melanie alnwick has our roundup. [ applause ] >> reporter: 100,000 catholics gathered in vatican city. in america, the catholic church has wielded its political power when it forced the president obama to change its rules on contraception coverage. on face the nation, cardinal timothy dolan said it's not realistic to have complete separation of church and state. >> i think politics, like business, education, arts, culture, only benefits when religion, when morals, when faith has a place there. i think the public square in the united states is always enriched whenever people approach it when they're inspired by their deepest held convictions. >> reporter: meet the press discussed faith and politics. >> i think we need to take god off the ballot. this issue surfaces every two years. but for sure, every four years. and i think people exaggerate certain positions in order to help themselves politically. there is no war on religion. >> reporter: some believe mitt romney's role in the mormon church will become a political issue, but not all. >> perhaps religion will be less important in fal

those were the big issues on sunday talk shows and fox 5's melanie alnwick has your political roundup. >> reporter: one year after the daring raid that killed the world's most wanted man and the american intelligence communitious alert. >> clearly it was a momentous day in u.s. history. this is something we're going to make sure that we don't let down our guard and stay extra vigilant during this period of time. >> reporter: but no specific credible threat said john brennan, chief counterterrorism advisor to the white house on fox news sunday. mine while president obama's reelection -- meanwhile president obama's reelection campaign is marking the anniversary with a new ad. >> he took the harder and the more honorable path and the one that produced in my opinion the best result. >> reporter: on meet the press romney campaign advisor ed gillespie took issue with the president's jab at the republican candidate. >> he's managed to turn it into a divisive partisan political attack that former defense secretary frank carnucci for president reagan called sad. john mccain called it shameful.

police questioned him and then charged him after he talked about the case with our melanie alnwick. the women say they were lured with an ad for a three-bedroom apartment at only $250 a month. >>> police in the district busted autopsy suspected meth lab after following up on a warrant. they found the lab during the search of an apartment on summit place in adams morgan last night. they arrested one man and charged him with selling cocaine but did for the file charges related to the suspected meth lab. >>> now to a story saw first on fox 5. a local man is out of a job at the library of congress. he claim he was fired for being gay. 30-year-old peter terver says his supervisor sent him e-mails saying among other things that jesus prohibited sexual immorality including homosexuality. that is a quote. performance evaluations plummeted from there and he was ultimately fired. now, new york senator chuck schumer has told the washington blade that he wants to look into this case. >> quoted bible versus from leviticus specifically stating i was going to hell and would never succeed as an emp

. >> so let's begin with the caps and melanie alnwick live outside verizon center. >> reporter: good morning allison, what is going on in washington sports some people are waking up wondering fit was all just a dream it was not they are waking up horse but happy after that just wild win, over the bruins last night players will have a well deserved day off no doubt, getting a win in this grinding 7 game series will give them a really big beast through the semi final -- boost through the semi finals. ward had a killer game winning shot, less than 3 minutes into sudden death overtime. i am sure right about that time there were tonnes of fans at home jumping up and down and screaming with them only the third post season win for the caps fans, since 1998 and the owner says, sounding like he likes the teams chances as they move on. >> you just look around and look vancouver is out pittsburgh is out you know some of the great teams, and so it is an honor to move on and we will figure out who we are playing but they deserve a couple days to catch their breath and let the fans celebrate back

melanie alnwick is here to break it all down for us.ing. >> reporter: the last day of session is always a fast and furious day in annapolis because any bill besides the budget that doesn't pass is dead. first, lawmaker will be working to iron out differents in income tax increases that they will use to help balance the state budget there is a bill to help build a casino in prince george's county and also legalize table games in the state. late saturday night, the senate approved a bill to increase the flush tax that. would double the tax to about $60 a year for most household. the house has also approved the increase so it is likely to get the governor's signature. it will bring $358 million in additional revenue to the bay restoration fund which is used to upgrade sewage treatment plants in the state. there will be that last-minute scramble to try to bring a casino to prince george's county and legalize table games. it is possible lawmakers could decide to just put the issue to voters in november. governor o'malley's gas tax proposal i

i'm melanie alnwick. back to you guys. >> thank you. >>> in other news, a maryland man is now charged in the death of a 6-year-old who accidentally shot himself to death. police say 20-year-old raymond brown admitted he left a loaded gun in his backpack inside a home in clinton on monday. amari perkins opened the bag and found the gun. the bag looked exactly like the first grader's own backpack. brown is a family friend living with the boy's family. a family member says brown frantically tried to save the boy's life after the gun went off. >> any weapon inside of a home has to be secured and it can't be stored in a way that allows access to other people, particularly young children. >> it is not yet clear would owns the gun. brown is facing several charges that include reckless endangerment. >>> to politics now, rick santorum is out of the race for president. the former senator from pennsylvania took some time off from the campaign trail over the weekend and, after discussing it with his family, he decide

