Transcripts For WJLA ABC 7 News At 500 20150122

Again, four bodies found here. Tomorrow, the search for evidence and more bodies will resume. Reporting live, Stephen Tschida abc 7 news. All right. Thank you, heartbreaking story. So sad. All right. Moving on now today metro is promising some changes aimed at improving safety after last weeks deadly incident on the yellow line. And that revelation comes even before an official cause is determined for what failed filled the tunnel near Lenfant Plaza with smoke killing one and injuring dozens of others. Joce sterman is live outside of metro headquarters with what eats been changed and the big back tracking of by metro. Joce . They are back tracking on something that we heard from leaders earlier this week thats important in this investigation. Fans that are supposed to clear smoke out of those trains and tunnels, were now hearing something new about that as metro releases this new list of the 10 things theyre working to change. As the ntsb moves forward with its investigation, were hitting rewind. Allegation the fans werent working were dead wrong. That was metros chairman on tuesday adamant that the ventilation system worked properly. But the function of 200 fans and 81 vent shafts in the chain were still in question with the ntsb finding what they call anomalies during testing. They werent working when tested. Whats different between what they were supposed to do. Metro leaders refused to comment about whether the tunnel fans that are supposed to pull away the smoke thats clearly seen in videos captured that day actually work. We have began checking every ventilation shaft. But the agency is already making changes to ventilation inside metro cars. Number one on a list of 10 safety actions released today is a plan to have train operators cut the air intakes as soon as cars are stopped because of smoke. Previously, that call would have been made by someone in an operation center. Its something they exposed last night. A ventilation system that brought smoke into the car are being reversed. But senator Barbara Mikulski and other members of congress are pushing forward looking for more answer. We are not going to let this issue go. We want safety and these safety issues are things that metro have already started to work on. Some will be accomplished in a matter of days. Some of other ones will require studies and test that go could take the next month and a half. And i just looked at my email a moment ago. We see that a statement has come out from senator mark warner in virginia talking about another serious problem like radios and communications that happened lapses during that event. Hes calling on the council of governments from all six jurisdiction to make sure they get on board and test their radios to make sure everyone is compatible with metro. Live in northwest washington joce sterman, abc 7 news. One more note about the radios you just mentioned, tonight, metro is shifting blame for Radio Communications problems during the Emergency Response on to d. C. Fire and e. M. S. Metro says d. C. Fire recently changed its radios to an encrypted system without alerting them to the change. Officials say that shift made the radios almost useless inside the tunnels. D. C. Fire said last week its just warned metro only days re the disaster that its radios were not working properly in the tunnels regardless of the cause of the problem, metro says d. C. Fire radios are now functional inside that tunnel network. As the investigation into metro continues, metros board is debating another issue thats already upsetting riders and thats a fare increase. How much it would cost and what services riders could still lose later in this newscast. Well, abc 7 is on storm watch once again. This ahead of a tricky coastal storm that will begin impacting our area right at the start of the weekend. Chief meteorologist doug hill is tracking this Winter Weather alert in our storm watch weather center. It sounds like this storm comes with a lot of ifs. The ifs are our concern are temperatures, theyre going to be borderline. They may be too warm for a big snowstorm. A lot of rain in the mix. First thing is first right now. Partly cloudy 42 outside of the belfort furniture center. 46 down the river at alexandria. Live look, very beautiful out there. Winds will diminish. 38 at hagerstown. 40s elsewhere. During the evening, temperatures will fall from the 40s into the mid 30s with a northwesterly breeze. Tomorrow, well start with sunshine and pick up clouds in the arch. And then well have to keep an eye of what happens during the daytime hours. Increasing clouds and the effects of this developing storm. That low pressure area will move up the coast on saturday bringing snow or rain or sleet or a mix of all three. Maybe some accumulations north and west of the metro area. More on the timing the impact and word on yet another system that could bring us snow on monday. A busy day in the stormwatch. Well have more for you coming up in a couple of minutes. Alison . Thank you. Trust the Storm Watch Weather Team to keep you ahead of this storm. We are constantly updating wjla. Com and our social media sites as well. You can also track