vincent gray's slogan was, character, integrity, leadership.that character and integrity , those were direct shots at the fenty administration at the time, accused of being corrupt. >> that he never was indicted? >> no, there were never any investigations other than a d.c. council investigation which ironically was led by folks who ended up going to jail for other things, other council members you mentioned at the beginning. >> kwame round and might -- brown and michael brown. >> let's show vincent gray, who beat adrian fenty, in what year? >> 2010 >> how badly? >> it was handy, several points. the polls showed he was going to lose, but he still tried to fight at the end. >> adrian fendi was 36 years old when he took over as mayor. >> he was the youngest mayor in d.c. history. vincent gray really presented kind of a, he was the exact opposite. he was friendlier, much older, and folks got behind him. >> let's watch vincent gray. you have to listen to the reporter asking him questions. he was already mayor when this was recorded. >> this was not

mayor vincent gray is seeking a second term despite an ongoing investigation into his 2010 campaign. >> we'll hear from those council members who also want his job, but first we begin with bruce johnson, the mayor's announcement and does he really vault to the front of the pack? >> some say that he will. after months of speculation will he run? won't he run? here's what i'm hearing tonight. mayor gray walks into his office this afternoon, tells his staff let's do this, then shows up unannounced at the board of elections to pick up petitions to seek reelection. >> reporter: why are you running, mr. mayor? >> because i love to serve. >> it wasn't until this evening following an appearance at a world's aids day vigil mayor vincent gray publicly acknowledged he's running for reelection. >> i think i have an excellent record and i'd be happy to talk about it. >> reporter: does this move mean you believe you're clear of any fbi probe? >> it means exactly what it is, that i am going to get my signatures to be eligible for reelection. >> mayor gray never liked long campaigns. he has but one

mayor vincent gray. scott macfarlane is at the live desk. >> tom sherwood reporting that vincent gray is planning to run for re-election. he signed up for petitions to do so. the 71-year-old mayor completing his first term and will run for a second term as mayor of d.c. if he does run, if the reports are true, he would be running against many of his former council colleagues, several of them that announced their intention to run. vincent gray signing up for petitions to run. he is on the scene and we'll have more details shortly. i'm scott macfarlane. >> thank you, scott. veronica joins us. cloudy start to the week. >> yeah, get your eraser out. maybe that will help matters. we are looking at socked in conditions. we have cloudy skies out there now. we are going to see fog form during the overnight that could cause issues for tomorrow morning. there's the gray sky. the scaffolding comes down. we have not one, but two weak weather systems messing with us today. one off the coast of north carolina. we have

mayor, vincent gray will run for reelection. gray joins an already crowded field of candidates.bruce johnson is going to have more on this tonight at 6:00. >> salvation army bell ringers were back on the streets today. trying to make up for the estimated $10,000 stolen from the organization's headquarters in anacostia early sunday. and federal investigors are still trying to figure out what caused that deadly train derailment in the bronx. four people were killed when the train jumped the tracks. the national transportation safety board could be on the scene. : online textbooks are a growing trend, but what if the students don't have an internet connection at home? one lawmaker says kids without internet access are being left behind. as peggy fox reports, he proposed a new law that would fix this digital divide in virginia. >> 12-year-old, jeanette has a new tool to help her do her homework. it's something wealthier kids have had for years. an internet connection at home. >> sometimes you can do activities, get extra practice, listen to videos, anything. >> more than a dozen kid

he joins us now with from the board of elections. >> after much speculation whether mayor vincent gray would speak -- seek reelection, the answer here at one judiciary square where the d.c. board of elections is located about two hours ago. mayor gray appeared here around 4:00 and signed for his positions to seek reelection for democratic mayor -- candidate for mayor. 3000 valid signatures must be collected for his name to appear on april primary ballot. >> this is your declaration that you are seeking reelection? >> this is my declaration of getting the petitions filled out. will have a kickoff event in early 2014. the goal right now will be to get the required member of -- number of signatures. >> of course, mayor gray stance all but formally legally accused of running an illegal campaign in 2010. the u.s. attorney is investigating and a number of campaign workers have treated guilty in federal court. one has been sentenced to prison for lying to the fbi. >> why did it take you this long? >> i was hoping, as i have said many times, i was hoping the 2010 stuff would be over. it isn't

mayor vincent gray wanted to talk about economic success during a news conference today. he wound up battling with reporters who questioned him and about his 2010 mayoral campaign under federal investigation. yesterday, gray announced he's running for re-election. >>> the search for a teacher accused of sexually abusing her student has police looking half way around the world. >> tonight, we are hearing from the student's parents. the suspect is sharon kuai. pat collins is live in gaithersburg with an update on this unusual case. pat? >> reporter: jim, the victim is 15 years old. he's autistic. the suspect, she's 25 years old. she's his teacher. now police say she went to house while his parents were at church and sexually abused her student. we begin our story now with words from the victim's father. >> because of my son's autism, his trauma will be long and revealed slowly. >> reporter: ron harding is a minister, with a 15-year-old autistic son. he says his son was a sexual assault victim. the suspect, sharon, his son's teacher at the frost school in aspen hill. a school