melanie alnwick is following the latest. >> reporter: yes, we are live here in baltimore.ryone average schussly waiting the details at a press conference later this morning. -- anxiously awaiting the details at a press conference later this morning. [ male announcer ] a car is either luxury or it isn't. if you want a luxury car with a standard power moonroof, your options are going to be limited. ♪ if you want standard leather-trimmed seats, you're going to have even fewer. ♪ and if you want standard keyless access, then your choice is obvious. the lexus es. it's complete luxury in a class full of compromises. see your lexus dealer. . >>> hundreds of firefighters in new york are battling a fire at a landfill on staten island. the fire broke out in a pile of compost around 11:00 yesterday morning. the pile consisted of discarded christmas trees and debris from hurricane irene. officials believe dry, windy conditions helped fuel this flame. so far, it has burned as many as 19 acres. >>> strong wind fanned the flames of a brushfire in northeast. it spread for a two-story buil

fox 5's melanie alnwick is live with the details. -- george zimmerman is now in custody. >> reporter: good morning. george zimmerman was processed into jail last night. his bond hearing is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. today. >> today, we filed an information charging george zimmerman with murder in the second degree. >> reporter: 28-year-old george zimmerman, once a volunteer neighborhood watch man, now a defendant. 45 days after he killed trayvon martin, he turned himself in. the arrest followed a bizarre legal maneuver announced on tuesday. >> we are withdrawing as counsel for mr. zimmerman. >> what did zimmerman say to you? >> he is concerned about getting a fair trial and a fair presentation. >> it is about justice, justice, justice and only justice. >> reporter: speaking from the nation's capital, the teen's parents emotional yet determined. >> this is just the beginning. we have a long way to go and we have faith. >> reporter: if cop -- if convicted, george zimmerman face as a case of 25 years to life. zimmerman does plan to up stroke florida's stand your ground law. >> our coverage

. >> i'm melanie alnwick. sarah is off. let's check in with talker. >> oh, still working on my taxes. >> lots of clear skies and the cold front is working through as we speak. the winds have now shifted out of the north and west. it will feel noticeably cooler than yesterday. highs will still be in the mid- to upper 70s. temperature at reagan national, 75 degrees. humidity, 44%. there are your winds out of the north and west at nine miles per hour. your pressure falling just a little bit, 30.03 inches. mild and breezy. high temperatures right back in the mid- to upper 70s. still 10 degrees cooler than yesterday. withed breeze, i think it will feel more comfortable than it was during the afternoon. back to you. >> thank you. >>> space shuttle discovery's last mission. discovery is hitching a ride on the back of a modified jumbo jet and is expected to arrive in arlington, virginia this morning. >>> a sentencing date has been set for the former university of virginia la crosse player convicted of killing his ex- girlfriend. ge

i'm melanie alnwick, back to you. >>> metro is facing another problem this morning involving a highly contagious illness. one of the buses out of service because the driver has viral meningitis. the driver worked friday and had previously been on vacation. the bus in question is on the 14th street line running to buchanan and colorado streets and l'enfant plaza. the bus is outs of circulation until can be thoroughly cleaned. metro is also disinif he canning 164 other buses in the northern division just -- disinfecting 164 other buss in the northern division just as a precaution. >>> metro is reviewing to make sure equipment is in good working order. this follows the death of a passenger would died when a defibrillator wasn't in good working order. the machine at the station didn't have enough of a charge. >>> a restaurant living up to its reputation and its name. it is called the heart attack grill and can you probably guess what happened here. >> you can see a very serious matter but you may be surprised to hear how the restaurant owner responded. that is coming your way next. >>> fi

melanie alnwick joins us from the victim's neighborhood with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. fire investigators here in prince george's county say this is the worst case of carbon monoxide poisoning that anyone can remember. today, all firefighters and paramedics have been ordered to canvass their neighborhoods to check smoke detectors and to warn people about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. the carbon monoxide levels in this home behind me on shelby drive were so high that fire and rescue officials say it would have been impossible for anyone to survive more than an hour. it was a family member who found the first two victims around 10:30 tuesday morning when they couldn't be reached by phone. they called 911 and then rescue crews discovered the other three. the deaths of the home owners and three others have left the community grief stricken. fire officials do believe the source of poisoning was the furnace. >> we had a heating system that had a very old piping system and obviously had not been maintained at least from what

melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >>> search for the remains of a child who vanished more than 30 years agoe plan has been put on hold, partly because heavy rain might cause flooding. a handyman was using the basement as a work space in 1979 when etan petz disappeared. miller has not been named a suspect. >>> cold and wet sunday. but what happened your monday morning. gary is standing by. >> that's right. we're tracking the storm up the east coast. rain is tapering off for now. we'll get more. full forecast is coming up.  >>> been a cold, wet, rainy day. and now the winds have kicked in. temperature out there at the airport national continues to drop. down to 47. temperatures tonight in the lower 40s. some places in the upper 30s out there. the wind speed at the airport sustained is 21 miles per hour. but gusting higher than that in places. 29 # in town. baltimore, 24. annapolis gusting only 33 miles per hour. across the bay for stevensville, it is gusting over 30 miles per hour, with a wind gust on the hour of 33 miles per hour. the rain, at least for now, is tapering off down to the sout

