adam tuss on top of it all for quite some time. >> reporter: day after day, it seems like we are dealing with some sort of challenge with metro and take a look at a picture we are getting in from the red line tonight at the crowded condition there is because of a disabled train and with all of this going on people are starting to ask the question can the federal government step in and force a change with metro's leadership? make no mistake about it, this is the first time this type of detailed damning report has come metro. can the government step in? >> with dough not operate on -- a transit system and we are going to have to work with lamotta to identify what their priorities are and how it will be carried out. >> reporter: aside from threats of withholding funds, the federal transit administration can't shake up metro. today, however, their report pull nod punches a 116-page document that describes in detail safety flaws at the transit agency. for instance, metro's central chrome center that tracks the movement of trains is described as distracting, disruptive environment oftentimes w

adam tuss talked to a guy who got an $11,000 bill for $30 in missed tolls. his story is coming up at 5:00. >> that doesn't seem right. >>> a message from the mob boss. >> three girls write to a gangster in jail and he writes back. the one piece of advice he gave them. >>> we have been hearing a lot about shark attacks lately, but a different creature has folks on edge in texas. a 13-year-old boy wasplaying along the banks of lake charlotte over the weekend when a gi tor latched on to his arm. the boy's family all jumped in to help and manage edd to pry the boy's arm out of the jaws but not before the gator bit the boy's father in the leg. wildlife officials say the rains have gators lurking in place thas usually are not seen. >> we have a lot of back waters. especially with the recent flooding we have seen, there's gators in areas you might not find them. >> both the dad and son are out of surgery and are going to be okay. >> that's good news. >>> just weeks before his appeal, former boston crime boss is publicly expressing remorse. >> his words of regret co

you first saw this when transportation reporter adam tuss broke the news in our nbc washington app. metro's train control center described as a chaotic distracted atmosphere. >> there is no sugarcoating this report. it is critical and damning of the metro system, basically saying that metro suspect doing what it needs to be doing when it comes to safety. here at l'enfant plaza, we had the deadly smoke and those things are addressed in this report, talking about the need to clean parts, maintenance things respect being main taped the way they should be in the metro system. this report also talks about metro's operations center basically what would be metro's tower control and saying that it is a distracting atmosphere in there that some employees are on cell phones. not a good picture. the fta painted it today. organizational shortcomings and operational concerns continue to limit the effective inspects recognizing and resolving safety issues. >> coming up on news4 at 5:00 much more from what the federal transit administration is saying and what is metro's response to all of this? ba

adam tuss, get it ready. on at my house. >> good. >>> all right thank you, chuck. well right now, an urgent public health warning on the growing warning of synthetic marijuana. news4's darcy spencer spoke with a teenager who said he lost his brother to the drug. >> it's like marijuana times ten. like it's crazy. >> reporter: stefan james eichler talks about the reaction he had when he smoked synthetic marijuana. >> i passed out in my room and i woke up and i was drenched in a whole bunch of sweat. >> >> reporter: he spoked it called scooby snacks or bizarre row and he ended up addicted. eichler quit using the synthetic drug because of what happened to his 22-year-old brother, charlie. he took his own life after abusing k-2. >> the first couple of times, okay, this is all right. i can do this. but then before you know it it's too late. >> reporter: in d.c. a spike in synthetic marijuana overdoses caused the mayor to issue a health warning. dozens of people had been taken to the hospital after overdosing in rec

jim, back to you. >> adam tuss. adam thank you. >>> prince george's county executive baker says it is too soon to have a real opinion on today's purple line announcement. he wants to see the financial numbers from the governor's office before commenting. but montgomery county executive leggett did offer his thoughts. >> i think this is great news. i want to thank the governor for his leadership in recognizing the tremendous needs that we have throughout the washington region for additional transit the purple line is huge huge plus for montgomery county and prince george's county. >> there are some clear winners and losers with the continuation of the purple line project. we have listed who has the most to gain who has the most to lose on the nbc washington app. just search purple line. >>> and police still want to hear from any witnesses who may have seep this morning's deadly accident at a construction site along i-95. a tractor trailer barrelled into a work zone near the intercounty connector in beltsville that tra

in the district, adam tuss, news4. >>> just a few minutes a fairfax county community will hear abouts to shrink a major commuter road to make room for bike plain lanes much the travel rains on franconia between craft and south van doren street are larger than average. v dot has plans to repave the highway making an opportune time to add the bike lanes much the change will be under discussion starting at 7:00 tonight on edison high school on franconia road. >>> doug is here with more about our weather and we are going to have to wait for relief. >> yeah. a day. a day. but tomorrow, i think even hotter than today. >> ask you something. >> all right. search this >> is this the atmosphere you guys call juicy? le i-- i always liked that word. >> yes. an atmosphere for storms. tomorrow will be juicier. gets the weather guys excited. juicier day. show you what's happening. do have storms. some on the strong side for sure. they are all out of the d.c. metro area the most part, still some showers toward the portions of prince george's inside the beltway beltway. these are really strong storms

