after we told vdot about what we found, they took the entire sign down.that fell down, vdot says inspections show it was in good shape. vdot is working overtime to inspect more than 500 similar cantilevered signs. now, tomorrow night we're going to expand our investigation to find out why there's no consistent inspection policy for highway signs and how that has allowed some signs in our area to go decades without being inspected. jim, doreen? >> tisha thompson, thank you. >>> this startling video of a lion swiping at a toddler is making waves around the world. the 1-year-old's parents record td at the oregon zoo last week. they can be heard laughing in the video.çs!3e officials say ty was not in any danger. one-inch-thick glass kept the 400-pound animal from actually getting to the child. zookeepers say the lioness simply expressed her natural predatory behavior. the boy's parents didn't realize until later that they had dressed him like a zebra that day. ooh. >> yeah. >> that kind of makes you nervous watching that. >> yeah, i'd say so. i don't care how

, vdot says inspections showed it was in good shape. they're now working overtime to inspect more than 500 similar cantilever signs. >>> there's a makeover in the works for america's front yard. yeah, the national mall is due for some much needed renovations. tracy will kins got a look at the plan improvements which for some mall goers sound pretty surprising. >> reporter: the topic of discussion for some time now, what are we going to do to improve the look of the national mall? well, now three different architects have been selected to redesign three different areas of the mall and we asked people around town, do you think that these new designs are going to help improve america's front yard? >> is this for sure or this is -- >> yeah, this is selected. this will be what they're working on when they start to do the construction. >> reporter: using my ipad i showed people who are on the mall every day what some of the plan designs for its big renovation are looking like. the reaction was interesting. can you imagine the mall even lookin

the transit agency says drivers can weigh in by going to vdot's website. >>> 4:49. the centers for disease control says morbid obesity is still growing among people here in the u.s. >> the cdc's weight of the nation report reviews a snapshot of america's obesity epidemic which is slowing down but as anita anita brikman tells us, it isn't a pretty picture. >> reporter: duke university's justin is referring to a study release dad at the weight of the nation conference going on here in the district. the forecasting study found 42% of the u.s. population could be obese by the year 2030, 42%. individuals with severe obesity may rise to 11%. these findings suggest the health care system could see 32 million more obese people in the next two decades. it is a number that could significantly hike health care co-s. >> in materials of dollar value -- in terms of dollar value for the medical expenditures alone, that would account for over $500 billion over the next 20 years. >> reporter: however, the good news is the growth rate of overall obesity seems to be slowing down. >> t

keith smith is now suing vdot for discrimination. smith says he saw nooses hanging behind the desks of two of his supervisors, two different time. he also says he got an indirect threat, and that's when he quit his temporary job at the salem office. >> bunch of wild things going through my head. >> sure. >> i just -- basically just concluded just -- just let the job go. fear for my life. >> the agency told our sister station in roanoke, "vdot received a complaint from a contract employee alleging workplace harassment based on race. the civil rights division investigated the complaint, and the vdot employees involved were disciplined." >>> 4:48. seven prince george's county nightclubs are facing criminal charges for allegedly not paying taxes. the indictments come after undercover surveillance from june to october of last year. maryland prosecutors say the clubs owe the state $700,000. some are accused of selling alcohol without a proper license. most of the charges carry up to five years in jail and a $10,000 fine. >>> it is official

. >>> taking vdot to daughter. the threats this man claims he dealt with while on the job. >>> the concerns facing firefighters right now as they try to contain this fast-moving brush fire. >>> and we're keeping an eye on the weather for you as more storms have rolled through the region. ♪ jimmy bond my feet are too dry and cracked for sandals. try gold bond foot cream. it has moisturizers that penetrate thick skin. thanks. think gold bond. ♪ this stuff works >>> welcome back at 5:39. firefighters are gaining the upper hand on a wildfire which is talenting hundreds of homes in western nevada. the fast-moving wildfire erupted in a rural neighborhood near the nevada/california line yesterday afternoon. two homes were destroyed, but no one was injured. >>> want to look at things around here. not dealing with fire thankfully, but a lot of water, folks are dealing with, particularly in northern virginia. this is the quiet after the storm if you will this morning. overnight, a lot of rain for some folks. tom kierein is h