fox 5's melanie alnwick is following the story and joins us now in the studio. >> there were no protesters, no questions shouted at zimmerman as he walked out of the seminole county jail. it was a very low key event given all the attention this case has grabbed. he left the john polk correctional facility with several paper degrees that contained his belongings. he walked to i awhite sieve, got in the back and paid for attention to the photographers outside. the car left the parking lot with seam know county sheriff's vehicles blocking access to the area during the midnight release. zimmerman had to put up 10% of the $150,000 bond. that equals $15,000. he must observe a strict 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew. he has surrendered his passport. his ultimate destination being kept secret for his safety. before he left, zimmerman was fit with an electronic monitoring device and it will be checked up on by the seminole county sheriff's office and seam know county probation. >> thank you. >>> our other big story, a major development is expected today in a murder case that really gripped the d.c. ar

they were lured in with an ad for a 3 bedroom apartment at only $250 a month but click told melanie alnwick he wasn't involved in the beating. >> reporter: are you aware that you match the description of the suspect? >> i have been told yes. >> reporter: did the police tell you that? >> it will all be sorted out eventually. >> reporter: right so did you have anything to do with what happened last night? >> no. >> well, despite his denials to melanie, he has been charged with two counts of abduction and two counts of felonious assault. >>> turning to the developing crisis in north korea the world is on edge as the country gets ready to launch a long range rocket as doug luzader reports it is fueled up and ready for launch. >> reporter: north korea is once again defying world leaders with its rocket launch this is the start of a five day launch window it could happen later today. the final preparations for launch in north korea, the government there says this is a peaceful mission, simply to launch a satellite, but much of the world isn't buying that including the united states. >> if, north

melanie alnwick has the team reaction. good morning. >> reporter: it's kind of hard to believe that it's real. they had a few disappointing postseasons. i am one of those that said i can't get excited until they get through the first series. it's not a dream that the caps will be playing so we will set it up for you. first the caps scored in the first period. the bruins answered in the second period. third period deadlocked into overtime, the fourth of this series. with just a little less than three minutes into the overtime the caps got a break. mike knuble drives it into the net. joel ward got the back hand for the game winner. listen to the excitement in the announcer's voice. caps win to advance to the second round. joel ward the unlikely hero scoring his first play-off goal of the sierra rest. caps live to play another day. >> it's huge. i wanted to contribute as much as i could to help the team win. i knew the guys were relying on everybody. i wanted to chip in and hopefully take a load off the big guys. >> as you ca

in prince georges county, melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >>> a water main break forced des's department of transportation to shut down two streets in northwest. this is what it looks like and c-dot said the road is starting to collapse. the 22nd and 23rd streets are shut down between h and i. d- dot is working on replays. >>> a derailment near roslyn, one set of wheels on a blue train derailed after the evening rush. the repair crews worked through the night. they still working to figure out what happened. >>> former head of transportation security administration is calling for changes to airport security. he said the current system is broken. kip holly, who ran the tsa from 2005-'09, tells abc news that he believes more officers should roam the airport asking questions, watching shady characters instead of screening passengers at checkpoints. he also believes that knives and sharp objects should be removed from the prohibited items list. the focus should be on explosives and toxins. >>> hello, a beautiful day outside today? >> absolutely gorgeous. and this keeps getting better, gary. w

melanie alnwick is live in marshal high school with the details. >> reporter: good morning.debate has been going on here in fairfax county for some time. one side saying that teenagers in fairfax county simply aren't getting the sleep they need to perform well in the classroom, on the feel or even behind the wheel and now it does appear that they may be getting another chance to push back those high school start times. the school board here last night at marshall high school voted 10-2 to begin looking into what would it take to push those start times back so that they would start after 8:00 in the morning. most fairfax county high schools start at 7:20 in the morning. some bus pick-ups begin before 6:00 a.m. students, parents, educators and health professionals told the school board the schedule makes it impossible for students to get the sleep they need and this time the board is willing to take a closer look. >> when we did this three years ago, it was a concrete proposal as opposed to a theoretical goal, a lot of people saw it was going to cause a major disruption in the

melanie alnwick is at police headquarters with the latest good morning melanie. >> reporter: good morning tony we do expect more information from prince georges county investigators today as they continue to investigate this case which is less than 24 hours old, police have not even identified the victim yet, but, we can tell, that based on evidence so far, police say, that this woman's life came to a very violent end, sources tell fox 5, that the victim described as an adult, african american female was beaten, bound and gagged the crime scene a vacant third floor unit at the marlo plaza apartments 28th avenue temple hills maryland. police descended on the complex yesterday, secured the scene investigators took a number of evidence bags out of the apartment and we do know the body was discovered by someone going into that empty apartment. >> the apartment complex, were the ones who called we don't know who it was. >> right now it is investigated as a murder investigation. >> investigators also hauled away a dumpster back behind that building presumably to try to comb through the contents

melanie alnwick live at police headquarters with more on the investigation. >> reporter: good morning. police are going to have a very busy morning ahead of them today as they start to sort through the details of the evidence gathered yesterday. prince george's county police at this point aren't releasing a lot of information. they haven't even released the victim's name but they have said that, based on the evidence gathered so far, they do believe that the woman found inside that apartment was indeed murdered. the crime scene a vacant third floor apartment at the marlow plaza. that complex is on 28th avenue in temple hills, maryland. police descended on that complex after getting the call and investigators took a number of evidence bags out of the apartments. now, sources tell fox 5 the victim described as an adult african-american female was beaten, bound and gagged. >> at this time, we don't want to compromise the investigation and we want to give the detectives a chance to find out who did this and why. >> reporter: that is pretty much all they had to say on this case yesterday.

