum entrepreneurs to those. follow -- summons to those t following vaccination requirements and closed some ultra-orthodox jewish schools where unvaccinated students were attending classes. 4:0 driving in the district for free oould be ending. the city isng into the possibility of adding tolls on roads or bridges coming into d.c. right now the d.c. council is looking into a study that would examine the cost and benefits of tolls on certainoads leading to heavily trafficked parts of the district. at least two other council members have already voicedpp sut for the plan. new york city recently approved congestion pricng for certain roads to cut down on traffic. neighborsiv ling in

southeast washington say they're no longer waiting for the city to make changes to make streets safer. nhey're taking matters i their own hands. one man painted a crosswalk along 16th street. new signs wereerut in a deadly crash on easter. a new york man was crushed by a car after another vehicle ran a stop gn. the city then added a crosswalk, but neighbors say more needs to be done. >> put your money and your actions where your mouth is because were doing it. people are painti the crosswalks. >> ddot tells us no one should be painting crosswalks anywhere because it could unintentionally create a hazard. the city says it will be removed. before if you now is still there as you can see. bald eagles may have been poisoned along maryland'sea ern shore. the great horned owl and at least seven bald eagles have been found dead since march. the "baltimore sun" rep ts state and federal wildlife officials are investigating the deaths. they are similar to ones in the

area in 2016. it's believed the birds may have eaten bait that was laced with sticides that have been banned in the u.s. because they can kill birds. meanwhile, environmental tivities met with local -- activists met with local groups at a town hall in college park. they discussed the positive impact of moving toward clean eand renewablenergy. critics say it is unreal stick and could cost several trillion dollars. proponents say the deal would help stop climate change and improve the lives of residents inontgomery and prince co george's unties. d.c. mayor muriel bowser has announced a new plan that woulde allow th recreational education of marijuana. >>ntsubcommittee iduced legislation that -- she introduced legislation that would allow it to be sd next year despite a current ban. people with not legally purchase right now. in the past when sales were considered to be legalized, congress warned thateven

holding public hearings would violate federal law. mayor bowser disagrees. >> it has always been our pinion, rachel, that the council had the legal authority to proceed with hearings. and that continues to be our ew. >> d.c. council chair phil mendelsohnn says he will holdc publihearings on the polar mar proposal but says -- on the proposal, but says people shouldnu get their hopes p. the ban expires in 2020. > still ahead on "news4 today," are copetes targeting in a local neighborhood? yikes. >> the warning for the people who live there after three dogs disappeared. and is friday, so news4's molette green is taking us on a "one-tank roadtrip," and promising plenty of horsing around. >> reporter: a one-tank trick brought us here. we're up close and personal witf these bea ponies. that's a great place to go, but don't approach the ponies. they will nip you if you're not

careful. all right. for us, a little rain out across the mountains ofin west vi this morning. i think an increasing chance for all of us to get rained on later in the day

on> where can you take a beautiful vacati on just one tank of gas?we ut news4's molette green and her photographer irene to the test. >> they gaed up and headed down toin chcoteague island for a one-tank trip. >> reporter: one tank of gas for a roadtrip. three hours later, we were far from big city bustle as we ride to chincoteague, virginia.

it's well s known for it oysters, farm raised right here on the island. >> just came out of the water. >> reporter: okay, here we go. >> lean forward a little bit. there you go. >> reporte it is good. just saying -- oh, my gosh. >> and chincoteague is noted for its oysters and clams. >> reporter: in a matter of weeks, people will flock to this oasis to fin er iserenity on th beach or fun sailing on the water. famous for the wildlife nestled are win the refugee on assateague island where wild horses and ponies roam free. >> a dream come true. >> reporter: up the steps we go i'm holding on. 175 steps, and we'll b at the top. inside the historic assateague

light house, over 150-plus years old and where we took in a breathtaking 360-degree view >> on one tank of gas, you, too, can come to chincoteague national wildlife -- o >> reporter: ily takes one day to create a lifetime of memories here, and we do iton one tank of gas. >> very nice. aned she triaw oysters. and apparently i'm the only one on the set who lakes them. >> yep. >> true. >> okay. >> all thea oysters yours. >> all right. >> no fight here. ear morningdarkness, of course. sun's coming up just before in the morning. a little ways from now till. one. a mild after a couple of rounds of thunderstorms -- i got rained on three times -- not personally, i made it into the house each time. but had storms at my houd aroun 5:00, another around

around un00, another rod or two around midnight. quite an active evening. things have settled a bit now. 67 degrees inn. washingto a little cooler away from the city, though. 61 now in leesburg and manassas. 66n quantico, virginia. 68 dgrees in anne arundel county. and your forecastfor today -- just like yesterday. warm and humid.e thre will be another round of to thunderss later today. i think they'll be more scattered in nature. your rain chances are lower today than they were yesterday. and the severe weather threat isn't reallyll that high, but any time you have this much warmth and humidity around, certainly could have some rm stronger stos. we'll keep you posted on that just like we did yesterday. most of the rain for now is far out across parts of western maryland and the mountains of west virginia. that is moving northbound. that's not coming toward the city ju yet. most of us will be dry here around town for much of the day. at least past noontime. once we get past 12:00 or 1:00 in the afternoon,ikely to see

