can you run the smithsonian with the same emphasis? >> well, yes. i think it is important to do so and in general the smithsonian does that. as you suggested, i am suggested, i am not going to second-guess what i am sure was a hard decision. i we will say that as we talked about a few minutes ago my creative activity tends to foster controversy. recently the smithsonian came out with a bold statement on climate change saying that based on data it looks as if the warming going on that you cannot argue about is doing great part to human activity command it was not too long ago that a a statement like that would have been widely controversial. so whether it is science and certainly arts and in my.of view the humanities very quickly fosters controversy. we we need to be able to embrace the controversy and be part of the culture world and the science world in a way that makes sense carefully and thoughtfully but not necessarily back away. honestly i can't come to have comment. >> you have been willing to attract controversy with your positions on immigra

it's actually our first presidential object to come to the smithsonian institution. it is delivered to the secretary of the institution. as soon as he hears the hat as arrived along with the chair he says to put them into boxes not like anyone -- let anyone know. for the next 25 years, the hat and the chair remain in the basement of the smithsonian institution for no one to see. eventually in the 1880's a small museum opens up and they asked to borrow the hat. they learn the hat was here. and ever since then, the hat has been one of the most prized possessions always on public display at the institution. the chair itself many years la ter, the ford's theatre relative asked for the chair back, of whi ch the smithsonian gives them back to the -- back the hchair. they eventually sell it to henry ford. now it is at the henry ford museum in michigan. >>the carriage itself itss a fairly not typical carriage. this is a carriage that required a driver. you can see the seat up front. an order to operate this care is you need to have various kinds of servants at your does disp

it is actually our first presidential object to come to the smithsonian institution. it is delivered to the secretary of the institution. as soon as he hears the hat has arrived, along with the chair he says to his staff to put them into boxes, not let anyone know that the hat has arrived. and so for the next 20, 25 years, the hat in the chair remain in the basement of the throws -- the smithsonian institution for no one to see. eventually in the 1880's, a small use them opens up and the asked to borrow the hat. and he says, the hat has been one of the most prized possessions always on public display at the institution. the chair itself, many years later, the ford theater relatives ask for the chair back which the smithsonian gives them back the chair. the eventually sell it to the ford museum -- for they sell it to henry ford, and it is not at the henry ford museum in michigan. the carriage itself is a typical carriage -- not a typical carriage. the carriage required a driver, so in order to really operate his carriage, you need to have various kinds of servants and

smithsonian journeys is going to focus on cultural travelers. each issue will focus on one destination with photography and stories about history, food, customs, even science. the first magazine is dedicated to paris. it hits news stands april 21. >>> orlando, florida claiming a new record. tourism officials say more than 62 million people visited last year that would make that the most for any u.s. city ever. the home of disney world and other theme parks saw a 5% jump in visitors. new york is the second most visited city with 56 million tourists that came to the big apple last year. >>> d.c. lawmakers want to join other states in establishing a national bald eagle day. the bald eagle appeared with mary cheh in front of the wilson building. challenger flies at many sporting events like the men's final four last weekend. >> the bald eagle is our symbol of our nation and it's only fitting that this symbol here should be making a home here in the nation's capital. >> don't forget andrea and i will be hosting the national cherry blossom festival pa

it's in the smithsonian. the candle sticks that were on the table the marble top table was obtained by brigadier sharp. the silence witness is one of the more interesting pieces in the room. it was a rag deal owned by an 8-year-old girl. it has been left in the parlor. when the federal officers came into the parlor they saw the doll and started kind of passing it among themselves. it was later taken by captain thomas w.c. moore. the family later returned it. you can see it in the park collection called the silent witness. the vase mantles. mantles on the vase. they remained in the mclean family and they were later given to the park and can you see those mantle vases on existence. that was kept in the mclean family and it is in the -- the original is in a park collection in the mclean parlor. and the secretary bookcase in the room is now in the smithsonian and that was kept in the mclean family. those are the only known furnishings that were in the parlor. there was no interest in the rest of the house because

who donated $13 million to the smithsonian, and what the money will be used for. and a head start in the classroom, a groundbreaking partnership and how some students are earning college credit from high school. eileen: and get ready for a blossom week, beautiful day tomorrow, but how long will it last? kimberly: starbucks is expanding its tuition benefit from two years to four, covering the entire cost of an online bachelor's degree from arizona university. the change comes as an improved job bark market is forcing many companies to try to attract workers. a new partnership between howard university and d.c. public schools. under the program, students can enroll in college courses for both high school and college credit. john: what high school senior would not want six college credits already in the they stepped foot on to a university campus like howard university and perhaps soften the blow of the culture shock for college life? d.c. public schools are jumping onto the educational bandwagon has been touring the country, announcing a dual enrollment partnership.

