back to you in the studio. >> chris gordon. chris, thank you. >>> local lawmakers remember senator kennedy with admiration. maryland congressman chris van hollen has senator kennedy had the ability to bring people together. >> certainly will have an impact on the political life in the country because he was somebody who was able to bring people together and passionate about his issues. but he had the ability to bring people together to get things done and i'm hopeful that in reflecting on his legacy we will remember that we need to work together to get things done. >> he worked with senator kennedy on health care reform. memorial plans are starting to emerge. enator kennedy will lie in repose tomorrow and thursdayt a the john f. ken re presidential brdaran ny umse ewn iboston. analerunasser followsur sdaaty bo on obour lady of perct hhtulteaal basilica. l ieil burd at arlington b national seem tear where his er members of his family are also buriednd kennedy is eeligior fbl burial thbyir vetuth of his service nd csesgr and a as

chris gordon is here now with more. >> reporter: fret ricksburg police say many of the victims are from northern virginia, matter land and sdwrikt. according to police, money was collected dating pack to the 1980s for what are called pre-need funerals. but the money may have been spent instead on personal and business expenses. police executed a search warrant at bailey funeral service in fred drinksburg, virginia on july 23rd collecting evidence that resulted in the arrest of the owner. he is 51-year-d ambrose bailey, a former council member and prominent business han. police tell us what their investigation has uncovered so far. >> we found a box of documents containing over 60 files, all related to prearranged funeral services. and we at this point have 22 confirmed victims representing over $90,000 where their money was thought going into an escrow account as is legally required. >> reporter: on honest, fredericksburg police arrested ambrose bailey charging him with obtaining money by false pretense tenlss and violating the terms of a funeral contract. mr. bailey lives just up the s

chris gordon is here in our studio with the story. a wild party and this is a wild story. tell us about it, chris. >> starts out with a house that's up for sale, vacant, been on the market for several weeks. and party organizers basically advertised on facebook and then they broke into this house and they told neighbors that there was a new owners and they were in the air force and that they were getting ready for their family and about to ship out to korea and guess what, last friday night, 200 teens and young adults showed up drinking, using drugs, dancing to loud music. finably 1:30 in the morning, neighbors complained to police. >> who sponsored the party? was it the -- folks who went to the neighbors or the teenagers at showed up at party? >> it was the party organizers would have been the people who went with this cover story to neighbors. but they didn't have any right to the house. they said they did. they broke in. when anne arundel county police came to investigate, they said well, thve is our family's house. no arrests were made. only the next day did the police

chris gordon, news4. >> quite a house warming there. chris requested an interview with the anne arundel county police spokesman but was told that no one would be available to comment today. >>> federal health officials are advising colleges and universities on how to cope with swine flu outbreaks on campus this fall. there's special concerns about what to do if the virus starts spreading because students live on campus in such close quarters. administrators at some schools are asking to bring thermometers and avoid classrooms and dining hall it is they are sick. and local universities are asking students who think they may have swine flu to call their campus house clinics rather than come in person. >> the h1n1 virus is a big concern for younger school kids. next week, many kids in our area will be heading back to the classroom and parents and students want to make suret pl. news4's derrick ward reports on the school vaccination progress in d.c. >> reporter: it won't be long before the d.c. public schools are back in business. students

chris gordon explains. >> reporter: this is a poisonous copperhead snake. it bit the hand of a han who just bought it from a neighbor for $100. # 1-year-old jason dale from washington loves snakes and collects pythons which are not poisonous. the neighborhood said he had a python that he could add to his collection but now jason is being treated for a serious snake bite. >> in the beginning only this was swollen and i didn't think nothing of it. in 30 minutes my whole hand was swollen. then i nded to get to the hospital. my fingers is swelling. now it's spreading up my arm. >> it happened on mellon street in southeast washington. >> set the snake down and i got offensive. when i go to pick it up the snake turned around and bit me in my hand. >> reporter: you thought what at the time? >> i thought nothing of it. i thought it was a python. pythons are not poisonous but once my happened swelled up i called the ambulance and they said go get it checked. >> reporter: he was brought to the emergency room and it's a good thing he was. if he had not been treated fo