that's because at 9:00 p.m., vdot is closing down the eastbound lane of the dulles airport access road from centerville road to leesburg pike. all that traffic will then have to shift on to the dulles toll road and they'll have to go through the main toll plaza and pay the toll even if they are coming from the airport, which would usually be free. the eastbound lanes of the access highway will reopen by 5:00 a.m. >>> it looks like the gloominess that we had over the weekend decided to stick around for one more day. top, how about sunshine? >> we got breaks in the clouds right now. kind of a nice everybodying. temperatures on the cool side. we will start with radar. we have some showers in the mountains. this is the weather pattern where most of the showers will be confined. cumberland and garrett county and moving north to the west of hagerstown. nothing in the metro area. i would grab a jacket, not an umbrella. 68 downtown. mid 60s in gaithersburg and frederick. 70 in manassas and 71 down in fredericksburg. so for tonight, mostly cloudy, breezy and mild. mountain showers. winds south,

. >> vdot faces a discrimination lawsuit for two nooses allegedly displayed in the workplace. keith says he saw the nooses as the an office near roanoke and says he got an indirect threat and that's when he quit the job fearing for his life. vdot issued a statement saying employees were disciplined for a racial harassment complaint. >> joe paterno's family will receive a 13.5 million pension from penn state. the widow will get $10 million. the family plans to donate more than $1 million to charity. paterno died in january just a few months after penn state fired him in the middle of a child sex abuse scandal involving another coach. >> subpoenas went out to morgan stan little tonight following facebook's disappointing performance on wall street. the bank is accused of sharing inside information. they allegedly told investors the stock wasn't as valuable as expected. it fell to $31 a share tonight. >> imagine being told there's a snake in your yard. you walk out and see this wrapped around a tree. >> president reagan's family is reacting that a vial of his blood is being auctio

keith smith it got a job with vdot through a temp agency.oon after he started, he says he saw nooses hanging behind the desks p two of his supervisors. smith claims it happened in two separate occasions. he says he also got an indirect threat and that is when he quit. >> a urge before wild things were going through my head, you know. and i just basically concluded just let the job go. >> the agency told our sister station in roanoke vdot received a complaint from a contract employee alleging workplace harassment based on race. the civil rights division investigated the complaint and the vdot employees involved were disciplined. >>> tax and alcohol violations forced several night clubs to shut down tonight. state officials say today's criminal indictments could help make many neighborhoods safer. chris gore did not reports. >> reporter: the owners of seven night clubs have been indicted for tax, alcohol and licensing violations. >> the closing has had really beneficial impacts in our communities as many of them were encouraging violence and c

vdot's analysis is wrong according to the airports authority. >>> jessica doyle is here with another your money report. >> the stock has dropped like a rock in the last couple of days and apparently the mess around facebook's ipo is getting worse. >> we'll start with the investigation into what happened before this ipo actually came out. morgan stanley is the investment bank that was the lead injured writer of this deal -- lead underwriter of the deal. the financial industry regulatory authority is a self- policing body for the securities industry. it says this is a matter for itself and the security and exchange commission to look into. a subpoena has already been sent to morgan stanley by the top securities regulator for massachusetts. just days before they started trading on the nasdaq -- [indiscernible] the stock continues to lose value. now down 19% since the debut on friday. traders are blaming a couple of decisions. "the wall street journal" reports one of the major problems: the decision by facebook's chief financial officer to boost the number of shares the company would off

