we'll have much more on that coming up in a minute from suzanne kennedy. now, n.s.a. very secure facilities. this is essentially america's front line against terror. this is where they gather information from cell phones computers, electronic data all around the world. it's a place with multiple perimeters. state police on the far perimeter. n.s.a. police manning the gates. it's in fort meade. the army is also here. as for a motive we don't know just yet. the f.b.i. is reporting they do not believe this was in any way related to terror. there have been some reports of certain evidence drugs, guns found in the suspect vehicle. we have not yet been able to confirm that at this point. the bottom line right now, two people in an s.u.v. a stolen vehicle ran into the gate at n.s.a. police opened fire. one of the suspects killed. one injured. and again, the f.b.i. is reporting at at that point, they do not believe this is in a way terror related. the f.b.i. has only put out a vague statement. they say they are not yet ready to talk on camera. as this story develops, we keep

as suzanne kennedy reports, he said he was the frequent target of slurs over his sexuality, a story that you will only see on 7. suzanne: the willard hotel has renowned restaurants, but what happened in the kitchen is what some may find nauseating. he says between 2012 and 2013 he was subjected to anti-gay slurs from coworkers. >> they would call me [beep]. suzanne: despite a good record, he was repeatedly denied promotions, go back to the kitchen where he says he was repeatedly harassed. >> i was treated horrible. i was asking for help. i did not get it. suzanne: he felt a complaint with the d.c. office of human rights, which found that vega was subjected to a hostile work environment based on sexual orientation, was threatened with retaliation, and ultimately resigned. vega said he is still shocked by what happened and once the hotel to improve its treatment of homosexuals. >> in the end, what happened? suzanne: the willard says that it holds the safety of its guests and employees as a top concern and it condemned unlawful discrimination in all forms. the past back, no further statemen

suzanne kennedy has some reaction. >> there is no easy way to share this with you. suzanne: the announcement came on a website, and through e-mail . after more than a century, the rural all women school will close because of insurmountable financial challenges. >> i love the campus. suzanne: she was in the class of 1990. she says the news is heartbreaking. >> i'm not sure it needs to happen. that is i think the biggest question that has not been answered yet. suzanne: the school outside of lynchburg still has a 94 million dollar endowment, but declining enrollment is forcing the all women's college to take drastic steps. this woman credits the school for helping her find confidence as a young woman. >> i think that sweet briar elevated my sense of self and my ability to accomplish bigger things than i had originally anticipated. suzanne: this year's seniors will graduate, but other young women are being forced to go to other schools. >> we had plans, classes we were going to take. we were all going to graduate with a sweet briar emblem and everything, but that's not

suzanne kennedy is live outside of inova fairfax hospital tonight with a closer look at the policies for prisoner patients there. suzanne? suzanne: accused bank robber wossen assaye saw his moment to make a break when one of the two guards watching him went to the bathroom. >> the prisoner overpowered the female contract security officer, managed to get her weapon from her. suzanne: u.s. marshals say that assaye was in shackles but it's unclear if both his arms and legs were restrained at the time he took down the female officer. when her partner returned from the men's room it was too late. assaye was making the escape. >> after the initial shot was fired, he walked down the hallway with the -- from our understanding, with the female contract guard sort of as a shield. prisoner then escaped through a stairwell in inova fairfax hospital. suzanne: authorities say contract guards have been used in this way for at least a decade. california based allied protective services is hired by the marshal's office. this year it will make almost $65,000 for providing contract guards. hospital empl

suzanne kennedy describes what happened as he went before a judge. >> dan cleaves wiped away tears as he admitted guilt and told the court of a long history of mental illness and drug abuse. he said he was remorseful for having sex with two women without telling them that he was infected with a potentially deadly virus. the 28-year-old had sexual relations with two separate women between late july and early september. while that sex was consensual it was unprotected. therefore, the women were intentionally put at risk. cleaves said he was sorry for what he did and wanted to face the consequences. >> the only reason that we decided to enter this plea is simply because dan wanted to take responsibility for the fear and the pain that he knows he caused with these victims. >> but the state's attorney says his behavior between his arrest and today indicate a lack of remorse because cleaves was still trying to have sex with women without telling them of his h.i.v. status. >> this is chiefly a violation of trust in the intimate relationship where these people's lives were put at risk. and th

