it know it's just right. >> barbara harrison reporting. if you have home in your heart, call our special adoption hotline on our screen >>> welcome back. they're about to become the first in the nation to test for synthetic drugs. >> tish ya thompson shows you how people were cheating the system and why that's about to change. >> reporter: in this lap every cup contains a hidden story about someone who went toall or got out on probation or parole in washington, d.c. >> everyone who comes through lockup in superior court and district court, we ask if they want to give a urine inspection. >> reporter: he says this is the first time he's ever allowed a television camera inside his lab because he's made major decision that he hopes will dramatically change the drug culture in the city. for decades pretrial services has used machines like this to screen for marijuana, cocaine, pcp, amphetamine and opioids like heroin. forensic chemists process about 143,000 tests a month. >> the prescreen willing say, for example, that you're on opioids. this c

so today barbara harrison takes you back to meet serena once again. >>> hi, serena. so excited to cook today? i'm excited you're here. i have an apron for you. we are going to start out making macaroni and cheese. >> reporter: serena says that's one of her most favorite dishes and were surprised to learn there are so many different choices of cheese to make it. >> you can pick one kind or all four. you get to pick. >> i get to pick all four. >> reporter: having choices was a nice experience for serena. in her 11 years she's been moved around as a foster child with little to say about where she goes or how long she gets to stay. her social worker says she's a bright child who needs a lovg home to grow up in. >> she loves life. she is very friendly. she loves to cook, like you can tell today. >> reporter: serena remembered every step she learned today. >> step one, wash your hands. step two, put the butter in. step three put the flour in. step four put the milk in. stir until it's bubbling. i would like to be a chef like the lady i was cooking with. i want to be just l

. >>> i'm barbara harrison. the pope's visit to the u.s. is almost over but he said something he never said before, and it has people talking. >>> and the frightening moment in the middle a campaign stop that could have been a disaster. news 4 midday starts right now. >>> first at the live desk, take a good look, video of president obama addressing world leaders at the u.n. moments ago. the president urged diplomacy, particularly defending the iran nuclear deal and lifting the u.s. embargo on cuba, getting clause from delegates there. he spoke about the danger of returning to old methods of addressing unrest around the world. >> i stand before you today believing in my core that we, the nations of the world, cannot return to the old ways of conflict and coercion. we cannot look backwards. we live in an integrated world, in company. we all have a stake in each other's success. we cannot turn back those forces of integration. >> we're also closely watching developments out of the meeting scheduled between the president and russia's president,

barbara harrison has met up with his social workers who are hopeful he'll soon find a loving family.> reporter: meet seth, a happy 3-year-old who's curious about the world about him. while he found the musical vows very soothing he wasn't ready to doze off for a nap. he seemed ared to get up and move, if only he could. >> reporter: seth tries very hard to get around but has challenges. >> he was born very premature. so at this point he has issues with possible cerebral palsy. >> reporter: seth has been in foster care since infancy. >> he's been in care for 2 1/2 years and he's making slow and steady progress. >> reporter: he loves katy's music and was anxious to join in. >> seth is the most cheerful playful baby. >> reporter: those who work with him say seth is making progress and it's hoping he may one day be able to communicate better and improve his motor skills. >> they're hoping to increase his motor skills and keep them and hopefully eventually walk with an asus tivs device. >> reporter: his fullest potential, the doctors are hopeful. we think with his spirit and spunk he might

i'm barbara harrison. >> i'm yuan lang. it was really a powerful speech. you could just see the members there reacting to the message he had. so many different issues that he touched upon. he touched upon immigration, he touched upon religious liberty, he talked about the refugee crisis, and he also invoked powerful figures in our history to make his speech. he called on lawmakers to cooperate with each other and with the rest of the world. he also asked them to ask with open hearts. >> a lot of applause. >> i want political leaders is one who is with the interest of all in mind, ceases the moment in a state of openness and pragmatism. a good political leader always opts to initiate processes rather than possessing spaces. >> again, lots of applause. several standing ovations. pope francis ended his speech, of course, with god bless america. not only lawmakers, there are thousands outside the capital right now on the west lawn and were very happy when he came out and spoke to them. we want to begin on the east front, where pope francis began his visit to c

i'm barbara harrison. we're learning more about a story we've been following all morning. >> plus health concerns for a popular restaurant now on the rise. the new issue force this local spot. >>> and it's the department of redundancy department with our weather. it just keeps on coming. a look at our long, dry pattern coming up. >>> developing now, the desperate search for survivors is on. a wall of water moves in and catches an entire town off guard. news 4 midday starts right now. >>> i'm kristin wright live in new carrolton where a neighborhood is on edge after a man was found dead near that bus stop in the middle of the night. this morning children waited for the bus stop on 85th avenue in new carrolton steps from where a man's body was found. this father walked his kids to the stop, that's when he found out about the violence so close to home. >> this is shocking. it's really shocking. >> the man's body was found in the grass, right behind a metrobus stop. pieces of glass are still scattered on the g

