right n now onews 4 this week, two big stories you saw only on 4, first, a father sharing his a concernsut a guardrail found on local roads and how it could impact your safety. >> i'm saying i came out here, read the documents, measured the units and they're different from what was tested. >> the new allegations against the maker of that controversial guardrail that's being blamed num deaths. and later, a new beginning for the catholic church in shington. dorene gentzler sits down with wilson gregory for his first local tv interview. welcome to "news 4 this

week." >> we're going to begin with a consumer investigation that you saw only here on news 4. new accusations against the maker of a controversial guardrail that's being blamed for a number of deaths here in d our region a across the country. this particular guardrail end piece is called the x light, it's been at the center of a news 4 consumer investigarlon anr neay two years. susan hog has been on it all along. here are the new details. >> steve imer's daughter, hanna, died in 2016 afteritting an x light. he believes the product is defective and he is on a mission to get the guard rails removed from our nation's highways. so we traveled to his home in tennessee earlier this year to give you a firsthand look inside his ground zero, where he says he's made some surprising here "x" represents the max we can spend, okay? >> reporter: it's a typical wednesday morning at timer's

home, melissa pulling double duty for mom and home-school teacher for seven of h kids. before leaving for work, steve heads to the backyard to feed the animals. little nick chases the chickens and places nearly the memorial garden built for the sister he never met. >> you can be fine on nguyeminu and you never know what's going to get you. >> reporter: han imers was just 17 years old when she crashed into an x-lite guardrail and died. theid tragic at changed this family forever. >> it is something that is always there. it. aware of but it doesn't always stab me in the heart. after a while, we've been able to think of, you know, you can remember hanna and it's not instantly the memory h ofow she er lifeled, but more of in general. >> reporter: melissa and steve say the grief never goes away it just looks different over . time and they're working to make sure no other family has to experien it.

for the past two years, steve's een researching the x-lite guardrail. he started digging deeper after learning three other people had also died in tenne ween x-lite pierced their vehicles. the deadly accidents have happened in other states, too. sarah weinbergas killed on i i-66 in virginia and michael carter jr. died after hitting an x-lite on maryland's eastern shore. maryland, virginia, and4 other states are now in the process of replacing x-lites. back in tennessee, steve sortst rough the thousands of pages he's collected through public records requests and online research. the tennessee department of transportation says x-lite function properly in hanna's crash, something this father t accept, based on what he's 'sdiscovered. articularly bothered by e-mails he found that show the federal highway administration was aware of concerns about the x-lite before his daughter died.

>> i have federal highway talking about extraordinary x-lite images. >> reporter: you're looking at those extraordinary images. we obtained them through the freedom of information act. they show six different crash scenes in missouri where x-wetes hit. >> i have them meeting twice in may of 2016 and june of 2016 and discussing these concerns. >> reporter: just a f months after those meetings, federal highway sent this email to one of its field offigs, flaggin potential problems. >> it says, "have caltrans check with missouri d.o.t. before they use the x-lite." they knew this was an issue. they knew this was an issue. >> reporter: sve says e-mails from state transportation officials palace detailed concerns about the guardrail. here's an email from the georgia d.o.t. and they said, we have some issues with performance. >> reporter: in this email, the rhode island d.o.t. describes,

quote, quality concerns. and this one from arizona mentions constructability challenges. but steve says the most troublin discovery he's made isn't in all ose the papers on his kitchen table, it's out here on the roads. >> they've increased it by about 50%. >> reporr: he believes the x-lite guard rails that line our highways today are nothe same products that passed crash test during development. >> what we have is the head was thicker. we have this part here is not as wide. these are longer and more . narrow this bolt has been three different sizes. >> reporter: so how did steve discover the differences? he simply compared his measurements to specifications provided by the manufacturer in this crash testreport. he says he's found dozens of changes. >> they were havingfo perance issues and installation issues and multiple issues all the way and so we basically have changed virtually every part on

