megan mcgrath joins us with the latest. ood morning, megan. [ inaudible ] [ inaudible ] [ inaudible ] . >> thanks, megan. we're learning more about the prosecution's case against the d.c. mother accused of killing her four children. two witnesses testified in the trial of bonita jacks after u.s. marshals found the decomposing daughters of her four daughters in her southeast d.c. home. a forensic anthropologist testified that jack's teenage daughter was stabbed three times in the stomach. he said the younger daughters were probably strangled. also an insect expert testified that based on t bugs found in jack's home, the girls were dead at least two months, perhaps even longer. >>> the wife of a former prince george's county police corporal convicted of killing a furniture delivery man wants a new trial for her husband. keith washington is serving 45 years for killing furniture delivery man brandon clark and wounding his co-worker. the shooting happened at washington's home in january 2007. his wife says new evidence that surf

lines, however metro officials are firing back saying rider safety is not being put at risk. >> megan mcgrathng on our top story along the blue and orange line right now at the foggy bottom station. megan, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning. metro's general manager says that about a half dozen of those track circuits have been adjusted or removed on this system, that they are now testing those circuits twice daily. when problems are degt detected, trains are slowed down in the affected area. "the washington post" says the track circuit problems are more widespread affecting four of metro's five lines. now, crews they say, according to this article, sometimes take the troublesome circuits offline creating what they refer to as dark spots in the system where trains cannot be seen by the operation center. now, metro's general manager john cato takes issue with the report calling it a gross exaggeration. he says while there have been issues found with the track circuits, he says it is nothing like the problem found with the circuit near the site of last month's deadly crash. >> that is

megan mcgrath has the story. fire fighters go door to door. the program part of an outreach program in communities touched by tragedy. tragic the only word to describe what happened at the oak ridge apartments last night. two children, age 5 and 7, were trapped inside a smoke filled apartment. investigators say the kids were home alone. as neighbors tried frantically to get inside, the father came back. and realized what was happening. >> he was frantic. when he got here. he was -- running and saying, that's my apartment, that's my apartment. my kids are in there. and you ow, everybody was just -- at that point, everybody was just like, converging on the apartment. trying to get in. >> investigators say the father was cooking in the kitchen and for some unknown reason he left the apartment locng the front door behind him. the food started a small fire. the apartment filled with smoke. >> food on the stove. pretty much burned itself out. by the time fire fighters arrived. generated a tremendous amount of smoke. >> the 5-year-old boy died at an

megan mcgrath just arrived on the scene.what's going on here? >> reporter: this is a police-involved shooting that happened at an apartment complex on eagle's nest court. two montgomery police officers fired their weapons in this incident and they were responding to a 911 disconnect call. an adult male is dead on the scene. he was armed with a gun and a knife. we don't know if he was shot by the officers or someone else. that's still under investigation, but at least the police officers are responding to the disconnected 911 call and they did fire their weapons. this unfolded around 2:40 when someone from the wearing station neighborhood called 9 is 911 and hung up. it is routine to dispatch officers when there's a hang-up call. they called for backup after arriving on the scene. addional officers arrived to find the man dead inside the apartment. he was suffering from a gunshot wound. we are told that a gun and knife were found next to the man's body. one of the two officers fired their service weapons. again, the man died

i'm megan mcgrath.live report comi u p. >>> out of control gunfire erupts at a home in loudoun county. what police believe may have led to this outbreak of violence. >> held hostage. an american man believed to have been captured by the taliban in afghanistan. his upclose and personal emotional plea to family and friends. >> history. 40 years ago today, one small step, one giant leap. the unforgettable words of neil armstrong. the unforgettable moment in history. >>> good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs o this monday, the 20th of july, 2009. >> i'm eun yang in for barbara harrison this morning. we're going to take a look live outside at 5:30, 71 degrees out there. lots of clouds overhead. a little bit of a change for the weather this week. >> let's go to meteorologist tom kierein in storm center 4. tom? >> after a dry pattern we're kind of going to be going into a bit of a wet pattern for the next few days but it's not wet now. we do have the clouds around, temperatures are ple

