megan mcgrath is live where the incident violent explosion that changed lives forever.you look behind me here, you can see the fence that stands there, the apartment building was just on the other side of it. and it has not yet been rebuilt here. after the explosion, there was all kinds of debris in the trees. the blast so extreme that it actually blew debris and clothing and other things all wait across to the back of this parking lot located across the street here. in the hours that followed as people searched for a loved ones, there was tremendous emotion including a reunion that happened between two frantic parents searching for their infant child. listen in. >> thank you, thank you! >> reporter: not every story though had a happy ending like that. seven people including nearly 40 people were injured in this incident. federal investigators still trying to figure out the exact cause of the blast, but certainly a violent explosion here preceding the fire. now, one year later, investigators still piecing things together. first responders who came here to the scene and

back to you in the studio. >>> megan mcgrath live in alexandria for us. megan, thank you. >>> two of president trump's business councils are no more. the president decides to dissolve the cou few days. the executives face public pressure to disavow the president after he doubled down on his initial response to the violence in charlottesville. >>> now the president's comments following the violence in charlottesville are start to go have ab impact on his cabinet members in a personal way. >> the only african-american cabinet member found himself the target of vandals. >> good morning, eun. this is only on news 4. somebody toilet papered ben carson's home and wrote an expletive about the p. in the past, a confederate flag was displayed outside their home to taunt them. the hud secretary admits being the target of hate doesn't feel good but says violence is not the answer. >> you can't necessarily control the animosity and the hatred of but you can control how you react. >> that's our meagan fitzgerald with the secretary. we asked the secretary several times

back to you guys. >> megan mcgrath, live in wheaton. thank you, megan. >>> the solar ellipse, it is still a few days away. one place is already starting to notice the impact. where travelers are already flocking. >> we'll be able to see the eclipse where we live, that's good news, chuck. >> our official eclipse forecast for monday, the peak of the eclipse. about 82% of the disk of the area. should be about 88 degrees when that happened at 2:42 p.m. on monday. who said science doesn't work. come on now. if you want to know, go to their website. they have all the solar >>> good friday morning. live at the humane rescue alliance. we're getting ready for clear the shelters. this is fab. she's adorable and up for adoption. clear the shelters is tomorrow. we're going to be talking a lot more about it. tell you everything you need to know before you come out and give a loving animal -- a homeless animal a loving home. we'll be back with a live interview on what you can expect. >>> and we hope the roads stay clear as well, as well as the shelter

news 4's megan mcgrath has much more on how much it costs us. megan? >> reporter: oh, it's very frustrating. we have all done it. driving around in circles looking for that favorite or that perfect parking place near where you want to go. the restaurant or maybe work. it's not a pretty situation anymore. i know how bad it is. now, looking live here, of course, it's very early. so we are seeing quite a bit of parking in the area. not a problem now. but as the coming hours start, that is going to change. there's new information on how much time and money we waste in d.c. looking for that perfect parking spot. a report from a transportation firm says that we waste 65 hours a year looking for a spot. it also adds up to $1300 in wasted gas and maintenance on your car. and here's another thing that you minot think of. of time they're going to park in a spot. so $350 a year is wasted because you overpay that meter. a frustrating situation. everybody knows it. one way to avoid it, take public transportation. back to you guys. >> all right. megan mcgrath live o

megan mcgrath is there for us at we mark the somber anniversary. >> reporter: good morning. this was just a devastating explosion and fire that changed lives forever. here on arliss street, things still aren't back to normal. you can see the fence that spans the entire block here, the empty space behind it, that is where the apartment building once stood. now, in the hours that followed, as people looked for their loved ones, there was a tremendous amount of emotion including this reunion of two frantic parents who were looking for their infant child. [ screams ] >> thafrng ynk you, thank you! >> reporter: now things ended well for that family, but not every story had a happy ending. seven people including two children died, nearly 40 people were hurt. now, investigators still have not handed down an official although many in the area said that they smelled gas. but one year later, investigators still piecing things together. for the first responders who came here and worked so hard to save lives, this was one of those career-defining moments. >> within the fire service, you