. >> reporter: i'm adam tuss live at the vienna metro station. ic? metro says want you to forget about the paper. >>> some close and dangerous encounters withis up with the weather? >>> who is ready for the 90s? moving in fast today. but thee could feel like 100. >>> the excitement is building at zoo for the possibility of another new baby. vets gave the panda two rounds of artificial insemination in april. they plan to give her several ultrasounds over the next few moments to see if they can spot a fetus. mei xiang is the proud mother of bao bao and ti shang. >>> animal control officers managed to capture and kill a rabid raccoon that viciously bit a man as he was gardening in the kings park area but looking for a second animal that was last seen running into south run park in springfield. that's where news4's derrick ward is live now. and derek a raccoon attacked a 75-year-old woman today. >> reporter: you can take a look and see behind me the trail is closed because of the attack that occurred this morning. take a look, about 9:30 when a 75-year-o

doreen back to you. >> adam tuss reporting. thanks, adam. >>> police identified the person killed in a crash in prince george's this morning. investigators say marvin duckett was driving on old alexandria ferry road in clinton when his car left the road and slammed into a pole. duckett died at the scene. police are trying to figure out what caused this crash. >>> there's been an uptick in burglaries on one of the busiest streets in d.c. we are talking about the 16th street heights neighborhood. in the most recent incident, thieves rap sacked the house on 16th near upshire and jackie bensen found out neighbors are banding together to do something about it. >> reporter: imagine coming home to find every single room in your house looking like this. that's the experience tracy hart went through monday after someone broke into her 16th street heights home by climbing over a locked security gate and bashing in the bottom of a deadbolted door to get inside. >> come in through an unlocked door, unlocked garage, unlocked window. they ma

news4's transportation reporter adam tuss live to show us july how this project is going to add to the many challenges that are adding up. adam? >> reporter: that's right wendy. plenty of challenges and the message if you're going to be coming through here, pay attention much the construction about to take shape right above your head. right now, but what this will look like. right now, but what this will look like. and now things are going about to get very interesting. >> steel will span the roadway both in north and southbound directions. >> reporter: on top of that steel, the new buildings going to go up. think of it yesterday a new neighborhood lit really being built in thin air, take a year to cover the open-air section of the tunnel. the commuters below have to keep moving with lanes shifting and that's presenting a challenge when it comes to congestion. >> going to get worse. >> adding time to your commute? >> making worse, just like now, all this construction is too much. >> reporter: still some say all of this will lead to something much better. >> they trying to leave washing

northwest adam tuss, news4. >>> a bullet pierces an apartment building in virginia and kills a man who was sleeping in bed. why some say the police didn't do enough to investigate when the first calls to 911 came in. >>> severe storm damage, washed out a local cemetery. headstones were found several feet away. >>> and one of the biggest names in music takes on apple, >>> first at 6:30 tonight an announcement from maryland's governor, larry hogan who says he is now fighting a very advantage advanced and very, aggressive form of cancer. he promised to fight it and to stay on the job during difficult treatments ahead. our derrick ward is outside the governor's mansion in annapolis is more on this now. >> reporter: jim, you know when the word came out the governor would be making an announcement, a personal announcement, it set up a lot of speculation about what that was and about two hours ago all of that speculation was put to rest. and of course, the kind of news that no one wants to hear but there is some encouragement in the governor's attitude how he explained this and how he explain

adam tuss, news 4. >>> a man accused of killing a couple is held right now without bond. he confessed when he was arrested on a cruise in alaska according to court documents. we'll have other details that reveal more about this double murder coming up at the top of the hour. >>> the facebook rantds should not land you in prison according to today's ruling from the supreme court. the justices ordered a new trial for a man posting threatening messages to his ex. brian mooar looks at how the justices came to the ruling. >> reporter: the supreme court is throwing out the conviction of a pennsylvania man posting threatening messages on social media saying he should be judged by the intent and the perception of his words. anthony was sentenced to 44 months for graphic facebook posts aimed at his estranged wife and a fbi agent and suggested he might be considering a school shooting. when he was arrested back in 2010 he said the statements weren't threats but rap lyrics emulating eminem. a jury asked to consider whether a reasonable person consider them threats. the chief justice

transportation reporter adam tuss joins us from the mall to explain. hi adam. >> hey, doreen. public transit agencies here and in new york are saying there's no specific threat against them. but privately there is certainly an increased awareness about the fourth. no matter how you slice it hundreds of thousands of people are coming down here and it's going to get busy. >> getting ready for the fourth and it's making some people giddy. >> i'll be like a child. >> of course, finding just the right spot to watch a must. >> we have this one particular place i'm not telling you because i don't want everyone to come. >> you've got a secret. >> this is no secret. it's going to get crowded. of course, once you get down here to the national mall, this is the spot. right here where the fireworks will be going off. lighting up the night sky. metro bracing for it all. >> historically on a saturday, we tend to have more people who go out to the fourth of july fireworks. our ridership is up. >> the transit agency gearing up for 600,000 to 700,000 riders. >> we'll have service ramping up ar

