suzanne kennedy talked about this not too long ago. blocked off and each direction north of powder mill road. we are not sure how this vehicle on the other train tracks but suzanne kennedy is live on the scene and she will be back shortly. instead of using route one through beltsville, use the workarounds. there is traffic volume out there. we want to make you aware. the metro opening up. get to and from downtown this evening. no bikes allowed on the metro -- heavier than usual crowds. off-peak fares will be in effect. downtown? street closures are already in effect at they will last until 10:00 this evening. it will be eight access points downtown. to the columbia island and gravelly point at the sailing marina are good options for you. a complete list of closures can be found on our website. adrianna: thank you for the update. emotions are running raw. >> you are watching good morning washington, on your side. we are back at 6:24. venus williams had to step away from her media performance. we have the gma first look. >> in this morni

reporting live, suzanne kennedy. suzanne: for updates -- adrianna: for updates all morning long, check in with suzanne kennedy on twitter. 911 service is back up and running. everything is back in business. covering metro for you now, red line service is back after fears of a shot -- a fire shutting it down must night. a conductor thought that he saw smoke coming on the tracks, but the cruise check to the tracks and sonosite of smoke or fire. turns out the fire and from illegal fireworks in a nearby parking lot. final preparations right now on the national mall. adrianna: they are putting the finishing touches on the national fourth concert. they are almost ready to roll? >> absolutely. things are looking good here. capital fourth set to kickoff tomorrow evening. the sounds of the concert will be some in the air in a matter of hours because final beginations and reversals tomorrow morning. let's look at this, kellie pickler, the beach boys, the four tops and many more. this year the event will be hosted by john stay m

suzanne kennedy is live with the details. suzanne: good morning.his is a long debated issue in the washington metropolitan region. should there be another span of the potomac river just west of where we are right now, between montgomery and loudoun counties? the national capital regional transportation planning board will decide to include a potential among its nine major transportation projects to push forward. the bridge would be west of the american legion bridge and could connect route 28 in virginia to maryland. the montgomery county council has unanimously opposed the idea, saying money would be 270 andpent widening fixing the american legion bridge. proponents say it is needed for economic and safety reasons. the board will vote this afternoon on whether the idea should be studied further. in about a half hour, we will tell you what the board will be considering for possible changes to the metro system. reporting live from along the capital beltway, suzanne kennedy. autria: one man arrested in the shooting of a toddler will be in court. dere

suzanne kennedy is following the latest. suzanne: good morning. police officers from the third district here that cause lasto the night in the 1600 block of belvedere boulevard. this happened around 10:00 last night. the home, shot one person and ran away. a second person called 911. victim has been identified as a man. he was transported to a local hospital. to find outng possible motives and whether they have descriptions of the suspects. reporting live, suzanne kennedy. adrianna: get breaking news alerts straight to your phone. wjla.com/text. a stunning diagnosis for john mccain. he has a brain cancer. the newney is in center. is lending their support to the senator. the social media postings. let's start with donald trump. get well soon. barack obama, his campaign partner. cancer doesn't know what it is up against. give it in the last six hours, his wife says thank you for the wonderful thoughts. theas a family, will face next hurdle together. he is the toughest person i know. he is my hero and i love him. very sad news for our country. the ne

larry: suzanne kennedy has the latest. suzanne: carlos bell had years of experience in a charles county school system in multiple positions, so investigators are asking anyone who may have attended schools during the time he worked here to think back to any interactions they may have had with his -- this now accused child molester. in 2013, he was hired by the county school system and work at least four schools. he worked with a contractor that took care of children both before and after school as well. in 2016, he volunteered as an assistant track coach at a high school. -- wass a lasted arrested last week and charged with chi second degree assault. police say he is admitted to being hiv-positive. police -- believe he molested sn was on school property as well possibly home and other locations. several of the alleged victims were identified from videos. the school system is preparing to have meetings with parents to provide them with more information about what has happened. they say those meetings will be held at 7:00 p.m