vincent gray and ted leonsis were on hand tonight. ashley coleman is live in northwest.nelson granddaughters are here in the district visiting and they like basketball. they decided to take in a washington wizards game ended -- and they decided to shed -- at the legacy of the late grandfather. before the washington wizards took the court, something special happened -- a visit from nelson mandela's granddaughters. they joined vincent gray and ted leonsis and john wall. >> it is hard for us to be here but at the same time i know my grandfather would've wanted us to continue his legacy in some way. life toated his entire changing people's lives. >> mandela passed away in december 5 in south africa. in order to carry on his legacy, his granddaughters presented both teams with a limited edition mandela bangle. proceeds go to education, raising awareness of poverty and aids. mandela care deeply about these problems. this was a chance to educate others about mandela's work. >> he was a central figure to nba players so it is great for them to be able to support this. >> what bet

the chancellor and mayor vincent gray unveiled the results wednesday. however the district is still trailing the large city average. the top educator and the mayor hopes to use the good and the challenging results to persuade a longer school day. >>> the results from this test show that the things we're doing in d.c. are working. >> reporter: the d.c. school chancellor, declaring that her students are showing the greatest growth in math and reading scores of any urban school districts in the country. >> this is a test that is experrally ministered and monitored and externally scored. we don't have a thing to do with it. >> reporter: the reading scores are up five to eight points respectfully. math scores for the fourth graders are up seven points with the eighth graders seeing a five-point climb. they did not break down the scores. >> we spoke to the experts to have them crunch their numbers and to understand are the demographic changes the reason why our kids are performing and to know the answer? our black kids and hispanic kids are growing at very fa

mayor vincent gray we wanted to speak to. when he showed up, he was unusual upbeat and chose to joke with reporters about the recent high school football game rather than answer questions about running for re-election. here is what the scene looked like a few minutes ago. >> we want to ask you a question. >> how you doing? good to see you. >> are you asking about the turkey bowl? >> what did you think about that? >> it was a good game. >> we have a real horse race. there's no question about it. i know in ward one, you know, it certainly changes the whole lay of the land, but i think we have a tough race for everybody in the race. >> i'm excited. i'm just happy. i love it. i love him. and it works for me. >> people -- a number of people think he knew about the campaign. if he didn't know about the shadow campaign, he should have. >> reporter: now that's the reaction from community activists and councilmember jim graham. i got off the phone with tommy wells, one of the four running to be mayor. he says vincent gray does not des

mayor, vincent gray is seeking re-election amid allegations of corruption in 2010. tonight his political rivals are coming out swinging. jackie bensen is outside the wilson building with the details. hey, jackie. >> reporter: hello, doreen. mayor gray defended his record tonight amid a new round of unwelcome questions. a few hours after taking the candidate's oath and signing forms to pick up nominating petitions at the d.c. board of elections, d.c. mayor vincent gray responded to questions about the criminal investigations surrounding contributions to his 2010 campaign. >> listen, our record speaks for itself. look at the fiscal stability in this city, the economic development, the way people are getting back to work. >> reporter: four high-level aides to the gray 2010 campaign pleaded guilty to felony charges. the mayor himself has not been charged with any wrongdoing. council member tommy wells is among six declared rivals. he released a written statement saying, quote, vince gray was elected under false pretenses and doesn't deserve a second chance, because he r

vincent gray is expressing his condolences and praising the historic achievements of the south african president who died today at the age of 95. >> mayor gray released a statement saying i extend my deepest sympathies to the family of president mandela and the nation of south africa. he says his diplomacy and commitment to nonviolent resist tense laid the foundation for leaders worldwide. his profound legacy will inspire all who fight for human rights and peace around the world. those are the words and reaction of vincent gray to the news of the passing of nelson mandela. >> we want to share the comments of president obama. he now belongs to the ages. let's hear again from president obama. >> achieved more than could be expected of any man. today he's gone home. we have lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings any of us will share time with on this earth. >> all right. there you have it. president obama with those remarks, moments ago sharing his personal story. we want to get some reflections and reaction from patrick, former president of howard u

. >> the trip made in october, just hours before vincent gray confronted congressional leaders asking for and to the government shut doup, which threatened d.c. finances and all the local federal workers. at the same time, 30 d.c. employees in houston for the national recreation and park association annual exposition. what they didn't realize is iteam cameras were there too at one of the conferences evening social events. and under the freedom of information act we know exactly how much it cost taxpayers. 30 employees needing airfare, $200 a night hotel rooms food and registration for the conference itself, total price tag about $54,000. the parks department paid some of the expenses days before the shutdown began, meaning it didn't come out of the district's shutdown contingent say funds. and the agency got permission to hold off paying for the rest. >> any concern traveling to that extent with that many people? >> yeah, i'm concerned about it. it was an importance conference or convention to go to. but there's no way we should have sent that number of people at that level of expense