megan mcgrath joins us from the scene with the latest. od morning. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. the damage here is extensive. it's actually a brick structure that's been completely gutted it appears looking at it from the street. i should mention that earlier when i spoke to you, southern avenue was closed in both directions. just a short time ago all of the fire trucks were able to get their hoses up and get out of the area so they have reopened southern avenue and should not impact rush hour this morning. of course the byrne manor knights of columbus center serves the community. i'm joined with michael moore with the knights of columbus. talk about the damage here. how extensive? it looks pretty bad. >> it's totally burned down. nothing salvageable that i can see. haven't been let in yet. i'll wait for the fire marshal to let me in. >> reporter: impact on the community. this center serves the community. >> reporte community work. churches. retirement homes. a lot of work with youth. we're sad right now. >> reporter: any idea what

megan mcgrath has more. >> reporter: good morning.ore issues for people who take the red line and use the tacoma station. you can see that the front gate is locked. the tacoma station is closed again this morning. it actually closed at 7:00 a.m. and will remain closed for 12 hours so it won't reopen until 7:00 tonight. you can see that metro has employees here on the scene. they've just put up some signs here to help people get to where they need to go. they're running shuttle buses and they've got employees here to answer questions. so if you are traveling on the red line, you use the tacoma station, you're going t have to give yourself a little extra time. you have to hop on a shuttle bus and kind of get where you need to go that way. the ntsb is conducting more tests on the tracks trying to figure out at what point the driver of the striking train could actually see the other train stopped on the track so to do that work they have to go down there on the tracks and they had to shut everything down. so that is why the tacoma station

news 4's megan mcgrath joins us live from capitol hill with more on this. ng, megan. >> reporter: well, good morning, joe. metro officials and members of the national transportation safety board are expected to testify during this hearing later on this afternoon on capitol hill. it's the first congressional hearing that's been held since last month's deadly train collision. now we're expected to hear the latest on the investigation and what changes have been made in safety procedures. metro's general manager will be among the people testifying on capitol hill later today. he will be answering questions about safety procedures that have than put in place following last month's deadly collision. trains are still running on manual mode. additional restrictions are in place in the crash zone. the cause of the crash has not been determined, but the national transportation safety board is focusing on circuits and the automated control system that monitors the presence of trains on the track. that system failed june 22nd and o trains collided, killing 9 people. yes

jacks told police that the girls had died in their sleep. >> news 4's megan mcgrath is working our tophis morning live from district superior court. good morning, megan. >> reporter: well, good morning. that's right. banita jacks has said that her children died in their sleep, but the medical examiner concluded that all four of the girls were murdered. now, banita jacks is due in court at 9:30 this morning. she has opted for a bench trl, meaning she's waived her right to a jury and has placed her fate in the hands of the judge. jacks is accused of killing her four children over a period of time in the summer of 2007. she then apparently lived with the decomposing bodies for seven months. attorneys for banita jacks have urged her to pursue an insanity defense, but jacks has refused. she has also waived her right to a jury trial so the case will be decided by the judge, frederick weisberg. it was january of 2008. u.s. marshals came to jacks' home in southeast to serve an eviction notice. once inside, marshals found the decaying bodies of jacks' four daughters, aged 17, 11, 6 and 5. medic

news 4's megan mcgrath joins us live from the shady grove metro station with more on how this could impact metro riders. good morning, megan. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. it's been a tough go for folks on the red line ever since the deadly collision, they've been dealing with speed restrictions and other adjustments. well, the long-term forecast isn't looking all that great either. there's going to be some pain before things get better because of a large scale overhaul that is planned for metro. it's going to begin on the red line early next year between dupont circle and silver spring, but really it's going to affect all five lines before it's over. it's a very large scale project, $177 million project. it's going to mean some growing pains for folks. some adjust pts are going to have to be made, delays. not good for commuters, but hopefully when it's all over ert'gs will t better. s look at some of the spifericle hse. ong the iverompments tilt wrol ebead mtad a shady grav a metro hey will doom se s rehabilitation esthe also going t addey cion ars at et dlaleuprc south statn. adng

back to you all in the studio. >> megan mcgrath. thank you. >> thanks. today's news 4's morning persons are described as the best people in the whole world. kate gonzalez and testsy yates nominated all of their swim coaches for the lake ridge lancer swim team in woodbridge, virginia. they say every morning these coaches are happy and cheerful and ready to help them be the best swim team ever. team members say the coaches go above and beyond each and every day. well, congratulations to them. if you know someone like these coaches, e-mail their story and a clear, close-up video or picture to morningperson@nbcwashington.com. >> a produce-wearing playboy playmate brought droves of capitol hill staffers out to the rayburn office building. yes, those are lettuce cups, people. jade nicole helped peta launch its vej yy dog day. nicole who was a 2008 playmate of the year says eating vegetarian helps her maintain her figure. >> i'm seurll those guys in line were interested in the issues. >> of course. >> i'm sure they were. absolutely. >> taste the hot dog. the sp

