jennifer donelan, abc 7 news. >> how about another kind of lesson? how about a lesson of looking out for your neighbors. the district is looking for volunteers to help seniors and the disabled with snow removal. volunteers would work with a group called the d.c. citizens snow team. we're told that there's a critical need for volunteers in wards four seven and eight. so if you're interested, you can find out how to register by volunteering and help out the disabled by going to our website at wjla.com. >> the snow is over for now but not the end of the weather story. >> exactly. now the temperatures are going to plummet come early tomorrow morning, another reason why so many schools have cancelled and the list is running at the bottom of your screen we're going to add that list all night long and it's going to get really, really long. you can see how the visibility has started to combruf a little bit as the heavy snow moves away. visibility is now up to 2 1/2 miles at reagan national airport. 4.6 inches of snow fell earlier today and the wind chill fac

bars. 7 on your side fighting back reporter jennifer donelan has the story about the alert that women uncovered. >> i felt awful somebody had their hand on my personal property. jennifer: a stranger picked her brand-new iphone 6 out of her purse while she was at the lounge on valentine's day. >> it was on my shoulder. jennifer: she ordered her first drink, a man stepped up to her at the bar. she checked for her phone and it was gone. >> i was angry. jennifer: she cannot believe what she later found out. >> it happened to several other women as well. jennifer: that a high school friend, at the same bar. >> it happen to eight women within 20 minutes. jennifer: we spoke with gryphon management and they said they are just as upset as the victims. he immediately notify the police. these notices are now posted through the establishment. sources say that at least one other dupont circle bar has had the same problem in recent weeks. >> we are going to the police monday. hopefully, the power in numbers, they wilbout it. jennifer: jennifer donelan, abc 7 news. kimberly: a home makeover but some

jennifer donelan has the latest. jennifer: the news is spreading with ryan mccall's classmates, his family is shattered. there was a call this morning you're the orange county airport. mccall, 16 years old, had been training as a pilot for about a year in charlottesville. mccall was flying alone in a 1974 a piper single-engine fixed wing aircraft when he crashed. the owner of the airplane resides in springfield. we tried to get his reaction but are waiting to hear back. mccall;'s's trainer described him as a bright young man with a smile on his face. his classmates are filled with sadness and grief on social media. virginia state police, the faa and ntsb are all investigating. live from the newsroom, jennifer donelan, abc 7 news. kimberly: we spoke with spotsylvania county schools tonight to see what steps are being taken. they said in a statement that counselors will be on hand tomorrow at riverbend high school, where mccall was a sophomore. their thoughts and prayers are with the family during this difficult time. s

i'm jennifer donelan, back to you, maureen. maureen: thank you, jennifer. "7 on your side" with a consumer alert about a shortage of shellfish. you might see less of your favorite seafood on the menu or in the stores. we first told you about the problem earlier this month. and tonight, we're told the supply of mussels is still at 30% of production. that's because of snowy weather on the east coast. industry experts say it will be three to four weeks before levels are back to normal. and we'd like to say that things are getting back to normal where the weather is concerned. can we do that? eileen: it's funny. we're below average today. we'll be below average again tomorrow and above average on thursday and we'll fall back. maureen: we're nowhere near normal. eileen: no we're not! why? it is what it is. this is march, this is spring. at least we've seen some sunshine late this evening after mostly cloudy day from the weather bug camera at army navy country club in fairfax. all those clouds finally giving way to some blue skies. tu

"7 on your side" investigator jennifer donelan is live in fairfax with what she found. jennifer? jennifer: that's why we came here to fairfax county police headquarters, maureen. the subject of this chase was wanted in arlington county on credit card and identity theft charges. this morning she wasn't stopping. highways in fairfax county turned dangerous at 7:41 this morning when police say 36-year-old lakisha tracy refused to stop for police and led officers on a high speed chase. such a rare scene here we asked what's the policy for fairfax county police and chases? >> our officers are authorized to pursue upon reasonable suspicion of any criminal or traffic charge. jennifer: in this case fairfax county police said its officer was allowed to begin the pursuit because he allegedly witnessed tracy commit a traffic violation. they haven't said exactly what that was yet. >> the officer always has the option of terminating a pursuit. jennifer: a spokesperson explained the pursuing officer can judge if the chase is a threat to the public. they can stop the chase. however, police said

bars. "7 on your side" fighting back and jennifer donelan is live with how alert women uncovered this trend. it's a story you'll see only on 7. jennifer? >> alison so far the women are all victims. the women put their phones in their purse. they had their purse on them. the bar is now warning all women if you're jostled and someone tries to be playful with you or drops something in front of you check and make sure you still have your phone. >> i feel awful that somebody had -- a stranger had put his hand into my personal property. >> a stranger managed to pick her brand new iphone 6 out of her purse while she was at the lounge in dupont circle on valentine's day. >> at that time it was on my shoulder like this. >> she had just ordered her first drink. a man stopped to talk to her at the bar, showed her a magic trick with a napkin. she was only in the bar for 15 minutes when she checked for her phone and it was gone. >> i was really angry. >> she couldn't believe what she later found out. >> same evening that it happened to me it had happened to several other women as well. >> then a h

