marion barry said. police held him on the side of the road 90 minutes, and then they arrested, handcuffs, and held him another four hours was stalking charges which were ultimately thrown out. he described the episode as the talk of the town. >> he should go away. that is marion barry. >> i think it is very much in character. >> around washington, this latest episode brings the expected reaction and the expected denunciations of the park police by marion barry. >> cnn reported marion barry and arrested again. >> he was arrested fourth of july night after park police say, -- say donna watts- brighthaupt flag them down and said marion barry was stalking her. then the news came out that he paid her $5,000er month to organize poverty programs. >> ira every penny that i earned. >> were you girlfriend? >> i was not his girlfriend. >> reporters peppered marion barry with questions about city funds, but he would not discuss that, though he did respond when asked of his relation with watts-brighthaupt. >> it is

councilman marion barry it. we're now hearing a voice mail from marion barry, who is accused of stalking his ex- girlfriend, donna watts- brighthaupt. sam ford has the latest. >> this all started on july 4 when 40-year-old donna watts- brighthaupt flag down park police officers and pointed out a man she said was stalking her, who turned out to be marion barry, age 73. he was charged with misdemeanor stalking, and the story has grown day-by-day. for councilmember marion barry, it has to be embarrassing. ex-girlfriend donna watts- brighthaupt with whom he had been feeding, released her voice mail to the washington city paper, which put them on line. >> in most of the messages, marion barry is trying to get her to stop seeing her ex- husband. >> also today, the d.c. council released dozens of documents showing marion berry put his girlfriend on the council payroll as a $5,000 per month consultant to organize a meeting on poverty reduction, sometimes terminating and reinstating her contract. >> no comment. >> watts-

by phone, she says she drove back with marion barry on saturday at about 8:00. she dropped him off, headed to the fireworks, but that he followed her in his car, trying to get her attention, blowing the horn, flashing the lights. she says it could be why the policestopped them. she denies flagging the police officer, and says she never claimed marion barry was stalking her. in fact, she wants to retract the claim and not place charges. as for the remarks, she says she is not unstable and tells fox 5 news she will do what is necessary o clear her name. >> now there is still no response from park police tonight to her claims. meanwhile, marion barry's lawyer has scheduled a news conference tomorrow morning and the councilman is due in court on the stalking charges. >> thank you, we'll keep it here for the continuing coverage of marion barry's arrest, watch fox 5 news morning news for the overnight development. and you can log onto myfoxdc.com. >>> the death of former nfl quarterback steve mcnair sending shock waves through the sports world and beyond. his body and

marion barry's office says the allegations of stalking are false. as for the latest news that he gave a contract, that he hired his ex-girlfriend what they were dating, he said that it was a legal contract, that it was under the guidelines of the city council, but then this seemed to turn into a personal attack on the ex-girlfriend. she then responds. here is the spokesperson. >> according to ms. donna watts- brighthaupt, she is currently under the care of the local psychiatrist and has been diagnosed with compulsive behavior disorder and clinical depression. ladies and gentlemen of the district of columbia, ms. donna watts-brighthaupt should not be believed. her allegations are simply not true. they are lies. >> it looks like they are scared of something. i haven't said anything. i must be bad. >> that was the alleged accuser. marion barry's spokesperson saying that she is unstable, saying that loud and clear to hethrough his spokesperson. obviously, a developing story. we will have more on this. >>> free plastic bags in the district will soon beco

councilman marion barry. today, stalking charges were officially dropped and he spoke about the arrest. now sources tell abc 7 he could face a probe into the hiring of his ex-girlfriend. jennifer donelan has what may come next. >> the best way to describe what marion barry will be facing is an inquiry. sources tell abc 7 news that march afternoon it will meet behind closed doors to discuss how the inquiry will proceed. they want to get to the bottom of the hiring of marion barry's then-girlfriend, donna watts- brighthaupt. >> this inappropriate arrested not occur, we would not be going through this pain. >> his ex-girlfriend donna watts-brighthaupt was relieved the case is over. >> it is a tragedy. >> as much as they may want to move forward, there are still major questions about his hiring of watts-brighthaupt while they were not romantically involved. -- while they were romantically involved. she was paid at least $20,000 of taxpayer money, but nobody is saying whether that was legal. marion barry's camp ha

december 5, marion barry terminated her contract. may 22, marion barry said it expedite the payment to the woman. >> she is out there again by herself. >> she is talking about a hastily held news conference where marion barry's spokeswoman questioned her sanity. >> we want it known that according to ms. watts herself, she is currently under the care of a local psychiatrist. >> she showed up denouncing the claim, ridiculing barry and her okeswoman -- and his spokeswoman. >> i have not said anything, and they still have to do this? i must be bad. >> while it is illegal to hire family members or spouses under the law, that does not include girlfriends. no indication the law was broken. it on the fourth of july incident at this started, marion barry is due in d.c. superior court tomorrow on a charge of stalking donna watts- brighthaupt. sam ford, abc 7 news. >> there are a lot more of those voicemail recordings that you can hear. jennifer donelan has more on what marion barry had to say. it >> there is a lot of material, it tended like t