in northwest washington, suzanne kennedy. now,nna: happening right all hands on deck to clean up storm damage across parts of maryland. this is the aftermath of an ef2 tornado. john gonzalez is live in queen anne's county, it looks like they have a way to go until things get back to normal. ,ohn: it is all hands on deck the power company crews working 16 hour shifts. we are live and what used to be a popular farmer john's produce market. it is now decimated. part of the structure still standing, kind of, and this icebox on its back. what used to stand right here, the rest of the structure but that was thrown a good 60 yards back into the woods. we are seeing more and more of this is in a bay city neighborhood down the street. ,ome after home looks like this the massive tree coming down and the home is a total loss. a sign says we are ok, that is what is morocco's, no one was -- that is what is miraculous, no one was killed, winds up to 125 miles per hour over a two-mile span and only 150 yards wide. some homes and businesses

our suzanne kennedy just got to the scene - she's live in clarksburg.. suzanne? happening now - one man is missing and 9 children -- dead.. after flash floods swept through parts of arizona this weekend. just take a look at this incredible video.. a woman recording as a flash flood sent water..debris and mud rushing down a mountain. several in the river below were rescued and treated for hypothermia. many calling this some of the worst conditions they've ever seen. the national the national weather service announced a flash flood watch in southeast arizona until tonight. today crews will resume their search for the person -- still missing. new concerns about a massive sinkhole in florida the sinkhole has already swallowed up two homes and a boat. the 225-ft sinkhole expanding - but now officials worry that everything floating inside the sink hole could impact the local drinking water. some evacuated families have been allowed to return, but they are being warned about toxic debris, chemicals and sewage mixed with the water. a sad weekend at the maryland zoo.. aft

in falls church, suzanne kennedy. the justinoming up, bieber in the spotlight because his truck collided with a member of the top rotc. -- to health battles for angelina jolie, what she is facing and how she is doing. the first signs of football, we will take you inside day one of redskins training camp. but first, here is a look at the traffic. afternoon, a tough ride northbound into the city, 395 northbound past route 110 the nationalort, starting their game right now and a lot of folks are late for the game over the 14th street bridge onto the freeway, all , asy bit near nationals park lot of volume as people try to find parking. 66 eastbound roadwork just prior to the beltway, the right lane blocked, the ramp towards the outer loop's, 66 eastbound delays with a little bit of a factor. overall, a short stretch and southbound 95 below quantico extra volume for both directions south porch fredericksburg. -- t copd makes it hard to breathe. so to breathe better, i go with anoro. ♪go your own way copd tries to

suzanne kennedy on morgan street. now to breaking new developments in the health care the senate - going back to square one. adrianna hopkins is here following it all - adrianna? overnight.. two republicans delivering a fatal blow to the gop health care bill. senators mike lee of utah and jerry moran of kansas, announcing their opposition. in a statement moran said quote, "we should not put our stamp of approval on bad policy".. that triggered a late night tweet from the president calling on repubi obamacare now and start from a clean slate" and thats apparently just what mitch mcconnel is going to do. the senate majority leader saying early this morning that he will push the senate to pass a clean repeal bill. mcconnell says he will hold a vote in the coming days. developing now in fairfax county - a body found in a centreville pond. "sky trak seven" flew over the scene on trinity parkway late last night. this is right near the newgate shopping center. police tell us the body is an adult male - but it's still unclear

in northwest washington, suzanne kennedy. adrianna: coming up at noon, a hair-raising explosion on a freeway, the search for what caused this wild scene. and what happened, the storm of questions surrounding the police involved shooting death of an australian woman in minnesota. you know what they say -- kids will begin, but does that go for the animals. the chaos animals cause a business owner. here is the traffic. , a heavy rideoon in a few spots, not bad 66 near vienna, a pretty good ride. looking good off the beltway. 270 southbound with a bit of trouble pass route 109 down route 80, delays as a pick up the work zone. the right lane, picking up cones right now past the scene. they are not quite ready with the work zone just starting to be picked up. pass clarksburg, things open for both directions with no incidents. capital beltway, temple hills road, the overpass for branch avenue, a crash on the outer loop, two right lanes blocked, a lot of volume towards the screen but that will be a short stretch of delays considering