. >> the timing of the proposal has upset vincent gray. sam explains.c -- >> tommy wells is trying to buy the endorsement from the d.c. police and fire unions by offering unprecedented pay raises. police and firefighters haven't had a raise in six years, unable to agree with city negotiators. the bill would guarantee future raises tied to the cost-of- living regardless of whether they have reached a contract with the city. the mayor's office calls it pandering to unions. >> it is a campaign ploy. what do you think. it undermines our collective bargaining apparatus. >> there is more to union contracts than wages. d.c.'s police men and have not had a raise in 6-7 years. the administration is going to stall beyond this year, and not raise, keephters a them home. >> there are no other unions being offered such a deal. most others have reached agreements with the city. wells is one of five members in addition to mayor gray who were seeking the mayor's office next year. another council member has joined wells in introducing the measure. >> thank

bc mayor vincent gray dashed hopes that bringing a recheck of the roof to nats park.wner of the nats wanted the taxpayers to foot the bill. politely turned the idea down. here is something that is definitely coming to the district -- new trash cans and recycling bins. mayor gray and the director of the department of public works announced plans to distribute new super cans and bigger recycling bins next year. city officials say it has been more than 10 years since the cans were replaced. the larger recycling bins are part of mayor gray's sustainable d.c. plans. us whows for many of have been suffering from cold temperatures over the last two weeks -- it is going to get warmer. >> it is. we are going to see a nice warming trend as we move through the middle and school week. that does not include the upcoming weekend. that is when bigger changes arrive. temperature at reagan national airport, 44 degrees. no windchill factor. it is going to remain calm for the rest of the overnight and into tomorrow morning. as you head out the door, it is not going to feel quite as cold

the current mayoral candidates include vincent gray along with four other members of the d.c. council. time in 20 years, a maryland gubernatorial reject financing. she does not want to win with special interests. she will be eligible for state matching funds. she is facing off with anthony brown and doug gansler in the primary. working to repair to water main breaks in arlington. we are trying to find out how long it will take to get this worked out. school wasmentary shut down. one southbound lane is open on south arlington mill road. it is dreary out there. >> taking a live look at the nations capitol. cloudy. 50 degrees. >> i was going to say, you cannot complain about 50 degrees in december. >> it looks a little brighter than what i think we are experiencing here. it is 53 degrees in d.c., a lot of moister and cloud cover out there. a littlest, we have more sunshine. things are looking good, winchester, up towards hagerstown. we do see breaks a little bit of loose guy here and there. snow and icy conditions in minneapolis and denver. this is part of the huge winter blast w

mayor vincent gray made the announcement. he received a $5,000 check and says he is shocked by the honor. accept thisgh to award when i know there are so in d.c. liant teachers i think about the teacher of the year isn't necessarily the best teacher, but a teacher that -- i feel like i am working towards qualities we want teachers to have. >> what makes him so special? tonight on abc 7 news at 5:00, we will go inside his classroom for that answer. fort is decision day commissioners on where to put a casino in prince george's county. they are deciding between three different conceit -- locations. one and national harbor, one at rosecroft raceway, and one in four washington. do we know who the favorite is right now? >> the favorite with certain appear -- would certainly appear to be an gm. we are in the actual meeting where the commission is going to decide where this casino goes. at this point, the chairman is offering his comments. we have heard all of the other commission members talk about what they see are the pluses and m

mayor vincent gray once the minimum wage to be still higher than -- no higher than $10 an hour, but the bill has enough support to override a potential veto papers we have become a city and a country that has and has not. we want to raise money for people to have food and the cost of living. more money for their children. >> neighboring montgomery and richard county have already approved their own minimum wage hike. >> it just minutes ago we learned that a water main break in arlington did not cause a second one. that is the word from arlington environmental officials. they said that the first water and break -- main break happened in arlington, and then a second one first on street -- munro street. >> they have some decent weather out there as they try to clean up all the remaining issues from those water main breaks. taking a live look outside right now. jacqui jeras here with the first look at our forecast. today.s lovely outside could always watches on your mobile phone, if you wanted to be outside. we really warm things up, we started with a bit of cloud cover, but on the visible s

mayor vincent gray's lashing out. this comes as the investigation into his 2010 campaign remains under federal investigation. sam ford is at the wilson building with more. is so upset. >> when the mayor announced yesterday he said it took him so long because he was waiting to see what the u.s. attorney was going to do. with that investigation going on and no end in sight, gray jumped into the race but today, he seemed on the defensive as reporters peppered him with questions about the scandal involved -- evil thing around his 2010 campaign. on the first day he announced for reelection he held a conference touting his accomplishments and arguing he deserves another term. >> i want to talk about the future of the district of columbia. i am a native washingtonian. i have given virtually my life to the city. >> rate who yesterday picked up his petitions to make the run, joins six other declared candidates. at least one council member, tommy wells. >> there is an illegal campaign that helped the mayor get elected. we know

mayor vincent gray. here is a look. as a reporter for the washington post on july 14, you wrote a huge piece, frontpage, on a man named jeffrey thompson. why? >> jeffrey thompson had been in the news, a local businessman who is at the center of a major federal investigation, and no one really knew who he was, so i basically told my editor that i want to write the definitive profile of jeffrey thompson. when people want to know about him, i want them to refer back hopefully,icle, and, i accomplished that. >> why do we want to know about that? >> he is at the center right now of d.c. politics, and some people say he is at the center of d.c. politics basically falling apart. four years behind the scenes, he had been giving to candidates. he had several huge contracts with the city. worth 322ct was million dollars per year, and no one really knew who he was until things came to light in 2011 current mayorwith vincent gray's campaign for mayor in 2010. >> right now, if you live here, and i do, you see that we have at the mom