back to you guys. >> megan mcgrath live on the road. megan, thank you. >>> some breaking news overnight. the new show of force from the u.s. while you were sleeping. >>> plus, they are trying to prove to america that they've got what it takes. that they've got talent. the results are in for a prince george's county fire director, next. >>> we continue to share your ready for school pictures on this throwback thursday. check this out. uyo is. sound. they're headed to the next round of america a's got talent. >> their performance wowed the judges and the voters. the choir is made up of people from all over the country. damon is also the choir director of mt. ee none in clinton. you can watch the choir on next tuesday's show live at 8:00 on this station. >>> chuck, the forecast has something for everyone. >> august will feel like summer. we'll be in the low to mid-80s for afternoon highs today. but, about a 15 to 20-degree drop in temperatures for friday. more about that and the rain on the weekend plans coming up in a minute. >>> chuck, ch

no longer single-tracking. >> reporter: i'm megan mcgrath with this morning's top story.'m at the hospital where the chief of police is being treated following an accident that happened while i was on patrol. chief devon martin was thrown in his police-issued motorcycle last night after he collided with a car. i will fill you in on what happened and how he is doing coming up at 6:45. about the redskins. they have a month to go after a beating, a whooping by the ravens last night. next up, the team plays the green bay packers at fedex field one week from tomorrow. >> president donald trump says his comments about fire and fury may have not been far enough. he vows trouble in the country if they launch missiles from guam. reuters says they will not launch a preemptive strike without talking to south korea first. >> chris lawrence in the newsroom to break it down for us. >> he didn't mince words. the president is also in a heated battle with the senate majority leader. he has called his failure to pass the health care bill a disgrace. just yesterday when the president was as

megan mcgrath live in old town with more on the debate. megan? >> reporter: good morning, guys.ehind me you see the statue appomattox in the middle of old town alexandria. if governor mcauliffe gets his way, it will be removed and placed in a museum. the governor released a statement saying in part, monuments should serve as unifiers that inspire us collectively and vein rate for citizens. unfortunately, the monuments have become flash points for hatred, division and violence. the governor is recommendin removed and placed in museums. in virginia, the general assembly, though, must make that final decision. the statue here in old town is titled appomattox in the middle of the street here on south street. it was erected in 1889 in the memory of confederate soldiers who died during the civil war. the city of alexandria has been working on a plan to remove the statue, but obviously it hasn't happened yet. in baltimore, the mayor has taken action there. in the wee hours of the morning. if you take a look at the video, before the sun came up on wednesday, four statues, including the

news4's megan mcgrath is in alexandria with the debate that's going on there. n. >> reporter: well, that's right, governor mcauliffe wants all confederate monuments relocated either to a museum or what he says are more appropriate places, including the statue that you see behind me here in old town alexandria. it's called appomattox and it depicts the statue has been here for generations and now there are renewed calls to have it moved. if you've driven through the intersection of south washington and prince streets in old town, you've seen the statue. it's called appomattox and was erected in 1889 in memory of confederate soldiers from alexandria who died in the civil war. the alexandria city council wants to move it. so does governor terry mcauliffe who says such monuments have become flash points for hatred, division, and violence. but moving it isn't so easy. the general assembly will have to step in. >> the city council has requested a law change to the general assembly, but so far, the general assembly has declined to act on that request. the general assem

megan mcgrath joins us from the wesfield wheaton mall to tell us how much longer you can shop tax-free in maryland. hi, megan. >> reporter: hey, guys. not much longer. what happened to the summer? we're talking about back to school already. if you want to take advantage of the deal, you got to get out there. two days left. lots of families expected to hit the mall to take advantage of this sales tax situation. sales tax-free situation in maryland. back to school clothes, the shoes, all that goes with it can really add up. espely shoppers in maryland are getting to the next two days. a break on the sales tax. certain qualifying items will be exempt from the state's 6% sales tax. that really is quite a savings for folks out there. now not everything is exempt. the idea here is that they're trying to get folks ready for back to school. we're talking about clothing and shoes and things like that. keep that in mind when you're shopping. what exactly is exempt? take a closer look here. clothing and shoes that cost $100 or less. we're talking about each individual item. if it's more than $100

news4's megan mcgrath is live in downtown d.c. with more on how you can give back by something that probably a lot of us do anyway, just going out and having a meal. >> reporter: absolutely. it's a great idea. there's so many people who want to help the victims of harvey, and here's a win-win. have a great meal, get a great meal and the restaurant will donate a portion of the sale to charity bagels and lox with a side of goodwill. restaurants around the dmv are donating a percentage of today's sales to help the victims of hurricane harvey. joan works in the hospitality industry here in d.c. she worries about her colleagues in houston. her meal this morning tasting especially good knowi helping those who've lost everything. >> people depend on tips and we don't know when anything's going to open. and so i think that anything that all of us can do to help people, whether it's within our own industries or it's in any community in houston, i think we have to. >> reporter: the devastation, the rescues, the resilience of the residents,