. >>> i'm adam tuss at the memorial bridge. coming up we'll climb underneath the bridge and take aing loo at big problems. you are not going the like what you see. >>> and we'll report about a difficult fight against brain cancer as condolences pour in for beau biden. >>> i'm still tracking things out there on the radar right now. i'm continuing to track it. d.c. downtown has seen two rounds. get ready. round three moving in. >>> i'm chris lawrence at the live december westbrook a developing story. we have just learned that the washington monument closed for a good chunk of the week. the national park service telling us the earliest it could reopen will be thursday. technicians have to get in there to repair what's being called a mechanical alignment issue. the elevator had problems over the past week. it's gone off, started up gone off, started up. and that's apparently caused the alignment issue with the elevator. the tourists a lot of folks to see it from the top, they buy their tickets for specific times months in advance.

metro is making repairs and upgrades but that means you can expect more transportation reporter adam tuss joins us now. he has got more on metro's mr. to make the system safer. adam? >> reporter: that's right jim after all the problems with metro recently all riders really want to know is when's it gonna get better? in order for metro to upgrade and get safer, it's going to take more time to make the fixes. do you think it's going to get tougher? >> i think there's going to be some single-tracking during the middle of the day that will provide some inconvenience and longer trips that make the system safer. >> reporter: more single tracking during the middle of the day on top of what's already out there at nights and on weekends. the union that represents most of metro's front line workers says -- >> passengers obviously don't want there to be single-tracking, don't want there to be their unusual delays on the system but these are necessary repairs that have to take place. >> reporter: not to get too technical but here are some of the things that need to be group graded now, power cable an

doreen back to you. >> adam tuss at tysons corner thank you. >>> a violent attack on metro. why the person responsible suspect facing any charges. >>> the manhunt intense fizz after a bold prison break. they used power tools and even taunted police. now, a new clue about their possible whereabouts. >>> the outpouring of support for a local teacher who is in a coma after a serious car crash. tonight how her husband is using the power of song to try to help her heal. >>> we have got a couple severe thunderstorm warnings back to the west, including fauquier county. look at this line of very strong storms continuing to develop and intensify. i'm tracking a you will of it, got a tornado watch until 8:00. look at some of the video we have taken tonight, lightning and very heavy rain coming through, some of this around judiciary square, notice the wind swim. i have got i (music) hey! let me help with that. oh, thank you! (music) introducing the one-and-only volkswagen golf sportwagen. the sportier utility vehicle. >>> all right. let's take a look. you are looking at live pictures o

metro has said the 4000 series would return this week but news4's adam tuss found out that those cars will not be running today. metro doesn't have a time line for when the cars will return. >>> right now, texas is bracing for more heavy rain as tropical storm bill pushes closer to the coast there. the conditions they're seeing right now and the impact the storm will have on the water logged state. >>> first though a critical match for the u.s. women as they look to advance in world cup soccer. we'll show you the place to be for tonight's game. >>> breaking news on the roads after a deadly accident in montgomery county this morning leaves a young child dead. what we're learning about the crash and what you need to know >>> an accident in gaithersburg has sam eig highway between diamondback drive and fields road closed. the alternate is route 28. the ramp from great seneca highway to sam eig is also closed due to this accident. elsewhere 270 in montgomery village boulevard, traveling smoothly there. 66 at route 123, volume is building but no reports of incidents. a look at travel times

adam tuss talked to one guy who paid thousands to settle a $30 bill. he's live in marryfield with that story. >> reporter: this is a story about what is right and fair. a lot of drivers say what happened along the express lanes is just plain wrong. miss a toll and you should have to make it up. >> if you miss these eight tolls. >> reporter: what's happening here isn't adding up. >> with the penalty you owe us $900. >> reporter: meet driver kevin. >> i have heard so many stories of hard working people that made an honest mistake and they are being taken through the ringer. >> reporter: he cancelled a credit card tied to his e-zpass account and as his wife continued to use the road shs the fees started piling up. they piled up big. >> $900. we missed $29.45 worth of tolls. >> reporter: that was the first notification. refused to pay the $900 so a collection agency got involved hitting him with a penalty of $11,000. >> $11,000 for $30 worth of tolls, i was flabbergasted. >> reporter: he had to settle with the operator of the lanes for $2,200. >> are you t

we should mention too that we know the hearings will last about two days and adam tuss will be at the hearings. he'll be tweeting updates for you. you can follow him on twitter. >>> today we can see a final vote on a bill that will require paid sick leave your in montgomery county. the earned sick and safe leave bill allows employees to have six paid sick days every year. they can have days to handle counseling also. if passed it would affect 100,000 people in the county. >>> a group of native americans challenged the redskins trademark last year and dan schneider sued the group. the native americans want the judge to dismiss that lawsuit. their appeal starts today. but we won't find out a decision until later this week. >>> today on capitol hill senators holding a hearing looking into the major takata air bag recall. they recalled the air bags because they can explode. cnbc's landon dowdy with our report. >> good morning to you. the senate commerce committee is holding a hearing on the massive global recall of takata air bags. those have been linked to at least eight deaths and 100 i

our transportation reporter adam tuss is in annapolis. adam, you were in the room when governor larry hogan announced this news. what's your take away? >> reporter: this is huge news for montgomery and prince george's counties. the state says it has found a way to slim down the cost of the project, but that requires that montgomery and prince george's counties both kick in more money for the project. now, remember this is not a metro line but a streetcar-type system that would run from bethesda along the capital kress cement trail, through downtown silver spring, over to college park and it would end in new carrollton. hogan said today the way the state slimmed down the cost was basically by increasing wait times in between trains by a minute and a half. that saves on operational costs. again, the announcement coming just a short time ago. the >> the purple line is a long-term investment that will be an important economic driver for maryland. it will be built in part of our state that -- in a part of our state that has demonstrated strong