fox 5's melanie alnwicking live at the bus tea proin friendship heights to explain what is going on.> reporter: the bus that we are talking about is the orion 6 model. it is a diesel bus that metro has had in service since 2000. there are 94 orion 6 buses in metro's fleet and all of them were taken out of service last night. metro's safety department brought in an outside fire protection engineer to assist in the investigation. tuesday morning, it was one of those orion 6 buses that caught fire on route 50 in maryland. there were no passengers on board the bus at the time. it was being driven by a mechanic. it was the second incident in two week. last thursday, a bus caught fire on i-66 in fairfax. no passengers there and no injuries. metro is now putting reserve buss on street to make sure there are no issues for passengers. >> any given gay, we have a certain number of buses that are held in reserve that are called strategic. they are the buses that would respond for a bus encounters mechanical problems, we'll slot another one in. those buses have now all been pressed into service.

fox 5's melanie alnwick has the wrapup. >> reporter: tim geithner says the economy is in pretty goodpe, but polls tonight show that and six in 10 voters say the country is going in the wrong direction. >> of course it's going to be close, but at the end of the day i think the american people want to choose a vision that holds out the greatest possibility opportunity. >> reporter: a fox news poll shows mitt romney now with a slight advantage over president obama. romney's campaign is trying to get more support among women and hispanics. >> there's a supposition here that hispanic voters are single issue voters, that they vote only on immigration. americans of hispanic descent care also deeply about employment and job creation and opportunity. >> reporter: for women voters the economy was just about the only thing senator kiersten jill gillibrand and michele bachmann agreed on. >> it's the first bill he really signed which allows women to fight for equal pay for equal work. women are still making 78 cents on the dollar. mitt romney? his hero is the government from with us white house j

fox 5's melanie alnwick is live in the neighborhood where this happened.ie, good morning. >> good morning. well, oscar and sonia chavez we're told have only lived in this home on shelby drive in oxon hill for about a year and like many of the homes in this community, it was built in the 60s and its systems including the furnace and exhaust were kind of old. monday night, if you recall, it was cold and rainy and investigators believe turning on the heat may be what killed them and the three other adults living inside this house. grief-stricken friends and family rushed to the home as soon as they heard that something was wrong. it was a family member who found the first two victims around 10:0 tuesday morning when they couldn't be reached by phone. rescue crews discovered another three. the carbon monoxide levels measured in the home were 500 parts per million, a level that can kill you in less than an hour. investigators believe the source of the toxic gas was the furnace. >> we had a heating system that had a very old piping system and obviously had not b

in baltimore, melanie alnwick, fox 5 news. >>> it's the most talked about documentary in years. a film that could have a profound impact on the problem facing millions of children and families. the movie "bully" follows young people, the target of cruel attacks in their own schools. tonight, the national education association is hosting an advanced screening of the film and a panel discussion of the issue of bullying. and lee hirsch joining us live with more. thank you very much for joining us. >> reporter: terrific to be with you. >> and we know there was a lot of publicity. what message do you have about the administrators on the fence for allowing the students or kids to see the film? >> i think the voice of america rose up, a half a million people resisted. the mpaa, i think themselves, were uncomfortable with the rating. today, we have a pg-13 rating, which is saying to parents take your kids, let them go. also, for what it's worth, every single province in canada gave this film a pg rating. commonsensemedia.org gave it a pg rating and we're here today and with the nea, aft

melanie alnwick is following the story and joins us in the studio with an update. >> reporter: after one week in custody and a public apology, george zimmerman left the county jail to begin preparing for his defense. he left the polk county correctional facility with several paper bags that contained hi belongings. he walked to a white suv and got in the back and was driven away. he was fit with an electronic monitoring device before he left the facility. his ultimate destination is being kept secret for his safety. >> we have several options to where he is going to be. at least one is out of state. i want to make sure wherever we place him he is secure. there is a lot of welled-up emotions in this case. i do not want them flowing over onto george until all the facts are known. >> reporter: zimmerman had to put up $15,000. he must now observe a strict 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. surcrew. he has also surrendered his passport. >>> the godfather are of go-go, chuck brown, is in the hospital this morning. a message on his facebook page says he is in the hospital and his family is asking for p

melanie alnwick is live in baltimore where we'll find out more about the big winner later this morning>> reporter: good morning. we all remember the biggest jackpot in history, in all of history, $656 million and everyone is waiting to just get a few more details about this winner who we're told at this point is not going to come forward. they want to remain anonymous. there is a press conference here at 8:00 this morning. but lottery officials have given us a bit of a tease. they say they do have a wonderful story to tell about the true maryland megamillions winner. the person who had the winning ticket did come here monday afternoon. we are told it is not mirlande wilson, the mcdonald's shift manager who grabbed a lot of attention last week after claiming she bought the winning ticket and sawed she misplaced it. winnipeger according to lottery officials did buy the ticket at the seven eleven store on liberty road in milford mill, maryland, a suburb of baltimore. the ticket was a quick pick, the buyer paid $1, didn't buy anything else and walked out of the store. a former lottery dire