conditions right on your smartphone by downloading the storm watch weather app. Leon . Alison an alexandria judge has ordered a competencyevaluation for the man accused of three profile killings in alexandria. He faced a judge this morning. That hearing was anything but routine. Northern Virginia Bureau chief Jeff Goldberg reports from the courthouse. The parents of Charles Severance walked into court this morning trying their best to avoid media attention. Inside the courtroom, severance twice interrupted proceedings as defense attorney chris living spoke, severance blurted out he does not represent me to which the judge responded, you need to be quiet while im conducting this hearing. Severance is accused in the alexandria killings of nancy dunning, ron kirby and ruthann lidado. Prosecutors are trying to determine whether he is mentally competent to stand trial and today argued for another ychological evaluation after severance refused to be interviewed for the first one. At one point, the judge gave severance the floor. Id like the defense team to effectively and competently argue, ive been denied my right to a speedy trial, he said. Roush then ruled the evaluation will move forward at a State Hospital. Hes angry and subjected to what hes being subjected to. Lawrence mathias has known him for 25 years and recently visited him at the Arlington County jail. I just know in my heart, he is innocent. They have the wrong man. And whoever did these crimes is still out there free and loose. And could kill again. John kelly a friend of the lidado family did not want to speak on camera but tells reporters they will remain strong and unshakeable. Charles severance will likely be transferred from jail to a State Hospital in the next week or so at which point, he will undergo a competency evaluation. The next hearing to rule on the results is set for march 19th. In old town alexandria, Jeff Goldberg, abc 7 news. Breaking news now in laurel where police are investigating a homicide. News chopper 7 is live over the scene with pictures here. This is near the intersection of imperial drive and claxton drive between route 1 and 295. So far all police are saying is that they have found a male suffering from gunshot wounds on the scene. Well bring you more information as soon as we learn it right here. Alison . Meanwhile, nearly 500 people in new jersey are left with nothing tonight after that massive Apartment Fire destroyed their homes. It was a five alarm fire that started last night at an edgewater apartment complex along the hudson river. The fire spread so fast firefighters did not have time to turn off the gas to the building. Some residents escaped with only the clothes on their backs. I have nothing. I have nothing. I have my bag, i have my hard drives. I work a lot with them and thats about it. Clothes and everything. Five people suffered minor injuries including two firefighters. Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused it. Thousands flooded the streets of d. C. Today in both protest and rememberance the march for life rally against abortion coincides with the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Courts roe vs. Wade decision. Su joins us live from the Supreme Court where that decision was handed down. Suzanne . We are winding down a long day of events here. Weve got a school group that just wrapped up taking a picture and just a few minutes before, that we heard from a group called silent no more. Women who speaking out about how they regretted having an abortion. Lots of different events taking place here in the Washington Area to mark this 42nd anniversary. Hundreds of thousands of people made the pilgrimage to washington, d. C. Today to rally against a decision made 42 years ago. Abortion is wrong. Abortion is killing. Abortion is dead. In 1973 roe vs. Wade decision legalized abortion. Four decades later it remains a divisive issue. This is alan schwartzs 17th time at this january event. He and his wife brought their entire family from lancaster, pennsylvania. We need to be a culture who support women. At noon speakers addressed the crowd saying every life is a gift. Many of todays participants were from Catholic Schools across the country. Part of a movement that calls itself the pro life generation. A lot of young people and kids and i think its inspiring that we can come together for a movement thats so meaningful to us. When were still so young. Antiabortion demonstrators moved up constitution avenue and headed to Supreme Court where emily was one of a Smaller Group of pro abortion rights demonstrators. Im definitely here as a woman who believes i should be able to make choices about my body and my future and i really think that this has more implications for women than just whether or not they can have access to an abortion. As you can see, both sides of this issue are being represented here at the Supreme Court. A lot of people will wind down and wrap up this day by celebrating mass at local catholic churches. Reporting live at the u. S. Supreme court, suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. Thank you, suzanne. As the rally made its way through the district inside the capitol, republicans forced through