going on, this is natalie williams, the spokesperson for marion barry. let's listen in and see if she gets to the main point. >> in past interviews, mr. barry has characterized ms. watts as being unstable. tonight we want to make it known that ms. watts is currently under the care of a local doctor and is decided with a behavior disorder, and inical depression. this diagnosis from a well- respected psychiatrist and is not the sole opinion of mr. barry or ms. watts. ladies and gentlemen of the district of columbia, ms. watts should not be believed. her allegations against mr. bare bar are just simply not true. they are mr. barry just simply are not true, they are lies. with regard to the allegations regarding councilman barry, let me say that the events surrounding the contract have nothing to do with the events which occurred over the 4th of july weekend. but because of the media choosing to make big of this, i believe it is important to help thresidents of the district of columbia learn about the actions surrounding the contract to ms. watts. ms. watts

mayor marion barry.e was arrested and charged with stalking a woman on the fourth of july. >> today we could hear more about what happened from the barry side. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us live from southeast with more on this interesting story. megan? >> reporter: good morning. there are actually a couple of different varying accounts of what happened saturday night. there is the police version. there's also the account being told by the woman at the heart of the allegation, donna watts, as well as barry's own account. we're expected to learn more about what marion barry has to say about what happened later on this morning. there is a press conference scheduled for 10:00 a.m. today. now, this all happened saturday evening at about 8:45. u.s. park police say a woman flagged down an oicer who was patrolling an anacostia park near good hope road. police say the woman pointed to marion barry, who was in another car and said he was stalking her. marion barry was taken into custody and later charged with m

>>> marion barry on the defensive. >> we believe the charge is baseless. >> marriage rights in maryland in the spotlight. only on 7 at 11, governor martin o'malley's answer. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >>> we began with a new twist in the latest legal trauma -- drama involving marion barry. abc7 learns a woman's ex husband may have verbally threatened barry. >> we're learning a lot about hours and days leading up to marion barry's are arrest. marion barry's attorney said an affair is over. they spent much of the fourth of july together. the man reportedly in the car with the accuser, her ex- husband. we know last tuesday marion barry at police stopped his accuser's ex-husband from entering the wilson building for an event. >> that individual had been confrontational with mr. barry in the past. >> -- >> as for the events leading up to the rest, his lawyer confirmed the councilman spent much of his july 4 with the accuser. they had planned to go to rehoboth beach. the returned from annapolis to washington. there were reports saying they were talking a

said marion barry has been a frequent visitor. around the city is the talk about this latest accusation even as his attorney says the charges are baseless. among the public today, reaction to the latest continuing marion barry sought out. >> it is too much. >> it is a personal domestic issue. >> people do not have jobs. >> donna watts-brighthaupt allegedly flight down park police on the fourth of july night, st. marion barry was bothering her and her ex- husband. at a news conference today, marion barry was mum. >> forced to proceed forward in court. it is our hope that a careful review of the facts by the officers of the united states attorney in will lead to the conclusion that no charges should be fired -- filed. interesting question. i do not know. >> neighbors question the stocking charge. they said the introduced their kids to marion barry outside their house the night of the arrest. >> we look at the news and he was on the news. >> neighbors said that marion barry, the woman, and the ex- husband wore all on good terms. barr

first of all, marion barry says he was treated shabbily by u.s. parks police so he will not let the matter drop. today marion barry will get yet another one of his many days in court. >> on behalf of council member marion barry, his family and his friends, we'd like to say our hearts are full tonight with thanks. >> reporter: that is because this time around the ending will be happy. >> we are grateful the office of the u.s. attorney has seen fit to not proceed in charging mr. barry for any criminal violations surrounding the july 4th event. >> reporter: events that led to stalking charges being filed by police after a bizarre altercation between barry and his former girlfriend in anacostia park. >> the the arrest of mr. barry should have never taken place. >> reporter: for the allege victim, former barry girlfriend, donna watts the ending is not so happy. >> i hate the fact i'm going down in history as one of the many women who he thinks he's defeated. yet there is something else that may happen. after the arrest it was brought to light that barr

as for councilman marion barry, he did not comment when asked about the cover. jay korff, abc 7 news. >>> coming out -- she has delighted kids 50 years. wait until you see what barbie is doing now. >> we have not had any rain now for a few days. it is mu worse. >> that is causing a very dirty problem in one community. m a group of thieves tortured a couple. (bell ringing) woo-hoo!!!! woo-hoo!!!! woo-hoo!!!! woo-hoo!!!! kobak. mr. miller (announcer) everyone's heading to arby's for the official $5 combo of summer. feating arby's new bbq bacon cheddar roastburger with curly fries and a drink for only $5. big on bbq taste, it's the $5 . >>> a warning tonight about a trio of muggers who torture their victim with aaser near review court. stephen tschida has the story. >> residents of the community are shocked about the mugging and horrified about the weapon the thugs used to predict -- used. a quiet apartment complex, where kids skateboard and their parents stroll comfortably with their dog, but now this crime alert has them on guard. >> three people with the assault

