it's the same day council enacts new legislation dealing with its >>> councilman mel franklin went back to work in prince george's county. he attended his first council meeting since we all learned that police had arrested franklin for dui while he was driving a county vehicle. prince george's county bureau chief tracee wilkins was at that meeting. did the council specifically address franklin's case today? >> reporter: yes, they did. this was unusual because it was just supposed to be the ceremonial passing of the gavel, but they decided to enact legislation specifically targeted at what happened with franklin. >> glorious lord god -- meeting with prayer and today council member mel franklin had a special prayer request. >> continue to keep all of us in your prayers. >> reporter: that's all the former council chair said in what was his first public appearance since his duchlt i arrest. franklin was arrested on november 21st after he crashed his county-issued vehicle into the back of another couples' car, totaling their vehicle. according to the police report, franklin then fled the sce

mel franklin without comment or explanation votes in in favor of creating an oversight board to keep track of how council members and other vips get to use county-owned vehicles. >> take some steps. >> the votes did not satisfy a group called progressive prince franklin to resign. >> there's no reason that council members should be using county government cars for noncounty government business. >> franklin is in trouble after he rear ended a couple in their mercedes with his county-owned suv late on november 21st. state police charged him with dui. it's the third time since 2012 franklin has had a collision in a county car. county officials suspended his wreck. >> moving hither beyond -- between washington, d.c. and i think tomorrow i'm supposed to be on the eastern shore for a conference for the maryland association of council conference. that the wear and tear on your personal vehicle is enormous. >> franklin has refused to take reporter questions or make any comments since he was charged >> so that county youth -- excuse me, the county vehicle use review board is going to be made

. >>> for the first time we are hearing the calls to 911 after a crash involving mel franklin. >> there was a car in the intersection and the car just ran into it. >> they were coming south on pennsylvania avenue. the one car was stopped and the other rammed into the back of him. >> franklin is charged with dui following the crash in a county owned suv. two people in the other car were injured. >>> if you choose to drink tonight there are ways to get home safely. metro rail and bus will from midnight to 3 a.m. tonight is the first time that metro is staying open late. if you choose to use uber, the company is making sure there are no surprises. last year many people complained after experiencing surge pricing. look for the upfront fare so you know what you're paying before you request your ride. >>> how cold will your new year's eve be? we have the answer coming <( but...my doctor recommended prilosec otc 7 years ago, 5 years ago, last week. just 1 pill each morning. 24 hours and zero heartburn, it's been the number 1 doctor recommended brand for 10 straight years, and it's still recom

. >>> a prince george's county council member in trouble after an alleged drunk driving mel franklin joined his colleagues in a unanimous call for more oversight of personal use of county-owned vehicles by legislators and other vips. the council voted to create a vehicle use for review board that would have the power to recommend taking away the privileges. franklin gave up his use of county-owned vehicles after his november 21st accident. he's yet to face a judge on the drunk driving charge. >>> 30,000 people, 30,000 of them are expected to visit prince george's county on thursday for the grand opg casino. police launched a command center and are working to monitor roads around mgm and eliminate traffic. they have more than 1000 cameras in place and they're calling in extra officers to help clear the roads. their priorities are safety and motion. >> we don't want high speed traffic on that interstate navigating around stopped traffic. that poses a threat to the public. >> know where you're going. take. the worst thing is getting stuck behind somebody who obviously doesn't know where

council member mel franklin was accused of driving un crashing his car.. just days after that issue, the council voted on the issue of take home cars. he voted in favor of the new oversight. some of the community feel theel action taken by the councilou today falls short.to this is not the first time thatt he's damaged county vehicle also and in this instance, you know, we will put together a panel of citizens who understand these types of things, who will look at our current rules, look atlok the current situations, look att all of the data that is out there and make some recommendations to us as a council about how we should opte in the future. > franklin, by the way, no longer allow to drive any county vehicle also because he is an elected official, the county cannot remove him from office.oi the count down to opening of the mgm grand is now officially at national harbor. it goes inside the build building. metro opens its doors for a rare look inside the rail line. > if you have a story idea wea invite you to call the fox5 tip line, the number is 202-89