mayor vincent gray says he would have preferred a $10 an hour minimum wage, but the council should have enough votes to override any veto. >> checking up on the affordable care act, the white house is going on a three week offensive to push the government's new healthcare program. battered by two months of bad publicity, the administration says the affordable care website is operating much more smoothly now. president obama kicked off the public relations campaign today. >> this law is working and will work into the future. people want a financial stability of health insurance and we're going to keep on working to fix whatever problems come up. >> healthcare.gov says more than a million people visited the website monday with no major problems. but republicans say the new law is still broken. house speaker, john boehner, says the administration's healthcare program is fund mentally flawed and continues to reek havoc on american families, businesses, and the economy. >> police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 tonight to help catch a killer. the victim is anthony robinson gunned down

mayor, vincent gray refuses to go into detail about the 2010 campaign debacle he will concentrate on the future. >> this is bruce johnson at 7th and o where the mayor held a press conference, his first since announcing his reelection bid and the mayor did not want to talk about the 2010 campaign. >> can you go any further than you've already gone other than saying you did nothing wrong? can you tell us when you found out? >> people get in a campaign because they want to. people get in the campaign because they want to be the mayor of the district of columbia. they aught to articulate a vision for the district of columbia. >> four people from that campaign have taken felony guilty pleas for corrupt activities. federal prosecutors are not accused gray and the mayor denied any wrong doing, but with no further explanation of how his last campaign went off the tracks. >> i intend to talk about the future of this city. >> the city market development in the shah neighborhoods, all to highlight new projects that he says have brought more than 17,000 jobs to the city. bruce johnson, wusa9. >>

2017 and says this is just the latest push after a similar dc minimum-wage bill was vetoed by vincent gray. we this summer, i pledged would not stop until we raise the minimum wage in the city. we raised it for all workers, not just some. today, i am proud to be able to say we are almost there. his proposal would increase the dc standard deduction for income taxes to provide for low and moderate income households and would push for paid sick leave. >> did you hear about this one? the mega millions prize jumped even higher. $636 million is now at stake in one of the biggest jackpots in history. the drawing is tonight and people around our area are buying a ticket and dreaming up ways to spend the cash. we are joined live from arlington the details. i bet there is a rush to get tickets. >> there is, do you have yours? >> i will go after work. i will buy five dollars worth. >> don't bother, i have the winning ticket. $636 million is the new jackpot. 50 million dollars overnight. sales were pacing ahead of predictions. not the largest in history but it's pretty close. it would net you after ta

mayor, vincent gray will run for reelection. >> everybody will ask about this federal investigation. talking about the 2010 campaign, for which the u.s. attorney said there was a corrupt campaign. the mayor said all along he has done nothing wrong and obviously, he feels there is nothing coming his way. >>> did you spend part of this cybermonday shopping online? how soon do you need those packages? amazon is experimenting with same-day delivery and as bruce leshan reports, they are considering a delivery system that could get your packages to your door in just a half hour. >> let me show you something. >> oh man. oh my god. >> critics called sunday night's 60 minute story on >> this is, these are octocopters. >> he did break some news. >> we are talking about delivery here. >> there's an item going into the vehicle. i know this looks like science fiction, it's not. >> unveiled its experiment &tall delivery drones. prime air. amazon hopes within the next four to five years, to deliver up to five pound packages in a half hour to anywhere within ten miles of a warehouse. >> these are -

mayor ving sintsz -- mayor vincent gray said he would prefer a $10 an hour minimum raise. as of now, this wage bill has enough support to override a veto. >>> the end could be near for former south african president nelson mandela. his family is reporting that mandela is not doing well. they say even from his death bed he is teaching his family patience and love and tolerance. he's now 95 years old and has been in and out of the hospital for respiratory problems over the past year. >>> the driver at the center of the deadly train derailment in the bronx admits he was in a days leading up to the crash. as a result the national transportation safety board has removed the rail union from the investigation for violating confidentiality rules. we get the latest now from lou young. >> reporter: federal crash investigators met with the locomotive engineer late tuesday at metro offices in north white plains. 46 year-old william rockefeller who was injured in the crash itself accepts blame for the fatal derailment saying he went into a kind of trance at the controls. >> i just know

mayor vincent gray and other local leaders are offering their condolences tonight following mandela's death. we posted their comments online. you can also find several photo galleries of mandela on our website, nbcwashington.com. >> we're covering breaking news in prince george's county right now. chopper 4 is up above the scene as crews try to put out a fire at a commercial building. apparently, there are hazardous materials involved, but we don't have many details about what kind. this fire is happening off van duzen road at laurel. foam units are rooifing to help fight the flames here. no homes or people are in danger. this is happening in prince george's county. the other big story tonight, the weather. an early winter storm impacting more than half the country, from heavy snow to ice and bitter cold. millions are feeling its effects. the system has the po ten btitio spread widespread power outages. slick conditions on the roads are also a major concern. >> here's a look at just that, this video out, kansas city tonight, showing the dangerous coating of ice that's already on the r

