jonathan elias, abc 7 news. back to you. you, jonathan. back to the breaking news we mentioned at the program in massive, maryland, a fire triggered by a reported explosion at a townhouse complex. crews have rescued one person from the scene. that is where richard reeve joins us live. he has the latest on what looks like a very scary situation, richard. richard: leon, a very dramatic scene. some ofe, you can see the structures, at least one of these townhomes completely collapsed. it is still smoking. they say 4, 5 buildings were affected by the explosion. the authorities saying that at about 7:30, they got a call of an odor of natural gas. an inspector came out to check it, he worked from a truck that is near the scene. he went back to his truck and the blast occurred. witnesses say the debris flew all over, all over the neighborhood, blowing off windows, blowing outdoors. all the way across the street. let's listen. >> it sounded like a heavy explosion. we knew it was not an earthquake, no vibration, so i figured it was a maybe a gas exp

we begin with jonathan elias at the theological college in northeast. jonathan?s been an exciting day for so many people. they waited hours for the chance to get a glimpse of the pope. they got more of that. michigan avenue behind me is closed. it's in between me and the basilica. along the route, hundreds of people, thousands of people have been sitting there for five, six, seven hours waiting for the one moment they got it this often. rock star status as he has been treated the whole time since he landed. cheering and screaming as the pope mobile rolled by. behind me the mass continues. the canonization mass started about 4:15. it is expected to go for another about 15, 20 minutes. maybe longer. suzanne kennedy is inside. she has been a part of the mass and listening to every step of the way. very exciting in there. there have been cheers as though there was a football game played in there. suzanne? suzanne: people were thrilled when the poem came through here not once but twice. in the pope mobile. we are an hour and a half into this mass. if you take a look b

alison: let's head out now to jonathan elias who is there still at the theological college across the street. jonathan, i understand you have someone there to speak with. jonathan: i do, alison. i'm with father ez.eka with the vatican. he travels the the pope. you con conley -- con congratulated him after he was elected. tell me about the trip. >> this was a man who didn't like to travel on foreign trips. he left argentina rarely and surprised the daylights out of all of us. after being elected two and a half years ago there were major trips that were significant. going to cuba first. arriving for the first time at age 78 in the united states yesterday. can ii can only imagine what hes thinking at the foot of the stairs at the airport. the president and the vice president of the united states of america, soldiers, oh honor guard and everything else. a simple man from argentina a pastor walking among barios and the poor and suddenly sees this. this morning watching his face, the awe at the white house. but in spite of all of that he treats everybody the same. that is the beauty of pope

jonathan elias is monitoring that for us. what is going on? than: a scary situation playing out right now in phoenix, arizona. this is from our sister station. this is a storage unit. there are explosions so far. we don't have injury reports but look how far back the ladder truck are shooting water on the tanks. there are other huge gas tanks sitting there. they are at risk of exploding as well. the employees have been evacuated. fire crews are not getting close but they see black smoke in phoenix area for miles. this is south of phoenix as a gas storage facility. we will keep an eye on it to let you know if there are new developments when this happens. that is loitest from the breaking news desk in the newsroom. jonathan elias. back to you. leon: thank you. new developments in case of a girlfriend convincing her boyfriend to commit suicide. some of text messages that michelle carter sent to her boyfriend they say she wrote, "you can't think about it. you just have to do it. you said you were going to do it. carter's lawyer is asking for the ca

our jonathan elias is standing by as even waits for the next steps. jonathan? jonathan: the pope made such a statement on the tarmac at joint base andrews. in his exhortations at the vatican when he talk about the church, the cardinals, the bishop, everybody has to lead by example. he leads by example without saying anything. getting into a fia tab. he could have any car made in the world by any manufacturer, ferrari or a lamborghini. he wants a fiat. to live simply. that is his message when he talked to the bishops and the cardinals about but everything else. want to bring in father brown, rector at the theological college. you met the pope before, pope francis. you spoke to him in italian he struggles in english. what did he do? >> he responded to me in was veryhich gracious. his english was somewhat halting but he took the meuble to try to speak to in english and that made me comfortable and warm and to thehis hospitality people. jonathan: a short time ago i heard leon on the set and they were talking in the studio of the things going on within the church. t