i love you. >> marion barry is due in court this morning. we will have the latest on ai >>> welcome back. just about since it bought 48. stalking charges are now being dropped against marion barry. " the controversy over the allegations is far from over. >> we are calling it a summer soap opera. today was supposed to be the next episode in the sense that the court will formally drop the charges. we have just learned from marion barry's office that he will not be attending court this morning even though it is very good news. no court trial for marion bry after he was arrested for allegedly stopping his >> program, donna watts- brighthaupt. the scandal boils over. the "city pap" released the tapes of voice mail before the july 4 incident. her ex-husband gave the paper access to the plate the recordings. in one, she claims she would not perform a sex act. it appears the legal part of this is all over, but certainly the scandal of the saga is continuing. we are now wondering when we will hear from marion barry since july 4. his spokesperson and

may marion barry dodges another legal bullet. why prosecutors have decided not to tour sue those stalking charges and what his accuser has to say. >> operator error. a metro worker caught on video texting while driving a train. why his punishment has left some people outraged. >> and happy birthday. yes, tai shan is turning 4 years old. how the national zoo plans to celebrate this panda milestone. good morning to you and welcome to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm barbara harrison. it's thursday, july 9th, 2009. we'll have much more on our top stories after we take a look at traffic and weather on the 1s. >> meteorologist tom kierein has joined us here in the studio, right there. >> hey, tom. going to the birthday party? >> sure. why not? get a frozen treat. you might want it later on today. will get up to around 80 or so. there's venus gleaming brilliantly in the eastern sky. in the western sky, got the juas-pfunasoo m andooitup j.er thg clouds.om cing int is ho iur, 67w waonsh67ingt. inray oay roo dright r no w, ano p

. >> marion barry's camp responds after stalking charges are dropped. dirty new details involving marion barry, his ex- girlfriend, and their sex life. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> this is abc 7 breaking news. >> our breaking news comes from -- comes to us from marion barry. his soap opera is apparently over. he was charged on the fourth of july with stalking his ex- girlfriend. now, he learns that the charges will be dropped. jennifer donelan is live where his camp spoke out. >> the possible criminal case against marion barry may be over but the scandal surrounding his past relationship continues to brew. there will not be another courtroom for city councilman marion barry, arrested july 4th at anacostia park for allegedly stalking his ex-girlfriend. >> mr. marion barry has, from the very beginning, maintained that he never stocked ms. watts, that he never harassed her. >> the voice mills left by a barry for his ex-girlfriend were released by the washington city paper today after her ex- husband give the paper ac

he admits that marion barry spent much of the day with the woman before the incident. they planned a trip to grow old with beach. she changed her mind. she never asked for him to be arrested. >> she indicated that she had a meal with marion barry. clearly, there was no stalking. there was no coercion. there was no compelling of her to be involved in a relationship. >> early reaction -- >> why would he harass someone and the 73-year-old? >> the u.s. attorney believes her story. we will find out more details thursday. that is the day the case is due in court. >>> this is not marion barry's first brush with the law. in 1990, he was caught smoking crack in a hot -- hotel room in an fbi sting. he served six months in prison and was reelected as mayor. in 1994 and 2006, he was sentenced to probation for not filing his tax returns. >>> president barack obama is in russia. he landed in moscow this morning for the first russian summit in seven years. at the top of his agenda, nuclear arsenal reductions and the war in afghanistan. >> in the gilded halls of the kremlin, president

would be making a presentation, when marion stood up and when marion started to write in about deflecting responsibility about an unlawful arrest and again, not accepting responsibility for actions or even a tokened admission that his action was appropriate. i said enough. i walked out as did other members, i'm not a alone. >> because he voted against the gay marriage statute in dc, recognizing gay marriages from out of states and that's something you would be married. that's something you are angry about and that's why it has become personal? >> absolutely not. this is again an effort on mr. barry's part to deflect responsibility. he refuses to take it. in fact, the evidence speaks for itself. to blame somehow, you know, this whole thing over his vote is ridiculous. it's as if i forced him to drive down the wrong way of a one-way street. i asked him to forge his relationship and asked him to put her on the payroll. i think it'sridiculous. >> how would you describe your relationship with him before all of this? >> even in spite of this, there are things that i respect and like about mario

marion barry is facing misdemeanor stalking charges. news 4 has learned he was taken into police custody after getting ready to head out of town with an acquaintance. we have team coverage on the story. we begin with darcy spencer at the park police station in south east washington. >> reporter: good evening, keith. a spokesperson for marion barry says the two had lunch together yesterday and a person close to barry tells news 4 the two had plans to go to rehob edge beach and apparently the woman decided she didn't want to go. they returned back to d.c. and at some point last night ended up here in anacostia park in separate vehicles. police said she flagged them down and said she was being stalked. >> council member barry is no stalker. he is someone who lended his hand to assist which in the end has come back to bite him. >> reporter: a spokeswom for marion barry says he's innocent of the stalking charges placed against him saturday night by u.s. park police. >> it is ourope that the charges councilman barry faces today will be droppe