. >> we are hearing from the vdot .hat there has been a collision after you had over the bridge the exit for 12th street. i wanted to go to the geico center picture. i do not see any delays here on the bridge. let's back up a little bit. after the pentagon. by the way, they have left the exit forand past the 110 and they're on their merry way. we are still in pretty good shape even with that crash. to the news desk now. >> we will talk to you soon. a ribbon-cutting ceremony will metrod today at the station. stairs are intended to ease platform.n the it is writers another option. it is the busiest orange line station. now you can expect another week delays on the metro. of multi-a share tracking. the work will take place from tomorrow night until closing on sunday. >> still to come back this morning, the national parks reduce --ve a plan to the deer population not involve weapons. entering the day nine [ female announcer ] with xfinity, you can always expect more. like more on demand shows and movies than ever. and more ways to discover them too. plus more speed from america's fastest int

vdot shows an estimated 8% of northern virginia's overhead signs are in poor condition.these high mast light poles have the most problems. inspectors look for very specific things. for instance, on this high mast pole they have a problem with the fact there's no cover, you can get to the electronics, and the system holding up the lights. but below they focus on anchor bolts. this is what's holding it to the ground. there's no washers and there's too much clearance underneath. as many as 25% of high mast poles are in poor or serious condition. but roper cautions, the records are out of date and the number is closer to 15%. >> only a sampling of those reports i noted half of those i pulled have been incorrect. >> reporter: many have been pulled or replaced. we went checking out the worst rated. near gallows road, a rusty pole, corroding bolts. near washington duct tape holding broken parts together. >> public can see corrosion on a bridge beam or sign or pole. doesn't necessarily mean they need to be concerned that that structure is in danger of falling. >> reporter: roper

vdot cannot help in the case of brenton court because this is a private road. homeowners will have to pick up .he tab >> it should not be too bad. >> a few inches of rain falling create a lot of chaos lot of the taurus. >> its a good thing there's more way home. >> the water is receding. prince william county fire officials are not taking chances for. they will closely monitor this waterway for some time just in case more rain does fall. jay korff reporting for abc along the lake jackson dam. >> a pedestrian was struck and killed in clinton, maryland last night. was dead when officers arrived on the scene. driver did remain on the scene. a bicyclist was injured in a night crash in northwest washington along 15th street and g. the victim was taken to the don't know the condition. >> the secret service scandal, the senate homeland security committee is set to grill top officials over the incident in colombia. the secret service inspector today asill testify agents fight their dismissal from the service. say the secret service is making them scapegoats for the age

fairfax county tells wtop they could be used to spot a traffic tieups and send information to vdot. some say using drones on u.s. soil could be an invasion of privacy. >> police investigating separate stabbings and the district. when happened after 2:00 this morning along florida ave. police and saw a man stabbed in the neck. he was taken to the hospital. we do not know his condition. police were called to a separate stabbing in north trees washington at the forefront hundred block of coral street. officers say the victim was stabbed in the abdomen. police are not saying what led to the stabbings or if they have any suspects. >> turning to vote 2012, and today's election day in many places in virginia. voters will be selective school board members. polls open until 6:00. you can see a list of the races on line at a wjla.com. >> congress is looking at changing the provision letting you ship beer and wine in the mail. >> with more on that, and let's get to linda bell in new york. >> we are watching right now stock index futures. they are a little changed. we have manufacturing. it acc

. -- vdot. >> it is a story you may have y on the silver screen. lossan suffers in memory accident and cannot of for life.s tonight, we are going to introduce you to a married where this became a reality. day you are happily married, next, a dramatic -- traumatic brain injury counter into a stranger. >> we would like to go at it and dance. overnight, he went from being newlywed husband to a round- the-clock care giver. 2009 left her in in a coma. doctors said she would likely brain dead. she has not regained basic brain function. >> there is a body that has this r person and it. >> this doctor says part of what the injury so tough for is what he calls an ambiguous loss. >> how is this person the same or different? it is very confusing. >> there are helping those recreate the with a new therapy. >> we find that with constructive -- people have change fories will the better. only 17% of these marriages divorce. those married for logger. of time before the entry have a better chance of making it. -- those married before the time the injury had a bette