legislation in the house barring the use of any federal funds for abortions. That measure would also block tax credits that help Fund Abortion coverage and Obamacare Health plans but fell short of the ban on late term abortions something that the republicans were pushing for. The white house has promised that will reach the president s desk. Still ahead on abc 7 news at 5 00, the arrest of a Fairfax County schools employee in a case thats now stretched across three counties. Plus the new steps being taken to beef up American Security overseas. And what tom brady and Bill Belichick are saying about claims they intentionallytt2wut3nu d bt qv tt2wut3nu d a qfl tt2wut3nu d bm qm, tt4wut3nu d dztq tt4wut3nu d hnt p1, tt4wut3nu d iztq xt tt4wut3nu d jntq 4 tt4wut3nu d lzt 0eh a High School Baseball coach from vancouver, washington pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 15yearold boy in frederick, maryland. Incident happened in 1998. Former pitcher eric estes lived with a family while playing Minor League Baseball at the time. In exchange for the plea prosecutors dropped more serious charges. His conviction carries a maximum 15 years but prosecutors are recommending that he gets no prison time. Shocked. Thats the word the patriots coach Bill Belichick used to describe his reaction when he learned the team used 11 underinflated footballs during sundays afc championship win against indianapolis. That reaction is the first weve heard from belichick since the scandal broke. Marcy gonzalez has more on that and also more from the Quarterback Tom Brady. I didnt you know have any, you know i didnt alter the ball in any way. The patriots feeling the pressure. I think everyone is obviously trying to figure out what happened. Responding to the nfls claims that 11 of the teams 12 footballs used in sundays afc championship win were significantly underinflated. I was shocked to learn of the news reports about the footballs. I had no knowledge whatsoever of this situation. The nfl says the footballs were inspected and approved 2 15 minutes before the game. Experts explain the only time they could have been deflated was just before kickoff or on the sidelines during the game. Abcs ryan smith looked into how quickly that could be done. Just like that. Three or four seconds. Right. Some experts claim there are advantages to playing with underinflated footballs because theyre easier to grip. Analysts and players say the patriots likely would have won sundays game against the colts regardless. I dont feel like it affected the game. If it did, we didnt know the balls werent hard. Were going to seattle. Yes the patriots will play in the super bowl. This isnt the first time theyve been accused of breaking other league rules and some people feel the real consequences of this controversy will be to their reputation. I think the big picture is Bill Belichick and the patriots and what theyve done is sort of complicate the legacy. Next sunday the game balls will be handled by an impartial equipment manager. Thats a super bowl policy put in place long before this scandal. Marcy gonzalez, abc news, new york. Thank you for that. Tonight, abc 7 is hearing from two legendary local quarterbacks on this football controversy. Stay tuned and hear what Joe Theismann and john riggins have to say coming up ahead in sports. And riggins is funny about it actually. A little tease ahead. I would expect nothing less from him i know. Classic riggins. All right. So what have we got ahead of us . Said two times here. Two systems, the biggest one is tomorrow night and saturday. That will produce lesser amounts of snow and ice. Smaller storm and Alberta Clipper on monday may produce a little more. Thats the way it works. Its all about temperatures. Thats the key. Not going to be cold enough this weekend to get a bigger snow storm out of this one. Lets get you started. First, take you to oakdale high school. This is in southern Frederick County maryland. Early morning shot plenty of snow on the ground. Fog in the air. Took a couple of hours, fog lifted skies cleared and the winds came up. The temperatures got above freezing and the result you see during the day most of the snow melts away and that will be partly cloudy with falling temperatures and diminishing winds there and across the entire region tonight, its going to get cold. No refreeze worries because most everything dried up today. 45 degrees at the moment in culpepper. Manassas at 41. 42 at landover. Chevy chase at 40. Nice, High Temperature climbing through th40s to near 50. 51 for the high in culpepper. Its 46 degrees right now at Reagan National airport. 41 at dulles. 42 in annapolis. 43 at Lexington Park and temperatures will fall this evening with a clearing to partly cloudy skies. Gusty winds out there have been diminishing a bit. As temperatures fall in the 30s and winds are still at 16 miles an hour at dulles. 