pope francis is expected to name wilton gregory, the nexwa archbishop oington. now, gregory is serving in atlanta. he is a lo-time leader in the catholic church. he served as president of the united states of -- united states conference of catholic bishops. he held that decision during the 2002 sexual abuse scandal, the so-called spotlight scandal. he is known for the dallas charter to make priests accountable. it's n known if archbishop gregory will accept the position. a lot of unanswered questions here. a local church expert says, if he does take the job, he will have a lot of challenges ahead of him. >> a long-rumored candidate for washingt has always been archbishop wton gregory. a great archbishop will be a transitional figure. >> the archdiocese announced that we are awaiting an announcement fromhe holy see. now, the archdiocese of washington, has been rocked by revolutions owing of misconduct by theodore mccarrick. we may be learnin some time soon who the next archbishop of the diocese of washington will be. we'll keep a close eye on this story. as soon

the vatican has selected wilton gregory of atlanta, who you see here. confirmed has not that report. they make adjustments about 6:00 a.m. our time. we're watching for any developments. the archdiocese says it is waiting an announcement. megan mcgrath will have more on this in a live report, coming up at 5:45. >>>e turn to ain devel story in montgomery county. he will report to the i.c.e. office in hours. hemeas been living in montgory county for nearly 20 years. he runs the elite soccer development academy. he flew in was in 2000. he applied for asylum and was denied and has been living her ever since. parents of his players are devastated if he has to leave. >> losing him in the community would be a tragedy. not just for me and many, many adults, but also for the kids. >> i just forget. you know what? i live for the community. >> a group of supporters plans to go to the ice office to show support for the coh. >>> here are some o the stories we're following this morning. president trump fired up his supporters at a rally in grand rapids, michigan, last

we're hearing according to their urces, pope francis has asked arch bishop wilton gregory of atlanta to replace cardinal donaldwhirl. the phrasing is important. they're saying, has been asked by the pope to replace cardinal donald whirl, it doesn't mean at he's been asked. what's interesting is what wve learned about him. if you've been following our coverage the last several months you heard his name before because i mentioned his name before. he's out of atlanta, been there sinc2004. before that he served from 2001 to 2004 as the president of the united states conference of caolic bishops. what is important about that time frame is that is when the0 candal -- the so called spotlight scandal of the catholic church came to the headlines and broke wide open, that was under his leadership that he then camit forward what is considered ground breaking movements within the echurch to deal with protection of minors. a lot of folks have said what he caorward with in his so-called dallas charter was very effectis and i something he's been praised for a lot. want you to hear fro professor wit

. >> the cathoc news agency reports that pope francis asked arch bishop wilton gregory to succeed arch bishop wuerl. >> but as david culver reports, the price position could be less >> reporter: wilton gregory has called atlanta home for 15 years but he could be n movingth to washington. >> i think he offers a set of skills and personalities that will appeal to this area. >> reporter: he first reported that pope francis wants arch bishop t gregory become washington's next arch bishop. >> he has past experience taking a leadership position in dealing with sexual abuse teisis. >> rep when the last sexual abuse scandal surfaced in 2002 gregory was president of the catholic bishops. >> we did not go far enough to ensure that every child and minor was safe from sexual abuse. >> reporter: he oversaw landmark changes that held predator priestsbl accoun >> we are enraged by the actions of theodore mccarrick, the disgraced former cardinal. t >> reporter: lummer he weighed in on ex-cardinal theodore mccarri. >> i think people are looking for closure. >> reporter: if he accepts, it would also mak

some are saying that they have chosen wilton gregory of atlanta. we are monitoring for any statements. gregory is a long-time leader in the church. he was the president of the u.se conferf bishops from 2001-2004. during that time, the church wah dealing w its major sex abuse scandal. a local expert explains howhat could lead to taking over theoc arche in this pivotal time. >> there's a church in washington that has a pastoral to the community. and has a ministry to, those themselves have been harmed by the abuse. to those who have lost the trust in the church. >> therchdiocese says it is awaiting an announcement from the holy see. if he is appointed, he will be the first african-american archbishop in washington. >>> president trump did not hold back in his first rally since theio compl of the mueller report. he spoke in michigan and he declared vindication. among the people he named, congressman adam schiff, chaian of the house telligence committee. yesterday, chairman chschiff delivered a four-minute response to those who are calling for him to s