megan mcgrath is joining us with details on aig gas giveaway today.ing to you. >> reporter: good morning. it is about to get underway. all-state is here to congratulate alexandria drivers. they are the most improved drivers in the country going 7.2 years between accidents. and this is the first lady in line. hello, you are on live television. talk a little bit about why you came out this morning. >> i have no gas money or nothing so i want free gas. it is great. >> reporter: and how did you find it? you came at what time? >> 5:00 this morning i waited. >> did they move you around before they let you line up? >> yes, they did. >> reporter: what do you think about the fact that you are going to get 10 gallons? >> that's great. it will last me about a week. i don't go nowhere but work. >> reporter: let's get to it here. they began to line up at 6:00 this morning. we are expecting a crowd. there's a process. you can't just drive up to the gas station. you have to go to the ben brenman park adjacent here to the shirley duke shell station on duke street. th

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 to be false. ic ere flagged down an o that was in patrol in the area, bad she pointed to marion rr ba he was in another car and said that he was stalking her. sh wae t

. >> now we'll go live to megan mcgrath live on the scene. megan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. on this barricade situation, it has been going on since about 6:30 last night. you can see we have quite a police presence here at lyle avenue and edgar court. what we have is a barricade situation involving a man who they believe to be armed who may be involved in a shooting that happened around 6:30 last night in the 7700 block of fisher drive. witnesses reported hearing the sound of a gunshot. the police arrived on the scene. they found a woman suffering from a gunshot wound. she's been taken to an area hospital and is still being treated. witnesses reported seeing a man run from the area and that individual went into a house nearby where the shooting occurred. now, police have surrounded the home and are trying to talk to the individual inside. they have not gotten any response at this point. we are also told that there are other people inside this home with the individual that police are trying to speak to. now, at this point, they a

and megan mcgrath is at the auction house and told us the bidding began 15 minutes ago.nd the opening bid was $25 million. we are hearing that was a cash bid. we should know the winner any moment. we will bring you the information on any new owner as soon as we get it. we understand there has been a break in the action there. a pause in the bidding at the moment. but once we find out more about the bid, we will let you know. >> all right. right now, let's check the weather. we could see much-needed rain this afternoon. chuck bell is up inhe storm center with details. >> i am disappointed, i am $20 million in the checkbook, and now i am already out of the bidding. >> only cash, your checkbook is not good. >> if i have checks, i have money. isn't that the way it works? temperatures are climbing in the upper 70s and low 80s. 80 in fairfax county. and 79 degrees in leesburg, and frederick, maryland. and doppler shows not much, if anything, in the way of rainfall at this point in time. leave your umbrellas at home if you are planning a lunch. and highs close to 85 degrees aro

megan mcgrath has that story rope things are back to normal at southwest airlines following overnint respectses at the carri carrier's entire flight of the aircraft. a spokesperson says there were no problems found, no delays, or cancellations. good news for passengers leaving bwi thurgood marshall airport this morning. >> get back, 1:00. >> reporter: investigators are still trying to figure out what caused a one-foot by one-foot hole to open up in the fuselage of a plane. traveling from nashville to bwi airport last night and flight made an emergency landing in charleston, west virginia. startleled passengers and snapped these photos of the hole. at bwi, passengers found the incident somewhat disturbing but not scary enough to change their travel plans. >> take your life in your hands every time you go. that's the way i feel. but i'm willing to take the chance. >> little scary especially i have the kids with me. >> reporter: still flying. >> still flying. i have to go home. >> reporter: the 737 300 makes up about a third of southwest's fleet. the carrier says that they have never ha

in silver spring, megan mcgrath, news4. >> area police do conducts the drills on paerdic basis.ned and not done as a result of the metro train crash or any known threat to the region. >>> metro wants to pick up a stretch of the red line decided that deadly train crash. the rehab project was proposed nearly a year ago and not in response to the crash that happened two weeks ago. the mey from the proceeds pod $177 million contract would be used to fix up the public address system, closed circuit tvs and platform tiles, track, fencing, and station signs between the fort totten and and the takoma stations. the metro board will consider the proposal at its meeting thursday and decide whether to award that contract. >>> let's get a check now of the forecast. >> hi, kimberly and wendy. another great sky with a few puffy cumulus clouds. it is mighty fine. near 90. look at how the dew point at arlington is 50. maensz, 54. we have dew points in the 50s. even though it is quite warm and summerlike. it is mighty comfy. nothing really on doppler. overtonight tonight, later on, temperatures i

