>> alison top g.o.p. leader is helping newly elected maryland governor larry hogan kick off his first term. new jersey governor chris christie will attend his swearing-in ceremony. that's set for january 21st in annapolis. christie, by the way is seriously considering a run for president in 2016 if you haven't heard that by now. he's also going to be attending an inaugural event for the florida governor rick scott next week. now, president obama is getting a boost in support these days. a new cnn/o.r.c. poll shows the president's approval rating stands at 48% the highest level it's been since may of 2013. experts say the boost is due partly to a stronger u.s. economy and lower gas prices. >> former alaska governor sarah palin thinks people for ethical treatment of animals or peta needs to chill. that's her words. that's the message she sent right to the organization after it criticized a picture of her 6-year-old son standing on the family's dog. that photo drew a lot of attention last week and prompted t

hi kevin. >> hey there, alison and scott. yeah, the snow camoo late for the holiday season but alas it is here. sure caused a headache on the morning commute but it also brought lots of joy and happiness. most notably to children. >> remember being 6 years old? and thinking of bumpy ride and snow covered face was fun. >> funny. >> these children are living screaming examples of that logic. >> just feel like the wind, like the snow hitting your face and you're like i'm really flying. >> just having fun. >> with temps in the 20's alan lugged away a propane heater for warmth and a rope to help everyone scramble back up the hill side. >> wait for one of them to come to me with frozen toes and fingers and just spend the day. >> across town -- >> good. >> owen and emma mire celebrated their first snow day. >> what did you say when you woke up and you saw the snow? >> yea! yea! yea! yea! >> with sweet on display, brother and sister showed us their angelic side. >> you get to make snow angels and then, um you can throw snow at your b

alison? >> all right, leon the other big story we're following today, search for answers after a small drone crash landed right on the white house lawn. tonight, a person has come forward saying it is his drone and rebecca cooper is live at the white house tonight with what the secret service is saying about this. rebecca? >> that's right alison apparently this is a man who is a government employee who is flying the drone for recreational purposes right here in this area. the secret service insists that based on what they know now, nobody assigned at the white house was ever in any danger. the fact that the drone could easily fly on to the grounds of the white house is raising serious new questions about security. the drone crashed into a tree on the white house lawn just after 3:00 a.m. prompting an immediate lockdown. and both secret service and d.c.'s fire and rescue squad one responded to the scene. retrieving had drone called a quadcopter two feet inside. the first concern earlier this m

hi, brad. >> hey alison. yeah we have a new governor in the state of maryland. 6 62nd governor and talk about getting down to business. look at this the inaugural stage is being torn apart. snow was certainly a part of the story today. look at these, these are the v.i.p. seats, covered with snow. fortunately for the new governor, the actual ceremony and the swearing-in, i should say, was in the senate chamber inside. that took place at noon. by the time mr. hogan emerged out on this stage, he was already officially the man in charge. the man in power. and then we heard some speeches his governor chris christie, his good buddy from the state of new jersey introduced him. and hogan spoke and he spoke mostly about working together with the democrats. he is after all, only the second republican g this state in just about a half century. but we also heard a number of the familiar themes that he sounded during his campaign. >> we seek the freedom to compete without the undue burden of high taxes and bureaucratic re

alison? >> ok, doug. now to that major lawsuit taking aim at metro over the deadly incident where smoke filled a yellow line train. the sons of carol glover are suing the transit agency saying its negligence caused their mother's death. suzanne kennedy live at the l'enfant plaza metro station with what the family says metro did wrong. suzanne? >> alison this lawsuit filed just today outlines how everything that could have gone wrong on january 12 did go wrong. it says that carol glover was helpless and trapped on that yellow line train as she breathed in that toxic smoke. >> the $50 million lawsuit contends that carol glover's death on january 12th was preventable. today, her son said their mother would still be alive if it hadn't been for metro's negligent negligence. >> we want to seek justice not only for our family but for this area. and for everybody who rides the metro system. >> the lawsuit outlines how metro failed to properly maintain the third rail. inspect and maintain the ventilat