and i think in general the smithsonian does that.sted i'm not going to second-guess what i'm sure was a very hard decision. i'm not going to second-guess my predecessor i-9 decision. i will say that as we talked about a few minutes ago as we were getting ready i think creative activity of any stripe tends to foster controversy. recently the smithsonian came out with what i view as a bold statement on climate change saying that based on a lot of data and logical data, the kind of data that it looks as if the warming that is going on -- anthropological data -- that you can argue that is due in great part to human activity. it wasn't a logical a stable and that would've been wildly controversial, may still be in some quarters. i think whether it's science and certainly arts and in my point of view of the humanities very frequently foster controversy. so i think that we need to be able to embrace that controversy and be part of the cultural world and the science world and a way that makes sense, in a way that's done carefully, thoughtful

issues of race and the police will be the topics at a day long symposium sponsored by the smithsonian tomorrow much at least two of the sessions will be on the impact of the protests in ferguson, missouri, on american history. all the events are sold out. those events in ferguson sparked a surge in demand for police body cameras and that's had a major impact on camera maker taser international. since august 8th, the day before the shooting death of michael brown, the stock's value has nearly tripled in value. it closed today just under $30 a share. taser international's other major product is the stun gun and it is being shelved at fairfax county's jail. the move is considered temporary while the department investigates the death of a 37-year-old woman after she was stunned during an altercation with guards in february. a crime alert tonight after a brutal attack on camera at metro's eastern market station. take a look at this video. it shows a young man suddenly punch a 69-year-old man several times knocking him to the ground on an escalator. metro transit police say the suspect push

the spokesperson for the smithsonian institution says once the power was restored there was a bit of a delay reopening today because you had to make sure that their security and fire alarms were back up and running to go. we're live on the southwest part of the mall, diane cho, abc 7 news. alison: thank you. and also tonight, the bethesda metro station remains closed at this hour because of an escalator outage. metro says the outage was caused by those earlier power problems. right now, red line trains are bypassing the bethesda stop. riders can use shuttle buses or go to the medical center stop instead. leon? leon: senate minority leader harry reid admits he is blind in his right eye. this after a series accident at his home in nevada. he is getting better every day. two weeks ago, reid announced he will not be seeking re-election after his current term is over. alison: proposed contract for the d.c. jail population sparked a rally today. supporters want the d.c. council to approve the correction department's contract to end the i health services. under that partnership, m.b.i. woul

the smithsonian. >> reporter: the crowds were locked outside the national archives because the museum was left in the dark. >> we were supposed to meet here in 10 minutes and i expected to see the drinking life in america. now we'll have to go have a drink. >> reporter: the smithsonian reported outages in many of its buildings. >> it will be a walking outside tour then. >> reporter: traffic signals were effected near the mall area. some people became stuck in el elevators. no injuries, no panic. >> what's the plan ? >> i think we'll check out the theater and see where lincoln was murdered. >> reporter: other affected federal buildings included the u.s. capitol, irs, state department. a number of federal workers in buildings that lost power, those workers just went home. >> we didn't know what was going on. >> nothing like that. >> reporter: thousands of tourists in town for spring break where the cherry blossoms seemed to take them in strive. >> did you see anything? >> no. in there for 5 minutes. >> you disappointed? >> a little. >> reporter: we want to show people the tourists are o