18 at andrews. That puts a bit of a chill in the air. The winds will diminish tonight and as the winds diminish and skies remain clear to partly cloudy, drop between 24 and 32 degrees by early tomorrow morning. And then through the day tomorrow we need to keep our eye on things. First, to have a big snowstorm here you need to have the storm come up the coast with a lot of energy. This is going to have that. It needs to have a core or supply of really cold air to the north or northeast or northwest. Not there. These are cold temperatures but the air mass thats causing the cold will move out of the picture. So this one is going to come up with a lot of not a lot of cold air support. Thats why were thinking rain or a little snow or a little wintry mix of sleet mixed in. Thats whats happening with this system as we evolve. Its all rain right now as it pushes across the mid south, deep south, it will come up the coast. Again, because temperatures will be above freezing in most areas, were expecting only a little bit of snow and at least according to the computer of futurecast, i think its pretty close. The edge of this system and slightly colder air well north and west of the metro area thats where we can see the snow. Maybe an inch or two. For most of the region and metro area, were talking a little snow, sleet, rain and especially rain the farther south and east you go. This is a picture by early tomorrow evening with a little bit of a mix here. A little bit of mix in the mountains, too, and mostly rain and heavy rain too, that will continue overnight and into saturday morning. By midday saturday lots of fairly moderate rain predicted here through the metro area east of i95 and east of the metro area. It eventually ends. And that will be that. Sunday will be partly sunny and then by monday morning, theres that second system. Alberta clipper. That will bring a little bit more cold air with the winds and energy coming out of northwest. And i think we could see some accumulation with this clipper. Not a major storm but again early monday morning rush hour thats the story. So very active weather pattern for heres what we have through the day temperaturewise. 43, clouds coming in tomorrow and then for the next seven days well sum it up this way for you. 60 chance of rain tomorrow evening. And then a mix beginning the probability going up to 90 tomorrow night and in the first half of saturday again, it will be a mix back and forth. Look at the highs were projecting. 43 on saturday. 44 on sunday. A little bit colder with a clipper on monday and then definitely colder for tuesday and wednesday. Its a combination of cold air entrenched in place and then the storm gives the best chance of measurable snow and listen if this trend continues, its just a matter of time over the next couple of weeks before they merge together. Get the big one. Yep. Oh, boy. Ok. Thank you. Weve been warned. Exactly. Well still to come on abc 7 news at 5 00 paying more for less service. The new debate brewing at metro just days after a passenger was killed on that yellow line train. Plus, the accusations against the Fairfax School employee in an investigation that now spans three counties. U. S. Military bases are stepping up security tonight over growing concerns of an attack. Where, well tell you and show you at least one big u. S. Military bases in europe tonight are beefing up the security measures over the growing safety concerns in the wake of the paris attacks and other terror arrests across europe. Our senior political reporter scott thuman has been looking into what that means. Hes in the newsroom with details. Scott . Alison and leon according to one media account thats 90,000 u. S. Military who fall under these additional security measures. Pentagon not saying what specific improvements are being made right now and also stresses no specific threat. But theres obviously plenty of worry tonight. The air strikes taking a significant toll tonight on Islamic State leadership. According to secretary kerry at a strategy session in london. Almost 2,000 strikes in syria and iraq have had a high degree of precision and accuracy. We are taking out the fighters in the thousands. Roughly 50 of the terror groups top command wiped out and taking back about 270 square miles that had been lost to insurgents in iraq. But those inspired to join the fight are also increasing and in light of what happened in paris this month, u. S. Military in europe is upping its security. Worried of possible attacks. Its been a threat. And its a reality. And we have been well aware of that. We are well aware of it. Defeating the ideology behind the threat more difficult than the physical fight and while the u. S. Is sen iraqis more ammo and armed vehicles iraq says its not enough with oil prices plummeting around the world they stand to lose billions and want more than guns. They want green. Im personally here to get more support from our partners. Meanwhile, more chaos in neighboring yemen where today, the president and much of the government resigned as rebels take hold. And nearby u. S. Military ships are standby in case americans there are in need of evacuation. Were working closely with our state Department Colleagues to watch and monitor this situation. Now, back to those resources that the u. S. Is providing the iraqis. Got a breakdown for you. 208 million in humanitarian support. 