chris gordon has the story. >> reporter: it happened on a boat in baltimore's inner harbor. the police helicopter circled ominously above. making it look like a real raid. 39-year-old maryland state delegate john cari didn'din, co the elaborate scheme to give his girlfriend, maik megan home other, an evening on the water she would never forget. it was friday, august 7. while police officers pretended to search the boat, focussing on a box they inferred contained contraband and according to one report, were about to put handcuffs on megan, cardin opened the box. it contained an engagement ring and proposed. megan said yes. but the matter didn't end there. the ring was not authorized by commanders in the baltimore police headquarters and when they found out about the fake raid, they weren't happy. >> the police department is not in the business of doing birthdays and bachelor parties. we use those tools for various public relations activities but not wedding proposaproposals. >> reporter: delegate cardin offered the baltimore police department reimbursement for the involvement

chris gordon has our report. >> reporter: what president kennedy was assassinated in november of 1993 his brother, senator ted kennedy, began a journey if arlington cemetery that would be repeated when his brother robert was killed. we have seen the pictures of ted kennedy bearing the burden of his family's loss, standing alone before the eternal flame that marks the kennedy gravesite at arlington and now he will be brought here to be buried near his brothers. senator kennedy's first press aide when he came to washington in 1962 was terry robinson. she served him through his time of loss ask now she's been invited to boston to be with his family and friends as they say farewell. >> the perfect place for him to be -- have the viewing. he worked so hard and i would -- i started -- the kennedy library and the -- library meant so much to him the john f. kennedy library. it is the perfect place. >> reporter: senator kennedy will be flown from massachusetts to andrews air force base. and then a motorcade will bring him here. arlington national cemetery, the kennedy gravesite is open to the

chris gordon reports. >> reporter: this house has been for sale for several weeks. it has been empty since its owners moved to the state of washington. but friday night neighbors suspected something was wrong. >> about 11:30 i woke up and heard a lot of noise and then, again, about -- i imagine about 2:30, there was still a lot of noise. >> i noticed a lot of cars. but figure -- the dogs were barking. something was going on. >> reporter: here is how a party came to be thrown in aacant house. earlier friday, the organizers visited neighbors saying that they had just bought the house. that their family was in and they were in t air force and about to be deployed to korea. they seemed neighborly, delivering a gift. a bottle of wine. but friday night, this was the scene of a wild with 200 teens and young adults. they were attracted by a facebook posting and paid organizers $10 to $20 each to drink and dance to loud music. >> saw a bunch of kids and i said okay, if they are out here past 1:00, i'm going to call the cops. >> reporter: when police cruisers arrived the part

back to you. >> chris gordon. chris, thanks. >>> a soldier from our area has been killed in afghanistan. sarge ernt first class william woods jr. was from chesapeake, virginia, he died on sunday in germany. he was shot two days earlier while on patrol in afghanistan. sergeant woods was signed to the second battalion in the 20th forces in glen arm, maryland. he was 31 years old. >>> a wave of explosions in iraq. 95 people had been killed. the iraqi foreign ministry build was one target. it spread debris for blocks. bombs damaged iraqi parliament buildings and police facilities and commercial eas. the attacks are aan attempt to disrupt upcoming elections. there has been an escalation of attacks, generating fear that government troops aren't able to provide the necessary security. >>> when we come back tonight on "news4 at 5:00," barbara harrison brings us joyous news of a little girl who found a wonderful home after she was featured on our wednesday's child. >>> pack your patience. icc construction is picking up. ne