i'm megan mcgrath.live report coming up. >> and thousands of michael jackson fans picking up their tickets as the city of los angeles gets ready for a massive memorial service. we'll have a preview for you. stay with us. we're back in two minutes. >>> welcome back at 6:30. making news right now, marion barry getting ready to address charges of stalking a woman after he's arrested over the holiday weekend. >> it's the hottest ticket in town. millions wanted one, but only a few lucky ones got them. we'll have a preview of the memorial service for the king of pop. >>> good morning, everyone. welcome. i'm barbara harrison. >> good morning to you. i'm joe krebs. let's take a live look outside this morning at 6:30 on this 6th day of july 2009. 63 degrees. a lot of beautiful, brit sunshine out there this morning. looks like we -- well, we'll hope for another wonderful day here in the nation's capital. >> the person who can tell us if we're going to get one is tom kierein sitting right here with his forecast. g

news 4's megan mcgrath joins us from silver springs, the metro station there, and has more for us. good morning, megan. >> reporter: good morning, barbara. 180 law enforcement officers from a number of different jurisdictions, including montgomery county police as well as the sheriff's department, the maryland transit authority, they're all going to be participating in today's exercise, so do not be alarmed if you're traveling along either the metro system or the marc system, if you see a heavy police presence. on the platforms, inside the trains, even around the stations, that is all a part of this training exercise. the exercise designed to alert officers, train them in how to detect and deter terrorism. we have some video from last year's exercise, and we want to emphasize here that there is no specific intelligence, no information indicating that there is a problem or a threat. this is something that they do all the time. it's a training exercise. this video was actually shot last year, and you're going to see very similar things during this year's training exercise so don't be

news 4's megan mcgrath joins us live from the national zoo with details for this big party. megan?reporter: well, joe, we're going to have to see if tai shan starts talking back to his parents and leaving bamboo laying around his cage. he's officially a teenager today. tai shan is turning 4 years old. in bear years, that means he is officially entered adolescence. now they're going to have a big shin dig here at the national zoo today. they're going to have a special birthday cake brought out for tashan this morning. it will be in his yard when they let him outside. it's actually an interesting concoction that took two weeks to make. it's made out of water, bamboo, shredded beets and beet juice. it's all beenrozen and they also have a big ice skrculpturen the top that has the number 4. a big day here at the national zoo. a great day to come and visit. it's always fun to watch the pandas, but particularly interesting to see him go at the cake here this morning. 8:30, that's when they'll present him with the birthday cake. so come on out to the national zoo. joe, back to you. >> all

news 4's megan mcgrath joins us live from the takoma metro station to tell us more about the likely delaysning, megan. >> reporter: well, good morning, joe. people who take the line here at the takoma station have been seeing a lot of delays lately and it's not over yet. the ntsb continues to conduct tests down on the tracks near the takoma station in the area where the collision occurred. they've been doing site distance tests and other tngs that require them to close down the takoma station so that their folks can safely do their work down there on the tracks. the station was closed at 10:00 a.m. yesterday for several hours. today things are normal so you're not going to have any problem coming in and out of the station going to work today. however, tomorrow is a different story. they're going to be closing down the takoma station for about a 12-hour period, beginning at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. it will remain closed until 7:00 p.m. they're going to be running a shuttle bus service between ft. totten and the silver spring metro station itself to try to help move people around. earlier this we

eun, back to you. >> megan mcgrath outside the watergate.ank you. >> it's going to cost some parents more money to get their kids ready for school this year because d.c. is canceling the sales tax holiday that it's offered for many years. the holiday generally runs for nine days in august, but district officials say they cannot afford not to bring in an estimated $640,000 shoppers would have saved. >> i think that it will personally hurt a lot of families who are already struggling with paying for school supplies, clothing and all that. >> certainly saves us money, you know, so we buy more during that tax holiday time. when there's not a tax holiday time, i might not be buying as much. >> maryland is also suspended its tax-free holiday this year. it will pick back up next year, it says. virginia's tax-free holiday is still scheduled for august 7th through the 9th. >> today supervisors are expected to vote on a proposal to combine booze and books at loudoun county libraries. the plan would allow beer and wine at after-hour library fund-raiser