suzanne kennedy is in charlottesville with where things stand right now. suzanne: has students at the university of virginia protesting about racism. >> i wasn't talking to you! suzanne: here you see the third year student martese johnson pinned to the ground wednesday morning at the hands of virginia alcohol beverage control board police. he was arrested after trying to get into a bar despite being under age. this afternoon, johnson's roommate said his friend believes he was targeted. >> if you watch the video, he was yelling as he was on the ground. he was yelling, you f-ing racist. so i do believe that he feels it was race fueled. suzanne: today students rallied against racism saying it's a prevalent problem at this university. >> festering undercurrent here and in order for it to be eradicated, it needs to be exposed. suzanne: johnson spoke out in a campus rally last night. >> please respect everyone here. we're part of one community. suzanne: the virginia governor terry mcauliffe said he was disturbed by the video and is ordering a state police probe.

suzanne kennedy takes a look at the new evidence being examined by investigators. >> the prince george's county police department is in mourning on this monday as they search for more clues into a fatal accident that took the life of a police officer very early saturday morning. outside police headquarters a bl bunting is hanging in honor of the officer. he was traveling on route 193 at what appeared to be normal speed when the accident took place. authorities are releasing a videotape, though, acquired through a traffic camera. it shows the moments leading up to this accident and authorities say they are searching for eyewitnesses. >> what we're showing the video for is trying to get community assistance and locating witnesses or people that know people that have witnessed the accident. either in a bus or the minivan. >> authorities have been able to talk to several eyewitnesses including the officer's girlfriend who was in the vehicle at the time of the crash. that is permissible by department standards. there is no date set for this officer's funeral and he leaves behind a 3-year-old

i'm suzanne kennedy. i'll tell you what kind of problems the drivers of those buses are experiencing. i'll have that story coming up. leon: and the national park service lays out a plan to deal with canada geese on the national mall. leon: border collies could soon be roaming the national mall in order to scare away national geese. they are looking for a way to keep geese and their waste away from the memorial reflecting pool. we have complete details on the proposal including how you can make your voice heard right now on wjla.com. alison? alison: as we head towards the peak of cherry blossom season there's actually a shortage of parking spaces downtown. that shortage means problems for all the tour buses that bring millions of tourists and, of course, their money to the region. suzanne kennedy live along the potomac with the impact it's already having. suzanne? suzanne: alison this is the scene right now all over town. motor coach afteroach after motor coach. and take a look at this sign right here. thi

i'm suzanne kennedy in prince george's county. i'll have that story coming up. >> and the "7 on your side" help center is open giving you a chance to ask an attorney your legal questions. the phone number 703-236-9220. we'll check in with the attorneys ad on as a small business owner you wouldn't deliver just half of what you have to offer to your customers. so why are you settling for half-fast internet? only verizon fios comes with speedmatch - uploads as fast as downloadso files go out in a snap. don't miss your last chance to get $200 back when you upgrade to fios internet and phone for just $99.99 a month with a 2-year agreement and get $200 back. hurry call now it's your last chance. this offer ends march twenty-first. >> a war is being waged on our area roadways. crews are out there in full force fixing up those craters in the ground that mother nature left behind. >> suzanne kennedy is live in prince george's county where they are furiously trying to fix the damage. suzanne? >> well -- >> well alison and leon i can tell yo

suzanne kennedy continues our team coverage live from inova fairfax hospital where this all started. suzanne? suzanne: well, leon and alison the prisoner had been here since friday since attempting suicide at the alexandria jail for the first 24 hours he was under the watchful eye of the alexandria's sheriff's department. deputies watched him for 24 hours. after that he was the responsibility of a california based company called allied protective services. as he had two private guards detailed to him since saturday everything started to unfold here overnight when one of two guards walked to the men's room and the second guard who assaye overpowered taking her weapon. male guard then fired a shot. but the prisoner still escaped. >> it was an end unit an end room. after the initial shot was fired, he walked down the hallway with the -- from our understanding, with the female contract guard sort of as a shield. suzanne: here's what else we know. the prisoner was on a hospital gurney. we understand from the u.s. marshal's office that he was in restraints. they aren't certain, though, whet