mayor vincent gray plans to sign that bill into law. >>> the minimum wage is also up county.will see the first pay hike next october when the hour. it will climb to $8.50Ñis7 byi. mobt gory county also passed >>> now to the maximum, the odds are astronomical but so is the jackpot. we're talking at mega millions, folks. people coming out in droves all day and night tonight for a chance to win $636 million. ñ are 1 in 259 million. you have a better chance oft(i] supermodel. that's not stopping folks from dreaming big. erika gonzalez is at the live desk for us with the numbers. erika? >> what you're saying is we don't have a chance, right? we have a chance. now, if you hitt( this jackpotou are goingjf to be beaming allok way to the bank. you want to talk about a merry christmas. the $636xd million prize makes the second largestjfxd in u.s. history. whether you handpick your numbers orxd you do a quick pic like me, thatt( is beaucoup doo dollar. maybe you say i'm not greedy, i don't need that money. okay. you want the lump sum. that's xd$341Ñi million to your pocket book. and th

the bill goes to mayor vincent gray. he supports $10 an hour. any increase needs more studies. the minimum wage is going up in prince georges county. county executive signed legislation today that gradually increased the minimum wage to $11.50 an hour. every county council member signed off on this plan. county executive, ike laget in neighbors montgomery county signed off on a similar bill earlier this month. >> a bizarre accident in montgomery county. a car slams into the home. the passengers jump out, hop into another car and take off. nikki is live from the scene on valley road court in silver spring with just a crazy story. nikki. >> it is absolutely a crazy scene and exactly what happened, we're not sure. police say a car, for some reason, lost control off of valley wood court and ran into the home that i'm standing in front of now. i want to show you what happened. the car went down this way, hit this right here. you can see, and it went over to where that man is working. that's the hole the car left behind and ran directly into that. then it flipped and hit that big tre

call for action after a wusa9 investigation, council member tommy wells is now calling on mayor vincent grayo remove d.c. taxicab commission chair ron linton after he defended actions displayed in a wusa9 taxi investigation. in our story which first aired wednesday night he defended drivers passing up black passengers as economics. wusa9 investigative reporter russ ptacek and his team have been looking into discriminatory practices by d.c. taxi drivers for the past year. >>> attention shoppers, target now offering a 10% discounts for all shoppers this saturday and sunday. the company is trying to regain customer trust in the wake of that security breach affecting credit and debit card transactions at stores all over the country. the company also released new information about the breach and it says the breach may have begun the day before thanksgiving and lasted until this past sunday. target says it's helping credit card companies search for any potential fraud and it says customers will not be held financially responsible for any unauthorized use of their cards. >>> if you are into sneaker

mayor vincent gray gave a progress report on his five- year economic development plan. but at some point things got heated. bruce johnson joins us live from city market in northwest with more. good morning, bruce. what happened? >> reporter: you've been around. you know where this is going. it got heated when we tried to get the mayor to talk about the 2010 campaign to get off what he said in the past merely he's done nothing wrong. to some meat on the bone. he refused to do that and was add participant. take a listen for -- adamant. take a listen for yourself. the other candidates who came into it specifically because of 2010, can you go any further other than saying you did nothing wrong? can you tell us when you found out? >> i have said that repeatedly, bruce. people get on a campaign because they want to. people wanted to get on the campaign because they want to be the mayor of the district of columbia the people who like the title. they ought to articulate a vision for the district of columbia. that is what people want to hear. we have a vision. we had a vig. we a

mayor vincent gray. he wants to shift $9 million to pay for the new trash cans. it's ever approved, 75,000 d.c. households would get the new bins. >>> a new cure for a sore throat might already be in your medicine cabinet according to doctors at cardive. gargling with dissolved aspirin can work, and it also works as a pain reliever. drinking it defeats the purpose. just gargle, and you're done. >>> tomorrow, you can weigh in on a proposal to change school times at montgomery county public schools. superintendent joshua starr is recommending moving the high  school start times 15 minutes later to 8:15 in the morning. middle schools would begin ten minutes earlier at 7:45. he wants to expand elementary by 30 minutes. the public forum is happening tomorrow night at richard montgomery high school. that's in rockville. >>> let the mega millions madness begin! since there was no winner on friday, the jackpot has grown to $550 million with a cash option of $295 million. the next drawing will be tuesday at 11:00 at night. your odds of winning, as they stand right now,

mayor vincent gray is upset over questions he's getting. this appearance was meant to high lie d.c.' economic development during his term in office. he says he's running on his record and refuses to answer questions into the federal probe that is still on going. tom sherwood was at that news conference and found out that gray didn't like the media crowd leaving the room, either. >> i want to talk about the future of the district of columbia. i am a native washingtonian. i have given virtually my life to this city. this is the washington redskins game? >> gray is a press secretary also argue we'd a reporter from the washington city paper claiming that the mayor has a stronger record on development than his predecessors. >>> and just moments ago, tom sherwood also confirmed that tomorrow he will form an expl e exploratory committee for a possible run for mayor. he's an independent and has until june to decide to launch a campaign on his own. he's the fifth member of the city council who is in the mayor's race or is considering it. he's been a member of the council since 1997. >>> just