suzanne kennedy is live with the latest. suzanne: good morning. it is these rowhouses right here, this 1, 209, and the two next to it that is most significantly impacted from overnight. this is video from 1:00 this morning, when this two alarm fire started on morgan street. there were about 100 firefighters and 20 pieces of equipment brought in to deal with these overnight fires in the row houses. it started in the rear porch of initially impacting the units on the rear. the fire quickly moved inside. smoke and heavy water damage to all of these units. two non-life-threatening firefighters.o the red cross is assisting. we had an opportunity overnight to speak to one of the homeowners whose unit is impacted by the fires. >> most of the flame was on the back end of the alley, the alley end, that is where the flames were. i could see the flames coming out of the rooftop area. a lot of smoke. mostly smoke, 11 billowing smoke. -- a lot of billowing smoke. suzanne: this is the situation right now. the d.c. fire department remains on the scene in case th

we'll have an udpate from our suzanne kennedy coming up at 5:30. also breaking right now - a fire ripping through part of a rockville home. our melissa di-pane just got to the scene - melissa? im sam sweeney at the live desk with breaking news from that's where an n-y-p-d officer was shot overnight in the bronx. police say the female officer is in extremely critical condition. she was sitting in a command post vehilce in respone to a recent shooting when a suspect walked up and opened fire, right through the car window. other officers ran outside and fired back - shooting and killing the gunman. another person beleived to be a bystander was also shot. their injuries are not life threatening. for updates on this story and other breaking news - follow me on twitter "at sweeney abc". president trump heads to europe this morning for the g-20 summit. tomorrow, the president will stop in warsaw, poland before making his to germany. the biggest diplomatic test of his presidency so far will come friday, when he sits down with russian president vladimir put

suzanne kennedy is at prince george's county police headquarters with the details. suzanne: a busy fourth of july here in prince george's county, one that was marred by violence. three homicides in a period of 24 hours, the first one taking place overnight at 1:25 this morning. that is when police responded to the apartments in the 2500 block of darryl drive. police, when they arrived, found an adult male. he had been shot. they pronounced him dead on the scene. yesterday afternoon, in broad daylight, in the 7300 block of landover road, a man was s gas station. that victim then walked himself to a local hospital, where he later died. authorities have been able to obtain surveillance video, which they hope will lead to a suspect. and then at 6:45 yesterday morning, police receiving a call for a welfare check, and when they arrived in the 800 block of kayak avenue in capitol heights, they found a victim with trauma to the upper body. that person was pronounced dead on the scene. as of right now, there have been no arrests made in any of these cases. if you have any inf

suzanne kennedy... what are you working on for 5 o-clock? massive flames at a d-c home. we're live on the scene right now, as crews put out hot spots. plus: health care collapse. the gop bill, stopped in it's tracks. what delivered the a fatal blow - and whats next. and take a look at this video out of baltimore strong storms - triggering flash floods - and stormwatch seven says there's more to come... good morning washington.

suzanne kennedy is live with the big story we are watching today. suzanne: this to your controversy will come to a head tonight as the school board finally, after a very long and heated debate period, will make a decision as to whether or not church highis falls school i am in front of right after confederate army general jeb stuart. a petition was started in 2015 by actress julianne moore and bruce: interchange the name. both of them at attended this school. right now the change.org petition has about 35,000 signatures. proponents of the name change late students of color should not have to attend a school named after a slaveholding member of the confederacy. those who want the name to remain the same say this issue is an attack on southern heritage. another issue being debated is the fact it would cost upwards of $700,000 to change the name. the vote on this issue will take place at 8:00 tonight. suzanne kennedy, "good morning washington." fairfax county, police are looking for a maintenance man accused of installing secret cameras inside the apart