back to you all in the studio. >> megan mcgrath, thank you. >>> a d.c. police officer won't face charges for shooting and killing an unarmed black man, but that doesn't mean officer brian trainer's troubles are over. he could still lose his job over the death of terrence sterling. news4's justin finch reports on what happens next in the case. >> reporter: afterward, no charges will be filed in this case. d.c. police will soon begin its own internal investigation about what happened. a deep dive at the various evidence collected so far from witness and officer accounts as well as surveillance video and much more. this all as supporters of sterling say that justice so far in this case has not been serv from wednesday evening where protesters carried candles and signs supporting sterling and his family, this was a direct response to the u.s. attorney's office call to not file charges against officer brian trainer. you may recall that he is the officer who shot and killed 31-year-old terrence sterling last september after he crashed his motorcycle into the c

news 4's megan mcgrath is live at prince george's hospital centerre brought after that crash. megan, this morning we were hearing some very positive reports coming from the hospital, sounded like things were good. so we're hoping that is only improving this afternoon. >> reporter: well, and certainly it is. in fact i just got an update from a spokesperson with the seat pleasant police department just about 15 minutes ago or so and she says that the chief is doing very well. he's still here. he's being evaluated. but that he is expected to make what she called a speedy recovery. so certainly great news for chief devon martin and his family is here with him at the hospital. now, he's going to be here for a little while. but i'm told that he is conscious, he's talking, he's had visitors this morning. his family is with him. and that's a big improvement. chief martin was brought here last night after this crash in critical condition. there was a lot of concern about his condition and then came the good news late last night that he was improving. but certainly it was a tense situati

. >> megan mcgrath is live outside the hospital with more on the chief's condition this morning. megan, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, guys. positive news coming down late last night. seat pleasant police chief, devon martin, is said to be on the road to recovery following a motorcycle accident while he was on patrol. an upgrade in his condition. he has been evaluated at the hospital and is expected to be okay. that's a big improvement. when he was brought to the hospital yesterday, he was in critical condition. the situation considered initially quite serious. now, word that his injuries are not considered to be life threatening. chief martin was on patrol driving a department-issued motorcycle when he collided with a car. we got an update george police. the driver and other witnesses stopped and helped chief martin g martin. >> to see our community rush to help an officer that's down, we all need to feel good about that. these are the moments that make me the proudest. >> so police chief devon martin said to be recovering and is going to be okay. he does have so

. >> news4's megan mcgrath has been working to find out more about what happened here. megan, what are police telling you? >> reporter: well, we're learning of a very grim discovery that happened early this morning. if you look behind me here, you can see that we're being kept at quite a distance here and there's a very large presence after three children were discovered dead inside a home here on brooke jane drive in clinton. it was about 7:37 or so this morning, we're told, that an adult family member came to the home and found the children dead and then called 911. now, all that police will say is that all of them were suffering from trauma to the body, so were they stabbed, were they shot, did something else happen, we just don't know the answers to those questions at this point. we just know that there was some sort of trauma to the body. about, were the children related to one another, and police are still trying to piece all of that together as well. i asked about the age of the kids, and whether they could be any more specific, and here's what the public informat

i am adam >> i am megan mcgrath. >>> we have one more day, and yesterday the wind was phenomenal. we had a nice breeze out of the northwest suppressing the humidity, and so maybe breezy at times for some people but it was wonderful with lower humidity. don't get that kind of weather here in august. that sun just beginning to come up right now, and that sunrise at 6:13 a.m. the winds are calm and that's the way it's going to be throughout the remainder of the day, so looking good for today. as we continue into tomorrow, you will want to bring the umbrella because you will need them, unfortunately. we will see rain showers tonight, and low to mid-80s, not as breezy but increasing clouds. >> thanks. >>> an elderly couple in critical condition after being struck by a car after attending a this happened yesterday afternoon in bethesda in a church parking lot. we will show you video of the damage you will see. you will notice the windshield cracked. both the man and women are 86 years old. police who live nearby, or people rather who live nearby say there's a lot of traffic in this area