alison has latest. >> gains overnight. markets in shanghai and hong kong are closing higher at the moment. futures in the u.s. we're seeing them higher as stocks get ready for a shorter trading week. it looks like federal reserve officials are on track to start raising short-term interest rates this year. no big moves until june. short-term rates have been near zero since late 2008. long-term rates could see the reverse effect and go down over the worries of weak global growth and falling oil prices. >>> google is looking to get in on spacex action. it is close to investing $1 billion. the investment would value spacex at more than $10 billion. at this point, it is not clear what kind of stake google would have in the company. this would be google's latest to spread satellites to remote areas around the world. it is interesting to think so many people do not have access to the internet. >> i just want a good connection in my town. i don't care about the space station. >> i still have buffering. >> alison thank you. >>> 13

he did a very good job of tying obama to alison grimes.oward the end she exacerbated all her comments on whether she voted for obama. but he did a very good job -- he made obama and obamacare, which has been a success in kentucky he made them key issues in the race. >> senator mcconnell is 72 and alison grimes was 35. without overstating it, mitch mcconnell is not a matinee idol. she is a smart, attractive -- what does it say in the age of television that he not only be turbot beat her badly? >> she was never able to define herself. people who are watching this race -- it was not exactly clear what she stood for, what she believed. she didn't come across as an authentic candidate. she was very cautious, very disciplined, and tried hard to distance yourself from the president and make the race all about attacking mcconnell. everything was about mcconnell being in washington for too long, the guardian of gridlock all the things mcconnell didn't like about mcconnell -- she was going far on that. but if you do that, you can probably get 40%-45

alison alison? >> lot going on. the stormwatch team is everywhere you are tracking those changing weather conditions. you can check changes to the forecast on our website by following us on facebook or twitter or by downloading the stormwatch weather map for your iphone or android. >> back now to that daring rescue that we talked about at the top. several people ran into a burning home to help two people trapped inside. among those to ran into the home was a man who crawled his way through the smoke and pulled an unconscious woman out to safety. only on 7, stephen tschida spoke with that hero and others who helped a woman's 93-year-old father. stephen is live now with the story of heroism. steve? >> we have first of all 20 minutes ago i spoke to a woman who was rescued from this home from the hospital. she says she remembers nothing but very thankful one who raced to this house. they saw it engulfed in flames. you can see the damage from the windows there. they raced to the front door where a 93-year-old man was try

scott, alison? >> you mentioned the long night ahead and we saw photos of people in stores stocking up. is there a way to describe how people are preparing for tonight and the next few days? >> well, you know, as i mentioned, i heard that segment and i was in the supermarket not even today, last night. and it was absolutely mobbed. people, first of all stocking up on provisions. usually in new york in the city you don't have to worry as much about the power going out because there's a lot less power lines. but, you know, officials have been telling people make sure you have an emergency kit. that means food nonperishable food a can opener flashlight batteries, water enough for everyone and a way to contact your loved ones in case you are in an area that loses power. the most important thing they're saying stay at home. after 11:00 tonight, no cars on the roads here. they want to make sure it stays clear for these emergency vehicles. they're just telling people stay in one place, ride it out and let

alison thanks. >>> "early start" continues right now. happening now, the deadline has passed to save two hostages held by isis. the negotiations with the terrorists collapsing after isis fails to prove the men are still alive. we have live coverage of what we know this morning and what is next ahead. >>> returning to the fight. cnn has learned that a guantanamo bay prisoner released in exchange for sergeant bowe bergdahl has tried to contact the taliban. what does this mean? we will have details ahead. >>> the case against aaron hernandez. the former football star now on trial for murder. an explosive day in the courtroom. also what is expected moving forward. good morning, welcome back to "early start." i'm john berman. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. christine romans is on assignment. this morning, history surrounding the fate of two hostages held by isis. isis has threatened to kill these men if demands were not met by sunset. that time has passed. in a series of audio messages kenji goto passed along the demand for a prisoner swap. the

alison? >>> house speaker john boehner is crediting a controversial government program for helping stop the plot to attack the u.s. capitol. last night, we brought you the breaking news of the arrest of 20-year-old christopher cornell from ohio. the isil sympathizer is accused of plotting to set off pipe bombs in the capitol and shoot members of congress. the f.b.i. arrested him yesterday. house speaker says the foreign intelligence surveillance act that allows eavesdropping played a crucial role in that arrest. tonight at 6:00, what we're learning about the suspect including his father's own accusation against the f.b.i. >> after five months of fear and frustration, some action to report tonight. 24 hours after abc 7 aired a story about threats against a local jewish-owned business by self-avowed members of isis the f.b.i. is stepping in. stephen tschida is in our news sf room with an update to this story that you'll see only here on 7. stephen? >> leon several hours after our story aired ab