i'm barbara harrison. we have an update on a story we've been covering all morning. >>> as jesse matthew heads to court in a 6year-old cold case, what the victim's mother just told us. >> abnormally dry. when this weather pattern may break. i'm tom kierein, we got that coming up. >> i'm eun yang, jon stewart comes to washington. the message he's trying to spread here. news 4 midday starts right now. >>> i'm derrick ward in northwest, the rising of the sun has found dc water crews busy at work repairing a water main that broke just before dawn. it is a rude and dry wakening for folks here, but not the hospital across the way. >> the rupture was loud enough to shake some residents. >> i think it was a whoosh. >> it buckled the road and sent a wave of mud downhill to macarthur boulevard. it also made for some maneuver big motorists who used the parkway. what it didn't do was disrupt operations at the hospital. >> when we built and designed this hospital, we did so with a redundant water supply. >> reporter: w

. >>> i'm barbara harrison as the father of a slain tv journalist brings his message to washington >>> the tide shifts. the new decision 2016 poll that could mean a new front-runner in a critical state. i'm pat lawson muse. news 4 midday starts right now. >>> still waiting to hear from a baltimore judge that has to make a big decision in the freddie gray case deciding whether to move that trial involving six police officers out of the city. the judge heard arguments from the lawyer making the case for the officers accused in gray's death and from the prosecutor who wants the case to stay put. the officers who face trial in this case were not inside the courtroom. our chris gordon is inside the courtroom and heard defense arguments, several points making about pre-trial publicity making it impossible for these officers to get a fair trial. then, there was the argument about the pressure from the community. then, you can see what's going on outside the courtroom in baltimore. we're hearing about one arrest of a protester as many gathered even before the pre-trial motions were heard, to

i'm barbara harrison. what a judge says will happen to her in 60 days. >>> aim aaron gilchrest, we're live at the scene of a double shooting. police release new details about what they think happened. >>> and highs today in the mid to upper 80s. i'm tracking cooler weather for the weekend and the chance for some rain. >>> just into the newsroom, how it's about to get easier to do business with cuba. >>> right now, the search is on for a killer as a shooting investigation develops in prince george's county. one woman is dead and a man is in the hospital in critical condition. megan mcgrath started working this investigation before the sun came up this morning. you have some new information, right? >> reporter: well, aaron, when the last hour or so we got an update from prince george's county police, they say they do not believe this is a random crime. investigators believe it is likely drawing related. behind me here, you can see the door to the apartment, this is where one of the victims was found dead. it

. >> i'm barbara harrison we're about to get some answers when it comes to a potential transportation nightmare next week during the pope's visit to washington. we have an update from the metro station and we'll see a lot of the action. molette? >> we're looer at tive at the b metro station, where the pope next week will make a visit to the national shrine. right now metro and d. dot are getting set to brief us on this three-day transportation event to move people fast and efficiently as possible. in the meantime people in this community are bracing for the big event. >> a papal visit to the national shrine is expected to create traffic gridlock. >> horrific. >> reporter: pope francis will hold mass around dismissal time for brookland middle school. >> i leave pretty much early enough in the day, 7:45 to get to work by 9:00. >> reporter: preps for the mass come with warnings about street closures. thousands of ticket holders are urged to take a bus or train here. >> i don't know. for transportation in the city, it's very hit or miss. a lot of people have been hearing, well, maybe shoe

i'm barbara harrison with new information about a story we brought you all morning long. a motorcyclist and a garbage truck collide with disastrous results. >>> digging through the rubble while one part of the world deals with a devastating quake, people in parts of the u.s. want to see if a tsunami is heading this way. >>> i'm storm team 4 meteorologist chuck bell. sunshine and poor air quality the way that you're going to view this afternoon. a check of how high the temperatures will go and how long the warm weather will last, coming up. >>> plus big changes could be coming soon to one of the busiest roads in our region. some of it could actually involve you paying more. news4 midday starts right now. >>> i'm kristen wright at the live desk where we are watching the situation in chile after a big very earthquake. the quake hit the central coast so now the area is flooding. it is a huge mess. not only that, eight people were killed. the earthquake was a magnitude 8.3. that is massive. these are still pictures of some of the recovery efforts happening now. right here, vid

. >> barbara harrison, news4 for wednesday's child. >> great follow-up right there.you have room in your heart and home for another child, call 188 to adopt me or search wednesday's child on nbc washington.com. >>> great story. 9:42. still ahead, james blake's strong words for the nypd. >> just -- just really infuriating to know i was in a vulnerable position and i was taken advantage of by someone that wears the nypd badge and tarnishes that badge. >> what blake says should happen >>> you're watching "news4 today." >> well, tennis star james blake hopes the nypd will change their behavior after surveillance video shows him being mistakenly tackled by an undercover officer. take a look here. blake was texting outside a hotel last week when a plainclothes officer pulled him to the ground. the cop thought he was a suspect for credit card fraud. >> it was completely unnecessary, whether i was a criminal or not. whether i was a person they were looking for, i still don't think the person they were looking for deserved to be treated the way i was treated. that's the bigge