250 plus tougher mine resistant vehicles and a large private number of m15 rifles that the u. S. Military currently uses that will be used to replace the a. K. 47s that most iraqis are using right now. Leon . Thank you, scott. Coming up at 5 00 can your phone measure your intelligence . The new research that compares the smart and iphone users to everybody else. An investigation spanning several parts of Northern Virginia leads to an arrest. And serious and disturbing charges are coming up. And the man was an employee of the Fairfax County school new at 5 00 a Fairfax County schools employee was arrested accused of sexually assaulting a child. Whats more this case extends through multiple counties in Northern Virginia. Abc 7 northern Virginia Bureau chief Jeff Goldberg is live in falls church tonight. What have you learned about the suspect in this case . Well leon his name is dennis belia and hes been suspended without pay from his job here at baileys elementary school. Fairfax schools very quick to point out that he did pass a background check before he was hired in 2003 and these charges are in no way related to any students or his work within the district. However, for some parents, that offers very little comfort. As kids head home after a day of school at baileys, parents are still die jeing the news that a former staffer is in jail on charges of molesting a teenager. Send our kids to school because its safe and thats shocking. Fairfax county schools confirm 45yearold dennis belia was hired in 2003 as a instructor at Edison Academy in alexandria. In 2011 he started working as a tech support specialist at baileys elementary up until his arrest last week. My son is here you know and you never know that can happen. According to Prince William county police, belia sexually assaulted a male Family Member multiple times at a home in manassas between 2004 and 2010. The victim reported the abuse to other Family Members last september. Police arrested belia on january 13th at his home in culpepper charging him with three counts of aggravated Sexual Battery and three counts of taking indecent liberties with a child. Very surprised. Sometimes its out of the control to really keep track of things like this. Theyre very good of taking good care of the kids. So i knew that everything was pretty much under control. A lot of parents sharing their sentiments with us tonight. He was arrested last thursday the 13th. Fairfax county schools notifying parents about the situation last friday, the 16th and then again yesterday. Belia is currently being held in Prince William county jail without bond. His Court Hearing is set for next month. Live in falls church Jeff Goldberg, abc 7 news. Thank you, jeff. New details tonight coming out about the terrifying attack on a woman in columbia maryland. Its happened at the columbia Landing Apartments on taymar drive wednesday morning. Victim told police that a man who she believes she saw days before the attack pulled her into an apartment and raped her. The suspect is described as an africanamerican man in his 30s with a medium build and two to three inch long dread locks or braids. Howard county police are offering a reward of up to 1,000 for information leading to an arrest. And its time now for a look at the days other top stories. Metro is now promising safetyprovements after last weeks deadly incident on the yellow line. Some recommendations include allowing train operators the power to turn off erin take systems. Metro also plans to add signs on the outside of trains to show emergency doors and access points. One passenger, of course was killed. Dozens of others were sick. Due to that thick smoke. A judge is ordering the man accused of three alexandria murders to undergo a Mental Health evaluation at a State Hospital. This decision came during a hearing for Charles Severance. Prosecutors are trying to determine if hes mentally competent to stand trial in the deaths. And investigators in annapolis have now found two more bodies in the rubble of that mansion fire. A couple and their four grandchildren were thought to be inside theon dollar mansion when it went up in flames on monday. Yesterday, investigators found two other bodies inside the charred remnants of that home. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. At this hour, the public is weighing in on a change to Montgomery County Public Schools bell time. Board of education has looked at several different proposals to make srt times later and among the plans theyre considering are having the classes start 20 to 35 minutes later in the morning. Tonights hearing in rockville runs until 9 30. Legislation preventing common core curriculum standards in virgin have cleared a state Senate Committee now. The bills sponsor senator Richard Black of Loudoun County says common core has generated controversy among teachers and parents. Governor terry mauliffe opposes the bill calling it unnecessary because the state has no plans to adopt the national standards. So far theyve been adopted by 43 different states. Senate minority leader harry reid says its time to set the record straight about the injury that seriously damaged his right eye and eye socket. I was doing an exercise that ive been doing for many years. Those large rubber bands. And one of them broke and swung me around and i crashed into