melanie alnwick is following the latest. >> good morning. this is the third time since 1998 that north korea has tried to launch a satellite and this time the regime is being honest about it, announcing on state tv that the satellite failed to reach orbit. this morning american and south korean ships are lookingingif pieces of that rocket. in the security council in new york is meeting in a session. the united states will cut off food eight. >> i think they're preparing for a third nuclear test. when you see that sort of activity, it's usually indicative of a nuclear test done at the same site. >> this is a countrys that demonstrated it has nuclear weapons, it's a state sponsor of terrorism. >> the white house still has serious concerns about the launch itself saying -- >> north korea maintains it has the sovereign right to develop a space program. world leaders say it's a flay grant violation of international law. >>> the united states and other world powers are meeting in the capitol of turkey. iran agreed to the talks, but has used them i

melanie alnwick joins us live with details such a tragedy. >> reporter: it is allison this morning all firefighters and paramedics in prince georges county have been ordered to canvas the neighbourhoods they work in, talk to homeowners, check smoke alarms and talk about dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning here in south lawn it is a huge shock to know in this house, the husband, the wife, the wife's sister, and two male renters are now all gone. oscar and sonia had only lived in the house about a year like many homes they were built in the 60s furnace and exhaust system were old fire investigators say pipes were rusted and had holes which allowed the toxic gas to seep inside when they turned the heat on the kabob monoxide levels were 500 parts per million, victims would rapidly become confused lose muscle control and die in less than an hour that has neighbors getting their own furnaces checked and talking about carbon monoxide safety. >> concern me a lot i have family too my kids i hope it won't happen to me or no other people around here. >> go out and get some carbon monoxide detect

melanie alnwick has the team reaction. fun story to cover this morning. >> reporter: probably not. i didn't stay up that late but i did know what happened when i woke up this morning. quiet at the versus center. it was a -- verizon center. it was the first time in nhl play-off history that all seven games in the series were decided by one goal of the what a goal it was. three minutes into overtime when the caps got a break. the bruins tried to send it into the cap zone but mike knuble took it instead. then joe ward got it and back handed it for the game winner. the caps beat the bruins to advance to the second round and ward is the unlikely hero, his first play-off goal of the series. he gave the caps the win and they live to play another day. >> it felt rewarding. i wanted to contribute as much as i can and help the team win. i knew the guys were relying on everybody. i wanted to chip in and hopefully take a load off the big guys. >> well, it has been an awfully long time since the caps went all the way to the stanley cup finals. for now, fans are just thrilled to know that the ca

melanie alnwick is live with what's next in the case. >>> plus the marines are looking for more youngcampaign targeting the millennial generation. >> we are happy to report, dirk the penguin is safe at home at sea world in australia, find out how he ended up in a river. don't miss this story. >> he is cute. >> i am tony perkins. >> i am allison seymour. >> people to our north preparing for snow it is already falling a big part of this system, though, still churning over the dc area, let's check with tucker. >> allison, still cold temperatures not budging a whole lot upper 30s low 40s. we've got a brisk wind out of the west and still showers in your forecast for your monday. umbrella, maybe a winter jacket in store for your monday. there is your radar area of low pressure that brought

. >> the attack happened last night in alexandria, virginia where we find melanie alnwick. good morning. >> reporter: good morning allison. it was an ad for an apartment that lured the two women here to the far end of mill road in alexandria virginia instead of being shown the apartment police say they were lured -- dragged and then taken inside this vacant office building, swat teams and police dogs swarmed the building, we are not far from the eisenhower metro station after the victims called 911 they told police they arranged to meet a man here 5:30 p.m. yesterday evening instead they were dragged inside the building and beaten by the man they got away and ran out of the building they were seriously shaken not badly injured one was taken to hospital as a precaution, people nearby reminds them of a similar story >> you kind of have to be prepeared for that around here i mean it is getting insane. i am not surprised. i mean, a couple years back the craig's list killer who was finding people on craig's list and murdering them you just can't trust anybody that is unfortunate

fox 5s melanie alnwick is live at the bus depo in friendship heights good morning. >> reporter: good morning metro's safety department brought in an out side fire protection engineer to assist in the investigation into these bus fires the fires were both on oh ryan 6 model -- oh ryan 6 model diesel buses all four of them in the fleet grounded. the latest fire was tuesday morning, it caught fire on route 60 in maryland there were no passengers onboard it was driven by a mechanic out of service it was the second incident in a week last thursday a bus caught fire i-66 fairfax again no passengers at the time no injuries there, but there is a troubling pattern. >> given the fact we have had two incidents in the span of less than a week the prudent thing to do is pull the whole fleet, 94 buses all are now off the road and will remain off the road until we have a full investigation. >> but it isn't just these two fires we just went back and searched metro's records and found in september 2010, again, metro took all of the oh ryan six buses at the time there were 99 in the fleet, out of serv