councilman marion barry. he is speaking for the first time since those stalking charges were dropped. and the national zoo's biggest star is celebrating his birthday. adam caskey will be back with a full check on the forecast. thank you forhank you for are you making it easier for bacteria to grow on your dentures? you are if you use toothpaste instead of soaking them in polident. toothpaste is abrasive on dentures look, scratches where bacteria can collect and grow and bacteria can cause bad breath that's why i recommend replacing toothpaste with polident. only polident is proven to clean without scratching and kills 99.9% of odor causing bacteria don't scratch your dentures clean use polident every day >> bombings killed 41 people in iraq today and injured hundreds of others. two other explosions happened an hour later in baghdad. the bombings were a few hundred feet apart and went off within one minute of one another. >>> health officials estimate in million americans have been affected by the swine flu, a

and marion barry arrested over the weekend for stalking charges. and the former mayor and his attorney held a news conference. and megan mcgrath joins us with more on that. >> reporter: he is facing stalking charges with an alleged instant that involved a personal friend of marion barry. he held a press conference. it's wpping up right now. he did not speak himself on the advice of counsel, rather his attorney, fred cook, spoke on behalf of barry. he said that he did not stalk anybody. this is an issue involving a personal relationship gone bad. the u.s. attorney has not filed charges and they are reviewing the case and it's barry's hope and the hope of counsel that this will not go any further. >> we believe that the charge is baseless. we believe the charge stems from a personal relationship that has gone horribly wrong in a lot of ways and resulted in one party of the relationship striking out at mr. barry, and repaying him for some of his kindness and efforts to be of assistance to that individual by offering up these charges, which we believe

marion barry will get yet another one of his many days in court. >> on behalf of councilman marion barry, his family friends we'd like to say our hearts are full tonight with thanks. >> reporter: that is because this time around the ending will be happy. >> we are grateful the office of the u.s. attorney has seen fit to not proceed in charging mr. barry for any criminal violations surrounding the july 4th event. >> reporter: events that led to stalking charges being filed by u.s. park police after a bizarre altercation between barry and his form per girlfriend in anacostia park. >> the arrest of mr. barry should have never taken place. >> reporter: for the alleged victim, former barry girlfriend, donna watts the ending is not so happy. >> i hate the fact that i'm going down in history as one of the many women who he thinks he's defeated. >> reporter: the arrest also brought to light a $60,000 no bid contract that barry awarded to donna watts. now barry said it was done above board and legitimately but some dc council members want an investigation either by the county or by the attorney g

sufficient probable cause was developed on july fourth t arrest marion barry.ter a consultation with the u.rn at's eytooffice, the charge of stalking was placed. the u.s. attorney's office declined to pursue it further. >>> police say a drunk driver killed two people in a crash on ebeltway. it h neeaappe ndrhe n clara ba p jarbaaykwust after 100ay last nit. police say the drunk driver hed to a car and sending he thatarver a guardrail down a t60oo-f embankment and after the pocrooh aslice sayh theru d d driver kept going. derrick ward has that report tonight. >> rorr:te police say it started when a 2004 jeep cherokee driven by kelli loos struck a frontier on the outer loop of the beltway just north of the cabin john exit. >> believed she was doing lane change or drifting, not paying attention from lane three to four which would be two lanes to your right. striking the rear. >> reporter: the fourth of the crash sent the nissan over a guard rail and landed on its roof 60 feet below. the police say she kept going after the colition and crossing the cabin john bridg

. >> we begin with the latest chapter in the marion barry saga. federal prosecutors have decided to drop charges against the former d.c. mayor. police arrested barry saturday for allegedly stalking his ex-girlfriend. at a news caverns today, bar wrrk said he didn't deserve to be arrested and it has caused great pain to his family and the community. audrey barnes was at the news conference. this just keeps going. >> reporter: it seems laoib marion barry seems most concerned about the way the arrest which he calls inappropriate went down, and while he considers possible action against u.s. park police, council members want him to answer some questions, too, mainly about the city contract he negotiated for his former girlfriend. she was paid in lump sums at various times coinciding with many breakups and reconciliations. so far, no explanation from the barry camp. >> the first question is did marion barry break any laws? and that's what we're going to determine. >> i'll tell you what we do intend to do is deal with the information at the appropriate

the stalking charges against marion barry dropped. we have the latest twist in this saga in just a minute but first. >>> it is the video you'll only see here first on fox caught on camera a metro train operator not focused on the tracks. the passenger roling on all of this says that operator was asleep at the controls as the train sped down the rails and that video has metro investigating tonight. thanks for joining us. i'm shawn yancy. >> i'm brian bolter. the video was shot by a worried passenger and the operator, the second recently caught on camera distracted from the controls. fox 5's will thomas working this exclusive tonight live in the newsroom. >> the 14-year-old passenger you are about to meet likes to ride up front so he can see what's ahead on the tracks just like the train operators, but one day last month he says he was doing all the looking and provided us a video you just saw to prove it. with his mother's permission he gave us his firsthand account. >> i'm thinking that he needs to wake up before an emergency occurs.