vdot has lingering road work on the inner loop of the beltway between the little river turnpike and gallows road. traffic was stay to the left. 66 westbound leaving the beltway to 4-d and others construction. travel times in our favor south into richmond, north into baltimore along 95. topside of the beltway is wonderful at georgia avenue in this picture. >> thanks so much metro's. did for 2013, which starts july 1, now has final approval from the board yesterday. $2.5 billion. it allows for expanded rush hour service, better bus service more police officers, and improved escalator preventative maintenance. >> metro riders can expect allays this memorial day weekend because of track work. buses will replace green line trains between greenbelt in fort totten. yolo trains will operate between mount vernon square and huntington. red line trains will single track between fourth glance,. changes are from 10:00 tonight until closing on monday. 4:43, 69 degrees on this friday. wachtmann delma county police make an arrest in a series of home burglaries. a high-tech gadget led them to the thief. >>

vdot shut the highway down to work on the expressway with project overnight.uter loop will reopen by 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. >>> coming up, the man who wants help paying child support for his 30 kids. >>> beautiful animals attack. we'll check back on a group of horses that were recently slashed in fairfax county. >>> mark zuckerberg gets married. >>> and mick jagger gets ready to host snl for the first time. [ mechanical humming ] [ male announcer ] we began with the rx. ♪ then we turned the page, creating the rx hybrid. ♪ now we've turned the page again with the all-new rx f sport. ♪ this is the next chapter for the rx. this is the next chapter for lexus. this is the pursuit of perfection. >>> chen guangcheng is now on u.s. soil. he escaped from his house and took refuge at the u.s. embassy. the chinese government allowed him to come to the us to study at law school. >>> a tennessee man is going to court for help paying child support for his 30 kids. he's just 33 years old, his youngest children are toddlers, the oldest is 14. hatchet has fathered children with 1

vdot is telling us they did remove the roadwork close to 610.d 95 from the center port parkway just north of 17 heavy volume of tram with all the lane -- traffic with all the lanes open. here in springfield the pace is good. next timesaver traffic comes up 5:16. mike back to you. >>> sounds good bev we will hear from you then. making news now this morning, fairfax county police are now investigating a late night murder in mount vernon. officers got -- noise call on san leandro place and they found a man who was in his 40s inside the car who had been shot several times in his upper torso. police have not released his identity yet. >>> the maryland budget battle is over and the house of delegates approved a revenue package to prevent the doomsday budget from taking effect. it includes an income tax hike on individuals making more than $100,000 and households earning more than $150,000. >>> sounds like a bad movie sequel. are you ready for debt ceiling part deux the standoff? president obama met with congress until leaders at the white house yester

. >> the storms dumped 3 inches, vdot workers hurried to close a dozen flooded roads after streams and creeks flooded over the banks. ripped out part of the road when the pipes under ground could handle no more. >> over flows the road and it digs under the shoulder and exceeds the capacity of the types we have. >> police closed park gate road when a small bridge was deemed unsafe. and near the golf course, it was kettle run's waters that crippled this bmw. the driver of this pickup truck regretted taking a chance near the manassas station. he had to be rescued by boat. >> unless you are driving a tank, i wouldn't even attempt to go across. just find alternate means to go around. >> now several school bus routes had to be canceled this afternoon. but now that the flood waters have receded, hopefully everything will be back to normal. tonight, authorities still are looking at that dam and keeping everybody notified downstream as far as the town. i'm peggy fox reporting live. back to you. >> time to be vigilant, thank you. if you have flood damage or using today as a wakeup call, go to wu