d-c mayor vincent gray has said he supports a wage hike, but not above 10 dollars an hour. the next vote is expected early in 20-14. fast food workers will be taking to the streets in more than 100 cities tomorrow in another push for higher wages. the one day walk off is part of an ongoing campaign to raise hourly wages to $15, organizers are hoping for the largest demonstration yet. similar protests were held this summer. a restaurant lobbying group says past demonstrations have fallen well short of participation goals. despite ongoing labor issues, business is not slowing down in the restaurant industry. the national restaurant association's performance index rose to a four month high in october, as restaurant owners remain optimisitc about sales growth in the months ahead. chris walsh of restaurant review site zagat.com says tabs in america's restaurants, are also on the rise. "the national average for people to eat out is 4.4 meals per week. which i think is pretty high. and every time they are going out, they are spending on average, about 40 dollars." walsh also notes

the council voted to raise it from 8.25 to 11.50 an hour but mayor vincent gray favors an increase of $10. anything above that needs a study according to the mayor. in prince georges county, county executive baker signed a bill today into law changing the minimum wage there to 11.50 an hour. that goes into effect in 2017. >>> top dogs from firms like twitter and facebook got some face time with president obama today and asked him to reform the nsa's surveillance operations. just yesterday, a federal judge says the nsa's collection of phone records was likely unconstitutional. the white house claims that the key tool in fighting terrorism. >> it's only a decision by one trial judge at the lowest level of the federal system. so there's a long way to go before we know if the supreme court is going to uphold this program, if constitutional or unconstitutional. . >> last week, a presidential task force recommended dozens of changes in federal surveillance operations. the white house says it's reviewing those recommendations and plans to issue a public version of the report in the next few

dk it can mayor vincent gray is denying reports the district is dropping out of the running for the new fbi headquarters. "the washington post" reported the city's deputy mayor for economic development thought d.c. was eliminated from the competition. he thought the project needed too much land. gray told our tom sherwood the city will continue to build on poplar point. >>> happening today wall street will have an eye on washington as the government releases its jobs report for the month of november. many hope it will show the economy added 180,000 jobs last month. if that is the case many experts believe it could signal the job market is picking up speed. they expect it to dip to 7.2%. >>> also today security will be tight around parts of downtown washington as people from around the world watch the annual lighting of the national christmas tree. megan mcgrath is live with what you need to know. megan? >> reporter: well, eun, the big show gets under way at 5:00 tonight. there's a preshow that starts at 4:30 this afternoon. all-star lineup. mariah carey, aretha franklin, all performing

mayor, vincent gray will run for reelection. >> everybody is going to ask about this federal investigationing about the 2010 campaign in which the u.s. attorney has said it was a corrupt campaign. the mayor said all along that he has done nothing wrong and obviously, he feels that there is nothing coming his way. >> the ones that do have higher rates, decided to propose legislation. >> half my district, a lot of kids don't have computers in their homes. i didn't think that was fair. >> his measure was sure that all students have both a computer at home and internet access. >> bells ringing more urgently than ever now in washington after the early sunday morning burglary. >> if this makes you feel like you want to give up. >> it broke through a glass door to make the offices where the safe were cleaned out. >> the real victims in this happen to be folks that live right here in ward 7 and 8. >> crews used large cranes to lift the top of the train cars out on to the tracks. the safety board is analyzing the train's data recorders. >> the train was traveling approximately 82 miles per hour as

vincent gray, his administration has been plagued with scandal. he is running for reelection. he was instrumental in bringing walmart did the district. >> he called our clients. >> the woman who inspired a national obsession with "scandal", judy smith brought attention to d.c. with the hit show. she is working high profile clients. list for reveal our the most fastening people in the d.c. area, barbara walters will bring us her final most fascinating people special. one person on the list is miley cyrus. she talks about her performance and broken engagement. >> i was scared of being alone. i think conquering that fear this year was bigger than any other transition i had this entire year. >> you will see will be named the most fastening person of 2013 tomorrow night. -- tonight. see you made our most fastening list from the d.c. area. >> we have a lot of interesting people. >> coming up, passengers crying foul. >> why people are ditching cable. is it worth it? >> 7 on your side with the call after >> the d.c. counsel is not likely to -- 7 on your side continues to get complaint

mayor vincent gray was among those who signed the condolences book at the embassy today. he came to d.c. in 1990, it was a big deal. people had come from across the country to be arrested for protesting apartheid in front of the embassy and now nelson by thenwas here vetted president george bush where he addressed a joint meeting of congress and they saw him at the d.c. convention center. >> i remember waiting with bated breath. collection was pictured in the raised withost fist others. >> he came in the room and it was electric. people were screaming their heads off. euphoric crowds, tears. >> your company mandela along with harry belafonte and others on an eight city tour which he may just after his release. >> she talksike? to him about his 27 years in prison. >> for the first 18 years of sentence, he would only get one letter every six months, a visitor for 30 minutes. how did you keep your spirits up? he never lost confidence. he always had faith. it was never a dark moment for him. i found it stunning. >> he came here for one reason, to say thank you. for all the pe