. >> stalking charges are dropped against marion barry. recorded phone calls show the scandal is not going away. >> another expected wave of cyber attacks. will the u.s. be targeted again? "good morning washington" starts right now. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >>> good thursday morning. i'm doug mcelway. >> and i'm alison starling. your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes. >> adam caskey, your predictions have been correct. >> it is great weather this time of year. it is hard to believe it is actually in july in washington. the dew point numbers are in the low 50's. that means low humidity. frederick, 60 degrees. ashburn,8. woodbdge, 64 we are a little bitoo c trleo wt.es front royal, 57. here is the forecast. a mixture of sun and clouds. high temperatures in the low 80's. yesterday we hit 81 at reagan national for an afternoon high. fairly low humidity. we cannot rule out a passing shower in the shenandoah valley. they will be few and far between. tomorrow, scattered cloud cover. a fair amou

mayor marion barry under arrest. tonight, his campfire back at the woman claimed she was being stalked. he plans to fight the charge. richard reeve is live in southeast washington to explain and all. richard? >> well, scott, i am in acostia park, where this story began. we are told that the accuser has noted marion barry for years the she s been seen with them, and as you mentioned, a spokesperson denies any wrongdoing. it began here in anacostia park around in the club 45 on the evening of july 40 a female driver flagged down an officer, requesting assistance. the driver in the other car, marion barry. the woman told police that he was, quote, stalking her. officers arrested him on a misdemeanor stalking charge. >> he adamantly denies the charges of stalking. >> the accuser is described as a close friend, who accompanied him to court. she said the couple had lunch together earlier in the day, that he has helped the accuser with health issues and unemployment. >> council member barry is no stalker. he lent his hand t

referring to the arrest of marion barry. his attorney says that charges of stalking are baseless and they will be dropped. they go to court tomorrow. how likely the charges will be dropped. >> i think they will open the marion barry section and what do we do in this situation? here's the problem that barry faces. one, if in fact, he is charged and convicted, his probation on the tax charges can be revoked. and imagine administration judge robinson can put him in jail. that's one risk he is facing even if this is only a misdemeanor stalking charge which can turn in to serious confrontations. so i don't want to down play a stalking charge. two, we have the conflict issues of her being on the payroll in barry's office and she's allegedly a girlfriend. the conflicts laws are designed to prevent family members, it's not clear, a little hazy with respect to the girlfriend and she's being paid and he has a fund he can hire basically whoever he wants. >> she is not a family member of his, he says. that makes this hiring legal. >> an

council member marion barry.lking charges against him have been dropped, the investigation is apparently far from over. the woman at the center of the debate is donna watts-brighthaupt. she is barry's former girlfriend. now "the washington post" reports that fellow council members want to investigate barry's decision to award her a council contract after the two started dating. barry would not comment on the contract, but he's talking now about his recent arrest. >> mr. morales and the national park service police have caused great pain in my family and this community and the nation. if this inappropriate arrest had not occurred, we wouldn't be going through this pain. >> watts-brighthaupt has admitted the reports that barry was stalking her was a misunderstanding. park police issued a statement saying they believed they did have enough evidence to arrest barry. barry says he will pursue a further explanation. >> it's president obama's last day at the g 8 summit and he has some high profile things on his agenda.

but i noticed one thing about marion. he is has a big heart but a lot of people have taken advantage of it. i'm talking about people he did favors for. >> right. >> that's what's unfolding. >> that may be part of it, but the other part of it is i would think at least on its face it seems that here's a guy who routinely makes bad decisions. makes bad decisions -- >> he makes bad decisions because he is a -- what? street dude. that's what they used to call marion barry. >> are you cleaning it up for television? >> that's what they would call him. listen, marion is a heck of an administrator. but the dude -- the guy knows the streets. and a lot of the things that gets him the headlines is tabloid thing about marion barry's life. >> how much does he enjoy it, too? >> he enjoys a lot of it. barry is a smart marketer. he kno that good or bad, your name is out there. >> one other aspect of the story we haven't touched on -- two quick things. one, the former mayor's getting a little long in the tooth now, and i think that you wou

. >>> former mayor marion bear is in trouble with the law. good evening, everyone. i'm keith garvin. >>> marion bear radio was arrested last night just before 9:00 and released earlier this morning. facing misdemeanor stalking charges after an encounter with a woman described as i close personal friend. darcy spencer has our report. >> reporter: council member barry is no stalker. >> reporter: a spokeswoman for ward a council member marion barry says he'll aggressively fight the stalking charged against him. >> it's our hope that the charges that council member barrow faces today will be dropped or if nothing more that the truth of the manner will prevail in the court of law. >> reporter: barry is accused of stalking by donna watts. a southeast d.c. resident, whom barryays has been a close, personal friend for the last two years. barry spokeswoman has helped the woman through financial employment and health-related problems. >> never did mr. barry think that this would come as a payback to him. the best work to describe mr. barry at this hour is betrayed. >> reporte