alison? >> christopher barry tonight is speaking out about the allegations that he threatened a bank teller during a tirade inside a d.c. bank this week. barry, you may remember is running for his late father marion barry's ward eight council seat. on facebook today, christopher barry wrote, in part "i learned from my father a long time not to get bogged down and deterred by sensationalism." barry who is already on probation for a previous misdemeanor conviction added that he intends to continue his council run. police are investigating claims that barry threatened that teller destroyed a security camera inside a bank after a teller told him his account was overdrawn. no charges have been filed. >> protesters are urging d.c. prosecutors to not strike a plea deal with a rabbi accused of secretly recording videos of women in a traditional jewish bath. a dozen people rallied outside of the d.c. superior court as the rabbi was inside facing a judge. among those protesting a woman says she fears s

alison? >> thank you. trust the storm watch weather team to keep you ahead of this storm. we are constantly updating wjla.com and our social media sites as well. you can also track conditions right on your smartphone by downloading the storm watch weather app. leon? >> alison an alexandria judge has ordered a competencyevaluation for the man accused of three profile killings in alexandria. he faced a judge this morning. that hearing was anything but routine. northern virginia bureau chief jeff goldberg reports from the courthouse. >> the parents of charles severance walked into court this morning trying their best to avoid media attention. inside the courtroom, severance twice interrupted proceedings as defense attorney chris living spoke, severance blurted out "he does not represent me" to which the judge responded, "you need to be quiet while i'm conducting this hearing." severance is accused in the alexandria killings of nancy dunning, ron kirby and ruthann lidado. prosecutors are trying t

. >> hi there, alison. good news. we'll start our coverage with a live look at the rockville campus of the montgomery college and here's the good news. daylight hours are extending now. it's 5:05 and still a little low aged sun on the building. it's all good. skies are fairly clear. all good stuff as we get through the evening hours, temperatures will drop. still 50 in culpepper and the good news is we're only going to drop into the upper 20's to about 30 in the suburbs and in the 30's in the city. slow drop in temperatures and we wake up 29 to 35 degrees in the range of temperatures early tuesday morning with partly cloudy skies. skies will start to increase during the day in response to a clipper system coming out of canada. that will be wednesday's weather and bring the possibility of rain and/or snow and maybe in some spots some little accumulation. we'll iron out the details and possible effects when i join you in just a couple of minutes. alison? >> see you then, doug. thank you. she had a big personality for a

alison? >> leon a family is calling for change following the death of a 7-year-old boy who fell through the ice on friday night. abc 7 first brought you this story on friday evening when police officers jumped into the frozen pond in oxen hill tryin to save zaqwon white. the little boy died over the weekend. what white family says could have made a world of difference in this tragedy. richard? >> yeah, alison they are hoping for fences gates something out here. take a look at the pond behind me. you can see a partial fence down there. but look at all those gaps and the family feels that safety measures have been in place their son might still be alive. a small memorial balloons stuffed animals and photos. sits near the spot where he fell into a freezing pond on friday. >> i'm hurting every day and -->> the 7-year-old's family is still in shock. around 5:30 friday night, he and a cousin wandered down this embankment to take a look. >> he wanted to skate not knowing the dangers that ice would c

alison kosik has the early look at that. >> let's do that.ing lots of green arrows in global markets. europe markets are higher. about two hours into the trading day there. u.s. markets futures here pointing higher. u.s. markets closed monday because of the martin luther king holiday. we are keeping an eye on oil prices. holding below $50 a barrel. china clocked in with the gdp numbers showing the global growth continues to slow down. that is part of the reason we see oil prices continue to fall. less demand for oil won't chip away at the growing supply of oil. >>> saudi arabia considered a key player in oil prices is content to let the market dictate supply and demand for now instead of cutting production. >>> 49 deaths linked to the faulty ignition switch in cars by gm. it was only including people in the front seat in cars in the front-end crashes. the new numbers are anyone sitting in a car with the defect. this comes ahead of the january 31st deadline for victims to seek compensation. that change seems right. why only in the passenger se

alison thanks. >>> "early start" continues right now.ng now, the deadline has passed to save two hostages held by isis. the negotiations with the terrorists collapsing after isis fails to prove the men are still alive. we have live coverage of what we know this morning and what is next ahead. >>> returning to the fight. cnn has learned that a guantanamo bay prisoner released in exchange for sergeant bowe bergdahl has tried to contact the taliban. what does thi