mayor vincent gray is running for reelection. many people have been wondering for more than a year if he would seek a second term. federal prosecutors are still looking into his 2010 campaign. four people pleaded guilty to running a shadow campaign that helped him get elected. gray, though, is not facing any charges. >> our record speaks for itself. look at the fiscal stability, education, the way people are getting back to work. >> some of gray's opponents are already criticizing him for running again. tommy wells says the mayor doesn't deserve a second chance because he ran a corrupt campaign. >> and new, vice president joe biden is taking a stance against china's air defense zone. earlier today he held a press conference. biden told the u.s. he is deeply concerned about china's attempt to change the status quo in the east china sea. china wants all aircraft entering airspace over water around its land to notify authorities before hand. the u.s., gentleman want and other allies refuse to recognize. this is expected to dominate

mayor vincent gray was called on to pray. >> lord be with you. >> and also with you. a as we said, it was quite long service. the operated eva came and sang even though not on the program. the people in the d.c. area have shown a lot of support. the so many have come to pay respects. the embassies had to order an additional 10 condolences books. live from sort -- live from northwest washington, sam ford, abc 7 news. for fame orng special recognition, he will be happy if his latest recognition helps spread the gospel message. the pope francis has been named of the year. the pontiff has quickly changed the perception of the catholic church. he has spoken about the poor in great detail and he calls for compassion when dealing with subjects such as abortion and homosexuality. tonight's 7 on your side consumer alert, ebay has installed a digital storefront that them all in san francisco, touchscreen windows that lets you browse through hundreds of items. if customers hit order, they get a link sent to their cell phone and pay with a credit card and could eventually come to

vincent gray will push for d.c. public schools to teach of his struggle for justice and peace. >> i want to be able to work to get into the curriculum of our schools, a unit that will focus on nelson mandela. >> reporter: you are looking at a live picture of the makeshift memorial outside the embassy. the secret service did a sweep here around ten minutes ago with a canine to make sure there aren't anything to hurt people who come here to celebrate his life at 7:00. a memorial is being planned at the washington national cathedral for wednesday at 11:00. that will be the official memorial here in the united states so a lot of folks are expected to come into town for that. a lot of people tell me they are going to come here if they can tonight to try and pay tribute to nelson mandela. live on massachusetts avenue i'm shomari stone, news 4. >>> from the south african embassy here to a live picture outside nelson mandela's home in johannesburg there are handles burning and many bouquets of flowers placed outside in his

mayor vincent gray is disputing claims the city won't make a formal bid for the fbi quarters. he sent a letter claiming new requirements shut the city out of consideration. gray says he wants to keep the fbi in the district moving from downtown to poplar point on the river. ahead on news 4 at 5:00, tom sherwood talks to the mayor about the tug of war for this. >>> new information about a bank robbery inside a grocery store in bethesda that we told you about yesterday. police are investigating whether the robly at the pnc bank at wildwood shopping center may be linked to monday's robbery at a pnc in rockville. this is released video of yesterday's robbery. he is 30 to 40 years old, 5'8" to 5' 10" tall and 160 to 180 pounds. he said he had a gun, but didn't produce one. >>> a maryland man is reunited with someone near and dear to his heart. for 56 years he's owns a john deere tractor he bought when he was 18. last month, someone stole it from his front yard. a viewer saw it and tipped police where they would find it. last night, they did, in a garage in new market. pat collins i

vincent gray is among those who want the restrictions lift ed. covering northern virginia, some people could be making a lot of noise about a law that went quiet. the county will try to amend its noise ordinance. the county hasn't been enforcing the ordinance because the state supreme court ruled it unconstitutional. >>> world aids day after cheney from the hit series "the wire" will perform. free hiv screenings as well. the program runs from 11:00 a.m. pope francis is calling on catholics to pray for people living with hiv and aids. he asked them to pray for those who were sick and for doctors and researchers working to find a cure. an estimated 35 million people around the world are living with hiv. only 9 million have access to lifesaving treatment. >>> david kwiatkowski pled guilty in august. 46 people in four states including maryland have been diagnosed with the same strain of hepatitis c. he would steal syringes filled with painkillers. melissa? >>> in the suburb west of baghdad near the home of a local municipal worker, the bomb killed tw

the bill died when mayor vincent gray vetoed it and they couldn't pass enough override votes. >> thank you, thank you. >> reporter: in contrast, today was worker and community groups that gathered as it has d.c. council prepared to vote for a new law, not just for walmart, but all workers. >> d.c. advocates led a courageous and unstoppable movement for all of our workers. >> the council unanimously passed a new minimum wage bill. this bill guarantees sick leave for workers. >> minimum wage, not necessarily a living wage and we'll continue to find ways to keep the pressure on. we need to take care of working women and men. >> reporter: it will raise the current minimum of $8.25 an hour to $9.50 next summer then rise a dollar a year to $11.50 until 2016. after that, inflation. mayor gray proposed $10 an hour and a steady future increases. he says he will sign the new law. there's an effort to get voters to approve $12.50 an hour. that may be on the ballot next year. >>> workers of giant and safeway reached an agreement on a contract. the two sides were in negotiations for months. there a