we have a lot more on the nbc washington app. >> the smithsonian will launch a new magazine called smithsonian journeys that focuses on travelers highlighting stories on history, food, customs and science. copies will sell for $13.99 each. >> today is byoc at you can bring the cup at 7-11 and they will fill it with a slurpee. you can bring any cup you like as long as it fits in a ten-inch cut out they will have. no matter the size of your container, you will get the slurpee for $1.49. it has to fit in that. >> we have an instagram page dedicated to people getting so i'm working from home. i get on a video conference. with my boss, and my boss's boss. but i forgot to attach the presentation it sends in a flash, good thing i have fios. i don't and it was taking forever. we don't miss a beat. i'm yelling at the kids to get off wi-fi. get off the movies! get off the video games! i think i got a promotion. i think i need a new job. are you guys hiring. why settle when you can have you have fiber optics with a two year price guaranteed. fios. the fastest, most reliable internet.

the smithsonian was forceed to evacuate several of its museums along the national mall because of the loss of power. the museums were closed for a couple of hours. when power was restored all the museums reopened before 3:00. metro also had problems tied to the outage. train service never stopped. but the loss of power to elevators and escalators forced the closings of the dupont circle and stations. the bethesda station remains closed at this hour. power has finally been restored at the university of maryland. but for many the outage was more than just a break from classes. brianne carter is there live with the problems that many faced on campus. brianne? brianne: that's right, maureen and at this hour things are starting to get back to normal very quiet here just outside of the student union but it was a much different scene in the middle of the day where people were all over the sidewalks and streets trying to figure out why in the middle of class the lights just went out. now, a number of students telling us they were taking an exam and all of a sudden the power went out. some pul

even the founding of the smithsonian, it turns out, is by some measure a story of religion. back in the olden days of the and late 1960's -- sorry late 1970's and early 1980's, when i majored in american studies in college, race, class, and gender were the holy trinity of the discipline. although i was able to take courses in american religious history, religion was still an outlier in the history guild. not least of which because so many social scientists were convinced that religion was fated to fade away as modernity advanced. today and especially since 9/11, religion is very much on the radar of scholars charged with telling the stories of the american people. the american studies association has a religion and american culture caucus. a recent survey of members of the american historical association found that religion was the leading subfield among historians, surpassed by cultural history, intellectual history, political history diplomatic history, surpassing all of that. inside the american academy of religion, religion in north america is one of its most vibrant spe

alison: and coming up here on abc 7 news at 5:00 big boost for smithsonian. find out how the museums are getting some help for their bottom line. leon: and the next step after this week's special election in d.c. that is still too close to call. alison: and then a little bit later -- >> now they start calling me the blinking lady. they know me not because of my blinking lights. alison: a burned out streetlight forced residents to be creative to leon: more than 70 aftershocks have hit the himalayan region since last weekend's earthquake in nepal. in china, the climbing has been shut down for the rest of the spring season. at least 6,130 people died in that quake and in the avalanche. nearly 14,000 others were injured. suzanne kennedy is at the live desk and has a look at the role that fairfax county's task force one played in a dramatic rescue just this morning. suzanne? suzanne: leon this elite team has conducted search and rescue operations in places such as japan and haiti but now they are in nepal and five days into their deployment, the successful rescue

recently the smithsonian portrait gallery had an exhibit on the war of 1812 and borrowed from us this wonderful portrait of jean le feet who had a base in galveston after the war of 1812. he came here about 1815 or so. relations between lefite and the u.s. government soured and he and his brother pierre were hired on as informants for spain which at the time mexico was trying to gain independence from spain. so he used galveston as a base of operations for not only the sort of spying but also his the privateering endeavors. the pro perot nantz is very interesting. the family was building a mansion on broadway and when thayer to the old house and were laying the foundation for a new one they discovered a number of confederate artifacts and this painting rolled up in a tent. the family took this as possible jeanne lafitte painting and the piece was donated to the library. however it was really just speculation that led the early folks to believe that this was jean lafitte. but it's caught fire much like all the history with lafitte there's mythology that's difficult to disentangle from

the original medal was given to the smithsonian institution as directed by the bill that president barack obama had signed. the story of wasps is one that even though they were granted veteran status and awarded congressional gold medal of honor it is a story that not a lot of people are familiar with. they didn't ask for all of this credit. they came to serve their country and did something when america needed them at a time and they came together and released men to fly overseas during world war ii to help america win this war. and when it was done they packed up their bags, paid their way home and left it at that. so these women really changed the face of america's military at a time when their country needed them. that is the story that we are currently here telling at the texas state history museum. # . >>> we are in the private suite of linden and lady bird johnson. this was private quarters for the president and first lady. when i say private i mean that. this is not part of a tour that is offered to the public. this had never been opened to the public. you are seeing it because of