>> well alison the school system say

alison? >> leon a man is fighting for his life tonight after a shooting outside of a charity thrift store. that man is a security guard at the good will store in walkersville. police say he was working last night, sitting in his car when someone just walked up and opened fire on him. abc 7's stephen tschida spoke to the victim's family friends, co-workers. stephen, this shooting is just terrible and puzzling. >> very puzzling. baffling according to a family of the victim here. about 9:15 last night, people who work in the shopping center heard shots and they raceed to this area behind the good will and they found 42-year-old gerald campbell in his vehicle slumped over the wheel. he was conscious. he is in shock trauma tonight. people at good will say there haven't been problems here. i want to point out an hour ago, a worker finished installing these lights. >> the good will had just closed. gregory campbell a security guard there was in his car behind the store. martinez works at a nearby re

>> yes alison. in a news conference that just ended here at city hall, mayor muriel bowser said repeatedly that the ntsb is conducting a deep investigation into this case and she wanted to reserve comment that was not an easy task. a day after the incident in the tunnel, reporters peppered the mayor and fire chief with questions. why did take up to 45 minutes for help to reach people trapped in the train. firefighters have accused metro in taking their time in calling and not telling them passengers were trapped and of holding them on platforms too long. metro is refusing all comment and the mayor today said she was withholding comment. but did say -- >> it would appear that based on the calls that we received and the locations that we reported to that oush fire department responded within the time frames that are customary. >> there are questions raised about the function of fire equipment and whether newly equipped radios worked in the deep tunnels. some say they did not. the active fire chief cit

>> yes alison we are outside the p.n.c. bank in chinatown where sources tell us that police are investigating christopher barry as the man who walked into the bank yesterday, threatened a teller destroyed a surveillance camera and then walked out. the police report says the suspect believed to be barry was trying to withdraw a large amount of cash from an overdrawn account. barry, aged 34 is the son of marion barry who died in november. the son picked up petitions last week to run for his father's ward eight council seat as marion c. barry, his legal name. we've left messages for barry and a campaign worker. no response so far. but rivals for the ward eight council seat have reacted. according to the police report the angry suspect believed to be barry told the teller "you always give me a hard time. i'm going to have to have somebody waiting for you when you get off expletive." >> i believe that greed comes in all shapes and forms and it's quite unfortunate that chris would find himself in the situation at a time when he w

alison? >> ok, doug. now to that major lawsuit taking aim at metro over the deadly incident where smoke filled a yellow line train. the sons of carol glover are suing the transit agency saying its negligence caused their mother's death. suzanne kennedy live at the l'enfant plaza metro station with what the family says metro did wrong. suzanne? >> alison this lawsuit filed just today outlines how everything that could have gone wrong on j

alison? >> moving on to other news the lays islamic state is threatening to kill two japanese hostages. isil is demanding $200 million in exchange for the men. suzanne kennedy looks at how the japanese are responding. >> a chilling new video from isis showing two japanese hostages kneeling in the desert wearing those familiar orange jump suits. like past videos the isis terrorists believed to be jihad john threatens to behead the men. but this time he demands a ransom saying the hostages would be spared if the japanese government pays $200 million in the next three days. >> you now have 72 hours to pressure your government. >> it is the same amount japan's prime minister just pledged to give countries fighting militants in iraq and syria making the announcement this week during a visit to the middle east. >> the timing and the sum of money requested for the return of these japanese hostages is a clear response. >> the prime minister though saying he will not give into terrorism. >> i strongly

troy hyatt (clapping) alison (clapping.) mitch relief (clapping.) andy hanson (clapping) nancy la sar.

