mo on this as it becomes availabl li at l'enphant plaza, derrick ward news4. back to you. >> derrick, thank you. well there we two other scares for metro riders today. this after riders at the twinbrook s in rockville w smoke on the above-ground tracks. that came from leaves that were telling elements on the track that's supposed to help snow. th at the boston stn riders saw smoke that turned out to be from trash on the track. firefigh reported to the scene just aft 11:00 a.m. there was no fire and service on the orange and silver lines is now back to normal tonight. >>> now to an historic decision by the supreme court to take up the issue of gay marriage. the judgments will make a decisi by summer. they'll review an appeals court rulingt uphe babs in four states. the case will be argued in april and the decision is expected by late june. in the last 20 minutes u.s. attorn eric holder says the justice depart will file a friend of the court brief

and as news4's derrick ward reports, they think the content may be a little too mature. >> reporter:s maryland youth tobacco and risk behavior survey helps policymakers find out what risky behaviors young people may be engaged in like smoking and drinking. and aids them in drafting policy to address those behaviors. as the parents of middle schoolers we spoke to they don't object to the survey itself but think some of the questions are not appropriate for middle school age children. these parents say they were quite taken aback by some of the specific questions in the survey. they want to remain anonymous. they don't want their kids singled out, but they have some problems with the questions on page 6. >> has your child had -- have you had multiple partners the last time you had sex. did you use a condom with your partner. these are to me struck me as questions you would not ask an 11-year-old. >> reporter: yes, the world has changed. yes, kids are exposed to these topics sooner than generations before them. but parents fear having them with this information may have them think it's

. >>> our team coverage continues now with news4's derrick ward at 7th and e streets southwest where he saw some evac weighs from a metro tunnel earlier. what are you seeing now? >> reporter: well right now what we're seeing we've moved from that spot. the evacs were taking place down on the waterfront. take a look at this video. this is the scene down at 9th and main. when we got there, there was several fire trucks there, some fire and emt personnel were on one of those grates that lead to the tunnels in the station for emergency evacuations just for incidents like this. now, at some point they took a firefighter through one of those grates. she was brought up and put into an ambulance and taken away. we don't know anything act her condition. she looked to be okay in terms of any sort of trauma or anything but she was breathing with an oxygen mask. two other people walked out of that tunnel and were taken away by police. and what we've seen since then and since we've moved here especially closer to the scene, is a lot of confusion, a lot of traffic. we are starting to get people po

she told news4 derrick ward the thieves left her feeling trapped in her own home. >> reporter: for the past ten years, joan had to use a wheelchair to get around. we could all envy the kind of task that make up a typical week in her life. >> i go to holy cross to volunteer, tuesday, wednesday and thursday we would be watching our granddaughter, little granddaughter payton. then friday back to holy cross. >> reporter: she speaks of those things in the past tense now -- >> because our car was stolen. >> reporter: the white 2013 honda odyssey was customized for her use with a wheelchair ramp special seating and hand control. she only had it for about three months and it gave her a sense of freedom and mobility and usefulness. that's what was taken. >> i feel like i'm trapped. i know i'm not. i can go out in the front yard but i can't go anywhere. >> reporter: they believe the van was taken sometime between 11:30 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. palmers say vehicles like the one that was stolen to this spot are unique to each owner. another person in a wheelchair wouldn't necessarily be able to use it t

we are live outside the convention center derrick ward, news4. >> outgoing mayor vincent gray says he's note. he and bowser hugged each other on stage today. federal agents are still investigating his role in a shadow campaign meant to help get him elected in 2010. he told tom sherwood he's proud of what he flished and says he leaves the district in a good state for mayor bower is. one of her first tv interviews as mayor will be right here on nbc4. bowser will appear oná q "meet the press" sunday along with cathy lanier and school chancellor kiia henderson part of a speciala$o# segment called the women who run washington. you can see did at 10:30 sunday here on nbc4. >> major changes coming could be coming soon to increase security outside the white house. news4 has learned the secret service is meeting privately with the two governmentmb agencies that would approve raising the fence. no formal requests have been submitted. a house committee is recommending that fence be raised four to five feet and the horizontal bars be removed. these changes are being asked after a man managed to jum