. >>> if you're one of the millions of virginia commuters who use ez pass, vdot wants to know what you would think of paying a monthly fee. the agency is accepting public comments on its proposal to implement a $1 monthly charge for ez pass, vdot says it needs the money to keep up with the costs of operating the program. it hopes to make a final decision on the proposal next month. >>> in a week, maryland's largest casino will open its doors to the public. news4 got a sneak peak inside maryland live at anne arundel mills. it's the size of three football fields and will start off with 3200 slot machines. another 1500 electronic games will be added later this game. the venue will also include six restaurants, shops and space for live entertainment. maryland live opens next wednesday night at 10:00. it closes regularly at 2:00 a.m. during the week and 4:00 a.m. on the weekend. >>> voters will likely get to decide if maryland keeps its same-sex marriage law. opponents submitted 113,000 signatures petitioning referendum. that's more than twice the number needed to make the issue a referendu

starting at 9:30, vdot will shut down completely, i-495 north right at i-f 6. that is so the crews can work on paving those express lanes. traffic on the inner loop will detour on to 66 west and get back on the beltway. lanes will reopen by 5:00 a.m. drivers aught to expect the same closure friday and saturday night as well. and metro riders on the orange line expect some big delays over the weekend. the ever present track work will be going on. tomorrow night at 10:00 until closing on sunday, in trains running between the east falls church and west falls church stations. it will be some shuttle buses between the two stops and riders should allow an extra 20 minutes for their trips. >>> the tributes continue to pour in for the late chuck brown. coming up, we talk to the men who helped d.c. music legend, go-go. but first, a second grader in colorado tries to honor an african american icon, but instead, gets a hard lesson in race relations. we'll talk about this one. stay with us. >>> all in state students at virginia tech will see their tuition go up next year.

vdot will shut down the outer loop at braddock road tonight.e a single lane around 9:30 p.m., and all lanes will be blocked off at 10:30. traffic will be diverted on to braddock road. closure is due to construction on the express lanes project. the highway will reopen by 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. >>> a man in knoxville, tennessee may be very busy this father's day. desmond hatchette is the father of 30 children, and he is just 33 years old. the kids range in age from toddlers to 14 years old. they are from 11 different women. hatchette is now trying to get tennessee to help him pay child support. he says he makes only minimum wage. >>> next, chuck is back to tell us if this great weather will hold out for the rest of the weekend. >>> and tonight, at 11:00, from bacon to peanut butter, a new twist on

from the standpoint of an alternative to spotting traffic and sending information back to where our vdot smart traffic centers and being able to observe backups and changed lights and everything else. there's going to be a reason for drones in the future. >> reporter: whether it's to help fight forest fires, deal with hazardous situations or guide first responders through widespread flooding. >> you look at unmanned systems as just being a commodity that allows that operator to do his or her job better. >> reporter: some in congress are concerned about this kind of aerial surveillance violating individual's privacy. >> i'm looking at it as one more way to keep our people safe. >> reporter: mark brady with prince george's county fire department says it's just like bomb squads using robots also designed for the military. >> we use the infrared technology on the helicopters to help pick up bodies that we're looking for or people that may be lost out in the wilderness or in the water. again drones can also provide that capability as well and i would suspect once you get over that initial cos

we'll go straight to it on the northbound side of 395 on our vdot camera just north of duke street.ce activity. i believe it's a broken down vehicle but a couple of police cars here on the showld are. so be a-- shoulder so be aware of that as you leave the beltway just north of duke street. right side of the roadway affected. let's go to the maps. the beltway is fine. you have rain so you may encounter slow traffic on southbound i-270 coming out of frederick. in silver spring taking a peek near georgia avenue. looks like wet road conditions but traffic still pretty light heading over from 95 into silver spring this morning. let's go back over to our maps this time to the west side of town. no issues to report right now on the dulles toll road or i-66 coming in from manassas. we'll take a live look in the tysons area. all that construction of course still in place coming into tysons, inbound on the dulles toll road and if you're planning to head here right now at least volumes are light. coming up in my next report, another look at 395 north of landmark at 4:55. but first the dulles