we are going to hear from marion barry himself. he's been allowing his lawyer and press secretary to speak for him since this whole alleged stalking episode. but he has scheduled a press conference today at the wilson building for noon. now no one expected him to show up today at the superior court. his presence was not required. what happened is what prosecutors called no papering. there won't be any paper to dog marion barry, and the charges were dropped. those embarrassing voice males he left to his girlfriend are still out there. she stick technically has city contract. there are some who question which services she has rendered to the city. the contract of $60,000 to be paid $2,500 every two weeks to come up with poverty reduction strategies for ward 8. she's already been paid $15,000 of that money. council members are not talking publicly much. but privately saying even though they have broad discretion to use council budgets to pay for staff, they like to make sure there was no misuse of public funds. now the mayor addressed

the council has found a superlar to investigate the marion barry contract. bennett is a partner in the law firm of scaden artsleep meager and flan. he's a former federal prosecutor. he has extensive experience. 35 years. d.c. council chairman vincent gray and marion barry himself commented on the independent outside legal review just minutes ago. >> on tuesday, i will present a resolution to the council to formally adt this representation of the council and that will give him full authority to investigate all of the minuteser as associated with this -- matter associated with this, including subpeona power. >> mr. chairman, i welcome this and i cooperate fully with this because i know what will happen. when it's all said and done, there will be no question about the propriety of this contract. >> reporter: chairman gray says bennett will issue a report on his findings about the contract that barry gave donna watts. it pay include any additions of any policies of rules and policies and procedure. bob bennett is lending his services on a pro bono basis. he says

. >>> and even more trouble for ouncilman marion bre -- marion barry. what we've learned about a possible spending scandal. we're back.   there are moments in time when the paths we take do determine our future. today we are communicating with each other as never before - and th requires a seamless network that is constantly growing better, smarter, and more secure. that's why our scientists and ngineers in our labs, are taking the fastest technology in the world and making it mobile, better and faster - to keep pushing t internet further than anyone dreamed. last year alone we invested more in building america's future than any other company - improving and expanding our network, to keep you in control. and behind the scenes, that takes work by our employees, who pride themselves knowing, that because they do it right, you might not even notice. if a of that, makes your connections, faster and more secure... well, that's our business. at&t... your world... delivered. >>> if you've seen one high speed chase, you'v

now marion barry's ex-girlfriend is speaking out

facing marion barry. >> personal details of his accuser's wife were made public. pamela brown has the latest. >> i only heard a little bit of what she said. >> donna watts-brighthaup turned out to last might cost press conference to defend herself. she is in the background as barry's spokesperson calls for unstable. >> she is currently under the care of a local psychiatrist and has been ^ with compulsive behavior disorder and clinical depression. >> she allegedly accused barry of stalking her on the fourth of july. she says those allegations are not true. >> i have not said anything. >> their history goes well beyond this past week. barry's spokesperson said she was hired last year. the city pays hurt $60,000 for her services. barry says he did this to help poor out in a tough time. >> mr. barry did this not because of mess watts but because of her children. but barry maintains she was qualified for the job. >> it is not unusual for illegal for councilmembers to award contracts to supporters who qualified or can provide the services required. >> that was pamela br

. >> did marion barry break any laws? but marion barry faces a possible probe into hiring his ex-girlfriend. >> gm attorneys are expected to usher the do general motors out of bankruptcy today. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your de. >>> friday morning. i'm doug mcelway. >> and i'm alison starling. welcome to friday. let's get started with your traffic and weather together every 10 minutes. >> let's start with adam caskey. he has been promising more on the moisture front today. >> today is still going to be a great day. we will feel more heat and d.midity thisenweek we are still -- we still have dew nin its the upper 50' s. itis abomrtfole relativert to july. arlin,to 63. lversi spring, 60. martinsburg, 64. we do have some morning cloud cover, especially through parts of north central virginia. becoming mostly sunny today. continued cool. the average high, 88. partly sunny conditions tomorrow with thunderstorms late in the day. esp

a friend of dc council member marion barry.s interviewed and arrested 8:45 on saturday night. >> the only issue will be the charge of stalking, which is a misdemeanor. >> reporter: barry's spokeswoman says the former mayor feels betrayed and describes the accuser as his close friend. >> mr. barry has, over a period of time, lended his friendship and his support to the accuser, miss donna watts, through her many stages of instable. >> reporter: mrs. this is barry's third run in with park police since his drug charges in ' 92. ward 8 and commissioner sandra volunteered in barry's campaigns and run against him. >> does mr. barry have a reputation for stalking women. >> i'm laughing but it is not funny. i don't think he actually stalks women but he goes after women. he is very attracted to women and he will make it known if he is interested. >> reporter: and we are now waiting to hear from marion barry himself. he is set to speak to reporters here at the wilson building at 10:00 a.m. we will have the latest on 9 news now. back to y

what were the charges levelled against marion barry? >> last night he was arrested by the united states park police and charged with a misdemeanor offense of stalking. >> you can't tell us what sort of jail time that caries yet, can you? >> i believe it's a misdemeanor. >> do we know the identity that levels that charges of this against him? >> i don't know the idea of her. >> reporter: was he released on his own recognizance? >> well last night he was transported to d.c. cell clock which is a standard procedure for an arrest in the district of columbia. >> reporter: does that mean he has to appear in court? >> absolutely. and he will be given a court date later, probably this week, and it will be a mandatory court appearance for him. >> reporter: there you have it. we will have more information as it becomes available. we are live, and back to you in the studio. >>> there are several other news storieseveloping in our story. police are investigating a shooting that injured as many as five people. police say it happened at 12:30 this mo