i'm jennifer donelan. coming up in a live report police say instead they were lured to a hom alison: police want to know if there are any other victims after two international students looking for jobs as housekeepers were sexually assaulted. leon: the women were lured from the ballston commons mall in arlington to burke. jennifer donelan is live in burke with the latest on the investigation. jennifer? jennifer: this is an absolutely gorgeous neighborhood here in burke, virginia. hard for residents here to imagine the allegations that now stand against at least one couple in one of the homes behind me. and that is that two international students were raped inside one of these houses. let's get to some video. according to fairfax county police and a search warrant, this began on march 8th. they went to the mall in search of jobs and that's where they reported they met another woman from mongolia who said hey, i know i have a house cleaning job in burke, virginia. the two young women ages 20 and 31 were brou

jennifer donelan has our report on this diabetes alert day. jennifer: there's a family history of diabetes and is at risk for type two diabetes himself. >> i already have hypertension. diabetes is adding fuel to the fire so to speak. jennifer: he's not giving up though. instead, he signed on to a study at the research institute with hopes of upping his chances of avoiding diabetes all together. while the typical adult intake of vitamin d is 600 to 800 a day, the study will have patients take a daily dose of 4,000 units. past research suggests more vitamin d might reduce diabetes risks by 25%. >> worst thing it can do is help. here i am. jennifer: six million adults in the u.s. might be at high risk for diabetes. while increased vitamin d could help stop people from getting the disease, without a large clinical trial, medical investigators won't know for sure. >> put specific criteria for the patient. jennifer: now 2500 people at 20 study sites will take the increased supplement for four years. >> if we're able to confirm that vitamin d does act

jennifer donelan live on the scene. jennifer? >> this is like something out of a movie. this is a neighborhood behind me. people live there. there's the bank. many residents here were shocked when they learned that this is the serial bank robbers dubbed by the f.b.i. as the black hat bandits and they had struck so close to home. the crew is calculating, violent and efficient. getting in out with the money in under a minute. difficult to imagine what it must have been like for customers inside the wells fargo branch in falls church this afternoon when they came face to face with these two men. both with guns in their hands. >> quite worrying really we're just out for the dog and you never know what might happen if you stumbled on it when you were out walking. >> another customer who was inside the bank at the time told abc 7 news off camera that the men waved the guns around and he said it was dangerous and scary. it was 12:42 p.m. and it was a witness outside that gets all the credit for alerting police. >> police received a phone call from an individual who state they s

midst of that man hunt for the escaped inmate. "7 on your side" fighting back crime investigator jennifer donelan live in fairfax withmore of that dramatic chase. jen? jennifer: we are at police headquarters in fairfax. two fairfax county police officers received minor injuries and as well as a virginia state trooper. also the suspect in this event today also only suffered minor injuries. all pretty much a miracle after what you're about to see. the truck, police the chase the near misses and crashes. >> wow! jennifer: was shocking to all those who watched it unfold. >> usually see that over in california. jennifer: another stunner. the person behind the wheel of this speeding pickup truck was the 36-year-old latitia tracy, wanted in arlington county for credit card and identity theft crime. >> it was a woman. >> no way! jennifer: the chase started at 7:41 tamm at fairview park. fairfax county police said one of their officers to commit a traffic crime, that hasn't been disclosed by police yet. the chase was on kicking up dust along the way and the truck later u-turned in the middle of the pursui

and jennifer donelan is live in the abc 7 health center on the importance of eating a healthy diet andising to manage diabetes. jen? jennifer: alison and leon this is my new inspiration here. he learned the lesson the hard way. one year ago, he turned everything around with a new mindset and here to tell the story. one year ago, michael jackson ate junk food, drank soda every day and did not manage his diabetes. he weighed 275 pounds. that's when he had a heart attack. >> i was in the hospital for 22 days. they would pretty much tell my wife i had the left arterial artery cloged. they put stents in and chance i might not make it. jennifer: step by step jackson took back control of his health. he adjusted his attitude and completely changed his diet and began walking 10 minutes a day all for his wife. >> i could tell how upset she had been. and i never wanted to see her like that again. ever. jennifer: now he walks two hours every day and has lost 95 pounds. >> i know god has blessed me with another chance at life. jennifer: all right, michael. give the audience a wave there. wave to th