well, recently the smithsonian portrait gallery had an exhibit on the war of 1812 and borrowed from us this wonderful portrait of jean le feet who had a base in galveston after the war of 1812. he came here about 1815 or so. relations between lefite and the u.s. government soured and he and his brother pierre were hired on as informants for spain which at the time mexico was trying to gain independence from spain. so he used galveston as a base of operations for not only the sort of spying but also his the privateering endeavors. the pro perot nantz is very interesting. the family was building a mansion on broadway

during that time, i worked on a joint project at the smithsonian institution and washington dc. that is why i came here. they invited me, in 1979 -- to washington dc. >> and catch us up with how you got to the bay area. >> i went back to india in 1980. there were only 15 tibetans in 1983. we had very few tibetans. later, we brought more tibetans here. now we have about 2000 tibetans here. i am a tibetan board member in california. i founded this. for seven years. we do a lot of involvement with tibetan preservation culture and tibetan americans, we have to make sure we have a tibetan culture growing in the community. and then i did work for for them. >> when you came here, you had to go to work? >> yes. >> that was a new experience. and we have an image here of you working. here you are as the younger monk in india. the next one will probably get us here. the visual artist skills. there you are. you worked there for -- how long? >> eight years. it was a great time. for me, it was a learning center. we have a lot of good customers come here. we have good times, bad times, stressf

the 134-year-old arts and industries building is next to the smithsonian castle. it's closed since 2005 for a major renovation. well officials hope to turn it into an innovation center but scrapped the plans because of financial pressure. the acting secretary of the smithsonian now says it will reopen for short term exhibitions later this year. >>> a trip to the pharmacy costing you more and it's not your imagination. a look at how much more after this break. if you run over somebody it's usually because you were driving too fast or you didn't look before you turned or you didn't stop for someone in the crosswalk. always be alert. pedestrians don't come with airbags. >>> welcome back. virginia was a subject of a poll saying a lot of you support legalizing marijuana in some form. taking a look at the map, we want a closer look at the numbers in virginia. double clicking that real quick. it looks like the poll asked about both medical and personal pot use and a majority approved of both. now of the 950-plus voters asked about this 86% said that they supported legali

visitors got a good look from the smithsonian museum from the outside. they were evacuated. oprah was talking at warner theater when the lights went out there. very powered through. the first lady was there, as well. she was quickly escorted out by the secret service. >> we were just inside working and the power went out. so we decided to come out to see what was going on. last time that kind of happened we had an earthquake so -- >> an equipment failure at a power station in charles county maryland is to blame for that outage. >>> today a rookie d.c. firefighter is expected in court to face a gun charge. he was arrested for an unregistered hand gufrpgun along with am new nugs ammunition found in his apartment. >>> lawyers for a former lacrosse player convicted in his gir frndgirlfriend's death will appear his case p. they have one month to file his petition. he was convicted in the death of yeardley love. he is now serving a 23 year sentence. the supreme court of virginia denied hughley's appeal twice. >> the phi kappa psi fraternity is supporting its uva chapter in its law

actor john hamm and other stars of madmen are donating some of the costumes and props to the smithsonian. hamm who plays the always conflicted don draper was joined by fellow actors and the creator of the hit show for this the mad men memorabilia will be show cased in an exhibit that deals with the history of advertising in america. >> this is the arc logical site of humanity from this period. we're glad that we saved these things and recreated these things and so much of it was thrown away that it was fun to try to recreate a check stub. >> "mad men"'s final season begins tomorrow night. >> she went from being ceo to being in prison next a virginia woman shares her fight with by polar disorder how she finally found her middle ground. the tidal basin is finally getting color. we'll give you an others. now, americans everywhere are discovering that... spoon after spoon... dish after dish... time, after time, after time again... deliciously creamy galbani ricotta inspires meals, and moments, that are simply better. mmm, galbani (sfx: kiss). italy's favorite cheese brand. now, ame ♪ ♪ ♪ >>>

