chris gordon is live now. what have you found from the father saying he was frustrated and concerned because he couldn't get any answers and then this afternoon, the school system responded. >> reporter: anthony flowers had to leave work in the middle of the day to get him home from school and had to drive him today for the first day at calverton elementary school. since july he's been asking the transportation department to assign anthony jr. to a school bus but they say he lives in the walking don't. 1 1/2 miles for elementary school students. but his father says he won't let his 5-year-old walk to school. >> there's nowhere to walk but in the street and this is the afternoon time. >> reporter: when they arrived home, we heard not only from the father but from anthony jr., also. >> and it's dangerous. distance, it's dangerous. >> dad, it's still dangerous even if we walk to school because there's no sidewalks and it's downhill so cars are flying down the road. >> correct. >> reporter: today, news4 called the

news 4's chris gordon is live outside the flower branch apartments where the investigation is far fromis? >> reporter: well, doreen, the ntsb says it hopes to have the entire investigation wrapped up by the anniversary date of this explosion. that means it could be up to a year before we know everything, but today we did get our first official answers as to exactly where this gas fuel explosion occurred and who was killed by it. 85 fire investigators dug through the debris and reviewed surveillance video and conducted 100 conclusion. >> this tragedy was the result of a natural gas explosion that occurred in the meter room of building 8701. this building which was located underneath apartment 101 >> reporter: meter room is similar to the one in this picture. there was no indication of criminal activity or anyone being in the meter room when the explosion occurred. some neighbors tell us they smelled gas weeks before the explosion. >> it was every day. i mean, whenever you walked by there, you could smell gas. >> reporter: now ntsb takes over the investigation to determine what ignited t

tonight, the father reached out to chris gordon for help and chris is live in beltsville.chris, you're also hearing from the school? >> reporter: that's right. we'll hear from t just a moment. first, you're about to hear from a very surprised little boy. today i asked him why he feels he shouldn't have to walk here to school. >> because it's dangerous. there's no sidewalks and it's downhill so cars are like flying and if cars are on both sides of the road and one is coming, then you could get hit. >> reporter: anthony flowers had to leave work in the middle of the day to pick up his 5-year-old son. he also drove anthony jr. to school this morning for his first day of kindergarten. since july, he's been asking the prince george's county public schools transportation department to assign anthony jr. to a school bus but they say he lives in a walking zone, 1 1/2 miles for elementary school students. his father says he won't let his 5-year-old walk to school. >> as you can see, people are walking in the streets. this is afternoon time. in the morning, there's cars here because

chris gordon has the senator 's reaction. chris? by the damage and destruction here and he is grateful for the crews who have worked on the search and recovery mission every day for nearly a week since this tragedy occurred. senator ben cardin wanted to see it for himself. >> you look at this and this is as best as you can find of a tragedy. i just cannot imagine what went through the thoughts of the people trapped in these buildings. >> reporter: crews are carefully going through the debris trying not to cause the building to collapse even more. the county executive and senator cardin met with people affected by the fire. >> i'm cons convinced that the challenge most immediately is trying to find transitional housing and permanent housing for people wi >> reporter: some residents of apartment buildings located near the explosion say they are living in constant fear. >> they were sleeping in the car for a while and now they've returned to the apartment but they are afraid to turn the gas stove on still. they are afraid to cook. >> r

chris gordon has more on the changes the pike d dining out in montgomery county. >> reporter: white flint is changing. so is rockhill pike. and in today's world of rebranding, it's now called the pike district. >> it hasn't gone away. it just has a new name. we've got all of the wonderful parts of white flint. we just have a new name. >> reporter: the pike district features new restaurants, retail and residential choices along both sides of rockville pike. >> it's all about redevelopment and investing in our community, about getting people excited about what is possible here in montgomery county. >> reporter: construction is under way for the second phase of pike and rose, which is like a little city in the suburbs. >> in 2017, we'll be adding great new retailers and entertainment venues and our condominiums. >> reporter: the pike district traffic. >> it is a liveable, walkable community. instead of people driving in to go shopping, you'll have more people living here. >> reporter: but branding presents a challenge. >> where is the pike district? >> where is the pike district? i don't kno

. >> reporter: news 4's chris gordon is outside the flower branch apartments talking to one resident who says he smelled gas moments before the building blew up. chris? >> doreen and jim, that resident was taking out the trash here, and he says he not only smelled g b we now know where it was coming from. what we don't know is why. atf investigators have concluded that a gas explosion occurred in the basement of the apartment building. it happened in the meter room similar to the one pictured here. the gas-fueled fire destroyed everything above it. >> at this point in time in the investigation there is no indication that a criminal act occurred. >> reporter: now the ntsb takes over the investigation to determine how the gas ignited. the smell of gas was reported to montgomery county fire and rescue on july 25th by this resident. he says he also smelled gas the night. explosion in this building, but he didn't have time to call 911 because just moments later it blew up. >> i was able to hear like a noise or something and i knew -- not exactly but where the gas was coming from, from like