i'm jennifer donelan, back to you. >> all right. thank you, jen. maryland senator barbara mikulski has already made history as the longest serving woman in the u.s. congress but now she made a big announcement this morning in baltimore. let's get more on that from maryland bureau chief brad bell live to explain now on mikulski's reasons for not running for a sixth term. brad what's the word here? >> yeah you know, leon a lot of us thought we'd never hear her say this. she plans to stay in the office as long as she possibly could. she did say today she's not going to run for a sixth term. they did that announcement in fells point where her political career began. she was battling a 16-lane highway that would be built right through here. she's won that battle. and she's been fighting ever since. but she says at age 78 with two years left she's decided to use those two years to fight for issues and not fight to get re-elected. she says for her, as it's always been, it's about the people. >> i'm going to be around. i'm senator barb and this is what the

jennifer donelan joins us live from the scene with the latest on this crime. what happened? jennifer: you go out to the parking lot and you expect to see the wheels on your car. at least four residents walked out and the cars were bare. rolling on cinder? tried parked on bricks. this was ashley jennings 2012 dodge challenger. >> all four tears have been taken off. jennifer: her car was stripped in alexandria last month. >> estimated damages and everything came up to around $4300. jennifer: do youe $4300? >> absolutely not. jennifer: tonight's ago the thieves struck again in the same lot. jennifer: -- >> my fiance said you are never bringing your car back here. jennifer: abc cameras found for suv's stripped of their wheels and rims within a mile radius. >> the cops think it is for people. they go out and do it in less than five minutes. it kind of rattles your sense of security in the community. jennifer: we spoke with police departments. so far there is no hard evidence that these cases are related. abc 7 eyewitness news. leon: and other money matter here. an early version of

jennifer donelan is live in southeast to tell us how folks are trying to prepare for this upcoming storm, that includes folks that own the hardware stores. jen? >> it was a madhouse just a few minutes ago. not anymore. that's because where i'm standing there used to be ice melt. it's gone! vanished within minutes. let's get to some video. we toured the d.c. maryland, virginia area earlier today. first, we stopped off in arlington at cherry dale hardware. what nice folks over there. they had a crazy morning. they brought a delivery truck out there. they got their ice melt, their salt and their sand off that truck. they announced it on facebook. it was sold out within 25 minutes! that's the record. we're nearing the end of the winter season and we have this major snowstorm coming now. we it travel up the beltway to silver spring where we found the most ice melt that we saw all day long. but it was the expensive kind. it was the good stuff. that's good for the planet, your pet, and your property. but people were buying it nonetheless. it's been a frustrating day for hardware store owners. >

. >> jennifer donelan is live at our live desk with what we found out in the last few minutes. >> this call came in four people as shot. miami police gave the all clear and this is now officially a hoax. lil wayne let his fans know through social media in the past half-hour he was not at home when the drama developed. he was at a music studio. we've got some video to show you, the swat team on the scene there in florida. you'll see them at lil wayne's $9 million mansion three hours ago. the home is located in miami on an exclusive island there. this type of hoax is called swatting. a hacker or impersonator tricks 911 into deploying a swat team to an unsuspecting person's home. in this afternoon's case someone called a nonemergency police line in miami and said they were at the rap star's home and said they were prepared to get into a firefight with police. police can't take any chances with that and they showed up in force, surrounded the property. the swat team did a massive search and in the end found nothing. no one shot. no one injured. now, while the scene is all clear now, hard t

reporting live from southeast, i'm jennifer donelan, back to you. >> thanks, jen. the university of maryland has already made the call. they have decided to close for tomorrow. and amtrak is cutting back on the number of trains between d.c. and new york as well. now, if you're planning to fly most airlines say that they're issuing waivers to let you change those tickets without a fee if you choose to do so. join the "good morning washington" team and we'll be on early tomorrow morning starting at 4:00 a.m. and we'll have the latest on all the closings and delays as they come in right here. alison? >> all right, leon to other news tonight. an albemarle county circuit judge agreed to delay the murder trial against jesse matthew. at a hearing this morning, the judge also gave matthew's attorney permission to get a d.n.a. expert. the hearing to set the new trial date is scheduled for may 5th. matthew is charged in the abduction and murder of 18-year-old u.v.a. student hannah graham. and day one of the boston bombing trial now under way and opening statements the defens

reporting live from northwest, i'm jennifer donelan, abc 7 news. >> abc 7 is also on stormwatch. ahead of some heavy rains that will be soon soaking this area muddying the start of the weekend. chief meteorologist doug hill is here with when things will fire up. doug? >> that's part of the problem. grounds are pretty soft and muddy right now and the potential of more than an inch perhaps an inch and a half of rain tonight and tomorrow. not good. let's get you started with a look at the storm scan. rain is making steady progress from west to east. now rain on the south side of virginia in roanoke valley area. it will move in probably after 8:00. there could be a rogue isolated shower before then in the metro area. as a matter of fact that's quite likely. steadier rain will hold off until later tonight. it will at times get heavier overnight. 50 degrees in hagerstown. 57 degrees in fredricksburg and through the night with the rain temperatures will hold steady for a while in the 40's. but towards sunrise should quickly start rising. we should be in the low 60's tomorrow but rain es