this session from the smithsonian associates and historical society of washington, d.c. is about an hour. >>> i don't have any visuals and i can claim that that is because i don't know how to do it but the truth is i never know what i'm going to say and how i'm going to say it until i get here. so i hope you will forgive me for the lack of visuals. my title is dreams nightmares and neglect. and i'm going to start earlier than 1783. i'm going to start with the beginning of european exploration, the early part of the 17th century. so it's going to be an almost 200-year dream. and but it will go fast because i'm going to concentrate on what happened once the dream was realized. in 1607 john smith entered the seven-mile wide mouth of the potomac river and headed north. whether he got this far north we are actually not certain but the people living here called the place petomek. it translates as a place to which something is brought, a trading place, a place to which tribute is brought. it was a beautiful area in which the tide water from the ocean stopped. the river narrowed

from the rides on santa man fix -- santa monica peer, and the museum of modern art in new york the smithsonianbecause they say they're a danger to artifacts and, frankly, as they swing them around to other pattrons, and officials at the smithsonian say they detract from the point of a museum visit. >> sometimes might beqq put the phone down and appreciate the artwork or the historic artifacts artifacts you have come to the museum to see. >> horrors of horrors they're being banned from thencoachella music festival which begins on friday. what irthe millenals going to too without their precious selfie sticks. >> you're so l.a. with your open collar and your fancy hair. i hate what california does to people. don't selfie sticks have supporters? >> millions of tourists can't be wrong, can they? these things really are everywhere. i was up at the getty the other day with my collar open as you right "point out and they were outside the getty in open areas they're i loued there. i was dodging them all thes it's like being in a boxing ring. some companies love them. one hotel is handing them out to al

tom: some other buildings affected, including both the smithsonian museums, like the air and space, folks evacuated. at this hour, the lights are working fine. this all started from a place dozens of miles from d.c., a place you would not have expected. this is where the problems started southeastern charles county. a conductor fell to the ground at a switching station. although it affected electricity for tens of thousands, it happened in an area where many do not use electricity. as crews worked nearby, a farmer's continue to work the same way they have for centuries. >> the flames were coming over the roof. tom: this woman's power went out right away. it was the noise, not the outage, that scared her half to death. >> it was a very loud sound. at first i thought an airplane might crash into my house. tom: the problem that started in maryland homage country affected some of the most famous buildings in the world and some of the most famous people. the lights went dark at the worn theater at an event where opera was honoring -- where oprah was honoring maya angelou. the station near mech

. >>> the 134-year-old arts and industry building is right next to the smithsonian castle it was closed in 2004 for a $55 million renovation. it's hoped to turn it into a innovative center but closed it due to financial pressures. it will reopen for special events late this year. >>> are you ready for more than 1.6 million new neighbors, but that is the projection by the metropolitan washington council of governments. it rickets by 2040 the population of the washington area will rise to more than 6.5 million people up for a little more than 5 million in 2010. arlington, al alexandria are expected to see a growth rath of 37%. charled county is only to have a highest growth of 55%. >>> it's free cone day. yea! ben and jerry's shops across the country doing this. what more do you need to know other than what time the shop closest to you open ups. for us here it's 10:00 a.m. >> can we go a little early and get in line? >> we sure. we got to talk to the boss. the company says it's their way of thanking their customers. they want to you instagram your ice cream cone. chocolate fudge brownie.

metro says some trains may bypass the smithsonian station if that station becomes too crowded. alison: tuition is going up at virginia state university. the board of visitors approved a 3% increase in tuition and fees for the 2015-2016 year. it amounts to about $224. the cost of a meal plan will also go up by $124. so combined it puts next year's in state for undergraduate at $18,478. autria: cha-ching! still ahead, a "7 on your side" consumer alert. trying to save money on light bulbs? why buying a specific brand might not be the brightest idea. having it all? how about making it work. by getting the most out of what matters to you. it's called maxximizing. and we help you do it, everyday. at t.j.maxx! with brands you love at prices that work for you. maxx family. maxx home. keep your standards high and your spending low. maxx what matters most to you. maxx life! at t.j.maxx. alison: breaking news from fredricksburg right now where police are searching for steven vanderbriel wanted in connection to a homicide. a woman was found unconscious at a home on washington avenue about