they need to send it to mayor vincent gray's desk. >>> two water main breaks are open this afternoon.outh arlington mill drive between taylor and south randolph streets were closed this morning. there was a second break on south monroe street. >>> new battles over the affordable care act. president obama is launching a campaign to reframe the debate. now that healthcare.gov is out of intensive care, they hope to shift the foe cause to health care reform. steve handelsman is live at the white house. >> reporter: thanks. out of intensive care. republicans don't believe it. asked, what else are they hiding? here at the white house was a defiant president obama. he said he's learned not to make what he called wild promises about obama care, but he checks every day. he knows the website and the plan, as a whole now, are working. >> we know the demand is there and we know that the product on these marketplaces is good. the bottom line is, this law is working and will work into the future. i have always said, i will work with anybody to implement and improve this law effectively. you got goo

mayor, vincent gray, will seek a second term. he went to the board to pick up nominating petitions. he has one month to pick up 2,000 signatures. tom sherwood broke the news this afternoon. we'll have more in a live report at 6:00. >>> health and human secretary kathleen sebelius will testify next week. republicans say problems with the law go beyond the troubled website. the site is vastly improved and more fixes are on the way. >>> fairfax county teachers are venting their frustrations through a new survey. news 4 got an advanced look at the results. david culver is in fairfax now to explain what the numbers show. >> reporter: our region's largest school system faced with worsening teacher moral. he shared with us the look at a survey. >> you can see, we are at a tipping point when it comes to keeping the best educators. >> 1400 teachers took the survey. has your workload decreased in the past year? 18% said yes. 82% said stayed the same or gone up. >> i would bet for all 82, it's gotten worse. >> reporter: this math teacher spent half her thanksgiving break doing work. more frust

that announcement came a short time ago from chancellor kaya henderson and mayor vincent gray. bruce johnson reports they hope to use this good news toker if swayed the teacher's union to support -- news to persuade the teachers union to support a longer school day. >> the report shows the things we are doing is working. >> reporter: kaya henderson declaring her students showing the greatest growth of math and reading scores of any urban school district in the country. >> this is a test that is externally monitored, scored. we don't have anything to do with it. >> 4th and 8th grade reading scores are up five and eight points respectively, eighth graders seeing a five-point climb. the handout today did not break scores down by race. >> we had the experts crunch numbers and understand are the demographic changes the reasons why our kids are performing and no is the answer. our black and hispanic and poor kids are growing at very fast clips. >> reporter: both henderson and mayor gray say they will now use the improved test scores to lobby unions and others to support a longer scho

mayor vincent gray vetoed a living wage requirement large retail stores earlier this year. a senior navy investigator has pleaded guilty to bribery charges as part of widening corruption case involving top officers and a longtime pentagon contractor. john beliveau is the first of six senior officials to be linked to wrongdoing by the firm glenn defense marine asia. the company's executive, leonard glenn francis, is accused of bribing navy officials with money, gives, and sex workers to win government contracts. when defense marine asia has won hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to oversee port visits and security during navy stops of foreign harbors. john beliveau faces up to 20 was imprisoned. chrisrsey governor christie is facing a controversy over whether his appointees deliberately caused traffic delays to exact political revenge. democrats say lanes on the new jersey side of the george washington bridge were reduced in september to punish the mayor of fort lee for declining to endorse chris christie's bid for reelection. just one lane was operational over a f

the bill goes to mayor vincent gray for a signature. gray says he supports that $10 minimum wage.he mayor wants to study the idea of a higher increase. >>> prince georges county, $11.50 an hour is much closer to becoming a reality. county executive, baker, signed his minimum wage bill into law today. the new wage takes effect in 2017. >> safe way workers and giant food are not going on strike. they voted to ratify a labor contract today. the agreement preserves most of the health benefits the workers have. there's also a rage in over three years. >>> tonight's megamillion jackpot $586 million. >> wow. if you could only win it. and lottery ticket counters, tens of thousands of players are lining up to try their luck. adriana diaz has the story. >> george fernandez used his coffee break to become a multimillionaire. >> how many tickets are you planning on buying? >> $125. >> he and 22 fellow iron workers pooled their money for a shot at the megamillions jackpot. now more than half a billion dollars. >> people want to change their life. they want to get rich overnight. >> it's harder

mayor vincent gray remembered those american protests as he signed the embassy's book of condolences.'t even know, they have no idea of the struggle. they know of a hero of. >> reporter: the mayor pledges a -- hero. >> reporter: the mayor pledges a new curriculum in d.c. schools to help teach about the man and the struggle. >> they are absolutely rock solid, extraordinary, far too rare. >> we went to lots of protests when i was a kid of. >> reporter: laura nunn used to come here for protests and brought her daughter back and hopes she will remember something. >> i just wanted her to know how important the work that he did for freedom was. >> reporter: andrew mack had a long talk with his son benjamin about mandela's values. >> you talked about the ability to be a good person when other people around you aren't beg good people. >> people everywhere were smiling. he was that kind of guy. >> reporter: cedric tumas saw mandela's triumph ant visit as a child in quban west africa. >> he was in jail for 27 years and got out and said i want to live. let's walk together. people should remember