i'm suzanne kennedy. >> luxury d.c. hotel the willard intercontinental is facing legal action after a former employees he was the target of discrimination. as suzanne kennedy reports, the man says he was the frequent target of slurs over his sexuality. it's a story you'll see only on 7. >> the willard hotel offers renowned restaurants but it's what's alleged to have happened inside its kitchen that some might find nauseating. former apprentice chef alberta vega says between march 2012 and august 2013 he was subjected to anti-gay slurs from co-workers. >> they call me [beep]. they call me looser because i'm -- >> despite a good record he was repeatedly denied promotions and told to go back to the kitchen where he says he was being harassed. >> i was treated probably as an animal. then i was asking for help, asking for help. i didn't have help. >> vega filed a complaint with the d.c. office of human rights which this week saying he was subjected to a hostile work environment and was retaliated against after complaining an

suzanne kennedy now picks up our stormwatch team coverage live from garrisonville. suzanne? >> important news this school is closed today. people want to know that it will be open on june 15th because the day has been added to the calendar after they had another closure here today. it initially started ouz the delay but then moved on to an all day closure. inconveniencing many parents and forcing another day to be added in june. you can hear the rapid thaw taking place this morning in stafford county. but still, schools were closed and students were stuck at home for the sixth day this winter. >> i get bored. there's not much to do when you're out of school. >> in this garrisonville neighborhood, kids were playing outside without jackets. >> too cold to be without a jacket. >> i'm not cold! >> single parent and electrician david murray was already at work when he heard that instead of a two-hour delay, school was closed. so he headed home losing another day's pay. >> definitely not good losing money and i don't get any paid time off or anything. so yeah, this does add up. >>

suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. maureen: thanks, suzanne. 10,000 people live at fort meade and another 51,000 work there. 55% of those employees are civilians. that's more than 28,000 people. 28% are military. more than 14,000 of them and 17% are contractors, about 8500 people. leon? leon: his family says he had a passion for flying. and now investigators are trying to figure out exactly what happened before a young pilot crashed near orange county airport over the weekend. northern virginia bureau chief jeff goldberg is live outside of river bend high school with the latest on the story. jeff? jeff: leon the ntsb is finishing up its work on the crash seen and they expect by tonight they'll have the aircraft removed from the site which is 30 miles from where i'm standing here. this is river bend high school. 16-year-old ryan mccall was a student here as are his two brothers fortunately one a freshman. one a junior. now, this entire community is trying to cope with this shocking loss. the smiling handsome face of ryan

suzanne kennedy live in hyattsville with more on the pothole blitz today. hi suzanne. >> hi alison. take a look behind me over here. we've been watching this pothole on annapolis road all afternoon. if they aren't hitting it head on, they are swerving to miss it. it causes another completely different road hazard. the crews are out working today to fix these hazards here in prince george's county. last year they repaired 2200 potholes. they're not sure if they'll have to fill that many this year. with 1900 county roads, they have their work cut out for them. >> we're doing a blitz. what that means is we're out countywide, we're using our snow maps and we're just driving street by street until we fill the potholes. >> so what do you do when you see one of them? you call 311. when you call 311, you'll get directed into the call center. we'll take you into the call center and tell you what's going on in there. as you can imagine, they are quite busy. reporting live in hyattsville, maryland suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. >> so suzanne, as hard as we try, you can't always avoid every singl

reporting live on capitol hill suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. >> thank you, suzanne. join us tonight for a special roundtable discussion about the u.s.-israel guide. that's at 7:00 live on our sister station newschannel 8, we'll be streaming it on line at wjla.com. senior political reporter scott thuman will have a preview coming up at 5:30. alison? >> the republican led house agrees to back legislation to funneled the homeland security department through the end of the budget year. short term funding for the department was set to expire on friday at midnight. well some g.o.p. leaders were angry that this latest decision comes out restrictions on immigration. it is seen as a major victory for president obama. and opening statements are set to begin tomorrow in the boston marathon bombing trial. after two months of jury selection, a panel of eight men and 10 women was seated today. the 21-year-old dzhokhar tsarnaev is accused of killing three people and injuring nearly 300 others in those twin bombings near the race's finish line two years ago. >> attorneys for jesse m