it comes after mel franklin crashed his county issued car again. this time police tell us he was too drunk to drive. franklin represents district 9 on the county council. he is charged with dui and reckless driving after he crash nootd back of a car last monday. records show in october and december of 2012 franklin had descents in two other county cars. >>> a former martial arts instructor at a popular fairfax county studio sleeping in jail tonight charged with sexually assaulting a student. after months of investigating, police arrested brandon miller of ums after school tai kwan do. he's accused of touching a 13-year-old girl during summer camp and then continuing to text her. miller was fired and the owner of the pseudo and police are working to find if there are former police officer charged with murder is now in the hands of a jury. that jury could consider a lesser charge of manslaughter now. michael slater who is white was caught on camera shooting walter scott who is black last year in north charleston, south carolina. the manslaughter char

. >>> the group progressive maryland is calling for prince george's county member mel franklin to resign. that's according to our news partners at wtop. franklin was arrested on dui issued vehicle. according to the police report he blew a.10 alcohol level after being involved in a crash that sent two to the hospital. franklin also wrecked a county vehicle in 2012. he was apparently trying to change the radio station. he is no longer allowed to drive county vehicles. >>> one year ago today, 14 people died while attending a work holiday party in san bernardino, california. say yesterday farouq and his wife tashfeen killed 14 and inspired by isis to carry out the terror attacks and later killed in a shoot-out with police. there will be several events today to remember the victims and employees will hold a moment of silence at the time of the attack and police will hold a 14 mile memorial bike ride that will end near the site of the shooting. >>> no one was hurt but about a dozen people had a very scary story to tell. they were all held hostage at a bank in florida. the man tried to rob the

. >>> mel franklin is accused by the maryland state police of driving under the influence last week. they said he crashed his county- owned suv into another car stopped at a red light and the couple inside of the car was injured, and their attorney says they have been release from the hospital, and they are getting into their car, and they are shocked that this happened to them, and you know, they wish they were not the ones in this situation. >> franklin is charged with dui and other traffic charges for the incident, and state troopers say he walked briefly away from the crash, but he eventually returned. >>> everyone's favorite resident of the national zoo is getting back to his normal breakfast. he had surgery last week to remove bamboo that was blocking his intestines. he was chowing it all down too quickly apparently. he's slowly working up to eating bamboo again, but right now he's on a diet of sweet potatoes, biscuits and cooked apples this little guy is no bei bei, but he's getting attention tonight because he got too much into the christmas spirit. >> and researchers say the

mel franklin has been charged with that after he crashed into a car in upper marlboro. two others were taken to the hospital. according to records in october and december of 2012, franklin had accidents in two other county cars. 9 on the county council. >> it is 5:48. it's a building that's been there since the 1950s and one day you can live there. we're talking about the iconic brick building that's been fannie mae since 1979. the main building about ten acres ha has been sold for $89 million to a japanese company. they're planning to preserve the building's archict in colonial williamsburg. >>> turning to president-elect donald trump's transition, where today he's taking a break from interviews to head to the midwest. he's making two stops including one in indiana where he'll tout a deal he said to keep jobs in the state. >>> "news4's" tracie potts is live on capitol hill. this is a deal he made with the carrier corporation. still a lot of unknowns about this though. >> exactly. indiana has put in to make this happen or what concessions workers may have to make salari

mel franklin was at the first meeting dins november. he is charged with dui. yesterday they enacted emergency legislation to look into the account policy on issuing a vehicle. >> we'll take a look at all the issues that are there and have are the ability to make recommendations that can be adopted. to drop speed limits on certain roads. according to our news partners at wtop, hines reimer is looking to address information during the assembly session. the public meeting is at 6:00. >>> and donald trump and hillary clinton are at the top of the ticket once again this morning. list to be the person of the year. many wanted hillary clinton to snag this title. she leads in online polls at 58%. meanwhile, the indian prime minister is leading in the magazine readers poll. and the others include simone biles, beyonce, mark it's a pretty long list of finalists at this point. >> 11 finalists are on my facebook page. today we'll make the big reveal right after "news4 today." >>> and we have gotten rid of the rain, but that chill is sticking with us. >> tom kierein is her