megan mcgrath, news4. >>> today another display of the progress made in space exploration. two "endeavour" crew members celebrated the moon landing anniversary by starting a 6 1/2-hour-long space walk this morning. it's the crew's second spacewalk in three days. the astronauts are using a huge robotic arm to transpir shutting parts to the space station. it's a cautionary measure to make sure that repairs can continue after the u.s. shuttle fleet is retired. >>> we heard from folks about where they were. where were you? >> i was in barbados. i was working on a project called barbados ocean mead meteorological experiment. we were on a nasa airplane and flying oug ining out over the o study the clouds and the ocean. there was no cable tv, no satellite tv, no tv, no live tv in barbados, so i had to listen to it on short-wave radio. >> was it coming in clearly? >> it was a little scratchy. then when i got back to the united states, i was able to see the first television pictures. >> it was remarkable. >> people were like, you haven't seen this? i was like, no, i was in bar bade

in northwest, megan mcgrath, news4. >> d.c. council member brown says metro did not go far enough to discipline that operator. he is calling on metro to fire the operator and anyone else who is caught texting. >>> metro is devising red line passengers to add another 30 minutes to the rush hour commute for the next week or so. there are going to be fewer and slower moving trains on the red line for the next ten days. the changes are to accommodate the ongoing investigation into last month's deadly crash near the fort totten and takoma stations. the takoma station will close early, 10:00 p.m. for the next ten days. >>> coming up on "news4 at 5:00," a woman is in trouble with the law. after burning a flag on independence day weekend. >> a dog has its day in court after biting a police officer during what his owner described as a raid gone wrong. >>> bottled water is everywhere. consumers know less about their premium h20 than what comes out of the tap. that has some lawmakers concern. >> rest stops closing across virginia this mon

megan mcgrath reports. >> it looks like april giant pink wedding cake.shan didn't know what to think. the giant panda got into the spirit of things. and began eating his cake of frozen bamboo and beat juice. >> didn't know what it was. he was like hitting at it and smelling it and stuff. and after a while he kind of starts eating it. >> reporter: look out, mom and dad. tai shan is 4 years old. that means that in bear years he is a teenager. although judging from the reaction of his adoring fans, this teen can do no wrong. >> i have been coming here since he was born. and love him to pieces. he's brilliant and he's handsome and he is beautiful. >> he is cuddly and beautiful. perfect. >> reporter: now he is a teenager. >> i know. better clean that bamboo up. >> reporter: it was 2005 that tai shan came to the nationals zoo. like his parents, he's on loan from china. and it is unclear how long he will stay in washington, though. hi ter is about to expire. >> the adults are here on a ten-year loan and tai shan had a two-year extension which expired this year.

megan mcgrath was there. >> reporter: the line started at exhibit hall c. then it went on and on, all the way to the other end of the building. and then it kept going. right on out of the convention sent zper on to the sidewalk. >> what do you think of the line n. >> it is something else. i feel like i'm in line for "american idol." >> reporter: congressman eleanor holmes norton held this job fair before. but the turnout today was huge. more than 80 businesses and agencies with jobs came to meet perspective employees, despite the long lines, and there is a lot of hope. >> wide open. something material. something like that. you know, maybe government, you know, civil service. something along those lines. >> right now, something in the hospitality area. construction. those are two fields i have been working in. >> reporter: there are jobs. thanks to large-scale construction projects and millions in stimulus money. the department of homeland security, for example, is bidding a $ 1 billion head quart others the ground of st. elizabeth's hospital. and millions m

megan mcgrath has the story. >> reporter: at first glance, it looks like the metro train operator is sleeping. but he's actually writing a text message as the train speeds along the tracks. the cell phone video taken by a passenger was posted on youtube. the operator was suspended. >> there is no excuse for it. and it's very dispinting. especially given the fact that our train operators and really all of our operations personnel, for that matter, every single person of the transit agency knows what the rules are. >> reporter: the video was taken june 5th before the recent train collision that killed nine people. but metro officials say they only became aware of the incident after the crash. the operator captured in the video has already served the five-day suspension and is driving once again. a fact that some metro riders find disappointing. >> too short. too short a time to be suspended. i mean people get -- that is a smack on the hand. maybe a month. but it could be better. >> when i'm driving and if i use my phone without a blue tooth, then i'm driving with me, myself and any the

megan mcgrath joins us live from the scene with more on this story.e've been having this problem for several years now. >> reporter: that problem of course being fire hydrant that the are out of service as well as low water pressure. apparently that was a huge problem in this fire last night. the firefighters who arrived on the scene could not establish a sufficient flow of water to start fighting this water, to start knocking down the flames. they actually had to run hoses to high drantss that were more than five blocks away and it took them hours to establish a consistent water supply as they were scrambling to do that, the fire just kept growing and growing. the flames lit up the sky. homes a mile away were impacted by the smoke. the large house on chain bridge road in northwest is a total loss. neighbors say it didn't have to end like this. >> there is no question if the water pressure had been available for the fire department here early, this fire could have been controlled easily. it was just at the beginning it was isolated to a small corner o