. >> chris gordon, news4. >> a major sex trafficking ring busted, setting dozens of victims free. they zeroed in on a website called back page. tracee wilkins tells us the troubling details. >> reporter: they discuss the benefits of hard work leading to success and following dreams. in reality -- >> they use it to recruit women to sell their sexual services for profit. >> reporter: they are both charged with sex trafficking dozens of women since 2013. their indictments were announced in a press conference with the maryland attorney general and prince georges law enforcement. >> at least two of the women who are mentioned in the indictments were teenagers when this started. >> we are vigorously prosecuting both pimps and their customers. and we will continue to bring them to justice. >> reporter: the ring called its pink pleasure entertainment and recruited victims through ads on back page.com, promising $400 to $1,000 a week for escorting. >> once they removed the women from their homes and familiar surroundings, they would control and direct the location and movement of the victi

news4's chris gordon joins us live from the scene after k street in southeast d.c. with more. hi, chris. that was kind of a shock. >> reporter: definitely. the storm was fierce through the entire viewing area. this one apartment building in southeast was especially hard hit. here's why. the d.c. housing authority tells attic of this apartment pushing insulation up through the roof membrane. >> felt like the building was falling. >> reporter: no one was injured, but 11 families had to be evacuated. they are temporarily being put up at this hotel. >> got to laugh through the tears. >> reporter: they don't know what to expect next. how many in your family? >> right now there's five of us in this apartment together. >> reporter: where will you move to? >> i have no idea yet. >> reporter: after speaking with some of the residents who were brought back to pick up a few belongings, i called the d.c. housing authority. i am told most of the families will be allowed to return to their homes soon. crews are working to repair and replace the roofing material that was blown out. the roof w

and news4's chris gordon is there now talking to neighbors who are looking for a new place to live. ris? >> reporter: one resident told me it sounded like the building was falling down. the d.c. housing authority says that a freak microburst hit the attic which pushed insulation up through the roof, forcing residents out of their apartments and into the storm. the storm hit hard here in southeast washington, tearing insulation from the roof of this public housing apartment building. one resident describes the scene when he was told to evacuate. >> when i came out, exited the building, it was -- debris flying everywhere, dust in the air, and people in panic mode but orderly. >> reporter: the d.c. housing authority says 11 families displaced. they were taken to a nearby hotel where they were told they could stay for two days. some residents returned this afternoon to pick up a few belongings. how big is your family? >> we've got a lot of family. six family. >> reporter: where will you take them? where will you live? >> we don't know right now. >> reporter: workers on the roof tossed de

news4's chris gordon is in silver spring with the latest. chris? >> reporter: well, doreen, senator cardin met with residents of the apartment complex. what he learned is that many families are asking for psychological help. they are especially concerned about their children who are preparing to start a new school year. senator cardin toured the site of the explosion thanking county and federal crews who are working tirelessly in the intense heat. >> can you imagine working in 100-degree weather. the trauma, first of all, of having to recover bodies doing it day in and day out. >> reporter: the trauma is shared by families in nearby ap psychological help. >> 100% of the family can't sleep because everyone is scared. >> reporter: even teenagers are reliving the nightmare. >> we cannot do regular things. we simply cannot go throughout our day without ever thinking of that traumatic experience that we all had that night. >> reporter: montgomery county executive and senator cardin met with residents at the community center today to hear what they need.

. >>> this is chris gordon at cal verton elementary school in prince george's county.e got an e-mail from a viewer who says he's concerned and frustrated because his 5-year-old, a kindergartner, has been assigned to a walking zone which means he doesn't get assigned to a school bus. he's complaining that his son has to walk over a long and >> kids don't play in the street because it's dangerous. how can a kid walk on his own, especially at this age? >> reporter: we've contacted the school and we'll tell you how they are handling the situation coming up on news4 at 5:00. back to you. >> thanks, chris. >>> well, if you have plans to see aretha franklin perform, there's a refund coming your way. >> she's canceling her upcoming concert including this friday. the 74-year-old singer says she's respecting her doctor's orders to rest up until november. she had to cancel a show in vegas last year due to exhaustion. anyone who bought a ticket from the venue will get an automatic refund. >>> students at howard university may notice a familiar face around campus this week. actor n

chris gordon, news4, back to you. >> it's a lot more still to be sorted out down there. >> oh, man. >ell, it hasn't happened in decades but check out the massive mess in massachusetts. a tornado hit the town of concord. winds gusting up to 100 miles an hour yanked trees out of the ground, roots and all. it damaged nearly 40 homes and pulled down the live power lines. crews have been clearing branches from pools and taking trees off of people's roofs. >> we want to amelia segal. >> my goodness. >> it's beautiful out there. looking outside, it makes you wish that you were outside right now. not a cloud in the sky. we'll track beautiful mornings, comfortable ever noo comfortable afternoons. thursday into friday, here's your work week outlook. notice it's all green there. all good news. the weather is really low impact on your week. that's great news as students head back to school. the weather is not throwing in an additional curveball. expect sunny conditions when the kids get home from school. we have the battle of the beltways. i'll be at one of the game this is week. it will be chill