melanie alnwick live at the bus depot in friendship heights with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, care actual the buses in question are called the orion6 models. last night, all were taken out of service during this investigation. tuesday morning, one of those buses caught fire on route 50 in maryland. there were no passengers on board the bus at the time. it was being driven by a mechanic. it was the second incident in just two weeks. last thursday, another bus caught fire on i-66 in fairfax. no passengers at the time and no injuries in that one either. all 94orion6 buses out of service. >> on any given day we have a certain number of reserve. those buses have all now been pressed into service. it is a behind the scenes juggling act. customers shouldn't hopefully notice any difference. >> reporter: metro does have a fleet of just under 1500 buses. the orion 6 buses were purchased and they have now brought in an outside inspector, outside fire and engineering expert to help them in the investigation. at this point, they don't believe age was a factor but we'll see what the invest

melanie alnwick is live in baltimore with new developments good morning. >> reporter: good morning allison well, we do know the winning ticket was purchased on the day of the drawing, that was friday march 30th and we also know it was purchased at that 7 eleven store in milford mill maryland but will not learn the identity the person wishes to remain anonymous. they are planning to hold a press conference an hour from now they do promise they have a wonderful story about the true maryland mega millions winner, the person who had the winning ticket presented that ticket to lottery headquarters here on monday, we do know it is not the mcdonald's shift manager who got a lot of attention for herself last week when she claimed she got the winning ticket and then that she misplaced it. the winner according to lottery officials went into that 7 eleven in milford mills maryland and went and got a quick pick ticket, paid just $1, bought nothing else and walked out a former lottery director said it is not unusual for drama to surround a jackpot this big. >> when there is a big mega millions or power

melanie alnwick is live at police headquarters in palmer park with the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: good morning. prince george's county police don't have a lot of information yet. this investigation is still very new. they haven't even identified the victim at this point but they do believe based on the evidence so far that the woman found inside the vacant apartment was murdered are. the crime scene was a vacant third flow unit at the marlo plaza apartments. police took i number of evidence bags out of the apartment. sources tell fox 5 the instruct tim described as an adult african-american female was beaten, bound and gagged. >> the apartment complex were the ones who called. we don't know exactly who it was. >> it is being investigated as a murder investigation. >> reporter: investigators also spent a decent amount of time around a dumpster in the back of that apartment building and ended up hauling that one away. they wouldn't say directly how it was connected but one can only assume that perhaps there may be some evidence thrown in that dumpster. police have no deta

melanie alnwick is live at marshall high school in falls church with the details. >> reporter: most fairfax county schools begin at 7:20 in the morning with bus pick high pressure ups starting before 6:00 in the morning in some cases. it has been about 10 years now that this group of parents and students have been trying to get this pushed back a little bit. it does appear the school board is at least willing to listen as they heard from parents, students and educators and from health professionals and then they voted 10-2 to begin looking at what it would take to push the high school start times back so they would start after 8:00 in the morning. they told board members that the current schedule makes it impossible for students to get the sleep they need. >> adolescents have brain chemistry that doesn't let them go to sleep until after 11:00 or so at night. so in order to get the full amount of sleep that they need, they have to be able to sleep later on in the morning. >> reporter: board members did reject a similar proposal in 2009. they said that rearranging schedules and adding bus was

they were lured for an ad of a three-bedroom apartment at $250 a month, but click told her melanie alnwick he was not involved in the beatings. >> reporter: are you wear that you match the suspect's description? >> i've been told, yes. >> reporter: did the police tell you that? >> it will all be sorted out eventually. >> reporter: did you have anything to do with what happened in here last night? >> no. >> police say they found evidence someone had been living in that vacant be. they have not said if they believe it was click -- vacant building. they have not said if they believe it was click. >>> now laura evans everywhere at 11:00. >> the navy has removed an engine and another piece of the jet from the complex after taking off from naval air station oceana. city officials say the plan is in the work to allow residents of mayfair mews to return to their homes, but it's unclear when. >>> police arrested this man in the home invasion of an 82-year- old woman. the charges against him include abduction and burglary. it was back in february on russell road in fairfax county witnesses say the m

fox 5's melanie alnwick is here with a look at some of the pending issues. >>> good morning. any bill besides the budge that doesn't pass is dead. first, lawmakers have to try to break a stalemate and pass a budget before the deadline. also on the table, a bill to build a casino in prince george's county with some guidelines plus a proposal to double the state's flush tax that. would double to about $60 a year has been approved by the house and senate with minor differences. it would bring money to the bay restoration fund. there will be a last-minute scramble to try to bring a casino to prince george's county and legalize table games. it is also possible that lawmakers could put the issue to voters in november instead. governor o'malley's gas tax proposal is dead but income tax increases for many marylanders are a sure thing. >> the main question is how to raise the income tax. they decided they are going to raise the income tax in order to keep funding high for schools and also to avoid cutting spending on health care and other social programs. >> reporter: it is also do or