. >>> i'm adam tuss at the gallery place, metro station with news that metro riders are not going to like. the transit agency says it has to go in and make some fixes to about 80% of its system. and that's going to lead to more delays for already frustrated riders. it means more single tracking. why is all this happening? the ntsb made recommendations to metro to fix things like the power cables throughout the system, to put on protective sleeves that will prevent issues from popping up. on news4 at 5 and 6, we will talk to metro about it plus hear about the possibility of week-long single-tracking, even through rush hours. at gallery place, i'm adam tuss. >>> well today is the hottest day of the year so far and it has not been an easy one for the men and women who have to work outside. temperatures have been soaring into the mid-90s and this heat wave just getting started, huh, doug? >> that's right, guys. definitely feels like the hottest day of the year so far. so far, we have hit 92 if he airport. that a few times around the summer so far, but out toward dulles, 90 the first time

coming up transportation reporter adam tuss takes a look at achanges being considered to improve train safety. >>> and a usual battle brewing in frederick and the church of scientology is at the center of it. news4 is live as the dispute comes to a head. >>> and we're just months away from the pope's visit to d.c. we'll give you a sneak peek at the altar he'll use to ce let's say this is your tv. and these are the channels you pay for with cable. maybe you're getting tons of science and animals when you're really into movies. or every children's show on the planet, when you don't have any kids. well now with fios there's a new way to customize your tv just pick the types of channels you like best. like sports. or entertainment or news mix and match, or get them all. you build your tv package, and pay for what you want, and not for what you don't. now fios brings you a totally new way to customize your tv. starting at $74.99 per month with no annual contract. get custom tv, including internet and phone. price guaranteed for two years. or from now until june 8th get a $400 visa prepaid c

. >> adam tuss. >>> d.c. police now say a man run over and killed by that street sweeper was crossing the street. this happened on monday at 40th street and klain place in northeast d.c. the street sweeper was backing up when it struck the 73-year-old man. that victim was a father of six and he died at the hospital. we just talked to his family. we are going to have a full report on that coming up in just a few minutes. >>> just learned the name of a little boy killed in a fiery wreck here in montgomery county. police tell us 5-year-old daniel dana died inside this burning car in gaithersburg. officers came across the scene along route 370 yesterday where the child's mother told them someone was still inside the vehicle. the mother is still in the hospital in serious condition right now. >>> two young brothers in custody after a deadly stabbing that happened outside a fast food restaurant in fredericksburg. police tell us a 17-year-old boy turned himself in just a day after officers took his little brother in

jim, back to you. >> adam tuss. adam adam, thank you. >>> we're learning now what really happened when the elevator malfunctioned at the washington monument on sunday. the national park service now tells us 63 people were in the observation deck and one of them had to be carried down. crews are working around the clock now hoping to get the problem fixed by this thursday. our shomari stone reports from national mall. >> reporter: moments ago, the national park service admitted that officials gave wrong information yesterday. right now, the washington monument remains closed. the national park service now says 63 people were at the top observation level when the 500-foot elevator lost power sunday night around 9:30. the park staff walked 62 people down the stairs. it took them around 45 minutes to get all the way down to the ground level. one person needed an evacuation stair chair. now keep in mind, yesterday the national park service said one visitor at the observation level was escorted to the ground level. so we

i'm adam tuss to tell you all about it. coming up. >>> right now, i'm tracking isolated strong thunderstorms. how long our threat and what about the fourth of july weekend? your forecast coming up why are we watching this again? i pay for all these channels, so i make myself watch them all. joey, i'll watch anything except this. except this. go back, go back, go back, go back, go back, go back. not the ones you don't. 100% fiber optics is here. get out of the past. get fios. now for $79.99 a month. go online or call. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 800.974.6006 tty/v it's one of the biggest ee vepts in washington and one of the most beautiful. >> and one of the more sweaty events if you are going to be rubbing elbows with a lot more people if you head to the national mall for the fourth of july fireworks and the festivities this weekend. our reporter adam tuss is on the mall this evening with what to expect on saturday. adam? >> uh-oh. >> there he goes. mopping his brow. >> reporter: listen you sa

welcome to "news4 today" on this sunday, i'm adam tuss. >> i'm angie goff. chuck, we're still dealing with some problems out there. >> oh, man it will take a little while to get all the creeks and streams back into their banks and get everything dried out a bit. crazy record breaking amounts of rainfall yesterday. two to three inches or more was common in many areas. still some flood advisories coastal flood advisory along the tidal, potomac and washington area. flooding in the pools area in montgomery area, northern frederick and northwestern carroll county. and along the tidal -- along the chesapeake bay as well. as far as rainfall, the last of the drops now on the lower parts of the eastern shore, they're moving away from us. so again we're dry now -- well, dry, nothing coming out of the sky. everything is saturated from yesterday's rain. temperatures are in the cool 60s this morning. increasing amounts of sunshine and then an increasing westerly breeze. highs today upper 70s to near 80. how long can this nice weather last? we'll find out coming up. >>> w