we've had this happen with mel franklin, former chair of the prince george's county counsel swhoil ismember of the council and chairs a number of committees that was just arrest rd he was leaving the mgm grand opening when this happened. it is ironic in that this is the man in charge of the committee, the liquor board, that gave all of the permits for mgm to exist and deals with permits for restaurants and anyone who sells liquor in prince george's county has to come through. so then to hear this is the person who was found intoxicated outside of mgm is most disappointing. the chief of police saying that when i asked him what was his response to a public official asking allegedly one of his officers can we make this go away, he holds himself in high accountable and would expect peers to do the same. the governor said, you know, i can't fire you. you know, you're my appointee. but i can ask you to step down. >> scott, the governor sort hf to do that, didn't he? >> this all dings the publicity in a tangible way and the very choreograph eed publicity it's difficult to make news on some o

our editorial partners at the washington post report that mel franklin damaged two county-owned vehicles in 2012. the report said franklin totalled a ford explorer after crashing into another suv on the beltway and he reportedly caused $1,500 in damage to another vehicle in a separate crash. that one wasn't reported to police. following yesterday's use of county vehicles. >>> two 18-year-olds and a 21-year-old behind bars tonight after a murder in manassas. it happened early on the friday morning after thanksgiving on bird drive. investigators say 44-year-old jose thomas was shot twice. police tell us the vehicle related to the homicide was the same one involved in a killing in the town of cull pepper. >>> new pictures tonight of the suspect's wanted for viciously attacking and robbing a mailman. it happened on saturday on 2nd were seen at the pentagon city mall in arlington. if you know where they are, you could be eligible for $60,000 in reward money. police need your help to crack this case. >>> a 14-year-old being held in pennsylvania for the shooting death of a mother and younger br

they want to look at how those vehicles are issued and all of this after council member mel franklin crashed his county-issued car last month. he was arrested for dui. today franklin was back on the job and some groups are calling on the council to hold him more accountable. tracee wilkins has our report. ?? >> reporter: prince george's county council chair davis played a little r & b. he says the best is yet to come performance. this comes as one citizen group is calling for council to take action against one of its own. >> there needs to be accountable. >> continue to keep all of us in our prayers. >> reporter: that's all the former council chair said in what was his first public appearance since his duchlt i arrest. he was arrested on november 21st after he crashed his county-issued vehicle into the back of another couple's car, totaling their vehicle. according to the police report, franklin then fled the scene. they say he was found hiding in breathalyzer. this was his third time crashing a county-issued vehicle. in 2012 he crashed another vehicle due to distracted driving. they

and earlier this month, police say mel franklin was driving his county-issued car when he rear ended another car stopped at a light route four upper marboro. he had a blood alcohol level of .10 fol following the incident. franklin is currently severing second tem representing upper >>> new at 10:00 tonight a hour county man is facing multiple drug charges after he pled guilty to growing a large amount of marijuana inside his home. officers found the drugs danal sims house in may. they say this was the largest indoor pot growing operation in the county history. officers also discovered 75,000 in a metal safe. sims was released on bond and he's scheduled to be sentenced march 24. >> imagine how much a police officer from our area has >> next at 10:00, hear from the montgomery county police officer who spent his life serving the public. >> and plus, changing metro for the better. metro gm paul wiedefeld outlines his plans for improving the transit system over the next year including reduction in track delays. >> and today, president-elect donald trump pledge todd remove himself from the

. >>> weeks after prince george county council member mel franklin was arrested and accused of drink driving while united statesing a county issued car the county will issue a policy on take home vehicles. while franklin is no long area loued to dri vehicles. the county executive cannot remove him from office because he's elected official. >>> all right. coming up on 5:25 on this wednesday morning are day gar we're talking weather and okay. we'll take it. >> ah. >> well, look we're mid 50s today. so enjoy that. i mean it will as always we reach high temperature for sometimes minutes a day. so we'll go for 54. upper 40s and lo to mid 50s and cold stuff comes around for a couple days. so, you know that's what we can expect. 43 degrees in d.c.. gaithersburg 39. frederick 39. west mipster this morning is 37. so there's a lot of 0s north and west i'll say this along interstate 81 between haagers taken to, mar tipsburg, winchester, there's a little fog out. there last time we checked martinsburg visibility is down to quarter of a mile. that's substantial. everybody else was well up to at t