chris gordon, news4. >> some people argue artificial turf is harmful to the environment. they say it blankets ecosystems which provide a home for small animals and for wildlife. >>> when we come back on "news4 at 6:00," details on a new study that says what you eat could significantly reduce your risk for alzheimer's another country makes a push to outlaw smoking in public places. >> you want me to tell what you my husband thinks? >> at a press conference that turns heated during secretary of state hillary clinton's trip overseas. there may be a simple explanation for there's something big happening at pizza hut. - woooh, nice! - that's a lot of food! now get big meals like our stuffed pizza rolls, pizza mia, the p'zone... and our personal panormous pizza starting at just $5. the big eat tiny price menu. only at pizza hut. 0ñÑx what you might not know is that you can contact geico to see if you could save on homeowner's and renter's insurance too. for more information call 1-800-947-auto or check the yellow pages for an office near you. [tires screeching] [screech] accide

chris gordon is live in rockville with more on this story. chris? >> reporter: here at pole headquarters, we are told that the victims are expected to live, but they have massive injuries. and they will be hospitalized for some time. their families say they have no idea how they're going to pay these huge medical bills. meanwhile the person responsible is in hiding. the fam let's of the victims came from the hospital to police headquarters where they spoke through an interpreter. 22-year-old maria was hit, dragged 113 feet and run over by the feet that fled the scene. >> translator: we are suffering very much because we never experienced my sister to go through such a bad experience. >> reporter: 21-year-old has two children and a husband. >> translator: i think the person made a really bad judgment to hit somebody and just run away. i think it was something really, really bad for this person to do it. >> reporter: this is the best evidence police have. the grill that fell off the suv at the scene of the hit and run saturday. police have tentatively

chris gordon joins us now with more. >> reporter: fredericksburg police say they are trying to identify locate the potential victims, many they say are from northern virginia, maryland, and the district. according to police, money was collected dating back to the 1980s for what are called pre-need funerals. but investigators say the money may have been used for other

chris gordon is working on a very fascinating story coming up on "news4 at:00." spent the days of voice of america where everyone in afghanistan gets their election news coverage from a special nightly newscast. >> not everybody but about 50% of the audience and that newscast originates right here in washington, d.c. southwest washington at third and c street, voice of america. and what the have there, they have been broadcasting by radio for about 25 years to afghanistan. past couple of years, tv. and what they do is they have two different newscasts back to back because there are two languages. so it will be just like you are moving from the 4:00 news 4 newscast to the 5:00 in spanish. same content and different anchors and different language. >> for would years they have been doing it. it obviously doesn't reach a large part of the country that's so rural. we -- we showed donkeys, i think, haul something election equipment earlier today to some of the remote spots. but for two years, they had getting their nightly news from washington. th is world news and ame

chris gordon has more. >> reporter: this house has been for sale for several weeks. it's been empty since its owners moved tohe state of washington. but friday night, neighbors suspected something was wrong. >> about 11:30 i woke up, and i heard a lot of noise out. then again about, i imagine about 2:30. there was still a lot of noise. >> i noticed a lot of cars, but i figured some of the dogs were barking so i figured something was going on. >> reporter: here's how a party came to be thrown in a kvacant house. earlier on friday, the organizers visited neighbors saying that they had just bought the house, that their family was moving in, that they were in the air force and about to be deployed to korea. they seemed neighborly, delivering a gift, a bottle of wine. but friday night, this was the scene of a wild party with 200 teens and young adults. they were attracted by a facebook posting. they paid organizers $10 to $20 each to drink and dance to loud music. >> i saw a bunch of kids. and i said, okay, if they're out here past 1:00, i'm going to call the cops. but so

chris gordon reports tonight from northwest. chris?>> michael nash was working as a flag man, protecting the repair crew along the tracks. something went terribly wrong and he was killed. now the heavy equipment is being inspected and the operator of that equipment is undergoing routine alcohol and drug testing, which is the case in all serious accidents. the fatal accident happened along the orange line in fairfax county. the victim was working as a spr th wiinemovts thoperator of ack traoporater ot that deposits and spreads gravel between cross ties. he was part of a maintenance crew of about 12 employees. the general manager says an investigation will determine the cause, if someone got distracted or if there was an equipment malfunction. in the meantime, he has ordered a safety stand-down, a four-day suspension of all track maintenance with increased safety checks at work site. >> the reason for this sta stand-down is to have each of our employees go through the proper safety procedures for our managers to look at all of our safety