. >> and there should be more in a moment, but first let's go live to megan mcgrath for more details. >> the company offers instruction as well as other ariel services. the fourth person onboard was a passenger onboard the helicopter. the chopper took off from frederick municipal airport about 10:00 as night, and bursted into flames just east of haguers town. >> the four-seat helicopter barely recognizable as it lay in the median of i-70. the chopper went down just before 10:30 last night. it killed all four people onboard. rescue crews arrived to find a helicopter engulfed in flames. >> at that point, there was some fuel spread from the helicopter that covered the interstate and so forth. initially there was heavy fire from the helicopter itself. >> it's unclear whether weather played a role onboard. three employees from the instruction school and a passenger. drivers traveling on i-70 watched in shock as the helicopter fell to the ground. no vehicles were struck. >>> advanced helicopter concepts released a letter that it sent to tye tlompes just a short time ago. it read in part thr

megan mcgrath reports. >> reporter: firefighters go door to door checking smoke detectors and installing new ones. tragic is the only word to describe what happened at the oak ridge apartments. two children, age 5 and 7 were trapped in a smoke-filled apartment, and the kids were home alone. the father came back as neighbors were trying to get inside. and he realized what was happening. >> he was frantic, and he was running saying that's my apartment, that's my apartment, and my kids are in there. and everybody was converging on the apartment trying to get in. >> investigators say the father was cooking ithe kitchen, and for some unknown reason he left the apartment locking the front door behind him. the food started a small fire and smoke filled the apartment. >> generated a tremendous amount of smoke. >> the 5-year-old boy died at an area hospital. his 7-year-old brother is in critical condition. the father sustained minor injuries trying to break into the apartment. it's unclear if he will face charges for leafing the children home alone. >>> we have sports and weather straight ahead.

megan mcgrath is still on the scene. >> an interesting find that was found after the fire was being responded to by emergency crews, they found a number of cars parked up alongside the burning buildings. those tags were run and came back as stolen. so there is another investigation going on in addition to the fire. and the damage to the burned manor hall is a complete loss. the facility is known as the knights of columbus hall. and they were grabbling with financial and legal issues, and last night it was destroyed by fire. fire crews are deciding what to do next. it was gutted by an early morning fire. >> it is totally burned down. >> the lodge, a community landmark, as been at the center of legal rangling. the building was recently sold in foreclosure, but the facility of the sale is being challenged in court. kenneth holmes is a member, and he said a new generation recely took the reigns and planned to turn it around, but the fire put those plans on indefinite hold. >> we were trying to get back in the community and so forth, as the knights of columbus. and it's just a shock. >> reporter:

megan mcgrath is now at the station with more. >> reporter: good morning, joe. an article in the "washington post" says metro found issues and problems with circuits on a number of their lines, not just in the area of the crash. and those circuits are not properly detecting the presence of trains. now, metro is taking issue with that article. they say they are doing detailed tests of the circuits, and in doing so they have found issues that likely would have gone undetected under previous maintenance procedures. they say they are fixing the issues, and saying it's not a safety risk, and it's nothing like the failure that was seen in last month's crash. trains run slower than normal through the work zone there. and crews are inspecting track circuits in the area, and so trains headed to virginia are restricted to 15 miles per hour. >> they are like delaying going down, and they pick up speed. >> the inspections are an in-depth analysis. minor iues have been found but nothing like the failure that prevented the monitoring system from seeing the train involved in l