these cabinets. And injured my eye. So reid says that hes heard some rumors that didnt bar repeating. Regardless of how the injury happened the nevada senator is set to undergo surgery at George Washington University Hospital monday to repair some of the damage and repair his vision in that eye. Hes a tough guy. Difficult situation. Lets get a check of the traffic situation here, bob is standing by in the wtop Traffic Center and lots of red showing up on that map. Getting busy out there leon. We had a crash on 66 westbound outside of the beltway before nuttily street just now moved to the left shoulder. Serious crash on the southbound Fairfax County parkway after route 50 had everybody stopped there. In maryland southbound 270 at old georgetown there was an accident. That should be out of the roadway now. But otherwise, just volume delays headed south through newington and over the occoquan and then headed south from quantico, bogged down towards stafford. No incidents on the way there. Very slow traffic headed to landmark. Take a look at cameras and see what things look like there now. Things are generally pretty slow. This is on washington boulevard trying to get down to 395. And thats trying to get on to 395 itself which is heavy and slow. Traffic on 270 bogs down most of the way from shady grove past montgomery and up to germantown to clarksburg. Ok bob. Thank you. Well companies are experimenting with new uses for drones. And apparently criminals are as well. Look at this picture. This is a drone crash near tijuana tijuana. Police say it was carrying more than six pounds of crystal meth. It was headed towards the u. S. Border when it fell from the sky. Drone experts say the technology is built to carry a small camera and that the weight of the drugs likely caused the crash. Look out. Here we go. All right. Coming up just ahead here on abc 7 news at 5 00 a proposal to cut Metro Service while increasing the fares. What stopped a final decision and when one will finally be made. And ahead at 6 00, Maryland Governor larry hogan what he plans to cut and the projects that will move forward. All right. First, david muir gives us a look at whats ahead on world news tonight. David . More on the breaking news, star Quarterback Tom Brady before the super bowl answering that question are you a cheater . Who really had those footballs after the refs checked them and the i. R. S. Alert at this hour that threatening calls, someone stealing your money . Our team and the confrontation. Youll see it right here. The noreaster set to hit and the new track. Nascar great says hes done. And, of course, the royal prince breaking his silence on the sex scandal and youll hear it in virginia today attorney general mark herring created the nations first animal law unit. So the action means local Law Enforcement and state agencies can now turn to the Attorney Generals Office as a resource in cases involving animals. The Attorney Generals Office recently helped prosecute the operators of one largest cockfighting rings in the entire state. A federal judge says Satellite Tv Company dish network is liable for more than 57 million illegal telemarketing calls. Federal trade Commission Says that they called customers on the national do not call registry. Dish allowed its vendors to do the same and continued the calls when consumers asked to be removed from the call list. Other allegations include abandoning calls after the person picked up. Its unclear what penalty dish network will face. The case goes to trial in july. Well coming up next here on abc 7 news at 5 00 can you tell how smart someone is by their phone . A new study says its found a link between iphones and intelligence. What is that link . And its one and done. Thats the latest possible metro fare increase. It has a lot of people a metro proposal to raise rates and cut services has many people upset. Its a proposal thats hit a major road block. Richard reid live in northwest washington to explain more. Rich . Well alison you know one thin dime. That is the hike that they are talking about. It doesnt seem like a big deal for some people. Its one of many options the metro board is considering and for a lot of folks, its bringing about what we might call metro rider angst. If you want to ride this, you may soon need more of this. Feel like youre being nickel and dimed here . Yes, i do. Yeah 10 days after the deadly smokey chaos of Lenfant Plaza station. Take care of the safety issues first. Metro Board Members are considering some unpopular options. I would not like to see us implement a fare increase. Among the proposed changes, a 10 cent fair increase that would raise 22 million. Midnight to 3 00 a. M. Rail service on fridays and saturdays, elimination. Saving 3 million. Increased rail wait times, gain of 13 million and cutting buses with low ridership would save 10 million. I think its ridiculous. Betty russell taking the number 70 bus out of gallery place says for her none of this looks good. I dont know how to drive. I catch metro and if it keeps going up its going to get too expensive too get to work every day. The chairman mort downey says even now tough choices need to be made. We have to be fair to our customers