>> chris gordon, thank you. two alexandria police officers are said to be at the center of a sexual misconduct investigation. sources tell news4 the police department is conducting an internal probe following claims of bad behavior against the officers. sources say the claims are sexual in nature. the police department isn't talking about the specifics of the investigation. this comes on the heels of a tough month for alexandria police. chief david baker resigned after his arrest on duiha irgesifn july the following week an officer was arrested for handing out handicapped parking tags to people not physically challenged. >>> maryland's historic governor's mansion keeps getting greener. the landmark will soon use solar panels. this is an effort for the governor and first lady to make the mansion more eco-friendly. they will be installed in an inconspicuous spot to preserve the look of the landmark. the panels going up will provide abt half the hot water used by mansion residents. >>> in the district a new $26 mil

chris gordon has our story. >> reporter: the police tasers were used at this home in manassas, virginia, the evening july 26th. police received a complaint from a neighbor saying there was loud music and that people were drinking out back and detonating fireworks. police chief charlie dean says his department has conducted an internal investigation. >> of the actions that were taken there were within policy and lawful and reasonable under the circumstances. >> reporter: the home owner 55-year-old edgar rodriguez and 25-year-old lat ifrp sh elias were takesed and arrested a neighbor watched their encounter with police from his backyard along with his brother. >> at that particular time i saw three police officers in blue uniforms screaming. there was a male officer that screamed three times saying, "get down on the ground." all i know right after that, the third time the officer issued that order, i immediately heard the taser. >> i think they could have, you know, done something else rth there were so many cops. rr:epteorn anenpresting the enrereesprting theyhe tes they e events that to

chris gordon joins us with more on this. >> well, maryland officials today announcing this most recent victim of the virus. an older man who lived in the washington suburbs. maryland will be part of a plan nationwide h1n1 flu shot program that they say will be the biggest since the polio vaccinations of the 1950s. maryland governor martin o'malley says seasonal flu shots are available now and he suggests people get them. but regular flu shots will not protect you from swine flu. the new h1n1 vaccine is expected in mid-october. and 2 million people in maryland are expected to get them. >> everyone should get the seasonal flu vaccine. because as the h1n1 vaccine comes out, it will likely require two shots. and so get the regular flu out of the way and then you'll be better prepared to receive the h1n1. >> reporter: last spring, schools were closed in montgomery and prince georges counties where cases of swine flu were found. this fall, schools will remain open and sick people are expected cidee onsi hassionasot b made whetr residents will receive their shots in school, but it remains lik

chris gordon reports live from the government center out there. chris? >> good evening. group opposed the plan for political reasons saying it teaches terrorism, citing the case of a former student serving a life prison sentence for threatening the life of president bush. another group, community and civic activists, say they oppose the plan for safety and environmental reasons. and when it finally came down to a vote late this afternoon, the board of supervisors found itself deeply divided. the islamic saudi academy sought an exception to allow them to build a new school and mosque on this e34cr p-aroperty in fairfax but some opponents of the plan allege that the islamic saudi academy is a school for terrorism. >> we don't think it should exist, let alone expand. it teaches sharia law, it teaches terrorism. they're raising the next generation of homicide bombers right here in virginia. >>uneporter: neighbors along r: popeshead road say that traffic congestion, safety and protecting the environment are the reasons they oppose expanding the academy here. >> this is a two-

chris gordon joins us live with the latest on the preparations there. hi, chris. >> good evening. senator kennedy will be flown from massachusetts to andrews air force base on saturday. then he will be brought by motorcade here to arlington national cemetery. but first, that vigil in boston. motorcade will transport senator kennedy from hyannis port to the john f. kennedy presidential library. in dorchester, massachusetts. which edward kennedy lovingly built for his brother and now where he will lie in repose. terry robinson was senator kennedy's first press aide. serving since 1962 when he first ran for jfk's unexpired senate term. she had been invited to boston to participate in and help plan the next few days. >> very touched when i received a call to go to boston which i'm going to do later today. to be standing in the vigil at the kennedy library. you know how close the kennedy staff have been over 48 years and we had been asked to be with him to stand by him at the kennedy library during the vigil. and it is very kind of the family to think of us and we are all honored to be