if you're traveling 395 southbound, still see all -- looks like it's in the process of clearing, vdot in the process of moving the camera. an accident at 395 and duke out of the roadway. looking good. back to you. >> thank you. >>> 4:42 just about now. still to come this morning, from camden yards to the 911 dispatch center. >>> an amazing sight. ♪ >>> this morning the music world is mourning the loss of robin gibb. gibb founded the bee gees with his twin brother and other brother, helping define the disco era with "how deep is your love" and "night fever." he died following a long battle with cancer. the family released a statement asking to respect their privacy at this difficult time. maurice died in 2003. >>> today family and close friends are expected to say a final good-bye to the queen of disco, donna summer. the family will hold a private funeral for summer in nashville. she died thursday at her home in florida. she lost her battle with breast and lung cancer. she topped the charts with her songs "bad girls," "last dance," and "hot stuff." summer was 63. >>> the only man convi

tells wtop that to spot traffic problems and send that information back to vdot. some members of congress says it could constitute an invasion of .rivacy >> police investigating to dead the stabbings and the district. florida avenue. man stabbed ine the next who died at the hospital. 30 minutes earlier, police were stabbing.a separate officers say the victim was stabbed in the abdomen. not saying what led or if they have any suspects. >> police hopes the videos -- surveillance photos will help .em >> john gonzalez has the latest developments. >> there have been two attacks, possibly a third, in the past month. police have released photos of the first case. believe they sped away saw the 49-year-old the phone.er on we are hearing a conversation. along with obscure fort road of men targeting drivers, this morning we are hearing the 911 audio of a woman to explain the operator she was thing followed. --you're supposed to >> this community is in fear. the suspects first rammed a car driver ofago when the vehicle got out and was a gun and knife. they tied him up, threw

try and going to jump on over to a map where all morning vdot has been working with a crash southbound 95 at dale city and southbound at dumfries. >> not much into the rain fall at the moment. of course, the heavy rain yesterday and into the night. we have had over 3 inches of rain in manassas yesterday alone. more showers and thundershowers likely later on today. right now cloudy, 64. of course, damp, what ground everywhere. 64 in sterling, 65 in reston, 63 in suitland, maryland, montgomery bill, 63. temperatures only very couple of degrees. looking at live super doppler seven, all you see are a few little patches of green on the screen, isolated -- southern maryland prince george's county even fairfax county near dulles airport we have a little spring -- sprinkle and the leesburg area. a few sunny breaks. more thundershowers especially in the afternoon and evening. cloud cover, a bit of sunshine. high temperatures right near 80 and you will feel the humidity. tomorrow, repeat performance. the seven-day forecast with the memorial day forecast coming up. >> a woman under arrest after a

see what we found and why vdot decided to take action because of what our cameras caught. tonight on "news 4 at 11:00,11: sh tish ya thompson, "news 4" iteam. >>> the so-called super moon is happening saturday night. the moon will officially become full at 11:35 p.m. it will come at the peak of an annual meteor shower created by the leftovers of haley's comet. whatever you're doing on saturday night, go out, take a peek, tame some photos. >> apparently the moon isn't bigger, it just -- >> it doesn't grow. >> i'm saying, super moon, it's closer. >> closer, right? >> i didn't thing you thought it grew, eun. >> that's what i thought you were trying to say. >> tom? >> i'm going to now rescue the broadcast. yeah, it's going be closer. it's going to appear about 15% brighter than an average full moon. you know, the moon is not a perfectly circular orbit. rare view to get a look at it at its closest point to the earth. this morning we can't see any moon. we've got rain falling north and east of washington. cloud cover right over the metro area now. when you see the color here on

see what we found and why vdot decided to take action because of what our cameras caught. tonight on "news 4" at 11:00. tish shah thompson, "news 4" i team. >>> four players punished for their part in the new orleans saints bounty scandal. three days to appeal. the punishments were passed down yesterday. jonathan vilma got a 16-game suspension. linebacker scott fujita and smith and hargrove were also suspended. their suspensions range from three to eight games. >>> a federal agent will return to the stand today in the retrial of the seven-time cy young award winner roger clemons. also yesterday, a setback for the prosecution when fellow pitcher andy pettitte admitted he could have misunderwhen he acknowledged using human growth hormone. >>> the nationals' five-game losing streak is history. >> and desmond hits one high in the air to left center field. it is near the track, and that is a game-winning home run! >> very nice. ian desmond erased the gnats' slump with one swing of the bat. his two-run ninth inning homer helped the nationals beat the arizona diamondbacks 5-4 las