alison leon? >> thank you. best to him. >> talking about the weather, tomorrow, this is interesting, doug, because as we may have sort of been in the clear today, you're saying tomorrow could be dicey. >> early in the morning because temperatures this morning are 33 34 in the most spots. very little ice, if any in metro area. tomorrow morning, it will be in the 20's. it's not going to be falling. some of that water can refreeze when the temperatures turn so cold. there will be icy patches. let's get started with everything here. on monday 39 at reagan national airport right now. winds northerly at six miles per hour. rain will come to an end. a cold front will see to that. you can see the back edge of that rain now on the storm scan just along this west of the appalachians and allegheny so the bulk of the rain over the carolina coast, southern new england, all this will move out. the winds will pick up tonight. and once the rain ends and the winds pick up that will help initially to dry off roadway surfaces. wi

alison? >> earlier this week the metropolitan council of governments released its report on the state of our region's infrastructure. it found a $16 billion gap in funding for public transportation over the next decade. overall, the region falls about $58 billion short in the next 10 years. that's for everything from transportation to energy and water projects. >> the district is already undertaking a massive project. they had a storm water overflow. they blessed the anaconda river project last month, you may remember that scene and today vice president joe biden toured the area to see how the whole project is coming along. d.c. bureau chief sam ford is there and joins us live from the site along independence avenue in southeast. hey, sam! >> hello leon. well, i am in front of a drill head. it is the second of three drillheads that eventually are going to be put underground to drill massive storm tunnels under the city and as you can see, this thing is huge. the vice president joined the mayo

hi, bob. >> hi alison. right now, we have a normal rush hour unlike yesterday. a lot of volume passing connecticut avenue and the mormon temple headed to georgia avenue and around through college park and greenbelt. long standing investigation on 95 north or 198 is clear. 29 is taking the overflow from that. we're looking at 66 traveling west from the beltway, sunshine becoming more of a factor now as it stays light later although the sun has set. plenty of volume from the beltway most of the way through centreville and through 95 south. same as you head south for the pentagon and headed for landmark. no incidents along the way. 95 is doing well farther south headed to stafford. i'm bob emler with wtop radio. >> thank you. have a good afternoon. this week's snow forced the cancellation of a meeting focused on the future of i-66 between haymarket and the beltway. another meeting is scheduled for you -- now for tonight. the 6:00 meeting is in haymarket. the items on the schedule include plans, schedule and public comment. more meetings are scheduled including one

alison? >> ok steve. as you mentioned, the timing here is really the big issue and it has crews scrambling already to pretreat area roads. as well as remind people about new laws that kick in when the snow begins to fall. richard reeve is in leesburg with the rush to be ready. >> while road crews across the metro area are gearing up. >> one to three. >> many of us are bundling up. getting ready for this! a repeat of last november's snowstorm, the first winter blast of 2015. >> it was so cold this morning. i couldn't find anything warmer than this. >> the sunshine ineffective against mun's bitter cold roller coaster ride with temperatures going downhill fast. >> the weather is crazy. don't know what's going on with the weather, man first it's warm, 60 65. and then it's 40, 30. >> chilly wake-up call for road workers and drivers. maryland will have 650 trucks on the road. d.c., 200 snow plows and 500 in northern virginia. >> when it gets more than three or four inches, everybody should stay off

alison? >> see you soon thank you. we turn back to that developing story out of paris where police are trying to track down three gunmen who killed a dozen people at a paris newspaper. it is the country's deadliest terror attack in at least two decades. >> here in the streets of paris with the threat level raised to the highest level and a massive man hunt under way. at least two gunmen are still at large seen here in this video taken wednesday of the attacks. investigators are now painstakingly going through the video frame by frame. sources say close attention is being paid to this moment when a gunman appears to raise his finger in the air possibly signalling to another car or person. other clues, the gunman appeared to have military training are well organized and shout "we have avenged the prophet" in french. police now have what they believe is the getaway car. forensic investigators will run d.n.a. tests on the car looking for soil signatures which could suggest where the gunmen came f

alison? >> thank you. fairfax county police say a youth hockey coach posed as 13-year-old girl to engage in an on-line relationship with another minor. diane cho has the story. >> 27-year-old bodenheimer was a former volunteer coach with the washington little capitals and authorities say he's been charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography. several parents in the northern virginia area whose children play hockey in the community told them the children was being approached by a suspicious person on line. an undercover officer posed as a 12-year-old boy who plays hockey and that's when investigators say the suspect sent what appeared to be child pornography of a 13-year-old girl. investigators say over the course of the next several days he continued to send more child pornography and they eventually seized computers and hard drives from his parents' fairfax station home. he's being held currently without a bond. he was recently working as a contracted instructor for cold rush hockey. owner to