reporting live in northwest washington suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. leon: thanks suzanne. today, ford's theater and the smithsonian's museum of american history gave abc 7 an advanced look at a new exhibit. it is titled "silent witnesses, artifacts of the lincoln assassination." the 150th anniversary of president link on's assassination is next month. the pistol and the carriage they rode in that night brought together from a number of different collections. >> our history comes alive when we see the objects. and it causes us to reflect on really what abraham lincoln meant to the country, the whole purpose and what happened in the civil war and who we are as a people. leon: the exhibit at ford's theater opens to the public on march 23rd. carriage is on display beginning today at the museum of american history. the museum of natural history is celebrating its 105th birthday today. that facility first opened its doors to the public on march 17 1910. today also marks five years since the museum opened its hall of human origins. alison: all the reasons that we're so lucky to l

suzanne kennedy has reaction from some of the alumni. >> there is no easy way to share this with you. >> the announcement came via a message on the sweet breyer college website and through e-mail. after more than a century, the rural all women's school is forced to close due to insurmountable financial challenges. >> from the time i set foot on the campus, i loved it. >> rachel was in the class of 1990. she says the news is heartbreaking. >> i'm not sure it needs to happen. that's i think, the biggest question. that has not been answered yet. >> the school outside of lynchburg still has a $94 million endowment but declining enrollment is forcing the all women's college to take this drastic step. virginia lyon works in the field of human resource certification. she credits the school for helping her to find confidence as a young woman. >> i think that sweet breyer really elevated my sense of self and my ability to accomplish bigger things than i had originally anticipated. >> this year's seniors will graduate but other young women are being forceed to go to other schools. >> we have pl

reporting live at reagan national airport, suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. kimberly: the investigation into the germanwings crash is renewing questions about having two pilots in the cockpit at all times. senior political reporter scott thuman spoke with a former airline captain and member of the f.a.a. about that today. he'll have that part of the story coming up at 6:00. autria: metro wants to be sure that passengers know what to do on their trains in the event of an emergency. brianne carter is covering metro now with a look at these new videos just released today. >> i'm really catching it two to four times a day. brianne: jamal relies on metro to get around town he says he has concerns about his safety on the trains. >> i'm always worried. brianne: in an effort to increase safety today metro released a set of videos showing riders what to do and what not to do if another emergency happens on the train. >> here at metro, our first priority is your safety. brianne: the video available in spanish and english. >> if you're in a station, move away from the p

suzanne kennedy has a preview of the royals visit. suzanne: the prince of wales and the duchess of cornwall are headed to washington, d.c. i'm suzanne kennedy. coming up at 5:00 siel tell you where they're going to be and how long they're going to be here. the royals visit the nation's capital coming up in an hour. kimberly: and europe's biggest budget carrier ryan air plans to launch cheap transatlantic flights by 2020. they will offer budget flights for up to 14 american cities and the best part tickets start at $15. ryan air makes a profit by charging passengers for services not included in the ticket price. like for baggage or reserving a seat. "7 on your side" has a consumer alert right now. trader joe's is recalling its raw walnuts because of possible salmonella contamination. these remembered products were distributed nationwide. the company has not received reports of illness yet. for a full list of potentially affected products, you can check codes and other identifyers on wjla.com. an auction house is offering elvis presley f

suzanne kennedy continues our team coverage from reagan national airport. suzanne? suzanne: take a look behind me. you can see it's a very busy afternoon here at the airport. all of these people either coming or going inharptly have trust in the pilot that they are going to be flying with. but maybe not today after what happened with that intentional downing of that german aircraft. word of flight 9525 pilot suicide quickly moved through reagan national airport this morning. air travelers saying that the event has impacted their confidence about flying. but they have no choice in many cases but to fly. there have been 24 pilot suicides in two decades. this morning, people reacted to this latest one. >> it's very emotional. i have three children so i think about that. i'm a teacher so you know pretty serious, those kids. that's very sad. >> i'm very saddened for the children particularly that were on there because their eyes ended so quickly and sad for all those people on it. they had no control. it wasn't their fault. suzanne: coming up in about an hour, we'll tell