. >> megan mcgrath has the story. >> reporter: everybody is pretty amazed of what happened. it's wild to see the sight of the hole that just opened up. and investigators are not sure exactly why the plane had this problem. they had never seen it before here at southwest airlines. as a precaution, they went overnight and inspected all the 737st in the fleet, and that's about 200 planes. they did not find any similar problems. all of the planes flew on the regular schedule today. but investigators are trying to figure out what happened last night. >> things are back to normal at southwest airlines following overnight inspections of the carrier's entire fleet of 737 aircraft. there were no problems found and no delays or cancelations. good news for passengers leaving bwi this morning. >> on time. get back at 1:00, i guess. >> investigators are still trying to figure out what caused a one foot by one foot hole to open up in a plane. and the flight made an emergency landing in charleston, west virginia. and startled passengers snapped these photos of the hole. and the passengers

and megan mcgrath has more on the anniversary of "apollo 11." >> reporter: it's one of those once in amenoments. we have been talking to people about their memories about the first steps on the moon, and it's something they will always remember and won't forget the images. >> it's one small step for man. one gntea lp for mankind. >> reporter: it was 40 years ago that neil armstrong took the historic first step. but for those that watched as it first happened it's something they will always remember. >> we were gathered around the tv, and we were so excited we didn't know what to do with ourselves. had he stepped on the moon, it was like we all stepped as well. >> it was late at night and i stayed up and watched the whole thing. it was quite amazing. this man on the moon, it was pretty amazing at that time. >> millions of people around the world watched in awe as armstrong walked across the surface of the moon. it represented so much, the promise of science and technology. a cold war victory over the ussr. >> it was just quite amazing to think that somebody was up there. you look up a

megan mcgrath has the story. >> reporter: the video was taken by a rider aboard the train, taken using a cell phone camera. it shows the operator of the train looking down while text messaging instead of looking ahead at the tracks ahead of the train. that operator has been suspended for five days without pay, but he returned to work on monday. >> at first glance, it looks like the metro train operator is sleeping. but he is actually writing a text message, as the train speeds along the tracks. the cell phone video taken by a passenger was posted on youtube. the operator was suspended. >> there is really no excuse for it. and it's very disappointing. especially given the fact that our train operators and really all of our operations personnel, and for that matter every employee at the transit knows the rules. >> the operator captured in the video already served the five-day suspension and is iving once again, and that's something metro riders find disappointing. >> too short. that's just a smack on the hand. maybe a month. that would have been better. >> when i am driving, and if i use

news 4's megan mcgrath is live in northwest washington with more on this story. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, joe. this attack happened at 7:00 in the morning on wednesday, but as you know, many of the bike paths that run through rock creek parkway go through heavily wooded areas and they can be quite isolated. now, police say the female jogger was on a path near beach drive south of bingham road when a man grabbed her, pulled her into the woods and sexually assaulted her. police say the victim had seen her attacker actually earlier on her jog. she said that he smelled of alcohol and was talking to himself in spanish. she then encountered him just a short time later and that's when he attacked her and pulled her into the woods. suspect is described as a hispanic male in his 30s, 5'7" to 5'10" tall with a stocky build, black, wave have i, shoulder lengthair. he was wearing a t-shirt and blue jeans at the time of the attack. anyone with information, you are asked to call u.s. park place and, of course, anyone jogging through the area, jogging thro

. >> megan mcgrath, thanks. >>> we are now hearing the 911 call that was made by a friend of a family held hostage in their home on friday. >> he called and talked to me in a low voice and said there is a male with a gun in his house. i texted him and hung up on me -- he hung up, and i said do you want me to call the cops, i texted him, and he said i am scared. >> after leaving that home, the man held an elderly couple hostage. the gunman stormed into the two homes after robbing a nearby pawnshop. the woman was released on friday night, and her husband was found inside the home after the gun must not surrendered without incidents. >>> crews are continuing to search for a missing swim inner in the potomac river. a 32-year-old man disappeared yesterday afternoon while trying to swim across the river with a friend. authorities have not released the identities of the missing swimmer or his frid that made it out of the river. >>> the search is on for a an nhiruved- drit-r dho w h ait man and left the injured. that's in the capital heights area of the pnce george's county. they found the ma

. >> megan mcgrath is live at a job fair kicking off right now at d.c. convention center. >> reporter: good morning. isn't the first time congresswoman eleanor holmes norton has sponsored a job fair but this year turnout was absolutely tremendous. behind me here is the end of the line at the convention center. that line goes all the way in and around and down to one of the lower levels exhibit halls. just a tremendous turnout here today. probably not too surprising considering that unemployment in the district is about 10.7%. looks like we're going to have thousands turning out for this event today. they're hoping to meet with employers and secure jobs. the line started at exhibit hall c. then it went on, and on, all the way to the other end of the building, and then it kept going, right on out of the convention center and on to the sidewalk. >> what do you think of this line? >> it's something else. i feel like i'm in line for "american idol" or something. >> i'm not bringing such a big project to the city without being a d.c. resident. >> reporter: con