. >> i'm melanie alnwick. care has the day off. welcome to fox 5 morning news. -- sarah has the day off. >> gwen has the weather. >> good morning to both of you. we have a mild start to the day. it will continue to get warmer. satellite-radar composite up. we have a few high clouds across the area. a ridge of high pressure in control and that will leave way for plenty of sunshine as we move through into the afternoon hours. not bad at all. yesterday's high, 83 at national. 83 at dulles and 86 degrees at b wait a minute thurgood marshall airport. 67 at d.c. 70 already at fredericksburg this hour. 66degrees at dulles. 68degrees at baltimore. so, for today, we are talking plenty of sunshine, but with it, you get the humidity. be prepared. winds will pick up a little later this afternoon. we are talking a high of 86 degrees with a southwesterly flow from 10 to 15 miles per hour. some changes coming up in the five-day forecast. we'll have the details later. >> thank you. >>> checking our top stories, d.c., schools, offices and lairing l

melanie alnwick joins us now in studio with the latest on this. >> reporter: good morning. there were no protesters, no questions shouted at zimmerman as he walked out of the seminole county jail. it was a very low-key event given all the attention this case has grabbed. george zimmermaning out of jail wearing a brown jacket and blue jeans, he left with several paper bags containing his belongings. he walked to i awhite a-- for a white suv, got in the back and paid no attention to those waiting outside. zimmerman's ultimate destination is being can't a secret for his safety. >> we have several options where i can be. i want to be sure wherever we place him, he is cure. there are a lot of welled-up emotions in this case and i do not want them overflowing onto george before all the facts are known. there are also concerns about the gps mop are toking program as well. not concerns with getting it in place. we've got to meet with the officer. all the equipment has to be tested out. nothing unusual but he has to work through that process as well. >> reporter: zimmerman had to pu

melanie alnwick is live at the scene with more. >> reporter: good morning tony yes, there are flyersces to the northwest branch trail wherever pedestrians are able to come in and get on that trail we are here in hyattsville not too far maybe three blocks from the west hyattsville metro station, in each one of the signs there is a little bit of a different description of the suspects but they all bare some similarities which is leading police to wonder whether they have the same person or more than one. the assault by police, happened in the most recent one happened in mid-march. the last one april 20th, three of them, along the northwest branch trail, but two others in the area, they believe may be connected, hyattsville metro station, police say the women attacked here on the northwest branch trail, were all accosted by an armed man, dragged off the trail s raped, one victim was in her 30s one 20s and most recent victim just 14 years old. so the past week, several local police departments got together and started comparing notes and started to connect the dot s with the other attack

back to you. >> melanie alnwick live now back to you. >> also in maryland the first murder of the yeararles county is under investigation. sheriff's deputies responded to reports of multiple gunshots at the county social services building kent avenue. this was around 9:00 p.m. last night they found a man, dead out front. we are told investigators thing it was done from a car so far no suspects or motives. >>> in our other big story three secret service agents removed in the wake of the prostitution scandal in columbia, -- colombia right before president obama arrived last week one prostitute demanded $800 from one of the americans he refused to pay and shut her out of his room she and a friend began banging on the door which sparked the commotion and ended in what may be the secret services most embarrassing moment. >> secret service wants to talk to rocker ted nugent he said he will meet with them to explain comments he made about president obama on a radio show some say were threatening take a listen >> as i tell you this now if barack obama becomes the president in november gain, i

after the bus driver accused of getting into a fight with a passenger was arrested fox 5s melanie alnwick. >>> good morning tony metro transit police are handling this investigation, which we are told is still in early stages at this point it was friday afternoon, around 3:45 p.m. when the fight broke out, apparently, between the driver and a passenger, who didn't want to pay the fare. metro etc. isn't giving out a lot of details about the incident and won't tell us who the driver is except to say he has been a driver for 12 years the altercation happened on the 38 b bus going from boston to farogate square at courthouse plaza where the argument started and ended with the bus driver, physically removing the male passenger from the bus sounds like more than just a shoving match the passenger ending up with a broken arm having to go to local hospital for treatment another driver told fox 5, the 38 b can be an unruly ride. >> he is innocent until prove guilty if he did assault a passenger he has to pay the price like everybody else. >> metro says the driver did alert his supervisor, immediat

good morning welcome to fox 5 morning news sunday, i am melanie alnwick it is easter sunday. we begin with pope benedict the 16th celebrating mass at vatican city. christians around the world celebrating. pope benedict looking tired said mass before a group of 100,000 at the vatican this morning in his easter message he implored the syrian regime to end the bloodshed and violence. lots of other services this morning some at lincoln memorial for sunrise and some at the national cathedral we will check in now with gwen to see what kind of weather to expect. good morning gwen. >> good morning melanie happy easter. a little chilly start this morning for easter sunrise services hopefully people were prepared for that things will improve in the course of the day let's look at mapcurrent temperatures right now across the area we currently have 51 degrees at regan national airport, 49 at bwi marshall, 41 degrees dulles. we had some pretty cold conditions late last night, early this morning freeze warning for many areas west that now has been quite improved, it now effects areas such

melanie alnwick is live with new details. >> reporter: good morning tony, well, the drivers name has not yet been released we know he has been driving for metro for 12 years i just got off the phone with a metro spokesperson who confirms this driver is facing criminal charges of assault and battery in addition this driver faces an administrative review process at metro that could result in termination friday afternoon 3:45 p.m., when the fight happened apparently, a dispute over paying the fare the altercation happened on the 38 b bus it goes from boston to farrogate square and ended with the driver, removing the male passenger from the bus but sounds like it was more difficult than that the passenger ended up with a broken arm and was treated at a local hospital other metro drivers and riders say they are not shocked. >> wild people get on the bus all the time. >> i have rid on the 38 b and other buses more than 15 years and occasionally i see, you know, displays of what i call inappropriate behaviour i think the bus drivers generally have an extraordinary amount of patience. >> now