that's where suzanne kennedy is there live to continue our coverage this evening. what have you learned? suzanne: leon and autria, the officer arrived here in the 9:00 hour and brought here by anne arundel county ambulance number 21 which was here for much of the morning. that is the ambulance that we saw and the officer getting loaded into and ultimately be transported here from fort meade. we want to show you aerial nootage of when that man was being transported. it shows the male police officer wounded as he was about to get into the audience. he was able to get on the gurney himself and he had his right arm in a sling and his left arm by his side. you can see it is bloodied. we contacted the hospital spokespeople and due to hospital privacy laws, they were unable to give us information about the officer. we know from sources on the scene, his injuries were not serious. we did within the hour what we believe to be an associate and colleague of the officer leave and get into a federal vehicle. he appeared to be carrying the wounded officer's uniform in a plastic b

suzanne kennedy takes a closer look at the alcohol and beverage control police and their power. >> why is this happening? suzanne: wednesday night's arrest of the u.v.a. student martese johnson is raising questions about the policing powers of regulatory agencies like virginia's department of alcohol, beverage control. the agency has 130 sworn officers who receive the same training as police. these officers have statewide arrest powers and can arrest anyone for breaking any virginia law. not just alcohol violations. >> abc! suzanne: in the case of 20-year-old johnson, agents thought the underaged student was trying to use a fake i.d. to get into a bar on st. patrick's day. students on the u.v.a. campus feel agents were overreaching in the way that johnson was treated. >> i think the police are abusing their power. >> i think they have this weird, this weird connotation of stopping underaged drinking to an aggressive force. suzanne: in recent years the virginia general assembly has considered legislation that would give the state police responsibilities for the enforcement of the state'

reporting live in charlottesville, suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. alison: activities have resumed after a bomb threat this morning, officials closed the lake braddock secondary school out of an abundance of caution. they searched school for six hours and they say nothing turned up and they say the building is now safe to occupy. leon: turn to the weather now. folks, beautiful looking day. but it wasn't as good as it looked. still chilly outside. alison: i know you look outside and you want to go for a walk and you get out there and you change your mind pretty quickly. leon: that's right. alison: doug hill is in the storm watch weather center with what to expect tonight. sound like actually a crazy week, doug. doug: we'll be all over the place. today, beautiful. no doubt about it. clear skies sunshine outside. belfort furniture weather center. temperatures running from 10 to 12 degrees below average. let's get you started. live look for the weather bug camera on the campus of laurel high school annex in laurel maryland. 43. that's it. well below aver

suzanne kennedy has been driving around all morning long monitoring the conditions for you. she is live now on the outer loop of the beltway in bethesda with an update from mobile track 7. suzanne? >> it's been fascinating to see how things have changed throughout the day with some rain, some sleet, some snow and then back to rain and now we're in an all snow event right now. we are on river road beltway at river road. we are in bethesda and people are going very slowly right now. 30, 40 miles an hour in a 55-mile-an-hour zone. you may be able to see in front of me right now, there are plow trucks that are out here there are trucks that are treating the roadways and there is also a tow truck that's working its way across the beltway right now. mostly what we're seeing right now are vehicles dealing with the conditions that we have in front of us. i want to show you some still photos that we took earlier today and some video. we'll go to the video first and the video shows something very interesting. we saw up in frederick county where a plow truck had gone right off the side

suzanne kennedy just spoke to johnson's roommate. she is live in charlottesville with more. suzanne? suzanne: alison, the bar behind me you see here on the corner on the u.v.a. campus is the bar that martese johnson was trying to get into on st. patrick's day night despite the fact that he is underaged. what happened next has aggravated what some are calling simmering racial tensions here on the campus of the university of virginia. to the grounds of one of the country's most prestigious universities, students fight back against racism. >> black lives matter! suzanne: this vocal demonstration comes on the heels of the arrest of a 20-year-old third year u.v.a. student. this cell phone video shows martese johnson pinned to the ground early wednesday morning at the hands of virginia's alcohol, beverage control board police. it's an incident that has sparked outrage on campus. >> i think it was really immature by the police department. >> i think it's wrong. police are abusing their power and not giving us our rights. suzanne: johnson was arrested, received 10 stitches and spoke