alison? >> leon stop and take a look at this. it's shocking video and it shows the moment right here that this dump truck plows into two prince george's county police cruisers as the officers ran for their lives. abc 7 has been following this story since late yesterday afternoon when we first showed you the incredible image of this police cruiser here crushed under the massive truck. police insist this was not an accident. maryland bureau chief brad bell live at the scene in glenarden with what he's learned about the man police say was behind the wheel there. brad? >> police are telling us they do not believe this was part of any organized attack on police. they say that this was simply a man who was struggling with his mental illness. watch the video carefully. top right. you can see two parked police cruisers. the officers standing between them when at the bottom left of your screen, you can see the dump truck rounding the corner and barrelling towards them. they jump out of the way as the truck nailed the cars. the chief of po

bob emler in the wtop traffic center with the details. >> hi alison. cleared out on the beltway on that side of town where that accident cleared some time ago. out on the tysons area, on the inner loop through bethesda and silver spring. nothing going on. pretty good ride there. slow from montgomery village and 95 south. briefly headed down towards stafford. for the most part, though running pretty well on i-95. there was a crash on the shoulder in springfield below the beltway. that's affecting 395 and southbound 395 is quite slow below the pentagon as you head towards landmark and with the travel lanes open. beltway at river road just some volume delays on the outer loop especially here. getting into the bright sun and heading for tysons. no incidents along the way. i'm bob emler with wtop radio. >> thanks bob. check back with you in a bit. a california man has a quick thinking son and social media to thank for saving his life tonight. 11-year-old boy called 911 to say that his father fell and hit his head when he was out hiking. that call was cut of

>> hi alison. good way of putting it. when the snow was falling, it was heavy. it was consistent. really coming down. now this is what we're left with to clear sidewalks, the clear roads and a lot of snow on the grass. this is the kind of snow we're dealing with, hard packed snow. wet, good for making snowballs and probably what a lot of kids are doing out here today as schools were closed in loudoun county. when the snow was falling, plenty of people made the most of the opportunity. for some in leesburg the falling snow was a sight of calm beauty. >> it's calm you know. i like it though. not bad. >> for scott harshman. >> been a slow year. >> seeing lights means green. after what has been a winter mostly without snow, harshman is finally busy plowing parking lots all over town. >> just got my truck out of the $3500 transmission bill. need to put it to work. >> vdot trucks also getting a workout. 800 of them across northern virginia as the fast falling snow led to some challenging drnditions. >> h

hi, bob. >> hi alison. on river road, now open in both directions around the water main break, it had been closed since this morning. in fact, even last night and just opened a few moments ago, both ways between western avenue and little falls parkway. so things are moving both directions through there and any precipitation falling or temperatures melting on impact. so really not causing any problems around the area at least for now. just some volume to tysons and 270. 66 dealing with a minor crash outside of the beltway. quickly cleared. otherwise, volume headed west to centreville east through vienna and also to falls church. beltway here atut avenue at the inner loop pavement dry and running quite slow headed towards silver spring as it tends to do this time of day and traffic generally ok on 395 south and volume delays headed for landmark. i'm bob emler with 103.5 wtop radio. >> thank you so much, bob. coming up next at 4:00 you tube takes over the white house. what these popular you tubers asked of the

hi, jeff. >> hi alison. good afternoon. yeah that plan is certainly in doubt right now. 11-3, that was the vote today tabling that measure that democrats really trying to make a big push to get minimum wage moving forward. you know we asked some businesses here along mount vernon avenue in alexandria in del ray they say they're paying more than the minimum wage anyway many of them. it appears a change on the state level does not look like it's going to happen at least for the moment. minimum wage in virginia currently sits at $7.25 an hour. that's also the federal minimum wage. at least five different bills set to be introduced this session to increase the minimum wage by at least a dollar. the measure defeated today would have increased it by a dollar each in the next three years. many business groups and republicans are fighting the increase while democrats and workers' groups are pushing for a change. >> at the end of the day, you get what you pay for. so if you want to have that you have to pay them a little bit more. >