suzanne kennedy is live at police headquarters in palmer park. suzanne: good morning in prince george's county, investigators looking into three homicides taking place in a 24 hour period. night ont, 1:25 last the 2500 block of darrell drive. police responded to a call of a shooting. an adult male was found in a grassy area between several apartments and was pronounced dead on the scene. in the 7300ternoon block of landover road a man was shot between a liquor store and a gas station, walked to a local hospital where he died. authorities have obtained surveillance video they hope will lead to a suspect. around 6:45 yesterday morning police responded to a welfare check on kayak avenue in capitol trauma to the upper body, that person pronounced dead. in none of these cases have any arrests been made so prince george's county police are you -- are asking if you know anything about these events that you give them a call. live in palmer park, suzanne kennedy. sam: 6:48. must-see video out of baltimore this morning, fourth of july celebrations turning c

larry: suzanne kennedy is live in mobile trak 7. a new hot spot for tickets in prince george's county. suzanne: we are exactly where it is happening. we want to give you some information. we are between branch avenue and allentown road right at the exit onllentown road exit sign the outer loop of the beltway. you can see right here in front of us there is a white ford explorer parked. that is where the camera is. it has . it is being deployed today. it is kind he now 10 and 15 outets -- it is cranking 10-15 tickets. tickets will be given to motorists they go 12 miles per hour over the speed limit. tickets to be given out starting august 7. it is a work zone. they want motorists to slow down and they want them to drive 55 miles per hour. when they put the cameras in place, they say they are able to reduce speeding up to 90%. branch avenue, outer loop of the beltway between branch and allentown road. ,eporting live from the beltway suzanne kennedy. adrianna: now, the search for answers after minneapolis police officers shot and killed

there is still much more ahead on good morni suzanne kennedy.. what are you working on for 5 o-clock? a huge day on capitol hill! the big vote that's bringing john mccain back to washington just days after his brain cancer diagnosis. plus... tornado aftermath. we will take you back to the path of destruction - 24 hours "after" that ef-2 tornado ravaged kent island. and new controversy surrouinding u.s attorney general jeff sessions. what president trump could be planning. good morning washington i'm autria godfrey. and i'm larry smith. let's get started with stormwatch-7 meteorologist veronica johnson. good morning washington. - not as hot & less humid today - back to hot & humid thursday - rain likely friday - comfortable & dry weekend ahead today: sunny to partly cloudy. not as hot and less humid. highs: 82-86 winds: n 5-10+ mph tonight: mainy clear to partly cloudy. very

suzanne kennedy is live in waldorf - suzanne? developing now..arthquakes shaking people awake in lincoln earthquake hit. there aren't reports of injuries... but many people briefly lost power and there was a gas leak in helena. the quake was so strong people felt it in bozeman, idaho and great falls. and a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit the philippines -- southwest of manila. there were no reports of injuries or damage. eileen -- we're just dealing with rain this morning... - rain likely today; still very humid - morning showers, pm sun friday - nice weekend ahead with lower humidity! today: cloudy and very humid. rain likely; heavy at times. highs: 77-84 winds: e 5-10 mph tonight: cloudy with showers. patchy fog. mild & muggy. lows: 68-73 winds: se to sw 5 mph friday: am clouds & showers. pm sun. isolated late day thunderstorms. still very humid. highs: 86-91 winds: nw 5-10 mph it's got this creamy sortpanion of light, fluffy texture. a little bit of acidity. a little bite to it. it makes a tomato taste more like a tomato. it makes bacon taste mor