. >> chris: josh gordon says his commitment is not the only thing that has changed. tony z with sports. >> the new dangers of charging your cell phone in public. and where you can get the back to school haircuts for free. >> and we are tracking more ? ? hey, is this our turn? honey...our turn? yeah, we go left right here. we'll find them in our subaru outback. (avo) love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. get zero percent on select subaru models during the subaru a lot to love event, >>> now this is the serpentini chevrolet sports report. >> i don't know who should be happier about josh gordon being back on the field, josh gordon or rg iii. griffen knows what gordon can do. if they turn out to be play makers again, lookout. the first step for gordon isge today and getting the work in before the nfl shuts them down. as for how he feels he says not only has he changed, but the culture in berea has changed. >> i am excited to be back. these guys are great. this opportunity is like none i have felt or seen before. i really want to be a part of it. everybody feels diffe

had -- where you had to win with swing votes or congressional districts, i'm thinking chris shays, i'm thinking of gordoney in new hampshire, that these are -- tom ridge of pennsylvania. you're not seeing people bail on trump who come from rural america. >> that's correct again. and look, those congressional districts either are held by democrats or don't exist anymore because of gerrymandering. that's another fundamental problem in our system in trying to get president and congress together, assuming that hillary clinton wins. >> put your professor hat on here. you've studied elections your whole adult life. explain to the country why our system is not rigged. >> it's not rigds -- and it's not perfect by any means. it's possible for people to hack into some of these computer systems around the country. i'm not denying that. but the system itself isn't rigged because so many people are watching and watching carefully. and if you're talking about just the election day vote, i have great confidence in it. we also have hundreds of thousands of precincts in 50 states plus the district of columbia. so if ther

. >> chris: yeah, romona, only after a 20 hour bargaining session both sides came up a tentative agreement at 5:00 this morning. c.e.o. eric gordon recorded a message for parents. >> reaching this tentative agreement means we can avoid the strike ctu mentioned beginning thursday evening. >> chris: the teacher's union put out a statement saying we work hard to avoid disruption to our students education and we were able to bring back a contract good for kids and fair for educators and members will neither side released specifics about the deal. the school board and union memberships must approve the contract before it can become official. the votes have not been scheduled. asking questions, getting answers, chris tanaka cleveland 19. >> romona: a cleveland 19 investigation is leading to a safer walk to school for children. paul orlousky exposed that the city has a lack of school crossing guards. today we noticed guards have now appeared in front of euclid park elementary. herbert stokes was very happy. he had taken it upon himself to help kids cross the road. >> we have two more crossing guards here. i am so happy. the day -- it is

chris carter...would it be a walk off? oh so close! and then in the 12th, gordon beckham with a sac fly to score matt kemp. braves win 4-3.switching to that announcing that the only refund fans will get for the field fiasco will be for the ticket itself.it's a shame too, because packers fans took over canton and made it lambeau south.((mark murphy says talking to people here in canton, they said they've never seen anything like it...pittsburgh travels well, but you know, they're a couple hours away.and for our fans to come as far as they did, is really pretty remarkable and a real tribute to the fans that we have.))and after taking mo at practice tonight at 6-15. for the one minute drill, i'm lance allan. a green bay man and his prosthetic leg are reunited this morning thanks to a pair of canoers. the canoers spotted the leg while paddling in forest county. after a quick search on craigslist they were able to return the leg to its rightful owner. madison's mayor is taking aim at panhanding with a new ordinance. the ordinance would make it illegal for people to highway. it and similar anti- panhandling ordi

our bruce gordon has the story tonight from 30th street station after talking with those officers. bruce? >> reporter: yeah, chris, in live sometimes it helps to be in the right place at the right time with the right skill set. well unidentified septa passenger is alive tonight in part because just the right fellow passenger happened to be nearby. >> 22-year-old daniel cordero's girlfriend just missed his moment in the spotlight. it's not every day your significant other joins police to save a life. >> just phenomenal. i'm glad he's all right. that's what you hope for. you always hope for best. do what you can and hope for best. >> reporter: around 4:30 thursday afternoon, when the 911 call came in from 30th street station. middle-aged man down unresponsive on a market frankford train car. the victim of app apparent heart tack. security camera footage shows transit police officer james mayo went rushing to the scene with his partner doing chest compressions. just behind them is cordero. he had arrived moments earlier for his commute home. >> i saw the crowd on the platform and i thought oh great septa is late aga

chris o'connell. we are covering this story from several different angles tonight including dougherty's history, background and significance in our community. we begin our team coverage tonight with bruce gordon near johnny dock's house in south philadelphia. bruce? >> reporter: guys, at the moment far more questions than answers regarding this massive multi location raid and given the length and complexity of many federal probe could be awhile before we know specifics. one thing is very clear. when the fbi comes knocking at your door, they're not there to invite to you a picnic. after a several hour search of john dougherty's south philadelphia home, federal agents emerged carrying boxes of documents and a computer monit monitor. a long time union boss said he was surprised by the raid, but not worried. >> the government has a job to do. let them do their job. okay? i'm very comfortable with where we're at right now. once we get this ugly scenario by everything will be fine. >> reporter: targets of multiple searches fbi spoke man would say only they were part of on-going investigation included the headquarters of ibew local 98 the electrical workers union where johnny dock is the long-time b