vdot is closing down the eastbound lanes. traffic will shift on to the dulles toll road and through the main toll plaza. that means you'll have to pay the $1.50 toll if you are coming from the airport. the eastbound lanes of the access highway will reopen by 5:00 a.m. >>> the national cathedral is honoring the civil rights pioneer, rosa parks, with a brand-new statue. the intaylation and dedication will take place on thursday. the park statue will be located on the human rights porch with the likenesses of other famous speeches, including eleanor roosevelt. >>> and a special ve day wreath laying ceremony was held today. today is the 67th anniversary of the day that world war ii allies accepted the unconditional surrender of the nazis. wreaths were layed in honor of world war ii veterans and holocaust survivors. >>> the priest of the archdiocese prayed for the firefighters. they also remembered those who died in the line of duty. hundreds of law enforcement officers walked under an american flag as they entered st. patrick's c

don't know why but things are looking great coming up from route 644 and another live look from our vdotas. 395 now you're going to see the volume right through landmark to seminary road. coming up in my next report, we'll take a look at maryland roads at 6:43. >> thank you, monika. >>> the situation in syria is getting worse by the day. with the united states -- but will the united states get involved on the ground? >> that's one of the questions cbs this morning will be looking into this morning. gayle king joins us live from new york with a preview. good morning, gayle. >> that is one of the questions. hello to you, mike and andrea. former defense secretary donald rumsfeld will be here in studio 57 today. we'll ask him about the u.s. options to deal with syria and the white house leaks on the osama bin laden raid. plus, jazz legend winston mar sell liss brings us a rare interview with paul simon. great conversation when those two get together. we'll see you starting at 7:00. >> we'll be watching. >>> the public viewing of chuck brown had to be cut short last night. police cleared the

vdot workers hurried to close a dozen flooded roads in prince william county after overnight rains pushed creeks over their banks. rushing waters ripped out part of the road when pipes underground could handle no more. >> first thing to do is assess it, make sure it's safe, fill it in. get traffic flowing and come back and make a permanent repair later. >> also, prince william county police closed park gate road when a small bridge was deemed unsafe because of the volume of water flowing under it. on valley view drive near the bristow manner golf course, it was kettle runs waters that crippled this bmw. and even this pickup truck became submerged in rising broad run, putting up to five feet on piper road near the bre station. the truck's owner was rescued by boat from lake jackson station firefighters. >> unless you are driving a tank, i would, and even then, depending how fast it's moving, i wouldn't even attempt to go across. just find an alternate means to get around. i know it's an inconvenience, but also insures that you aren't going to get stuck out there and threatening position. >

so check with vdot. >> okay. i use an e-zpass.an take it out of money that's already there. >>> metro says it has completed a multimillion dollar safety improvement project. special rail guards have been installed to help trains move between the tracks. that reduces the risk of derailment. the ntsb recommended the improvement after a train jumped the tracks at mt. vernon five years ago. that project cost about $57 million. >>> the district's chief financial official says the city can't afford the proposed changes to d.c. taxi cabs. the "washington examiner" reports natwar gandhi says the mayor's 2013 budget did not include sufficient funds. he says the district would need to spend $670,000 next year to implement the plan. the current proposal calls for hiring new inspectors, requires drivers to install panic buttons, paint their cars the same color, and accept credit cards. the bill would fund the changes using a new 50-cent surcharge. >>> starting next month, those who rely on unemployment benefits will lose them in the district.