showers and thunderstorms bubbling up here in the shenandoah valley. and then a little higher rain chance today on the northern side of the metro than the southern. but everyone technically does have a chance of seeing some showers up through after 8:00, some of thetorms in the southwestern virginia likely ow come hered the metro area. keep the umbrla handy for your friday. tomorrow, saturday, liky going to start out dry. however, rain chances are increasing with tim during your saturday. about a 50% chance of rain by 5:00. rain chances go up to about 70 or 80% by 8:00 or 9:00 tomorrow evening. not everyone's going to get rained on, but it is a high probability. if you're thinking about heading down to the beach this weekend, if you'r a going to pull chuck, temperatures this weekend going to be around 70 today. hit-and-miss rain chances saturdso. sunday al looking rainy at the beach. i wouldn't run into the ocean just yet. water temperature only 61 ldgrees. a little too co for me still. there's your five-day forecast. today.a little stormy

showers moving in on your saturday. rain likely for most of your sunday. with any heck we can get t rain turned off by 3:00 or 4:00 sunday afternoon. monday and tuesday will be flat-out beautiful here. typical, melissa. >> we need the nice weather for the weekends. urel, northbound bw parkway near 198, the right lane is the only thing getting by the pavi paving. this should be wrapping mp but yought want to commit to 95 if you're headed to the bwi. southbound randall circle, a crash on the right side. police are on the southbound 295 at benning, right lane is blocked by a pothole. several rs have been damaged. we understand they'll try and fix that. a warning for you. outer loop, inner loop, nos.big issue a slowdown outer loop before the wilson bridge. i'll look at that and be back in a couple of minutes. >> thank you. ahead, on the run no longer. a peacock who's been causing

plenty of trouble in northern virginia. in sar-- thi is aaron's favorit. where the run came to an end. >> found him in the hen house. catch "ellen "

you don't have to go to a

galaxy far, far away to find something fun to do." "star warsns need only head to northern virginia. >> if that doesn't float your boat, how about sailing back in history? news4 has some ideas for your weekend. >> reporter: it's known as a boat that helped win the war, and you can get up close and personal. i'm tommy mcfly with what's on tap for your t weekend of higgins landing boat makes its way to old town alexandria to the national inventors hall of fame museum. this is to help commemorate the 75th anniversary of d-day. it will be on display throughout july. you can check it heout, and t man who invented it will be inducted into the hall of fame. feeling all right? >> just like new. >> reporter: tomorrow, young fans of comics, the arts, and "star wars" are in for quite a treat at river con. it is may the 4th be with you, "star wars" day. the man yeo plad bobafet will

be answering fans questions. on the grounds of the national cathedral today and tomorrow is the annual flower march. this is way more than just gorgeous blossoms. we're talking kids rides, family fun, food, cool artisan gifts you can only get at the flower mart. rad you can find out how the national cathedl has a mission of natural pollination of thedr cat grounds. i'm tommy mcfly with all the good stuff for your weekend on news4. >> the flower mart is really fun. may the 4th beith you is tomorrow. if you're a fan of the kentucky derby, your plans are set for the weekend. the most exciting two minutes in sports is tomorrow. this year there is a new favorite. the horse omaha beach had to be ecause ed from the race of a breathing problem. now game winner is the favorite with the 9-2 odds.li you have to that name, too. stay with us for live coverage of the derby. it starts tomorrow at 2:30 right here on nbc 4.

it's 4:25 now. coming up, birth control for rats.' ita phrase you didn't expect to hear today i'm sure. ahead, we'll tell you about the new effort to rid the district of rodents. >> that virginia. blech. sorry. temperatures on your friday morning, 60s for most, 50s for a few. afternoon highs today will once again be way above average. and just like iyesterday, we w be facing a chance for some thunderstorms. a closer look coming up. plus, forced off facebook of because olitical posts. the social media site crackdown and who's now banned because of it.

right now, a possible lightning strike sends a senior center up in flames. we'll fill you in on the rush to rescue residents and where they are this morning. their dog was taken out of its yenced in backard and dragged into the park. >> family pets disappearing and another animal is to blame. the coyote caution you need to know about before your dog's morning walk. >> scary. and a common kitchen tradition in question. a debate going viral about whether you should wash raw hi en. the cdc has a firm answer this morning, and we're going to share it with you. i know people who wash raw e chi >> if your chicken looks like a dog, don't eat it. >> what? >> 4:29. a live look as you get your friday started. we've i nearly made to the weekend. once again, tcking rain. >> n sequitur much? >> the video was dogs. you missed it.

good morning, everyone, i'm aaron gilchrest. >> i'm eun yang. thanks for waking up with us on a friday. we'll get right to storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell, and we'h check in wit melissa mollet. >> can you hear me and see me right now. do you like what i have next to me? the box of kfc you said i looked like. >> you know, what don't let these guys -- >> it all blends together. >> don'tsh you wt were real? >> excellent. >> i do wish it were real. >> we could eat click -- chickea right out int 4:30. >> i feel bad for people at home who are up. time for ching -- chicken. things have settled overnight. lingering raindrops across northern west virginia, far western marylad. another wave of low pressure well to the west now. that appropriatelises another high -- promises another chance for high rain today. i don't think the coverage or wi intensity be matched from yesterday. nonetheless, rumbles of thunder and