adam tuss warned us in metro that metro was crack down on bus fare evaders. if they see a lot of people boarding and not many fares being paid they will arrest the evaders. >>> we're getting new surveillance pictures and learn mortgage tonight about the sexual assault of a 6-year-old girl in a drug store. employees tell us it happened inside a cvs offer riverdale road in prince george's county. shomari stone is there now with the pictures police want you to see. shomari? >> reporter: doreen, this is the type of thing that parents worry about sometimes when they go into stores and they have their kids by them and they want their kids to stand right by them. sometimes the kids may go on to another aisle. prince george's county police want you help finding a man they say touched a young girl inappropriately in one of the aisles. take a close look at the man. he is dressed in a black t-shirt. tonight prince george's county police put out this alert telling us he is wanted for sexual assaulting the 6-year-old. police say it happened in the store on the 5700 block

i'm adam tuss in for aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this friday. it is june 19, 2015. let's look at storm team 4 radar right now. we're keeping a close eye on the weather for you this morning as the rain continues to come down in some spots. >> it comes as people clean up after last night's storms. megan mcgrath is working on that, but first, let's go straight to tom and what we can expect today. >> those storms overnight have dissipated a lot and right now a few scattered sprinkles north and west of the metro area. no more thunder and lightning. this is continuing to really dissipate. but we are still getting a few sprinkles in the shenandoah valley and in parts of loudoun county, western fairfax and montgomery. many of the roads are still wet from the overnight showers. because that is still very humid, mid to upper 70s right around the bay. inland away from the waters west, across the rest of southern maryland, virginia and maryland, in the upper 60s to near 70. reagan national now at 73. there's the washington skyline this morning. all quiet. t

i'm adam tuss. >> i'm molette green in for angie goff. it's sunday, june 7th. go to storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell with your forecast. it's going to be a good one, right? >> you betcha. yesterday finished up beautifully out there. skies remain fairly clear overnight. we're off to a bright and sunny start here this morning. to what promises to be a very pleasant day to be outside today. temperatures just about average by june standards. there's the view from our

following news 4 adam tuss on twitter to learn what's said at the hearing today. >>> in the day ahead president obama will award the medal of honor to a black world war i veteran. henry johnson served in all black regiment known as the harlem fighters. he's being honored for rescuing his comrades in france in 1918. the u.s. awarded him the purple heart in 2006 and in 2003 the u.s. army awarded him the distinguished cross. >>> the washington monument is still closed today. engineers are working on the elevators. >>> one of takata's vice president is in washington right now. >>> a cruise ship capsized off the coast of china. only 14 of the over 400 passengers have been rescued. >>> the man leading the tsa is no longer in charge. that's after recent tests that screeners were not able to detect weapons at checkpoints. they failed 95% of the tests. >>> most of the sprinkles the area, shenandoah valley panhandle of west virginia, there's the sky over washington right now. low grade clouds throughout most of the day. holding steady in the 60s, near 70 degrees. pretty good chance you'll have

. >> here in the news room, along adam tuss. beore we get away for the weekend, we know next week is going to be a big week for next week. what's happening. >> next week we'll get an update on the episode back in january where one person died after all that smoke filled a tunnel and a trapped train. the ntsb is expected to provide an update on why it happened. we know a lot of the details surrounding the episode but we don't know why the smoke started in the tunnel. next week we are most likely going to learn that. tuesday and wednesday we'll be covering it. >> people want to know if this affects their commute. does this mean to prepare for something in addition to their regular routine? >> what will come out of this is recommendations. we're starting to see on metro they're reacting to what the ntsb is saying. what metro is doing is taking steps to go in and fix things that. that's leading to more delays. we're at a critical point where they need to get in and do the work but it comes at the expense of riders and waiting longer

. >> i'm adam tuss.huck bell said we're about to dry out after the record rainfall. >> yeah. >> what's the latest, chuck? >> the heaviest rains are gone. there are some lingering rain showers to be dealt with this morning and flash flood warnings that remain active as well. alexandria section, that flash flood warning until 10:30 this morning. the one in southern frederick county until 7:30 and a coastal flood advisory for anne arundel that touched the bay. so just sort of keep that in mind. rains were really heavy overnight last night. on average one to as much as three inches of rain in many neighborhoods. we can get our computer to go ahead and move forward here. why isn't my computer going forward? this will drive you crazy on a sunday morning. one to three inches of rain overnight. bowie to chesapeake beach down into parts of southern maryland this is coming to an end. no more than an isolated shower or thunderstorm coming our way this afternoon. temperatures in the mid to upper 70s. temperatures ne

news4 transportation reporter adam tuss talked to some passengers who aren't sold on the change. >> they are trying to get rid of these, say they will get rid of these by next year, go all to plastic. >> right, but have they announced that to the customers? >> 'cause i'm gonna lose it. >> they are developing. >> announcer: to let you pay with your smartphone. >>> police take a new approach to track down two convicted killers. >>> the situation ended up being a matter of life -- >> montgomery county school superintendent honors michelle mack for going above and beyond the call of duty by saving student's life. the story ahead. >>> we are talking humidity today and tomorrow, or rather tomorrow. a little bit on the sticky side. get into friday and the weekend, uncomfortable if not (music) hey! let me help with that. oh, thank you! (music) introducing the one-and-only volkswagen golf sportwagen. the sportier utility vehicle. >>> there are new developments tonight in the search for two escaped prisoners. the search is expanding from northern new york state into vermont. police are now going d