news4's derrick ward live at l'enphant plaza. derrick? >> reporter: yeah and all of this is going on while the national transportation safety board investigation, which is pretty much deemed to be the definitive word on exactly what

we are live here at l'enphant plaza, derrick ward news4. >> thank you, derrick. coming up and new at 6:00 another safety issue for metro. some-its original railcars still on the tracks. we'll take you on board and find out how long these 40-year-old cars will stick around. >>> and an emotional day in court at the sentenceing for a deadly hit-and-run crash. we'll tell you how this one case has led to some significant changes out in college park maryland. >>> and another player with local ties ready to take the field at the super bowl. jim handly is live in arizona with that story ne thank you, cable for the slower internet upload speeds. for fewer video on demand titles. thank you cable, because if we never had you... ...we wouldn't know the incredible difference verizon fios makes. in customer satisfaction studies, fios is rated #1 in internet speed and reliability - 8 years running. plus, fios has the fastest wi-fi available from any provider. period. see the difference for yourself. get a fios triple play online at an amazing price guaranteed for two full years

derrick ward i'll have details coming up on news4. >>> we also want to follow up on the breaking news on that deadly mansion fire in annapolis. search teams found two more bodies in the rubble this afternoon. that makes four bodies found and two still unaccounted for. a couple and their four grandchildren were in the home mobd when it caught fire. news4's darcy spencer is in annapolis. we'll get to her with more coming up later this hour. >>> accused killer charles severance is headed to a hospital as prosecutors try to get a more complete mental competency exam. news4's julie carey was in the alexandria courtroom during today's hearing. she says he made several outbursts in court telling the judge his attorneys don't represent him. severance has not cooperated with doctors in the past. he's accused of the murders of nancy dunning, ron kirby, and ruthanne lodato over ten-year period. >>> maryland governor larry hogan had some welcome news for weary commuters, but a lot of parents are not happy with what they heard today. news4's chris gordon has more on his new budget proposal and how

live in montgomery county derrick ward news4. >> an extreme case of road rage ends with gunshots on a busy route during the lunch hour. drives telling us what they've seen in that area before. >> plus the ravens cut ties with a player amid allegations of animal cruelty. no criminal charges yet. we'll dig into why the team is cutting him loose. >>> a revealing report expected tonight in the deadly metro smoke episode. technology has improved our lives, in small ways. in big ways. but what about this? couldn't this be better too? at redfin we asked ourselves the same question. which led us to create new ways to take you inside a home or instantly schedule a tour. but we paired that with our own agents who aren't paid on commission but on your happiness. and that's what makes it all work the world has changed and now real estate has too. >>> well, any minute now new details could be released about that deadly underground incident at l'enphant plaza and specifically the communications breakdown that led to a delayed response. transportation reporter adam joins us with what we might learn.

. >>> and continuing our team coverage right now, news4's derrick ward is live outside the king street metro in alexandria where he is hearing from riders about these safety changes and just how safe they feel on metro. derrick? >> reporter: well indeed, you know everybody who gets on a train, i'll pay the fare you get me there safely, that's the pact. when things go wrong, they can go wrong quickly. metro has found ten ways they think they can keep that pact going. when things go wrong, they can go wrong quickly with devastating results. >> i just hope they -- >> one of metro's proposals, considering slowing the trains. >> i wouldn't think that would be a consideration. >> reporter: metro reasons that lower speeds would require less electrical current, so there'd be less stress on the electrical infrastructure a short on the current carrying third rail was an early factor in the january 12th incident. though lower speeds would mean longer daily commutes. >> if it means getting to your destination a little bit longer than, you know then it has to be done. >> reporter: we showed riders

again, firefighters are standing by her derrick ward news4. >>> shuttle buss are running and helping move some of those passengers stuck on board the trains or inside other stations. >> darcy spencer continues our live coverage live at mt. vernon square. how kai kaye ottawaic is it there? >> reporter: it is pretty much chaotic and there are a lot of frustrated people. we talked to a lot of people inside the station. many had no idea there was smoke in the tunnel and xa what exactly was happening so communication has definitely been an issue for some of the folks. what you're seeing right here these are people standing on the sidewalk outside of the metro station basically waiting for one of the shuttle buses to show up. we have not seen any at this point. and wondering how they're going to get home tonight and not getting a lot of information, at least at this point. again, some of them not even realizing when they were told to get off the train here why that was happening. we'll talk to amber ferguson one of the very frustrated metro riders. >> hi. >> reporter: what is your situatio