this is not marion barry's first brush with the law. in 1990 he was caught smoking crack in a hotel room in a sting. he served six months in prison. he was reelected as mayor in 1994. in 2006 he was sentenced to probation for failing to file his tax returns. >> now to a developing story from overnight. while you were asleep a bankruptcy judge made a big ruling in the fate of general motors ruling that g.m. can sell the bulk of its assets to a new company. that clears the way for the american auto maker to quickly emerge from bankruptcy. the federal government is backing the plan to cut out many cost the and liabilities but the treasury department says funding will be cut off to g.m. if the sale doesn't go through by july 10. to another developing story, president obama and the first lady are expected to arrive in moscow in a few minutes. they left andrews air force base yesterday for an overnight flight. president obama will mee privately with the russian president medvedev. he has formal power but vladimir putin has influential putin.

councilman marion barry now cleared as the s. attorney's office says it will not be pursuing stalking charges again the former mayor. his speck person says barry will take the issue of his arrest up with park police. he was taken in custody justify after his girlfriend accused him of following her. hears a statement from the u.s. attorney as is on which said following a review of the evidence and a careful analysis of the relevant factor including the elements of the offense and the strength and weakens of the evidence, the u.s. attorney's office for the district of decided not to pursue stalking charges in this matter. >>> a group of men walked up an coronted a man in the 300 block of adams street northeast about 11:30 last night. police say at least one of those men pulled out a gun and fired off several rounds. so far, police don't have a suspect or a motive in this incident. >>> the death of a 70-year-o man has been ruled a homicide. police found lester jackson unconscious on the floor of an apartment in the 1800 block of har

marion barry a current d.c.il member scheduled to appear in court on thursday to learn whether he will face formal charges. at a news conference today his lawyer predicted the charges will be dropped. >> she has said that she was not threatened. she did not fear for her life or physical safety. clearly there was no stalking. there was no coercion. there was no compelling of her to be involved in a relationship or engage in an activity that she did not desire to be involved in. shepard: marion barry served six months in prison after that fbi sting. here is the video thereof. is he now on probation for federal tax evasion. missing in a war zone. tonight, the united states military reports it now knows what happened to an american soldier who left his base in afghanistan and never came back. now a manhunt intensifies. plus, what in the world does sarah palin have planned? you heard them at the end of the last hour, charles krauthammer saying, i mean, basically they have said her chances are no good anymore. but the

council, and the council met this afternoon with marion barry present. afterward, they came down and held a news conference, which is going on right now. the headline out of the news conference, they have selected robert bennett, an attorney, to lead an independent probe into marion barry's spending of public fund, particularly surrounding this woman who was his friend, the 40-year-old woman. also, the council has announced they will develop a code of conduct and plans to have that ready for consideration. reporting live from the john wilson building, sam ford, abc 7 news. >> we will speak with d.c.'s attorney general about what he may or may not do about marion barry. the latest on this growing controversy tonight on abc 7 news at 6:00. >>> loudoun county, a jury store robbery has turned into a hostage situation. -- a jewelry store robbery has turned into a hostage situation. the swat team is running a home. pamela brown is live on the scene with the latest. >> we have confirmed the two hostages are inside the home, a barricade situation unfolding since

administration at the marion wardman park hotel is about $7. by the way, barbie turned 50 this year. she doesn't look it, does she? >>> so what do you get a 4-year- old panda for his birthday? how about a frozen cake made from beet juice, bamboo and a little fruit. the national zoo's tai shan celebrated his 4th birthday today now considered a teenager in panda years. remember when he was the size of a stick of butter? now he weighs about 190 pounds like a teenager. >> big stick of butter. a pad of butter. >> gary says i was being too harsh on the producers. there are miniscule changes. >> didn't say that at all. >> how would you put it? >> what did she say in my ear a minute ago? oh, i agree. that's the producer talking to me in my ear. there will be some changes. it's not going to be drastic. it is going to be warmer for the weekend and a little more humidity coming back and we have a chance for a little bit of thunderstorm activity. it's looking like it's going to be saturday night and we still see this nice trend for sund, too, but i'm getti

the irs charge. >> marion barry. >> there again until the next time. >> tom sherwood. appreciate you sticking around. thank you, tom. >> there are calls for metro to fire a train operator caught texting on the job. this video was put out on youtube. itad been seen by more than 17,000 people. it shows the train operator from metro texting with his head down last month while the train barreled ahead. the operator was suspended but returned to work this week. today, at large, d.c. council member kwcalled for texting violators to be fired. >> there is no excuse. it's disappointing. given the fact that our train operators and operation personnel and for that matter every single person at the transit agency knows what the rules are. >> video taken on june 5 on the blue line. metro officials emphasize there is no evidence that the operator killed in last year's crash was texting. >>> two families in mourning after a hilt and run crash on the beltway. both victims were fathers working hard to support their families. now both families are outraged that the woman accused of hitt