adam tuss is in merryfield where the company z has advice for drivers tonight. >> the best advice is to check the mail. one driver says he was fined $11,000 for just $30 in missed tolls. the operator says before any big fine like that, you'll get a warning in the mail. you should know about this. >> you're going to get a letter in the mail. you really want to look out for these notifications. >> reporter: drivers say they are getting hit with huge penalties after simple mistakes like a low balance on their e-zpass account. watch out for their notice and take action immediately. >> if they correct the issue and put funds back on their account, they make sure to travel with a properly mounted e-zpass we're going to wipe the fees away. >> reporter: one driver who would like to have the fees wiped away is kevin sanfield. >> they are just being taken through the ringer. >> he cancelled a credit card tied to his account and as his wife continued to use the road unknowingly the fees started piling up and they piled up big. >> $900. we missed $29 worth of tolls. >> reporter: that was the fir

as well as adam tuss.e want to check in with chuck bell because a lot of people will be grilling out today and they need to keep the water handy. >> drink your water. take your shade breaks as well. the one thing we have going in our favor there's a lovely breeze out here. winds out of the west, and that will help quite a bit. some views from around the area after a dark and stormy night. sunshine out there. there's the view looking westbound towards tyson's corner. almost 100% blue sky. prince george's county, looking over the potomac, sunshine across fornorthern virginia. a little flash flood warning in fairfax county. that's until 10:30. if you live in the alexandria area be on the lookout for the water. and later on this afternoon, highs up close to 95 degrees. only an outside chance of a thunderstorm today. we'll talk about the timing on those and whether or not they have any chances of becoming severe. coming up in a few more minutes. >> thanks, chuck. >>> well, this morning fredericksburg police are

news4 transportation reporter, adam tuss is live from the gallery play station with what's behind this action. adam? >> reporter: that's right, pat. frustrated metro riders are not going to like the news today. new safety changes are needed across the system and yes that will mean more delays. ongoing repairs. >> looks older and looks like it can use some updating. might be nice to have that. >> reporter: a longer wait for the train. >> i feel like for the money being put into the railroad system, it should be a better outcome. >> reporter: unfortunately, metro and single-tracking go happened in happened in a lot of case and riders should get ready for more. new sweeping safety changes have to be made across 80% of the system. basically, power cables need new protective sleeves that prevent water from mixing with the high-voltable lines. metro telling riders single-tracking will have to come back midday something the transit agency hasn't had to do in a while. we appreciate their patientce as we take the necessary action in the interest of safety. >> reporter: the acting manager taking

at the vienna station adam tuss tuss, news4. >>> i'm darcy spencer at the loudoun county courthouse in leesburg, where prosecutors today are outlining their case against murder suspect min knew when, charged with shooting and killing his ex-wife's new husband. and what we found out today there is an argument that led up to this shooting. prosecutors say new when did not want the victim, he is ex-wife's new husband corey madison to be around his children alone. >>> not a bad day across our region plenty of sunshine, however dealing with that smoke from canada those wildfires in canada giving us that smoke, a little bit of a haze out there, take a look at the satellite picture, you notice mostly clear skies no chance of rain today. jet stream to the north, what does that mean for us? temperatures back into the 90s, heat index, close 100, especially the day on friday, see a couple of chances for showers and few thunderstorms too, i will break down the best chance to see the storms, show you when they move in and how those could affect your weekend. all that in my forecast in a few minutes

our coverage on all this begins with adam tuss who is in annapolis now. >> reporter: what happened here today is going to be remembered for a long time just because the governor is dedicating so much money to these projects. 270, specifically targeted to congestion relief between the 270 splitd and 370. we can see vehicles using the shoulder lanes there. on route 1, the corridor at the university of maryland where so many pedestrians have been hit trying to cross the road. a new change to the greenbelt, a way to support the development like the phones fbi headquarters there lots of money being set aside for roads. >> i have made it very clear that building, maintaining and fixing maryland's roads and brims is our top transportation transportation priority. >> reporter: as far as the planned purple line is concerned, the governor says he plans to move forward with it says the state will be paying less and montgomery county and prince george's county will have to kick in more to be built. the purple line is a light rail streetcar-type system that will connect bethesda and new carrollton.