i'm chris gordon from channel 4 news. i'm doing a story on the funeral contracts that you sold and wanted to ask you, is the money still available to service these people if they should die and need a funeral? >> at this time, i don't have any comment and i'm referring all of my questions to my attorney mark gardner at this time. >> reporter: will these people get the funerals they paid for in. >> yes, sir. >> reporter: you can guarantee that? >> i'm not answering any other questions at this time. >> reporter: the investigation began when a 72-year-old woman who had bought a pre-need funeral read a newspaper account saying that funeral homeowner ambrose bailey has been charged with forging doctor's signatures on death certificates. the woman ctact the fredericksburg police department asking if the money she paid, prepaid, for her funeral, was safe. the investigation began and continues now as police look for more victims. wendy? >> chris, thank you. >>> we have the latest now, north korean leader kim jung il has pardoned

chris gordon, news4, annapolis. >> most of the day outdoors. warm out there. >> actually, bob, it was hot out there. it was more muggy than i was expect. >> well, now -- i didn't know you were back foo cl cool place. outside after what we had last week, dew points in the mid 70s, it is warm and august. and certainly wasn't as refreshing as it was early this morning. temperatures in many spots get down into the 50s. nothing going on around us on doppler. here is what is going to be going on. heading out to school tomorrow morning, another outdoor recess kind of day. everybody back to school. some spots will be into the 50s. well to the west and north but around town into the 60so about 70 degrees. en the next seven days, more sunshine. temperatures tomorrow wilget up, i think, into the low 90s. maybe 90, 91 degrees. slight chance for afternoon thundershower. after that, saturday, on the coast and if anything, does develop and anything comes close, it would probably be out of here by sunday, midday or so. that's the reason there is a chance for a

chris gordon, news 4. >> what do you think?the problem, putting greens don't always play perfectly. that's the challenge of golf, i would think. >> well, you don't have to mow the lawn, you have to vacuum it. get out the vacuum cleaner. >> looks a bit like indoor/outdoor carpet, doesn't it? >> i would be afraid when it gets hot it would melt. >> it'd have to get really hot. >> but you wouldn't want anyone to drop a cigarette on it, not realizing it's fake. i guess. we'll have to find out more. anyway, tell us about the weather. >> yeah. well, we had some clouds overnight producing a few showers. those have now dissipated, and this morning the clouds remain with us and they're obscuring the perseid meteor shower, unfortunately. and at this hour, it's still rather humid. there's our sky and sunrise is about 25 minutes away. and we have the predawn glow showing up in the mostly cloudy skyline view from our city camera. right now, 75 in washington. as we look at the radar, we don't have any precipitation here. there is one little s

chris gordon, news4 in fairfax county. >> the islamic academy is located inlexandria, virginia.t was founded back in 1984. >>> peggy cooper is now talking about the fire that completely burned her mansion to the ground. her house and the art collection it contained both recently featured in oprah's magazine. with everything gone, she hopes to start a new art collection but first, she has some otr priorities. >> will i continue to collect art? well, right now i have to think about getting my kids some shoes for school. but when my head is calm and -- and when i can, you know, again embrace the beauty of that, i'm sure i will attend to it. >> she did not want to address the water pressure problems that firefighters said hindered their abily to put out that fire. >>> in fairfax county, a man got a ngywnkialkeicor tki ft some geese cross a f some geese cross a nepeap bdee back inun j bhen t ywarky nthr e daesdu toll road. n to tt man went before a judge. jane watrel has our report. >> reporter: they're a potential road hazard for torists. every day, gaggles of geese try to cross bus

chris gordon, news4. >>> this week, metro is reviewing its rules and procedures and conducting refreshertraining on safety procedures for all employees. >>> d.c. police are trying to figure out w beat a dog and then left it for dead in a dumpster. authorities say a man found the dog now known as trooper on friday in a dumpster outside an apartment complex in southeast. he called the humane society who found the dog wrapped in a trash bag that was duct taped to her body. she was taken to the friendship hospital for animals and taken into surgery. troopers now recovering. doctors hope to find a loving home for her once she is fully healed. >> loving and affectionate as she is, she's just obviously a wonderful dog. and i think that that will help her a lot with her healing. >> doctors say trooper may need at least one more surgery. the washington humane society is offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for this attack on this animal. >>> police have arrested two people in connection with a dog that bit a ints s spotsal ve poia veinia nderra a hsa