. >> reporter: according to record provided by the council, marion barry awarded the contract to donna watts brighthaupt last october 22nd telling the council of the -- secretary of the council she was educationally qualified. compensation 2500 every two weeks. at one point the contract was terminated by barry then reinstated. so far watts brighthaupt has been paid $15,000. the council secretary approved an additional payment of $5,000. the question remains was barry using his power to employ as a way to reward then punish. d.c. city council members have no code of conduct, no ethical standards to guide them through their daily public lives. it's something vincent gray plans to change, perhaps as soon as september. he ordered a study on best practice which he hopes to receive as soon as tomorrow. >> paul wagner, thank you. >>> a graphic headline about the barry case as a local paper fielding complaints today. it's not the sort of language you typically see at a newspaper stand. coming up at 6:00, reaction to that head line and what marion barry has to say about it. >>> our other big st

mayor marion barry has taken a few more twists and turns. this morning we're learning that he will not face stalking charges and that the woman involved is finally telling her side of the story. barry, you'll recall, was arrested on saturday after the woman reportedly said he was stalking her. later came out that the woman, donna watts-brighthaupt was barry's former girlfriend. we've also learned that barry awarded her an employment contract after the two started dating. barry's spokesperson says the stalking allegations were false. the woman says the fallout got out of hand. >> 's bothering me. make sure he goes home, you know? i thought it was d.c. police because they just let him go. i wasn't thinking that i was in a federal place. that's not my fault. i wasn't thinking bad things. i wasn't thinking the worst. >> barry's spokesperson says the council member is concerned about how the u.s. park police treated him during his arrest. >> and this is just one of many legal episodes during marion barry's long career. some believe he's been peec

council member marion barry. but this time the target is the washington city paper. the weekly alternative and entertainment paper has a sexually explicit headline about barry on its front page. tom sherwood joins us live from the newsrm with this story. >> we are not going to show you the front page. but we will show you the reactions to it. all sorts of papers and publications are available in the streets of washington. including the washington city paper. a popular weekly heavy on entertainment story and advertising. and local politics. a controversy erupted over its front cover headlines this week on marion barry's latest troubles. it includes a vulgar sex act remark made by the woman who worked for barry in and played a role in barry's arrest saturday. >> thank you for listening. >> reporter: on the wmu show friday, d.c. council member had heard about the headlines but not seen it. >> the city paper, had you seen it? >> actually, no, i have not. >> good. you are about to. >> you took all the copies o the street. oh. >> reporter: washington city paper whipple def

council member marion barry this past weekend. the stalking charges were formally dropped in court this morning. his one-time girlfriend accuser is speaking out about what happened. >> stacy wilkins is live at d.c. superior court with the latest on this still-unfolding case. >> reporter: good morning. more is still happening. in fact at noon council member marion barry will hold a press conference. but this morning in court, it was all very quick, took less than three seconds. judge read his case number and said that the u.s. state's attorney had no paperwork on the case, meaning that it was dismissed. marion barry and his attorney weren't even there for this process. they didn't have to be. but in the meantime, the woman at the center of all of what happened over the last few days spoke out. >> he's slippery. >> reporter: donna watts says she a learned a lot. she's the woman at the center of marion barry's latest run-in with the law. after almost a week of press conferences in which marion barry's spokesperson denied allegations

mayor marion barry's camp about his latest legal troubles.ox 5 morning news continues right now. >>> the sun is up and temperatures pretty nice out there. the humidity low too which makes it even better. i'm gurvir dhindsa gentleman i'm steve chenevey. thank you for being with us. here is a great way to start your day with free gas. it is happening right now at the shirley duke shell in alexandria. the pumps are open being folks. this is on duke street right across from the fox chase shopping center. it is a giveaway by allstate who say alexandria is the most improved city for safe driving. there is a 10-gallon limit but it beats paying for it, right? >> ten gallons is ten gallons especially when gas is where it is. >> you can't leave. >> why not? >> free gas and as nice as it is outside this morning. >> i think the view ares will understand. >> if air not here. >> yeah. r just send somebody with y ca r. >> i could do your forecast. what is it? >> i could do it but then you and tucker would gheive me a hard time for the rest of my life. >> 68

this time, it concerns >>> there is more controversy around marion barry. this time, it concerns the possible misappropriation of hundreds of thousands of dollars. we are in downtown d.c. with the story appeared >> one council member called the evidence -- with the story. >> one council member called the evidence. >> i believe these matters are best reviewed by the inspector general in it's entirety. >> there are questions over whether some of them even exist. >> many of these nonprofits were conceived of on the same day, which looked like cut and paste of one another, where many individuals listed cla t ta their signature was forged. on supposeyghdlou st and received money for the ounprofits sayths her signature, the actual one senior, is forged on this document. -- the actual one scene here, is forced on this documt. >> he seems to have a personal vendetta against a colleague of his. >> meanwhile, in ward 8, on the heels of a controversy over acquiring their positions for a former girlfriend, and now the possible misappropriation of thousands of dollars m