the smithsonian natural history museum has received a $13 million donation to support its education efforts. the donation was announced at an event this afternoon. this is the museum's largest education donation to date. it will support the museum's silent education center. that facility will be renamed the whitney science education center in honor of miss whitney the donor. the loudoun county high school robotics team will take part in a national competition after all thanks to some generous donors. last weekend, the team was named runner-up at a regional competition in tennessee. but an s.u.v. containing the team's robot and other equipment was stolen from a hotel parking lot. today, the students received a $15,000 donation from the loudoun county chamber of commerce and several i.t. companies. >> it's overwhelming from waking up on sunday morning to lose everything to in a few short days we're so grateful for all the outpouring of support we've received. maureen: the team will be able to use a backup robot later this month in st. louis. good news for them. what about us? tim: trying to g

on display at the smithsonian. $35 million of american history, a story of an american president, buta story of a real human tragedy. in washington aaron gilchrist, news4. >> and you get goosebumps just thinking of getting the opportunity to see all of that. admission to the exhibit is free but space limited each day. after memorial day, all those items will go back to their original homes in different parts of the country. stay tuned, because this morning later on for the lincoln assassination, a special program marking 150 years since the death of our 16th president. it begins at 9:30. >>> well it may be time to cheer on the nats but it's going to cost you. where our home team ranks when it comes to how much you'll shell out to go to the game. yeah, i'm married. does it matter? you'd do that for me? really? yeah, i'd like that. who are you talking to? uh, it's jake from state farm. sounds like a really good deal. jake from state farm at three in the morning. who is this? it's jake from state farm. what are you wearing jake from state farm? [ jake ] uh... khakis. she sounds hideous.

the air & space museum was one of four smithsonian museums evacuated today for the power outage. we talked to one man from philadelphia who said they were only inside for about 30 minutes today before he said the power started blinking and they were being told they needed to evacuate. >> a little worried, you you always think of the worst. you know, they were kind of you know, keep moving keep moving. you know you always worry the worst. but it was orderly. diane: everything is back up and running again. power was restored and the spokesperson for the smithsonian said they couldn't let people in right away. they had to make sure their fire and safety systems were back up and running before they could let everybody back inside. back to you in the studio. alison: thank you so much for the latest there. and stay with abc 7 and wjla.com for any updates on these power outages. we will bring you any new information as soon as we get it. leon: good thing it wasn't too hot or too cold outside. the power would have been really nasty out there. a mix of sunshine and rain around here today.

a record gift for the smithsonian's national museum of natural history. a lover of rare gems has given $13 million for science education initiatives. the gift by crlean wright whitney is the largest education gift in the museum's history. whitney is a professor in washington state. she also donated the color changing whitney alexandrite gem on display at the museum. still to come at 6:00 -- >> three former ushers at nats park say the organization discriminated against them because of their religious beliefs. i'm stephen tschida. that story for you next. maureen: and the potential for storms. doug is finding out the worst of it and taking a look at the changes to your weekend forecast. tim: and i'm tim brandt inside of the ballpark. if you're on your way down bring a sweater and carry a coat. it's chilly and damp. ball pairs want to get this one in and jordan zimmerman will be on the hill as abc 7 news at 6:00 con maureen: breaking news from petersburg virginia, where there is an active amber alert for 4-year-old kalela. she is believed to be with phillip

. >> reporter: the smithsonian reported outages. >> it will be a walking outside tour then. >> reporter: traffic signals were also effected near the mall. some people were stuck in elevators. no injuries. no panic. >> come on dad. think of something. what's the plan? >> see where lincoln was murdered. >> reporter: workers just went home. >> this is the department of energy back here. >> we didn't know what was going on. >> no panic. >> no. no. nothing like that. >> reporter: thousands of tourists in town for spring break for the cherry blossoms seemed to take it in strive. >> any panic? >> no. everybody moved down the stair s. the alarms were going off because they had to exit out of the entrances you're not supposed to open. >> reporter: this is my new found friend here. she is here with her family. you're from albany. you were in the space museum. >> yep. >> what happened after that? >> we walked away and were going to another museum but then that power went out. we just walked around and took a little lunch and went to another museum. >> and you leave to go home tomorrow? >> to balti