this system. >> reporter: kind of on the fly, as -- >> on the fly. we were just, let's t is, let's try that, let's try this, maybe we can make it a little better. makerorter: we asked the of the x-lite, lindsay transportation solutions about the changes and whether they have run new crash tests. they didn't answer q ourstions and decline an on-camera interview citing steve's wrongful death lawsuit, but did send us a statement saying, the federal highway administration has examined and re-examinedhe x-lite and its in-service performance and has gathered input from state departments of transportation across the untry. in federal highway's evaluations, the x-lite has performe other end terminals on u.s. roads and highways. but even the federal highway administration acknowledges it has limited information about how specific types of guardrails actually perform in crashes. they depend on states for t ot type data, and up until just a few years ago, most weren't

even collecting it. the only hard numbers federal highway has to go on is from a llot program it launched in 2015, whichked at about 500 crash es involving several different types of guardrails. back at the eimer's home, steve tells us, he will continue to fight until every state removes the x-lite that are on the >> my goal is a national replay of the guardrail terminal. i don't have to fix all the world's problems, but for some reason, i have been, i feel like this is my responsibility, to see it through. >> reporter: melissa says she'll continue to support her husband's mission and she thinkg their daer, hanna, would be so proud. >> i would like to think that she's pleased and very proud of her dad. >> steve's going to keep pushing states to remove these guarails, because the decision is ultimately areirs. s changes to the x-lite,

the manufacturer was allowed to make modifications prior to 2015, but ain, since the company is not commenting on the changes that steve has found, we n't know exactly when they were made or why. back to you. >> thank you, susan. when we come back, the effort to make your commute a little coolert two busy metro stations hits a snag. plus, a new chapter for the catholic church. washington's new archbishop sits down with dorene gentzler for his first local television interview and will talk about his mission to resofre the faith ocal catholics. ♪ ♪ protect your pet with the #1 name

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a major investment is going towards improving reagan national airport. this week, u.s. secretary elaine chao announeed arly $5 million will be used for improvements to dca. the multi-million-dollar grant is from the federal aviation administration. this money is gng to also be used to reconstruct an aircraft

apron. some bad news, though, if you're hoping for some cool air in a couple of very busy, verye hot mro stations. news 4 has lrned there's new delay for a permanent fix to the dupont circle and the farragut north station's cooling stations along the red line. metro tells us while they were trying to fix the pipeshat control the cool air, crews hit a lamppost in the past, so metro now has permission from d.o mo that lamppost and hope to restore the which ould air to t station sometime next month. but in the meantime, as news 4 has found out, temperatures inside those stations can stay routinely in the 90s.we wheome back after a break, an unlikely path to the priesthood. only on news 4, dorene gentzler's conversation with washington's new archbishop as he talks about his personal lifs as well as racm and the sex scandals that have shaken the

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a new c pter for the catholic church as it tries to heal from recent scandals. archbishop willden gregory has been at the hem for a month and has been vigilant different schos and parishes across the archdiocesein of washon. this week, in his first local television interview, he talked with dorene gentzler about his plan to mend some deep-seeated wounds and rebuild trust among catholics. n >> reporter: outside johe t church in silver spring, everyone wants to meet the new archbishop of washington, wilton d. gregory. th i face-to-face connectio a priority to him. >> listen to the people, understand them, find out what's on their hearts and try to respond as generously and asly lovings you can. so that's what i'm doing.ep >> rter: one by one, they line up to share a hug or a handshake and to pose for pictures as he listens to their

stories. >> okay! i'll pray for it!has. epr:snim o t iso t turmoil f catholic church here. pashioners and priestsave told him how they're feeling. >> they want me to know howde ly embarrassed, scandalized, and ashamed this past year has been for them a they want me to know that that pain is real, sb but so is the depth of their faith. >> reporter: that pain stems from high-profil sex abuse scandals involving gregory's two predecessors, first the defrocking of now ex-cdinal mccarrick after the vatican found him guilty of sexually abusing children and adults. and then t resignation of cardinal donald wuerl, a of not doing enough to punish predator priests when he served s b ipsbhongh. >> every bishop has to be a spokesperson for the church and now that's what i have to do. i have to do it in a