megan mcgrath talked to some of the job seekers. >> the line. >> it is something else. i feel like i'm in line for "american idol." >> i have my resume. i have been doing a lot of job searching lately. i have skills in construction, demolition work. >> hoping i can get a job. >> there are some large-scale construction jobs, department of homeland security is building a $1 billion headquarters on the ground. millions of dollars in stimulus money is also being directed d.s rd she intends for city residents to get some of those jobs. >> employees from several washington area bridal salons are going to be looking for new jobs. the recession has hit area bridal shops pretty hard. julie carey has more in our report. >>> in a half century of d. business, thousands of brides found a perfect wedding gown at the lady hamilton in arlington. brides were beginning to settle foless. >> instead of finding the dress that's the perfect dress, they are going to find one that's close enough or it is pretty enough or good enough. and it might be half the price. >> reporter: lucky retailers

megan mcgrath has the report. >> reporter: fire crews knocked down flare-ups on the roof while down below members of the knights of columbus discussed what to do next. burn manor hall which hosted countless social events over the years is in ruins. gutted by an early morning fire. >> totally burned down. >> reporter: the lodge, community landmark, has been at the encenter of legal rangeling. it was sold in foreclosure but according to a lawyer representing the chapter the validity of that sale is being challenged in court. kenneth holmes is a member of the knights of columbus and says a new generation of members had recently taken the reigns and turned to plan things around but the fire put things on definite hold. >> we are rein the rebuilding phase. we were trying to get into the community and so forth and as the knights of columbus. you know, and -- just a shock. >> reporter: the lodge often is raented out as a venue of events like a popular go-go knight. an off-duty sheriff's deputy was seriously injured while working security at an event. according to the fire department the utilitie

in riverdale, megan mcgrath, news 4. >> and another eaydl fire th wetod enokehed if lf anif den.elmay hyeped neerda myd orng in no e thrtheast d.c ie netgersbur artments onln lcoin codre.iv fi fielte b trsreveieheanveas was ov bmeokcoy sme as he tried to extinguish the fire. >>> authorities believe they found the body of a man who disappeared while trying to swim across the potomac river. the 32-year-old man was seen on tuesday. this morning, fishermen found a body on some rocks about a half mile from there. investigators say the body matches the description of the missing swimmer. >>> it is now 6:07, 62 degrees. still ahead on "news 4 today," it's been a beautiful weekend, but the grass is getting a little dry. steve is back to tell us if there's any rain in the forecast. >>> and who would have imagined the t.w. everyone wa talking about at the british open was tom watson, not tiger woods? we'll tell you why the veteran is getting so much attention. 1x y there are moments in time when the paths we take do determine our future. today we are communicating with each other as never befor

megan mcgrath is live with more on this story. >> reporter: good morning. the ntsb has just released an update on their investigation, and there's no official cause for the crash but they're continuing to focus their attention on track circuits that detect the presence of trains on the tracks. we've known for a while that a circuit in the area of the crash site five days before the accident that it began to -- it was replaced, rather, and that it had bee malfunctioning since being replaced five days before the crash and that it did not see the train that was stopped on the tracks. the ntsb is saying the bond on the other end of the circuit was also fluctuating since it was replaced in 2007. the problem in that e of the bond since 2007, a year and a half apparently that it was not working correctly. the ntsb update says they've identified problems at other circuits, that those problems crop up more frequently during rush hour. they are analyzing the data to see if it is the same type of situation they've seen in the circumstance at the crash site. with the s

megan mcgrath joins us with more on the landing. >> the weather in florida looks relatively good. with a slight chance of showers and maybe lightning. it looks like "endeavour" is coming home today. it took the shuttle six tries to launch because of bad weather conditions. this time, the crew is hoping to come home in that very first window. that window is at 10:48 this morning. the seven astronauts got a very early wake-up call. the crew was woken up by the song beautiful day by the band u2. it was dedicated to tom marsh burn and mission control deliverethe good news about "endeavour's" return. tom, that was some u2 for you and your crew mates. it looks like a beautiful day in space and florida. we hope to see you safely on the ground in a few hours. >> reporter: the crew is wrapping up a 16-day flight to the international space station. with the six spacetita son residents and the seven crew members on "endeavour," it is wa the biggest gathering ever. they put on a new addition, went on five space walks and freshened up the space station with new batteries and spare parts and di