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. >> brown: the results are now on display at the smithsonian museum of african art in washington, worksreflect ideas of heaven, purgatory, and hell. this set of arresting images was created by photographer aida muluneh, who spent part of her youth in canada and the u.s. before returning to her native ethiopia. here, she re-worked a very old tradition of body painting, to make some very new statements about contemporary life. >> it was really looking at how people wear masks in order to get ahead in life. you know and everything is concealed, you know and a lot of the messages that i put in here. it's really a conversation about spite and how i feel that that is hell. so you know it seems like everyone is running around you know to make money, to have power, you know to go to different places, but the real person is not what you see. you know there's a lot of layers within that. >> there is a new generation that's coming up that where we're expressing ourselves that you know yes we're africans, but you know it doesn't mean that we have to always do the clicheÉ definition of what is consi

including the smithsonian air and space. >> there's a possibility it might have some terrorist activity. >> it was scary. >> reporter: the university of maryland closed, offices cleared out and traffic backed up. adding to the problem, a certain randomness. from where i'm standing, i can see three set of traffic lights but right here they're out. what happened? the power company says all this caused by this. a transmission line fell off its foundation. a relatively small thing pointing to a big problem. even acknowledged by pentagon brass. >> it's just because we really don't know the true vulnerabilities. >> reporter: we do know the u.s. electric grid loses power three times more often than it did in 1984 much more than any other industrialized nation. japan loses power an average of four minutes a year but in the northeast u.s. 214 minutes according to a university of minnesota analysis. and it just keeps getting worse. the main reasons, aging infrastructure and increased demand from hotter summers, but now experts worry about the growing cyber threat. >> we should have started work o

[applause] let me thank the smithsonian volunteers for joining us throughout the series. thank you. [applause] have a great rest of your day. be careful on the red line. [laughter] >> at age 25 she was one of the wealthiest widows in the colonies and by age 40 she was considered an enemy by the british. later she became our nation's first first lady at the age of 57. martha washington. on the c-span original series first ladies: influence an image. looking at the lives of first ladies from martha washington to michelle obama. on american history tv on c-span3. as a complement to the series, c-span from new books -- first ladies historians on the lives of iconic american women. creating an illuminating entertaining, and inspiring read. it's available as an hardcover or an e-book through your favorite bookstore or online bookseller. challenging the new fcc internet rules, five organizations have filed lawsuits against the fcc. we will speak with the president and ceo of one of those organizations, walter mccormick, and a supporter of the rules christopher lewis, vice president of publ

in 1871, william peterson was found unconscious on the grounds of the smithsonian institution the old castle. he had poisoned himself with loud him. the police revived him and he confessed he had been taking log on for several years, and he died. william peterson's body was laid out. his diet -- his wife died four months later, and her body was brought to this house, and she also was laid out in this house. so only six years after abraham lincoln died in this house, both petersons were dead. both relate out of this very house. interesting footnote, and auction company was brought in to sell the contents. once again, strangers gathered outside, came into the house and the two most expensive things at the auction where the sofa in the front room where mary lincoln had spent much of the night. that went from $15. and the bed on which abraham lincoln died sold for $80, which was eight or 10 times what it should have cost if it was simply a bed. so

the white house, the capitol building several sights along the washington mall including the smithsonian, the university of maryland. not clear what has caused the outage and how long it will be off >>> iraqi forces are removing bodies from a grave in tikrit. the massacres in tikrit last summer are believed to be the worst single atrocity in recent years. i.s.i.l. overran the base at camp spiker as the army collapsed. it may hold the corpses of 1700 soldiers. >>> international officials warn that thousands of palestinian refugees are starving at a camp near damascus. the u.n. affect the situation a beyond inhumane. i.s.i.l. fighters stormed the yarmouk camp. thousands of refugees are trapped. a few escaped. stefanie dekker has more from beirut. >> reporter: a diplomatic push is under way to open a humanitarian corridor for civilians trapped in yarmouk to get out. the head of the palestinian refugees agency addressed the u.n. security council calling for international pressure, it's difficult to contain the situation on the ground. i.s.i.l. controls 60% of the yarmouk camp. fighting pales