particularly sensitive arena, because this is the nation's capital. and so much attention is put on the events that take place here. >> reporter: people inside and outside of the church are looking for his leadership. gregory arrives as the very first african-american archbishop he at a time of growing racial tension nationwide. >> i hope i can provide the kind of example that shows people that i can shepherd the entire church. i was notne assigd just for the african-americans. racism is like a cancer. it can metastasiz can go dormant, but all it needs is a catalyst to allow it to erupt again. so it's an ongoing struggle. and i think it w l be an ongoing struggle. >> reporter: at 71, archbishop gregory is well respected in the catholic community, but his path to the priesthood was unusual.t he was raised in the catholic church. growing up on chicago's south

side, gregory's mother and granother enrolled him inic catholschool. they were hoping he would get a er education, but he quickly formed a special bond with the priest and nuns there and chose to join t church. >> i was mesmerized by these people. i had no personal firsthandf knowledge o catholicism, but they promoted and projected such a wonderful i image thatas enamored by them. and after about six weeks, seven weeks, two months in the catholic school, i decided i was going to be a >> you're hold ow old? >> 11. >> but parents know that kids go through all kinds of vocational decisions. on monday he's going to be a fireman, on tuesday he's going to be a dentist, on wednesday he's going to be a rocket scientist and on and on. >> reporter: 11-year-old wilson gregory never wavered. he became a priest at the age of 25 and later a bishop. he's been the archbishop of

atlanta for 14years. >> reporter: he says his place now is here in the pews with his people, presidingver mass at parishes across the archdiocese of washington and on this occasion baptizing a baby. and when he's not at church, he's walking among us in the ci. u might find him shopping in the aisles of your local grocery store or maybe playing a round of golf. i'm a horrible golfer. absolutely horrible, but i love the game. and when i go home, i like to put on casual clothes, now that it's nice, warm, washington summer weather, i like to put on shorts and flip-flops and i like to cook. >> what do you cook? >> i livedor four years in italy, doing my doctoral studies, loved italian food. the italians know how to do it. >> will we see you out and about in the community in your shorts and flip-flops and relaxing? >> you already ha. >> i haven't. >> well, some have!

>> okay. >> some have. to be a human being, to be someone whooes to safeway and buys bananas, who goes into coffee, it'sd has a a humanizing experience for me and that i hope it lets people know that, first o all, i'm very much at home, i very much have enjoyed this first month in washington, and i look forward to many, many more years of service. >> reporter: as for what the archbishop hopes his l acy will be here in washington. >> i hope that when pope franci says washington has had enough, i hope that i can leave a legacf healing and bringing the people together in a mor loving and peaceful relationship. the archdiocese of washington is home to more than 650,000 catholics. leading it is a powerful

potion and it's one that could put archbishop gregory in line to one day be the country's first african-american cardinal whewe come back, preparing for the fourth of july. a look at the road closures and the different events planned down on the mall this year. you try hard, you eat right... mostly. you make time... when you can. but sometimes life gets in t way, and that stubborn fat just won't go away. coolsculpting takes you further.

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as> your favorite restaurant in the district ht ditched the plastic straws yet they could be fined up to $800. switching eriod for to paper or more environmentally friendly straws is now ending. d.c.'s department ofnergy and environment will start issuing fines on july 1st and those fines could be as much as $200 per straw. however, restaurants are required to keep a few plastic straws on hand for customers with disabilities.e if you haven around the district during the fourth of july in the past, you know it's best to keep the car at home. and here's why. take a look at all the road closures planned for the hoday. police will begin closing things

off at 4:00 a.m. the morning of july 4th'r. if y heading to the mall to view the fireworks, public access points will open up at 10:00 a.m. for you. and reminder, there will be additional events happening on the national mall this year. the national indepdence day parade on constitution avenue will step off just before noon. in te to america, the eve which president trump is set to speak, that starts at 6:30. the gates for that will open up at 3:30. and the annual capital 4th concert starts from the weste lawn of capital at 8:00 p.m. and the fireworks show, that starts at 9:07 p.m. sharp.s that' all for news 4 this week. i'm leon arre harris, thanks fo. have a great week and hope to see you after the great hoda ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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. >> anner: "news4 today" starts now. planes gut this million dollar home in virginia. we have the latest from firefighterswho spent hours got getting the flames under control overnight. >> on his way to south korea president trump says he would cross the demilitarized zone to shake kim jong-un's hand.s more from wide ranging overnight press conference. festival g a d.c. short this year but there is still plenty to enjoy at the folk life festival when it opens on the national