go further north on 395 at duke street and that's also looking good as you head north on 395 on our vdota. no problems to report here up towards seminary road and the 14th street bridge. all lanes are open this morning. in my next report, we will take a look at maryland roads at 5:38. >> thank you, monika. >>> the national transportation safety board is investigating a deadly plane crash in fauquier county, virginia. >> two planes collided in mid area over the community of bealeton. there was a surviving pilot. he was able to make an emergency landing in a nearby field. that was despite losing a wing off his plane. he's hospitalled in fredricksburg right now. both people on the second plane however died when that plane crashed into a wooded area and then caught fire. >>> expect big crowds around the howard theatre today. the viewing for chuck brown starts later this morning. generations of fans are expected to pay their respects to the godfather of go-go. 9news now reporter delia goncalves is live at the theatre with a preview. how many people are they expecting throughout the day? >> re

north side, this is going to be heavier as you head northbound on 395 on our vs.dot camera -- on our vdota. it's okay up at the 14th street bridge. i just took a look at that as well. back over to the maps and this time to the gw parkway leaving the beltway. you're going to be fine heading into the downtown area. no problems on the toll road and 66. we'll take a live look on the beltway west side of town here at the american legion bridge. traffic volumes are still pretty light. in my next report we'll take a look at the north side of town at 6:25. >> thank you, monika. >>> it's 6:19. next in sports it's do or die for the caps while at camden yards, one player does something we haven't seen in nine years. >> right now it's time for another check of the question of the morning. the highlights she's talking about are fantastic. you don't want to miss that. here's the question, 30 years ago men did this three times as much as women but today it's the other way around. is it a, exercise, b, take pictures or c, work as a schoolteacher. >> facebook friend ed says it's b, take pictures. back in

. >> vdot issued a statement saying employees were disciplined for a racial harassment complaint. >>> georgetown university graduate who wrote the iconic horror movie "the exorcist" plans to sue his alma matter in court. william peter platy says georgetown strayed away from its doctrine and should no longer call itself catholic. he says it's violated church teachings for decades by invi inviting speakers who support apportion rights. the author claims the school neglects to teach skins in catholic morality. he expects to file the thought fall. >>> a long island high school student is suspended for five days for creating an anti-bullying video. in the video, 15-year-old jessica barber plays a girl who is regularly bullied, falls into depression, is taunted on social media sites, and eventually kills herself. statements at the beginning and end of the video say that it is fictitious, some parents are still alarmed. barber said she was called to the principal's office the day after she posted the video on line. she was suspender for five days. >> i was baffled. i couldn't describe how i

and let's see if we can take a look at a the vdot camera as well on the northbound side of 395 at duke street. just going to slow down past this into seminary road but all lanes are open. coming up in my next report, a look at the north side of town coming up at 6:58. back to you guys. >>> thank you monika. it 16:43 -- is 6:43 now. here's a live look at the washington monument. you saw the fog on her cameras too. we are in a severe weather alert day. we have temperatures right now in the 60s but howard says later this afternoon we can expect some severe weather to move in. are we talking hail, howard or -- rain, what's the deal? >> exactly. well, rain and thunder and lightning but the hail and the damaging wind gusts when we talk severe storms hail an inch or bigger or gusts 58 miles per hour or higher than that. >> 2:00, 3:00 in the afternoon? starting there west to east and more like 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 here in washington but some storms may linger into the evening as well. >> we start with the bus stop forecast on this friday morning with temperatures in the 60s. sunrise was about 40 m

. >> tonight at 11:00, find out why vdot decided to take action after what the i-team found in a news4sive report, that's tonight at 11:00. >>> bobby brown is not the only one who thinks he gets a bad rap. the singer and ex-husband of the late singer, whitney houston, was joined by his children and fiancee during an interview with "the today show's" matt lauer. his children from other relationships range in age from two to 26. >> my dad's a great person, he's been my best friend my whole life. if i ever have a problem with anything, i know i can always go to him. >> the rest of you? is that the reason you're here? >> yes, definitely. >> because you don't feel that the public has -- >> they definitely do not have the right perception of him. >> brown also spoke about his daughter with whitney houston, bobbi kristina. he said he does not think that she has a problem with drugs and knows nothing about her boyfriend being her adopted brother. >>> 11:40 the time now. still ahead on "news4 midday," a famous painting goes for a price that could make you "scream." plus roaring with laughter, t