i am suzanne kennedy.n shot and killed by a metro transit police officer inside a metro tunnel. he has been identified as 35-year-old bobby broke. the shooting happened last night in error the potomac metro station. police are trying to fear out why he was in the tunnel and what led up to that shooting. any traffic alert in the district. expect street closures for the rock 'n roll marathon and half marathon. a kickoff around 7:30 this morning at 14th and constitution. some of those street closures will last until 3:00 this afternoon. you can find out more permission online at wjla.com. it is going to be a wet day for them running around the district. dave zahren is standing by. dave: absolutely, it will be soggy, but not a total washout. the temperature in laurel is 32. you can see the fog and the mist out there. already .6 inches in columbia, maryland. in burke about 1600s. here is the big picture. look at the moisture coming in from the ohio valley. most of it is needed to the north of the district. you

reporting live in charlottesville, suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. alison: also, new developments today in another national phenomenon. lawyers for the man at the center of the serial podcast filed a brief in his appeal. he is serving a life sentence in maryland for killing his former high school girlfriend. the maryland court of special appeals has agreed to hear the case. sayed and his attorney said his original lawyer never interviewed an alibi witness and never asked about the possibility of a plea deal. leon? leon: alison, spring brings birds chirping and that signature smell of mulch. in the district, the buzz of dirt bikes. today, the d.c. bureau chief sam ford was out there and heard from police and local leaders about a push to stop the bikes that are on the streets illegally. sam is live in southeast and he's got video that you'll see only here on 7. sam? sam: leon we're at 21st and alabama avenue southeast where a young woman was hit by a dirt bike six months ago here and she stood here in the crosswalk. yesterday in this neighborhood, pol

i'm suzanne kennedy. what happened at the willard intercontinental hotel that has one man taking legal action? i'll have that story coming up at 5:00. >> we've learned one of the marines killed in that helicopter crash was from williamsburg, virginia. three marines were from new jersey new york and wisconsin. the other three were from michigan. all seven men are part of the marine corps special forces stationed in camp lejeune, north carolina. their blackhawk crashed during a training exercise in dense fog on tuesday night. four louisiana national guard soldiers were also killed. >> there are new developments out of ferguson missouri today where the man hunt is escalating for the gunman who shot two police officers. >> as the injured officers were out of the hospital but continued to recover, the community feels the strain of month after month of conflict there. marcy gonzalez reports now from ferguson. >> no visible signs of the search on this rainy friday in ferguson but police insist they are still out

leon: abc 7's suzanne kennedy is in charlottesville following this investigation for us. and you can look for her live report coming up tonight here at 5:00. alison? alison: we have a follow-up now on our "7 on your side" trouble shooter report from earlier this month. it was about a local church that offered $5,000 scholarships to more than 300 students but was late on giving out the money. horace holmes first reported on this story about the reconciliation community church. well, the church promised to hand out the scholarship money at the beginning of the school year last september. but when the money hadn't arrived, a number of families contacted "7 on your side." we are happy to report tonight that the church released the money and now the recipients have their scholarship. leon: all right. prince charles and his wife camilla are wrapping up their visit to washington with a whirlwind day of events. the royal couple began by visiting an armed forces retirement home. prince charles visited a charter school for adult immigrants and the duchess of cornwall toured a foren

i'm suzanne kennedy. leon: robbers are target a popular bike trail in northeast washington. four robberies took place on or near the metropolitan branch trail over the weekend. diane cho spoke with one of the victims and she's live in northeast with the story. diane? diane: leon the victim told us she was jogging along the trail here near edgewood and h street northeast on sunday when someone came up to her with a knife demanding everything she had so she immediately handed over her cell phone and that's when she says he then asked for her password so he could unlock it. now, d.c. police say they are looking into four similar cases that they believe could be related. and in each one, the suspect demands a victim's cell phone or money, according to police reports here. somewhere along the metropolitan branch trail or near it as you said. in one case a woman told us she was walking with her young daughter when she was robbed by a man with a knife. and in one case the victim told police that there could have been two suspects involved. now, d.c. police have increased patrols he