live in montgomery county derrick ward news4. >>> someone brought a gun to a school in prince george's county today. now at the live december sk pat lawson muse with details. >> wendy and jim, we are learning a sophomore at bowie high school took a loaded gun to school today. that student was pulled out of class when administrators were warned by another student about this. the 16-year-old's backpack was searched and police say a a .40-caliber gun was in there. the boy was charged with possession of a handgun, but police say the weapon was never pointed at anyone or used as a threat. back to you. >>> the man suspected in two high-profile murders of virginia college students was just ruled out in a third case involving a young woman. prosecutors tell us they found no credible evidence to link jesse matthews to the tis appearance of 17-year-old alexis murphy outside of charlottesville. a man named randy taylor has been convicted of that murder. matthew is in fairfax awaiting trial for a 2005 rape. prosecutors say he's been linked by forensic evidence to the murders of hannah graham and m

derrick ward news4. back to you. >> thank you, derrick. we'll stay on top of this breaking story. we have multiple crews on the scene at l'enphant plaza. we're receiving new video and new pictures. our live team coverage will continue in just a moment. >>> we still are waiting to find out the cause of the smoke on the upper level that prompted evacuations. >>> welcome back to our breaking news. part of d.c. at a standstill. scott mcfarland has details. >> the l'enphant plaza metro station remains closed and evacuated, smoke seen inside. new images just in to news4, people being treated outside the station by d.c. fire and ems employ spokesman just on the phone with him, he characterizes these injuries as minor but he does confirm there are injuries. seeing new images of people being treated outside the l'enphant plaza metro station just in to news4. we're told the fire the smoke that's inside this station began emanating at about 3:20 this afternoon. here's a live picture skrout side the station. you can see the size the scope of the emergency response. smoke began around 3:20 met

the people inside frantically tried to escape the two-alarm fire and news4's derrick ward is live at the scene. what about the families who were inside? >> reporter: you know fortunately those people are being looked after at this point. we understand there were some injuries but not serious injuries. some injuries from burns and from smoke inhalation. but take a look behind me now. you can see this is the apartment where they believe this fire might have started and the investigative part of this started to find out what started this fire that displaced several families. it was about 3:00 without warning residents at this apartment building were faced with the unmistakable signs of a fire first the smell of smoke. >> i thought someone was cooking at first. >> reporter: it was clear his neighbors were in trouble. >> i heard people crying and yelling. >> the fire originated at the ground level and was extending up the side of the building. >> reporter: that meant people on the upper floors were in the path of the rising smoke and flames. >> our firefighters immediately effected exting

news4's derrick ward will have a live report on the case coming up at 5:00. >>> now to the latest in the investigation into what went wrong last week underground at the l'enphant metro station. this afternoon we're expecting to hear from d.c.'s department of homeland security. transportation reporter adam tuss is at the wilson building with the latest. >> reporter: the report which will be issued today expected to lay out all the communication problems that first responders faced last week at the l'enphant plaza metro station. here is what we do know at this point. d.c. fire radios were not working as they should have when they got to l'enphant plaza. metro now says that's because certain controls were changed at a control room called a donor site at 1 judiciary square. we don't know why those controls were changed, who specifically changed them and why they didn't notify metro officials. here's metro's interim general manager jack requa. >> they made adjustments to their radios which made them less effective, almost nonworking on our system so we made modifications in our system to

news4's derrick ward live at l'enphant plaza. derrick? >> reporter: yeah and all of this is going on while the national transportation safety board investigation, which is pretty much deemed to be the definitive word on exactly what happened that investigation is still pending. but that hasn't stopped folks from going ahead with several lawsuits and this, of course is the latest one. it is filed on behalf of the only woman who died in this incident and it is filed by her two sons. anthony glover is just starting to settle his mother's business. the task of going through a lost loved one's personal effects can be emotional. >> last night i stayed over at her house and i just sat there and -- it's very tough. >> reporter: carol glover died on january 12th the day an arcing third rail caused smoke to fill a metro tunnel at l'enphant plaza, stopping trains trapping more than 100 passengers the most recent time line of events saying it would be 45 minutes from the start of the incident before glover and others on that same train were taken out