the catholic news agency's reporting that pope francis asked archbishop wilton gregory to succe former cardinal wuerl. >> i think a lot of people are looking for closure. they're looking to move on. we've had a year of scandal. people want to see a clean break, a fresh start. >> if you remember, wuerl resigned in october after a pennsylvania grand juryeport wa released alleging that wuerl, who was then bishop of ttsburgh, did little to stop predator priests. the catholic news agency believes the announcement could be made official as soonwe as nt . >>> as washington catholics prepare for that transition, today a first for vatican city, a new law aimed at stopping sex abuse. pope francis' new law requires vatican church officials to report posble sex crimes immediately. the law is meant to protect minors and vulnerable adults. c therld be prosecution and sanctions for any sex abuse claim not reported right away. this new law id suppoo be a model for the catholic church worldwide. >>> a school employeed entru to take care of young children is accused of sexual abuse. rolly hammond has wo

the name i'm about to mention should be familiar to you, arch biop wilton gregory of atlanta. according to the catholic newsh agency,are reporting tonight that pope francis is expected to appointhorch b gregory as the next arch bishop of washington. that wld be a huge move. he'd come from atlanta where he's been sin 2004 and take over the reins in the d.c. archdiocese. he's been downas there the several years and his lbeacy continuend that. this is somebody who's not too much of a stranger to the washington area, he from 2001 to 2004 served as the president as the united onatesrence of catholic bishops. during that time, 2001, 2004, you reca what happenedear the 2002 major scandal, the first one of sexual abuse involving the catlic church, the so called spotlight scandal. since that timeee he's credited with taking initiative with the dallas charter. that is something that went orward to hold priests accountable and protect minors. taking over washington, that is a completely different approach. that's going to take a lot of strategy given the recent taken place have in our ar

the reality is coming down to someone like wilton gregory has ta lot of consensus. they had to take in not only the pope's opinion but also cardinal so soupich out of chicago. we know mcilroy out of san diego came up but it looks like gregory is who they're going with. potentially next ek. we'll be following it. >>> a new free way to help block some of those annoying robocalls. consumereporter susan hogan is here with how you can signup. >>> plus new hope for a beloved soccer c facing deportation. >>> nice and mildcross t ahe the cherry blossoms down along the tidal basin. they're a step closer to reachingeak bloom today. they advanced to phase 5 of 6.l doug wil back in just a couple mrutes with y weekend forecast. >> news4 working for you with a cons alert this evening. the fcc is warning that its own call center number has b getting spoofed by scammers. it's part of a chinese language robo scam call trying to trick pele that they're in trouble with the chinese government this e number is ll1-888-cc, however that's not where the call is coming from. the fbi said th

it's wilton gregory, he the seventh arch bishop of washington. cre's what we know about him. he'srently the arch bishop of atlanta and has been since 2005. he's 71 years of age and has been in the priesthoodor nearly half a century. he grew up in chicago. we have not confirmed that he's accepted the appointment. a formal announcement could come as early as nextweek. back to you in the studio. >> thank you, erika. >>> breaking news now at 4:30, thevening commute slows to a crawl. >> the inner loop closed at the american legion bridge. that's causing delays not just on thebeltway. >> mark segraves has finally made it to the scene. mark? >> reporter: as you said, traffic everywhere in the area is just jamm up, the clara barton parkway and thegw parkway. you can see right now first responders are trying to funnel thsome o traffic one lane of the traffic is now open. what they're trying to do is get this traffic that's been stopped up here outthe way because you can seehere's a tanker truck that's been overturned. there's 8,000 gallons of fuel in the truck that needs to be removed