. >> reporter: chris gordon, "news4 today." >>> police in montgomery county need your help tracking down a shoplifter, but they are not sure if it is a man or a woman. a surveillance camera caught these images of the suspect at the th avenue fifth avenue last. the suspect was dressed as a woman but could be a man. the shoplifter took a $2,000 chanel dress. >>> monday the ocean city council approved an emergency ordinance that bans the sale in possession of the herb. it can cause psychedelic trips. it was sold in several stores. critics say the ban could have a chilling effect on research into the potential as a treatment for dementia and other disorders. >>> the marine corps is banning troops from logging on to social networking sites because of the security risk. they issued anrd order preventing marines from logging on to facebook and myspace. using the sites can expose information to add very airs. they do not ban them from using them on their personal computers outside of work. >>> she was drunk and high on marijuana. that's what investigators say about a long island mother who ended

gordon brown. in many ways, the british and americans face similar challenges. as we hear from chris shipp of itn. >> since gordon brown was last in afghanistan in april, 54 british soldiers have been killed trying to secure this country. the prime minister returned to the camp this weekend at a time when the election result is still unclear. giving the strongest hint yet he's about to send more british troops here at a critical time for the afghan campaign. it's been a bloody and very costly summer for the taliban, after which the universal support for this mission back home has begun to falter. the prime minister wants more afghan troops trained more quickly. and that means another surge in british troops is looking unavoidable. the target for 135,000 afghan soldiers has been brought forward to november next year. only when those soldiers can provide the security this country needs can britain's chief of the defense staff even think about an exit strategy. that remains many years off. >> i think we can get another 50,000 afghan army personnel trained over the next year. stepping th

why couldn't gordon brown with his party leadership have killed this idea of releasing this terrorist. >> he could have. you also have to remember that your say that it's chris that. i think what happened, this was a delicate issue for the brits and entirely convenient to put it on scotland now we know it's being boycotted. britain said, oh, nothing to do with us. their policy, very convenient. >> won't cameron exploit this. >> gordon brown should hand the key keys of 10 down streeting to david cameron right now. it's over. >> what's really going on here? is this about an oil deal? do you think gadhafi double crossed brown by giving a hero's welcome? >> completely. gordon brown wrote that letter to colonel gadhafi. colonel gadhafi knew exactly what to do when he got this letter telling him not to give him a hero's welcome, he gave him a hero's welcome. the english need to really learn from this. a complete fiasco. >> pat buchanan, it is a complete fiasco. the big losers here are not only british, gordon brown in particular, also, moammar gadhafi trying to get back into the international community now since 2004. >> they have a situation in englewood, new jer

chris. before you go, i want to talk about something that i've just picked up reading all these books about history. about the special relationship. you talked about g. gordon liddy, being moved by ted kennedy going up and hugging his daughter at graduation saying it's going to be okay. it's going to be okay. i have a feeling that came from the personal angst inside of him because he knew that his own father, joe kennedy, was so loathed by a certain segment of americans and yet it was ted kennedy who had a relationship with this man who sed set up the kennedy dynasty. he was the someone who had to go tell him when bobby died. he was the one that had to stay with him through those years. he had to go back and tell him about chappaquiddick. they had a relationship and he loved his dad dearly. it was so painful. >> i find many people believe who try to understand the kennedy story and it is about the brothers, all of them, is to what extent was it atonement for the old man? should the old man with the founding father and he was the one who made it all possible with his wealth and his guidance of those kids towards their careers and getting them into harvard an