>> alison a home being rebuilt after a deadly fire goes up in flames a second time. two contractors were on ladders outside of the house along marshall avenue in maryland when it exploded this morning. maryland bureau chief brad bell now there live with the story of survival from that home. brad? we apologize for that report from brad. we lost his microphone obviously and try to get something on that story coming up a little later. new information this afternoon on an explosion that rocked the falls church shopping center yesterday. >> at least two businesses you'll remember, at least the owners tell abc 7 news that they will stay closed during the cleanup there at the eden center. many of the businesses have water damage or they lost ceiling tiles. one restaurant owner says all of the food there spoiled while the power was turned off. the owner of the jewelry store where the explosion happened is out of the hospital. we'll have more, though on her condition and the investigation coming up tonight at 5:00. >> weird coincidence to have an explosion happen there at tha

troy hyatt (clapping) alison (clapping.) mitch relief (clapping.) andy hanson (clapping) nancy la sar. >> (clapping) betty (clapping) lindsey (clapping.) marcie ryan (clapping.) and denise (clapping.) emily law (clapping) daniel beemer (clapping) (clapping) julie atkin (clapping) curtis chin (clapping) joy wong (clapping) nancy hunk (clapping.) karen lamb (clapping) olivia pope (clapping) daniel wagner (clapping) and after this group of people there will be a special presentation from the zone christie (clapping.) (clapping.) katherine burk anna marie booth (clapping) mia russ (clapping) raymond lee (clapping) tesla joy (clapping) alison wagner (clapping) crystal (clapping.) maria hunt (clapping) and elizabeth making nab (clapping) and that - and i'd like to introduce ms. thompson with a special presentation. >> dr. murase congratulations and wanting mr. haney congratulations and superintendent carranza and congratulations and your first year and on behalf of the strunth we thought we'll acknowledged the 8 teachers from the bayview so could the two

. >> hello, alison. the day began with an interfaith service and then they brought 42-year-old muriel bowser over here to be sworn in as the seventh mayor of the district of columbia. >> i muriel elizabeth bowser do solemnly swear. >> muriel bowser took the oath of office shortly after 11:00 this morning in a ceremony that saw sworn in karl racine as the first elected attorney general and seven council members. before it started, the jazz combo played in the outer hall as observers filed in including the former mayor who picked bowser for his vacant council seat after he became mayor in 2007. >> i think bowser is going to do a great job picking up where the great administration left off and the graytration did a great job picking up where he left off. >> and vincent gray embraced at one point by the lieutenant governor is moments away from handing the seal to the woman who defeated him. >> i love being mayor. this is my hometown. this is a city that i will always love. >> what stood out is how new this g

alison? >> ok doug, thank you. now to an update on a story you saw first only on 7. montgomery county police have dropped all charges against an alleged squatter. but the investigation into this incident is still ongoing. crombie who is a convicted con artist moved into an upscale bethesda home with his wife children and his dog. that million dollar home has been vacant for a year. it was up for sale. he told investigators that his company bought the house for him! police say he didn't have a contract or a title to show them. >> right now negotiations are under way between isil and the country of jordan over a prisoner swap deal. now, this comes after isil released a new video showing a japanese hostage it threatened to execute this morning. karen traverse has the latest. >> the deadline that isis had set has passed. the terror group said it will kill a japanese journalist and a jordanian pilot unless they release an iraqi woman on death row. she was sentenced in a car attack that killed some 60 jordanians. here's a new video showing him shackled and forced to read h

troy hyatt (clapping) alison (clapping.) mitch relief (clapping.) andy hanson (clapping) nancy la sar. >> (clapping) betty (clapping) lindsey (clapping.) marcie ryan (clapping.) and denise (clapping.) emily law (clapping) daniel beemer (clapping) (clapping) julie atkin (clapping) curtis chin (clapping) joy wong (clapping) nancy hunk (clapping.) karen lamb (clapping) olivia pope (clapping) daniel wagner (clapping) and after this group of people there will be a special presentation from the zone christie (clapping.) (clapping.) katherine burk anna marie booth (clapping) mia russ (clapping) raymond lee (clapping) tesla joy (clapping) alison wagner (clapping) crystal (clapping.)