clapping) but we were beginning to get a glimpse and today, the glimpse is we'll elsewhere have a smithsonian memory of all our history museums that will be reflected lessor because the mexico museum established that 3 years ago we wouldn't have done that without knowing there's an incredible collection we're all just anxious to see dated for years to come not only for our residents and international visitors to see that compliments so much of the art organization we've been to establish for the neighborhood center this is droog going to drive our economic locally i want to say thank you because your national black anthem culture of the city is also going to be honored in a trumgs way this is no longer on the great museums we already have established that but for our city's history to have the establishment of the mexican museum part of our history this is important for many, many reaps we honor our community for having the standard ofness and the mission trying to preserve the his with small businesses and preserving displacement we've got something positive going on with the mexican museum

the smithsonian had to evacuate some museums and metro trains are on backup power. the you'll company says it -- the utility company says it's investigating the cause. >>> happening now, jury deliberations are underway in the boston marathon bombing trial. 21-year-old dzhokhar tsarnaev is charged with 30 counts in connection with the deadly attack back in 2013. 17 charges carry the death penalty. most legal analysts are expecting a guilty verdict which means the jury will then decide whether dzhokhar tsarnaev should get life in prison or a death sentence. >> they come back very quickly. to me that's a sign that they thought with their hearts and not heads and went check, check, check. if they take longer, that's a good sign for the defense because they are thinking out each of the counts. >> the defense tried to prove that he was influenced by his older brother killed in the days after the bombing. three people were killed and more than 260 were hurt in the attacks. >>> today, the debate will continue surrounding whether or not to allow californians facing terminal

the lights also went out at several smithsonian museums including the national portrait gallery and visitors were asked to leave. then came word that even the white house had briefly switched to backup generators. fears of a possible cyber attack on the power grid of the nation's capital were calmed when it was learned a transmission conductor in charles county maryland had broken free from its support structure and fallen to the ground. >> essentially what that did was cause a ripple effect that impacted a number of buildings in the city. the backup systems realized there was a dip in voltage, it switched over to the backup system as it should. so that worked properly. so that's why in some locations people saw what appeared to be a power outage. >> reporter: at a pentagon briefing the head of u.s. northern command talked about the incident. >> are the backup systems that we put in place, do they work? and at the moment what i've kicked in and they're all working. >> reporter: and there was also an extensive power problem related to this at the university of maryland in college park forcing

william peterson was found unconscious on the grounds of this this morning institution -- of the smithsonian institution. he had poisoned himself. the police revived him, and he confessed that he had been taking the drug often for several years. in 1871 in the front parlor of this house, william peterson's body was laid out. four months after he died, his wife died. nanna died and she, too, was laid out in this house. only six years after abraham lincoln died in their house both petersons were dead. and both were laid out in this very house. interesting footnote, after an is death, and auction company was brought in -- afterann anna's death, and auction company was rotting. and auction took place on the site. the two most expensive things at the auction where the sofa in the front room where mary lincoln spent most of the night. that went for $15. and the better upon -- bed upon which abraham lincoln died sold for $50. which was eight or 10 times what it should have cost as simply a dad. so an early historian to be near hunter recognized the value of the materials in this house and bought a

coral reefs, mangrove forests, and grass beds, including a biological reserve being studied by the smithsonian tropical research institute. ecologist jeremy jackson is one of a group of scientists working there hired to study the ecological effects of the spill. dr. jackson: we worked all the way down the coast for something like 50, 60 miles to get to places that were less and less affected by the spill. and so we had what were in effect control reefs that were along the coast, and we were monitoring the condition on the coral reefs and the mangroves and everything here and then further and further and further away from where the spill was. narrator: the results of the study were not surprising. the area affected by the spill was severely damaged compared to the unaffected or control, areas. but for jackson, it was the findings made in the control areas after the initial study that would be much more alarming. dr. jackson: two years later, almost all the corals died in the control areas and they died for reasons that had nothing to do with the oil spill. they died because of disease because o