. >> i am melanie alnwick in for allison seymour. dc schools offices and libraries are closed in honor of the emancipation act which freed 3100 slays in the district, 151 years ago. watch out for street closures. >>> good day for parades, well, it will be warm. >> maybe a little hot if you are putting on parade gear >> i would agree yeah. gwen is here she has a look at today's forecast. >> good morning you are absolutely right it will be a little warm for all that gear but if you are going out to see the parade you want sunglasses, sun hat, sun screen take your water you will need it a few clouds across the area will give way to sunshine, compliments of a nice ridge of high pressure, 53 degrees officially regan national airport, 84% humidity, that is an indication where we are headed unbelievable expect to see it become a very sticky day as well right now, 63 dulles, same bwi marshall, and today we are talking no shortage of sunshine as i said those clouds will give way to bright skies the winds will pick up from the southwest, breez

our own melanie alnwick joins us now with more on this debate. good morning, melanie. >> good morning. most fairfax county high schools begin at 7 to in the morning, and parents have been asking to get them to start later, saying their kids can't get enough sleep. the parents presented the school board with studies last night showing that teens aren't wired to go to bed early, and they need nine and a half hours of sleep to perform well in school and on the field and roads. 19 states have school districts that have changed their start times and that includes arlington county, which pushed back to 8:15 a.m. in 2001. loudoun county high school begins at 9:00 a.m., and fairfax advocates say their kids deserve the extra hour of sleep. a proposal in 2009 was rejected because of costs. there are concerns the switch would mean chaos for other school and family schedules. >> the science is solid. but the problem is, that the school board is putting the cart before the horse. they're setting this as a goal before they've engaged the people who could be im

fox 5s melanie alnwick is here with the latest. >> george zimmerman, will appear in front of a judge this afternoon he is being held without bond but his attorney will ask bond be set. he turned himself into authorities yesterday after finding out about that 2nd degree murder charge special prosecutor says his self- defense claim was carefully dissected before she decided to bring charges. >> that is what will be in court detail by detail, piece of evidence by piece of evidence, pack july, testimonial that is why we try cases in a courtroom. >> we have to understand and have faith in the justice system no body after all wanted trayvon martin to be prejudged as he was walking down that street i ask you not to prejudge george zimmerman and please do not prejudge the criminal justice system it is going to work we just need to let it work. >>> his new attorney says his client will plead not guilty to the charges the lawyer plans to use florida's stand your ground law in his defense but if zimmerman goes to trial and is convicted he faces 25 years to life behind bars. >>> now zimmerman's

melanie alnwick is live at the bus depo in friendship height s with the details. >> reporter: metro's safety department has brought in an outside fire protection engineer to assist in the investigation, both fires involve the o'ryan 6 model buses in service for metro for 12 years now, there are 94 of these o'ryan 6 buses in metro's fleet of 1500 buses, all 94 grounded until further notice. tuesday morning one of those o'ryan 6 buses caught fire on route 50, maryland, there were no passengers onboard the bus at the time it was being driven at that time by a mechanic but was the second incident in a week has thursday a bus caught fire i-66 fairfax again, no passengers at the time no injuries there, here is metro's spokesperson. >>> given the fact we have had two incidents in the span of less than a week, the prudent thing to do is pull the whole fleet, 94 bus, all of them now off the road and will remain off the road until we have a full investigation to understand the root cause. >> reporter: there have been investigations into fires on these buss in the past september 2010, once again

melanie alnwick has the details. >> good morning. >> reporter: good morning. still on the assembly's to do list today, a bill to allow public-private partnerships for state projects and a governor's proposal to subsidize wind farms. but the two biggest issues are gambling and the state's $35 billion budget. lawmaker are getting closer to a compromise on the budget. house and senate agreed on income tax increases month residents making more than $100,000 a year. they still have to decide on reducing and eliminating personal exceptions and how to shift the teacher pension costs to the counties. second big issue is gambling. maryland did approve five slots casinos in 2007. only two are up and running right now. now, opponents are concerned that he hadding a sixth casino at the national harbor will hurt the ones that are already in development. competition from neighboring states that allow table games is already cutting in projected revenues. >> there is a lot of controversy over this. rushern baker is pushing hard for it but there is resistance including some wi

melanie alnwick live at the verizon center with the latest. >>> good morning tony. we have had a couple people going by, shouting their excitement, happy this morning after that amazing, sudden death overtime, over the reigning stanley cup champs here is the call you will want to hear we will hear it over and over again from caps radio announcer, john walton. >> boston bruins now turn it over a 2-1-1, with ward, chance back, they score, they score, they score, it's over. ward on the rebound, good morning, good afternoon, good night boston the king is dead. there will be a new stanley cup champion, capitals are still dancing. >> how can you not smile and want to jump up and down. everybody loves it i am sure there are tonnes of people jumping up and down screaming along with him big props to rookie goalie, braden, 31 stops in game 7 owner ted leone says it is sounding like he likes the teams chances going forward. >> you just look around, and look and vancouver is out, pittsburgh is out, and the great teams and so, it is an honor to move on and we will figure out who