news 4's transportation reporter adam tuss has a look at what's being done to fix it. >> reporter: from the surface, the memorial bridge is indeed a thing of beauty. but step inside and you can see what's really going on. >> the level of kroegs at the base here. >> reporter: corroded steel all over the place. steps that are unsafe marked with orange. some steel about three quarters of an inch thick paper thin and see through and then the dust and debris. >> so much dust flying around in here. there's lead paint. stuff you don't want to breathe in and we have to wear the mask because we're not sure everything flying around in here. >> reporter: all of this happening just below the surface. >> it was a drawbridge and there's a counterwigt an enthe whole thing pivots on basically two big axles. okay? we don't know the structural integrity of the two big axles sitting there for almost 100 years rusting. >> reporter: jonathan jarvis is head of the national park service. is the bridge safe? >> the bridge is safe. absolutely the bridge is safe. by what we have done to it which is move traffic

news4 transportation reporter, adam tuss, has information on where the retimed signals are really making a difference. >> reporter: one of the most joyous moments of driving around our region trying to beat the traffic signals. yes, don't you just wish they were all timed and worked out perfectly? well, ddot says it has been retiming signals in the city making great progress and guess what, you are saving minutes because of it. the traffic here on 14th street right now, it's pretty backed up but d dot says it is working its way from wards 8 7, through the down up to core and up into northwest d.c. coming up on news4 at 5 and 6 tonight, we are going to show you some of the best spots and show you what people are saying about these newly timed traffic signals. back to you. all right, thanks, adam. >>> passengers on a flight to london end up in the back woods of canada. >> yeah, why their flight was diverted and how they ended up staying in military barracks. and also, what united air lines is doing to apologize. >>> a critical highway in alaska is close and evacuations are under way after

on the mall, adam tuss, news 4. >>> maryland's governor is giving the thumbs up on facebook today as he nears the end of his first round of chemotherapy. larry hogan posted a message again this morning saying he's feeling really strong. doctors are treating him at the university of maryland medical center for nonhodgkin's lymphoma. today was his fourth day of round the clock treatment. >>> here at the live desk, we've been talking about a spike in synthetic drug overdoses. d.c.'s police chief is going to get more power to shut down the stores with those drugs. late this afternoon the chief gets the power to shut down the businesses for up to 96 hours. the way you can close bars and clubs after violent incidents. $10,000 for a first incident. a second time the district can revoke its business license. >>> there is growing alarm about the pace of violent crime in baltimore city. with a sharp increase since the unrest after freddie gray's death there have been 12 shootings in the city since sunday night. 14 people have been shot. at least two of the victims are listed in critical condit

during a second day of hearings about that deadly smoke incident at >> our transportation reporter adam tuss joins us with more from the hearing. damned? >> reporter: hard to imagine track walkers bus operators, train operators afraid they would be retaliated against if they say something about it safety is one of the issues focused on at the overall safety hearing. train and bus operators, the maintenance workers on the tracks, no doubt they see safety issues but a lot of them respect speaking up because they don't want the trouble associated with it. when they talk about retaliation, are they talking about their co-workers retaliating against them? i know there are some afraid of losing their jobs but have you heard things about co-workers? >> i haven't heard that specifically, i would think if you expressed a concern about a fellow employee that there might be some reason to believe that. >> reporter: metro says it has conducted surveys and 80% of its employees do feel like they can speak up safely but there's 20% who are worried. point to more of a cultural thing within metro. >> i don't

. >>> i'm eun yang here in the newsroom alongside transportation reporter adam tuss. before we get away for the weekend, know next week a big week for metro. what's happening? >> next week, with we will get an update from the ntsb on l'enfant smoke episode. this was the episode in january where one person after smoke filled a tunnel and trapped train. the ntsb is expected to provide us an update on why it happened. we know the details surround being the episode but don't know why the smoke actually started in the tunnel. next week, most will i can laying will to learn that, a hearing, tuesday and wednesday, find out information from it. people want to know, is this going to affect the commute? mean delays, prepare for something in addition to what their regular routine is? >> what's going to come out of this is recommendation and what we are already starting to see on metro is that they are reacting to what the ntsb is telling them what we found is metro hasn't installed things the way that they should have been doing. and so already what metro is doing is taking proa

news4 transportation reporter adam tuss is here to explain how it works. new at 6. >> reporter: chances are you've seen one of these or parked at one of these and you said to yourself, i have no idea how that works. well the d.c. council has no idea how this works. they said so today. and now changes are coming. >> just too confusing to figure out a way to park. >> i'm an attorney and i still can't figure this stuff out. they get you. >> reporter: the red-top meter. archie harris still doesn't get it. >> i've asked the attendants on the street, can you park here? can people park here? they say, yes, you can. but at least twice on this street i have gotten a ticket for parking in the handicap. >> reporter: that is not supposed to happen. right now you can park at a red top, even without a handicap placard as long as you feed the meter. the city knows it's confusing. they held a hearing about it today. >> these red-top meters, whoever came up with this idea -- >> it's crazy. >> it's crazy. thank you for saying that. it's a crazy idea. i wouldn't be sitting h

news4 transportation reporter adam tuss is at the hearings for us. >> reporter: another day of marathon talks here at ntsb headquarters about the l'enfant plaza smoke episode. the key takeaways from today, some front-line metro employees are afraid to report safety issues for fear of retaliation. we actually spoke to a train operator who wanted to be kept anonymous today told us about an issue when she reported an issue and was retaliated against by metro employees. also, metro talking about how in the future, they are going to have to go into the system and do more maintenance, which is going to lead to more delays to keep up with all the safety upgrades. going to have more on that on news4 at 5:00 and 6:00. >>> some potentially big news for your grocery store. giant and food lion have agreed to merge their grocery chains in a deal that would create a nearly $30 billion company. the owners put out a statement saying the deal will create more than 6500 stores in the u.s. and europe and serve more than 50 million customers a week. no word yet on how it would impact existing food lion and