>> alison so many of them remain unanswered. the board chair today provided only one specific response about what happened last week. and we know it's frustrating for all of you you step on the metro and you wanted to feel like you're safe in doing it and the city council understands that. as they learned today the answers were hard to come by. >> metro's board chair tom downs on the hot seat at a d.c. council briefing about the incident on the yellow line. >> council me tell that the facts are important before jumping to conclusion about what needs to be fixed. >> but with council members and metro riders still in the dark about the facts, they want answers and so do we. were the maintenance records and is everything up to date for the ventilation? >> i can't speak to it. that's a part of the investigation that the safety board is reviewing. >> maintenance and repair records the "7 on your side" i-team has asked for on lockdown as the ntsb reviews them and the investigation limits what metro can say although downs did use today

hi, brad. >> hey, alison. you know what? big project getting a budget together. fiscal year 2015. we're talking about f.y. 2016. i want to show you three big books. take a look at this. i mean this is just page after page after page of numbers. that's what these budgets look like. that's what will be delivered to the legislatures here -- legislators here tomorrow. now, hogan and his staff have spent the last eight weeks working on balancing the budget trimming $700 million from the budget to fulfill a campaign promise. now, 24 hours into their term they say they have done it. at noon today hogan held a press conference as he announced the plans of his budget. he says he's going to cut 2% from all state agencies. there will be cuts to planned spending for education even though education spending will increase. he says it is a balanced budget. >> spending too much borrowing too much and overtaxing maryland families and businesses were the essence of my campaign. my f.y. 2016 budget fixes the first two problems and puts us in a great position to tackle the third. >>

i've got this girl, alison kosik coming up after the break. some explaining to do, young lady. >> i know i do. >> back right after this. i took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. yeah...but what about mike? he has that dry, scratchy thing going on... guess what? (cough!) it works on his cough too. what? stop, don't pull me! spoiler alert! she doesn't make it! only mucinex dm packs 2 medicines in one pill to relieve wet and dry coughs for 12 hours. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. mhere's our new trainer! ensure active heart health. heart: i'm going to focus on the heart. i minimize my sodium and fat... gotta keep it lean and mean. pear: uh-oh. heart: i maximize good stuff like my potassium... and phytosterols, which may help lower cholesterol. major: i'm feeling energized already. avo: new delicious ensure active heart health supports your heart and body, so you stay active and strong. ensure. take life in. >>> a little new year's surprise yesterday filling up my tank. don't know about you, but there is some seriously cheap ga

hi, steven. >> hi, alison. we have a law against distractive drawing. the city council is considering enacting a law for punishment for three tickets to the $400 and revocation of driver's license and vehicle registration for up to six months. >> it's a serious problem on our roads and if you're driving down the road and you see someone driving irrat kali and you see them paying more attention to the smart phone to the driving. >> mayor wants the city manager to hold the company libel for not complying with city code. a city attorney says uber does not meet the code definition of a taxi cab operation. therefore its drivers should have taxi cab operator licenses. the city plans to start siting this friday but will issue warnings before any actual tickets. and one more note here the ride company lift says it's doing away with those pink mustaches that you find. instead, the company plans to install glowing pink mustaches on the dashboard inside of the car. >> well tonight the montgomery county council will discuss whether to put new measures in effect it

alison harmelin reports from outside st. patrick's cathedral in new york city. >> reporter: pope francis is upholding the church's ban against birth control. but says the faithful don't have to breed like rabbits to be good catholics. [ speaking foreign language ] the pope says instead catholics should practice responsible parenting. the pope made his comments to reporters on the way home from the philippines where a record crowd of six million turned out for his final mass on sunday. the comments come ahead of the pope's trip to the united states this fall for the world meeting of families. the pope will visit philadelphia, washington, and new york. according to polls in the u.s. the majority of catholics here believe that artificial contraception is morally acceptable. but the pope said there are plenty of natural ways to regulate births that have the church's approval. >> i think that they need to get with the times. >> i think it may tend to make people not as interested in the church because they feel the pope's positio

alison tweets in as a former u.s. military wife, i can attest to this, that most service members qualify for women, infant, and children food statutes and it is reprehensible. a lot of stories about how this is effecting families military service people, and they have no one to talk to. >> the department of defense may ask congress to amend the lending act a law that kept interest rates at 36%, because apparently it isn't enough to stop lenders from preying on members of the military. this comes in the middle of what some are calling a lending crisis, victim highed members of the armed forced. as ranch mentions with incredibly high fees unclear terms and in some cases they are even offering up money upfront, in exchange for signing over military pension benefits. advocates say state lawmakers have only exacerbating the problem by allowing lenders to charge increase rates and fees. according to the department of defense, 41% of active members have taken out short term loans to help make things meet. should be done to h