breaking news, jonathan elias has the latest for us. a grand jury just came back with an indictment against jesse lee roy matthew, junior. we understand he's being charged officially with murder and abduction in the 2009 case of morgan dana harrington. she was a virginia tech student who went missing after a metallica on certain and her body was discovered after that. they matched his dna from a sample they took on her shirt. the grand jury has indicted him on two counts of murder and abduction in the case of morgan harrington. is being more cases he looked at and we will try to get more information for you in later new casts. doug hill is standing by to give us the latest on the weather doug:. looking live at the laurel high school annex. 80 degrees there right now, sunset tonight at 7:17. a very pleasant evening. upper 70's and low 80's across the region. in much difference temperatures from community to community. we are all under the influence of the same weather system, producing comfortably warm temperatures and very dry air. that

live at the basilica, i'm jonathan elias. let's go back to you. maureen: thank you, jonathan. coming up on "abc7 news at 6:00", continuing live coverage of the pope's visit to america. he is saying mass at the basilica right now. you are seeing live pictures of the mass underway. we will have much more coming up next. doug: i'm doug hill in the belfort furniture weather center. the picture perfect weather. that is still to come on the leon: look live at pope francis saying canonization mass and the mass will wrap up and the pope will be driven back to the nunciature where he is staying. stay with abc7 as we continue to bring you coverage of "pope in america." maureen: today outside the white house there were even more memorable moments. brad bell has been keeping track of them all and is live with a look at the highlights of the spiritual history made today. brad? brad: we have seen him preside over the mass, seen religious religious -- seen religion and heard talk of how the scripture combines and interacts with people and becomes politics. we saw a little of all of that toda

jonathan: i'm jonathan elias. black eye for the secret service. many employees improperly access tend old job application of a congressman investigating scandals inside the agency. it's chavit. of utah. and the actions could violate the u.s. privacy act. we will stay on top of the story and we will bring you the information once it's available. i'm jonathan elias in the newsroom. back to you. leon: "7 on your side" consumer alert now. the next time you ride am track you may have to pay a baggage fee. tomorrow, the passenger train company will start to charge $20 for the passengers who exceed limit for carry-on and personal items. the customers are allowed to bring on board three, two personal items weighing up to 25 pounds and two carry-on bags more than 50 pounds each. am track hope it will pre -- amtrak says they hope it will preserve space on the crowded trains. meeting between president obama and raul castro at the united nations show physically how the tensions are easing between the countries. alison: today, another change. the first regular

the bassba , i'm else -- live at the basilica, i'm jonathan elias. back to you. maureen: thank you. tomorrow, pope francis' visit outdoor events. parade in the morning and the outdoor mass of canonization in the afternoon. expect from the weather? we turn to chief meteorologist doug hill. doug: the bottom line is it terrific. gorgeous outside the belfort furniture center now. county, in loudoun too. sunshine today. fair weather clouds. no chance of rain. temperatures start in the 60's. by the parade time, it will be degrees. mid-to-the late afternoon hours 4:15 the scheduled time basilica,ss at the 80 degrees. leon: there is a lot of road closures. massachusetts avenue northwest in front of the nunciature of the holy sea. that area remains closed until thursday. around the white house and the ellipse are going to be closed until noon tomorrow. maureen: this afternoon we seen impact of the road closures for president obama and pope francis' motorcade. gathered on the overpasses to watch the black pontiff down the suitland parkway. how is it affecting the rush hour? tom roussey is liv

donna the lies, -- jonathan elias, abc 7 news. ♪ leon: four people were killed and 21 hurt in seattlethey are reported to be in critical condition. the duck vehicle went out of control and crashed into the bus. investigators are trying to determine the exact circumstances. stay with abc 7. the shock of it all is sinking in after home explosion in columbia, maryland. it destroyed several townhouses on sleepy horse lane. none of the injuries were life-threatening. debris litters the neighborhood and chart uses of construction for made in the street. investigators are sifting through the rubble to find out the cause. it occurred shortly after some of reported smelling gas in the neighborhood. >> everything was blown out of cabinets and drawers. furniture is completed destroyed. the home exploded. there are things in there i wish i could get. none of us were hurt. that's the most important thing. maureen: we are told six homes are now uninhabitable as the investigation continues. leon: coming up just ahead at 6:00, just hours after a speech from pope francis, the reaction for planned pare