suzanne kennedy is live in waldorf with the latest information. good morning. suzanne: good morning, larry. we were here much of the day yesterday during the day and nighttime following up on what has been going on here. take a look behind me. this is benjamin stoddard middle school where some of the alleged abuse happened at the hands of an educator. someone parents thought they could entrust their children to a. last night the school board met behind closed doors in a meeting that is upsetting many people because it was held in private. camee meantime, residents together for a prayer vigil outside one of the schools where carlos bell worked, and that is benjamin started. bell began his employment history as a facility attended in 2008 and then he was hired by this will skip -- the school system where he was working and before and after school programs. he was also a track coach. it was in december, 2016, authorities began investigating bell inappropriate behavior to he was arrested last week and charged with assault or he has admitted to being hiv positive. be

suzanne kennedy has the latest. suzanne: carlos beltran's multiple use of experience in the county school system and investigators are asking anyone experienced in the county school system and investigators are asking -- carlos bell worked as a facility attended in 2008. 2 was hired by the county school system and work in at least four schools. he worked with a contractor that took care of children before and after school at j.p. ryan and wavy williams elementary school. he volunteered as an assistant track coach in 2016 at la plata high school. he was arrested last week and charged with producing child pornography and second-degree assault. police say he is admitted to being hiv-positive and authorities believe he molested seven boys on school property and at his home. and possibly at other locations. several of the alleged victims were identified from the videos and residents in the community i'm the charges disturbing. -- find the charges deserving. >> you find out that people are taking advantage, no way nobody c

at nationals park, suzanne kennedy, abc seven news. happening now, the national independence day parade is just getting underway in the district. it's a one mile route in celebration of the country's freedom. what's going on, adriana? the party is officially underway . we have bands, military units patriotic than that. happy fourth of july, everybody. the people. can i get a cheer? [cheers] i met a man from the czech .epublic this is an international event. everyone is here to enjoy the fourth of july celebration. our country is 241 years old today. better place to celebrate than constitution avenue with all of these amazing people? the parade started at 11:45 a.m. and ends at 2:00 p.m. keep in mind that parking is terrible. adriana: good news for metro riders today. off-peak fares will be in effect all day long. no track work scheduled. the rails are open and asked the half hour until midnight. half hour until midnight. we have a look at traffic. >> not too bad as long as you stay away from downtown, as we just mentioned. view ofstree

suzanne kennedy is live in centreville with more - suzanne? right now at 5:xx - relief from the heat. week - the heat wave is finally over this morning. stormwatch seven is tracking some cooler and less humid weather, next. at 5:xx time for a check on the toss to veronica - not as hot & less humid today - back to hot & humid thursday - rain likely friday - comfortable & dry weekend ahead today: sunny to partly cloudy. not as hot and less humid. highs: 82-86 winds: n 5-10+ mph tonight: mainy clear to partly cloudy. very pleasant. lows: 59-69 winds: ne 5 mph wednesday: partly to mostly cloudy. a touch more humid. isolated shower east of i-95. highs: 81-85 winds: ese 5 mph breaking business news, just coming the buyout involving two high-fashion designers. plus - disappearing rewards. a 7 on your side consumer alert: the three ways to cas you've earned, next. you're not taking these. hey, hey, hey! you're not taking those. whoa, whoa! you're not taking that. come with me. you're not taking that. you're not taking that. you're not taking that. mom

suzanne kennedy is live on the scene. days; daily storm chances - next big change comes this weekend; lower humidity today: partly sunny. hot and humid. pm thunderstorms possible 2-8pm. highs: 88-92 winds: se 5 mph tonight: mostly cloudy. warm and muggy. patchy fog. lows: 68-74 winds: ne 5 mph wednesday: mostly cloudy. warm and muggy. chance of showers and storms. highs: 81-85 winds: ese 5 mph happening now - happening now - people all across the country are fourth festivities.. and what better place to celebrate america's birthday than in our nation's capitol? sam sweeney is live on the national mall.. sam? walking, biking or taking metro are your best bets to taking metro are your best bets to get to and from the national mall tonight. the rails open at seven a-m and will be open a half hour later, until midnight. off peak fares are in effect all day.. and parking is free at all metro facilities. president trump is back at the white house this morning after spending the weekend at hi jersey. white house officials say the president and the first lady will first join a picnic with awn

suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. >> we need to make sure that everyone has their stormwatch 7 app with them>> we talk about this all the time. if you cannot see the ground, turnaround. it is more dangerous tonight, because it will be dark. we will not be able to see. if you cannot see the roadway, don't do it. we say it over and over, and then we see what we saw this morning. take a look at the live picture from national harbor. west-northwesterly wind at 10. it feels muggy out there, but not as warm as typical. there are a few 80's down to the south. let me show you the radar picture. this heavy band of rain that has blossomed over the metro area. closer, i will show you these heavier pockets of rain are lifting out of the area. over from walker mill toward buoy, this heavier rain lifting up to the north and east. alexandria and d.c., we have flash flood warnings. tose red boxes from 2:30 3:45 this afternoon. some of these heavier showers will be pushing through. perry hall at toward abigail. heavier showers will start to slow down a little bit. round starts to move on in. scattered shower

suzanne kennedy is live in mobile trak seven - suzanne? in prince william county --- an all out search is underway the run. amanda sue allen was supposed to be babysitting two children saturday when those children --- a 2-year old and an 11-month year old a dumfries apartment complex unattended. neighbors called the authorities and found allen inside asleep. they say during their investigation... allen lied about her identity then slipped out of a window and took off. her arrest has many who know her shaking their heads. today allen faces felony child neglect charges. your asked to alert the authorities with any information that may lead to an arrest. a loudoun county chipotle - will re-open today after a health scare. here's what we know. this is the location on route 7 in sterling. multiple people reported... getting sick after eating there yesterday. they say -- they experienced fever, nausea and vomitting. chipotle says -- it's working with the "county health department" to resolve the situation and get the restaurant sanitized to be b

reporting live, suzanne kennedy. adrianna: thank you. search for a killer in silver spring. this occurred just before 10:00 last night at the belvedere boulevard. a man was shot inside the home. the man went into the hospital and died there. if you have information on this, please call montgomery county police. in prince george's county of a dump truck driver died after his truck crashed into a utility coal and overturned. sky track 7 over the same after 8:00 this morning at harry truman drive. when emergency crews arrived on scene, the truck was wrapped around the powerlines. still no word on the cause of the accident. this afternoon, a man arrested, police say on his cycle shot a woman in her suv and then took off. before shots were fired, the woman honked and blocked him in. witnesses say she got out of her car and cursed at him. moments later, she was shot. right now, she is listed in stable condition. mccain, who is used to uphill climbs on capitol hill, is now in a different battle -- facing brain cancer. john gonzalez has reactions from fellow lawmakers. john: the mav

suzanne kennedy is live at the scene: breaking right now. president trump - times that he would have never appointed senator jeff sessions as attorney general if he knew he was going to recuse himself from the on-going russia investigation. the interview coming as we mark six months since president trump took office. he told the times that he would have just picked someone else for the job and that sessions' decision ultimately led to the appointment of a special consel. a source close to sessions says the doesn't plan on resigning from his position, despite the president's comments in that interview. right now. senator john mccain - in the battle of his life after being diagnosed with a rare type of brain cancer. the diagnosis coming after the senator had surgery last week to remove a blood clot above his eye. during the procedure doctors discovered a brain tumor. this is not the first time senator mccain has battled cancer. he's had several melanomas removed in the past. the 80-year-old will stay in arizona to recover and then begin treatm