. >>> news4's transportation reporter adam tuss said they're part of a new crackdown. it hands out thousands of citations every year, but rarely arrests anybody. >>> it is 6:33. right now, prince george's county police want your help to find someone they say sexual assaulted a 6-year-old girl. take a look at this picture here. police say this man inappropriately touched a girl last week at a cvs store at the shopping center on riverdale road in new carrollton. the parent was in the store but in another aisle. they say the girl had wandered away. >>> we could see a plea from the man accused of stabbing an elderly man as he robbed a home in alexandria. horace white was in the middle of robbing a house on jackson place when he was interrupted by the elderly home owners. he stabbed the man and took off. white was caught after an investigation that involved the metro police. the list against him is long. abduction carjacking malicious wounding. >>> this man, alexandria police officer peter laboy doesn't -- he's officially retired this morning. 2 1/2 years after he was shot

our transportation reporter adam tuss live downtown to take a look at them. >> reporter: the city says they are timed properly and they are saving you time. red light green light. red light, green light. right now the city says drivers are seeing more green and evergreen is saving time. >> if we could get, like realistically, a minute would be fine. you know. i think a minute for each traffic light, people coming back and forth, i think that would be great. >> reporter: the exact calculations for how much time you're saving varies by day, but ddot put this video together showing 18th street in northwest from e street to 8th street. on the left, the road before the signals were timed. on the right, the road after the signals were timed. the city says the tweaks just in this corridor save drivers about two minutes. grier gill slice ddot's deputy director. >> we changed the cycle lengths and really provided more green time to a lot of the vehicles. >> reporter: yes, but d.c. is filled with cyclists and pedestrians as well. what about them? gillis says they are getting more time at busy cr

we're sending news4 transportation reporter adam tuss there today. follow him on twitter. he'll be tweeting updates. >>> it's time to move the flag from the capitol grounds. >> that was south carolina governor nikki haley calling for lawmakers in her state to remove the confederate flag from the state capitol grounds. this comes less than a week after a 21-year-old white man gunned down nine people because they were black. "usa today" reports religious and political leaders are flocking to south carolina now to press lawmakers to stay in session next week and vote on the flag issue. debate over the flag and what it means is reaching a fever pitch and now retailer walmart eliminated all merchandise with the confederate flag on it. page after page of confederate themed goods are now gone from walmart's website. one shopper said she's happy to see the item goes. >> but the insensitivity was just terrible so i'm glad that they have made that decision. >> walmart is the nation's largest retailer. however, confederate flag merchandise still on sale on sites like amazon.com and e

. >> news4's adam tuss says undercover officers checking fares are part of the new crackdown that started a few months ago. metro transit police charged the man with assaulting an officer and not paying a fare. >>> we know that the next face on the $10 bill will be a woman. under the #the new 10, harriet tubman, rosa parks and eleanor roosevelt are popping up. jack lew announced the plan yesterday. there had been a huge online campaign to put a woman on the $20 bill, but the $10 bill is the next one due for a redesign. it debuts in 2020 around the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote. so fitting this is going to happen. let us know who will be your pick, who you want to see on the $10 bill. those three names are hard to beat. >> a lot floating around before it's said and done. see what happens. >>> 4:41, 42, now tom kierein has a look at the forecast. >> good morning. the pavement is still wet from the overnight downpours. the patches of green on the storm team 4 and the pavement is gradually drying out. we have a few puddles out there. so watch out for that. we're in the

. >> i'm adam tuss in for aaron gilchrist. the good news about this weather is that you haven't had to water the plants. >> this is true. especially after last night's rain, but are we going to have a soggy day? let's check in with tom kierein. >> good morning. not as much activity this morning as we had yesterday. we might get a few isolated storms. right now, the storm team 4 radar shows a few sprinkles north and west of shenandoah valley and montgomery county. elsewhere, pavement is still a little bit damp from the overnight hour is -- showers. drive times should be fine for the morning and midday, but might have a little bit of a problem when you're heading back home with some wet pavement from passing thundershowers coming through. drying roads through the morning will be in mid 70s for the morning commute and then for the afternoon commute, it will be up to near 90 by mid afternoon. then by late afternoon, back down to the 80s. but a few thundershowers coming through so that may complicate your afternoon commute. this mo

metro said the 4000 series would return this week, but news4's adam tuss found out they will not be running today. metro doesn't have a time line for when they'll return. >>> a maryland judge abducted by her ex-boyfriend is retiring. montgomery county circuit court judge audrey creighton submitted her letter of retirement to the governor. last year, her ex-boyfriend, joshua senning, abducted her and crashed her car near a germantown super market. court records showed she once served as his public defender. >>> today we'll learn more about that devastating hack on the office of personnel management. this morning every member of the house oversight committee will receive a briefing on the hack. jeh johnson will be one of the officials delivering today's update on capitol hill. hackers got access to as many as 14 million federal workers' private information. and that number could go up since the breach started in december, but was not detected until april. >>> also today on the hill, lawmakers will look at how tsa workers are screened. a recent homeland security report found 73 tsa employees w