jonathan elias monitoring everything for us right now. reporter: there has been an amber alert issued by montgomery county police right now. they are looking for a little girl. it's important you take a look at these pictures. they only issue amber alerts when they fear for the life of a child. they have issued that warning. they are looking for 50-month-old farah mohammed. 23 pounds come up brown eyes and black hair. she was last seen seeing those small round earrings. the man that took her is her father, jason kelly. is muslim name is a smile -- ismael. he is bald and with a beard. they were last seen driving a hyundai santa fe. 577t. -- sayshould immediately you shouldn't merely call 911 if you spot them. back to you. leon: an update to a story that abc 7 news broke this week. i woman who scratched off a winning ticket that appeared to be worth $20,000. turns out she would not get anything although the lottery admits they made a mistake and injury they say this woman could be at risk of facing criminal charges. 7 on your side went to g

meanwhile, i'm jonathan elias, leon, allison, back to you. leon: developing news, another major issue on metro. alison: a power outage left a train trapped in passengers forced to evacuate. tom roussey has the scary moments they are talking about tonight. tom, tell us about it. tom: we have a latebreaking news, a few minutes ago after being shut down five hours, a woman opened the gates at the petworth metro station and the green line, both open. metro says they believe that it was a remote terminal unit, something that allows them to control the power, that is what they believed failed, leaving a lot of passengers in a scary situation. passenger shot this video after d.c. firefighters arrived to evacuate the 500-plus passengers stuck more than an hour. above ground, worried relatives the firer news as trucks swarmed georgia avenue outside of the petworth station. passenger say is the green line train headed through worth, it suddenly stopped. >> sitting, it got real hot. >> the emergency lights were on, then they went out. they sat iny darkn

jonathan elias monitoring everything for us right now.eporter: there has been an amber alert issued by montgomery county police right now. they are looking for a little girl. it's important you take a look at these pictures. they only issue amber alerts when they fear for the life of a child. they have issued that warning. they are looking for 50-month-old farah

from the newsroom, i'm jonathan elias. kimberly: u that. coming up next at 5:00. chris: d.c.streetcar further delayed. coming up, why this platform is being destroy and rebuilt. plus -- leon: lost and found. found out what helped a virginia hiker stay alive after he found himself lost in the woods. announcer: you're watching "abc7 news at 5:00". on your side. kimberly: we are coming up on a year since d.c. started to test the streetcar along h street. tonight more problems for the beleaguered project. crews are ripping up some of the infrastructure to repair what apparently wasn't done properly the first time. "7 on your side" investigator chris papst has been following the money on the story for months. is live with what is going on now. another expenseive fix. >> this is a milestone for the d.c. streetcar. a year ago it started the simulating service for the practice runs. since then, or ever. it has still to carry one passenger. the platforms are ripped up. they are being repaired. with the swing of a hammer and a fresh poured cop crete, the construction along h street is

jonathan elias, back to you inside. alison: thank you. the chinese president is now here in the nation's capital. he arrived here from washington state just moments ago. we are watching as folks dissent the airplane. he will -- this end an airplane -- dessnend. talks,ll hold bilateral a joint press conference, and then a state dinner. discuss china's alleged cyber espionage against u.s. companies. all those topics will be discussed. president xi is not quite getting the same perception as pope francis. a chinese calligrapher with the banners which read "release human rights defenders in china." the move is protesting china's practice of jailing journalists and dissidents. leon: a sacred religious journey has ended in catastrophe in saudi arabia. muslim pilgrims are dead after a stampede during the hajj. investigation is underway into the cause. the saudi minister says to waves of pogroms collided at an intersection. they believe that he definitely were also -- also played a factor. alison: it was a sight we saw over and over where it the

across --onzalez is our jonathan elias is across, a pitch away from it at the theological college northeast of campus university. jonathan, what we just saw and heard is a taste of what will be happening there at that scene behind you tomorrow. jonathan: there is no question about that, leon. it's more ofink a sand wedge. if that is your pitching wedge we need to work on your game. what a great scene that was at the airport. here you are with suburbans bulletproof cars and he could have anything he wants he wants a modest four-door fiat to roll windows head leave joint base andrews to head for down time at the vatican embassy. this is the basilica. it has been transformed in the last few weeks. in the last six months they have been talking security. secret service have been here and talked to folks at the theological college, catholic talked to and everybody at the basilica. they want to make sure what happens here tomorrow is very safe. be completely locked down. michigan after behind me -- behind me isue still open right now. it will change in a few hours. for all intents and purposes thi