suzanne kennedy is live in falls church with the big vote now just hours away. new information now -- chipotle where more than 135 people got sick earlier this month. the restaurant now blames one sick employee who was working while ill. officials believe that led to a norovirus outbreak. the company claims the sto protocol -- which states employees are not supposed to work when ill. the sterling location had to shut down for a day after the incident. coming up at six - cruise ship lockdown. the murder investigation happening now on the high seas. plus - keep watching to win. we're giving away tickets to saturday's potomac nationals game. those phone lines open, coming up next hour on good morning washington. new this morning -- the united states -- taking home the gold cup at levi's stadium in california! the match was a nail-biter -- coming down to the final minutes. u.s. forward jozey altidore opened up the scoring just before halftime. that was quickly followed by jamaica's je-vaughn watston kicking one in to tie it up. then -- in the 88th minute -- the unit

but they aren't waiting until then to speak out suzanne kennedy is live in waldorf with more.. happening today- sentencing for he's the man who went on a shooting rampage in maryland last year. in total, he shot 6 people - killing 3 - with some of the violence- happening at busy shopping centers. today's sentencing is for the two murders in montgomery county. tordil has also pleaded guilty to killing his estranged wife in prince george's county. the hearing starts at 1:30 this afternoon. courtroom. right now - train service is getting back to normal with some delays in and out of new york's penn station - after another train went off the railis. n-j transit says one of it's trains was involved in what it's calling a quote "minor", slow speed derailment. about 180 passengers and crew members on board were evacuated. no one was hurt. it comes days before a massive repair project is set to begin at penn station, that's even impacting us here in the d-c area. during the two-month project, amtrak will run fewer trains between new york and union station. a late night for the nats. a

love, it's what makes a subaru a subaru. >> good morning washington i'm suzanne kennedy. county police stepped up patrol in a trail in vienna after a woman was stabbed in the neck by a stranger 7. . 30 yesterday morning not far from the fairfax metro station. the attack was unprovoked the woman was walked to work. she'll be okay. >> information session for parents after a charles county teacher's aid is charged with child sex abuse. carlos bell is accused of assaulting male students and producing child porn and admitted he is hiv positive. the meeting is 7:00 tonight at the benjamin middle school. >> get ready for >> reporter: early morning spotty showers. by lunch the rain will intensify and may be thunderstorms thrown in that come late today. it will mess over night. a high confident that woe will see flooding in parts of our area. gusty wind that may lead to power outages. today's high is 84. 74, cool side tomorrow. 80 delightful sunday early part of income week looking good. >> reporter: we got two major issue you have to watch out for on the roadways now. if you are

our suzanne kennedy live at the friendship heights station with more. suzanne? suzanne: larry, monday morning commutes can always be a bear to begin with, but especially so when you've got issues with metro. take a look behind me here at the friendship heights station on western avenue. we have a lot of people who are waiting for shuttle buses. why? there was an arcing insulator this morning at the medical center stop. montgomery county, fire and rescue confirming that is the reason why they had to -- why metro had to shut down its trains there. as a result, all of these people are working to get on to a shuttle. shuttle bridges set up within the hour to get people from here to friendship heights, up to grosvenor, and then back down south. we have seen buses coming southbound as well. no word yet on when this situation will rectify itself, when they'll be able to put the trains back in service. we do know that the arcing insulator incident, the fire at least has been extinguished. metro officials there checking out the situation. for now, these bus bridges will

suzanne collins. thank you for joining us. we also have several former staff directors, and i would ask that you stand to be organized. english, charlie hoy, keith kennedy, terry lehrman, jim orhart, and frank sullivan. in our keynote speaker, dr. betty koed. [applause] we are so pleased that you could be part of our celebration. senator daniel and away was an important force on the senate appropriations committee for many years, as a ranking member and a chairman. the senator passed away in 2012, but we remember his quiet demeanor and outstanding leadership. , irene, captured his esteem for this committee and his colleagues in a letter that we would like to share with you this evening. i invite charlie lloyd to read the letter. [applause] >> the letter is dated june 20 8, 2017. dear friends, good evening and a low half -- and aloha. i wish i could join you this evening as you come together take commemorate the 150th anniversary of the senate appropriations committee. i am working in japan this week at an out of country event which caused me to miss this occasion. i congratulate the historical society on what i am sure will be another successful and enj