and we have to adopt a balanced budget. A hike fare during rush hour at the time that everybody travels, thats unfair for everybody else. And this is the document they are working on right now. You could call it a document of hard choices and there is an additional downside. If some of these changes happen they could lose millions millions in riders. Some tough choices ahead. They have to make some decisions by april or may at the very latest. In northwest washington richard reid, abc 7 news. All right rich thank you very much. Bad news maybe for android users. Iphone users may be smarter than you . Thats right. Theres a new study that suggests smarter people prefer the apple option. The Company Found states with more College Grads tend to have higher iphone sales. Not only that but those are higher incomes tend to lean towards an iphone. The company admits, though that that study is not comprehensive. Ok. I think its more about how you use the phone. The world would be a better place with more dr. Seuss. Thats the message from president obama as he visited a preschool in kansas today. Most of the things that i deal with as president would be solved if everybody read about the sneeches. All right alison take note. Talking sneeches here and hes talking to the classic story about star bellied sneetches focusing on social status and comes from the appearance of two different groups. Some have stars on their bellies and some dont. A salesman takes advantage of them. They fight about it. The moral of the story is it doesnt matter if has a star belly or not, every sneetch can coexist. Ok. Dr. Seuss has good words of wisdom. No question about it. Absolutely. One day youll come in and go he was right. Youll see. Exactly. Ok. Lets talk about tonight at 6 00 because marylands new governor is getting right to work on the state budget. Learn what he plans to do to save money and see if his plan includes any cuts. Only on 7 tonight a communitys fight to save a wooded area. How neighbors are backing up their words now with thousands of dollars in donations. Those stories and more coming up at 6 00. Also coming up or coming this way a storm or two huh . Thats right. Sound like two, doug . Absolutely. One chance tomorrow night and saturday. Another one on monday. So lets get you started right now and tell you our story. Skies are partly cloudy right now. Temperatures slowly dropping past sunset. 37 in gaithersburg. 38 in hagerstown. 44 degrees in quantico and 46 at Reagan National airport. As we head through the evening hours, temperatures will start to drop a little bit more and as they continue to drop, well see the numbers eventually get themselves into the 20s overnight. Now with that, were going to see the possibility of clouds increasing as early as noontime tomorrow as that High Pressure moves out and then we got ourselves to watch this low Pressure Center becausing a lot of rain over the deep south and mid south. As that moves up the coast through late tomorrow night, well seehange here with increasing cloudy first and then precipitation. For most areas in the form of rain. Thats whats indicated on this futurecast. Widespread, even moderate rain by late tomorrow night. And then as we work through the day on saturday youll notice that blue stripe. A little area of colder air. That means the possibility of some snow. Far northern and western suburbs, Higher Elevations and maybe an inch or two at most. Everybody else maybe a mix of sleet and snow at times. But mostly rain. By 6 00 p. M. Saturday skies clear. And then were in good shape as we head into the day on sunday. So thats our story. Oh, but then again sunday night and monday we have the Alberta Clipper. That can bring us some snow for monday mornings rush. After that it will turn partly sunny and noticeably colder through early next week. Thats the latest. Back to you. Ok, doug, thank you very much. Robert burton in on the deflatriots today. I like that. I dont know who coined that one. Ill give them credit. Im giving you credit right now. Ill take it. A lot of people not believing tom brady right now. Both tom brady and Bill Belichick met with the media today. For the most part Bill Belichick said he didnt have an explanation. In fact, he says hes never even spoken to anyone about ball inflation before a game in his entire career. As for tom, he told the media he would never do anything to break the rules. He picks his footballs out before the game. After that, he doesnt like anyone tampering with them. Meanwhile, a lot of analysts are saying he wasnt truthful at the podium. Well hear from him at 6 00 and we caught up with a couple of skins legends on the issue. And they said this. To me its a nonissue. Its a problem for the league. It doesnt affect me one way or the other. Ultimate ultimately, i dont have any. The league is in a unique situation. There are a lot of things that have not gone right with decisions this particular year and this is a chance to be able to analyze it and take time to make sure its done correctly and make the decision accordingly. I would hope this would be resolved by the weekend so we can focus on the super bowl. Lets talk hopes. Last night, the wiz suffered a tough loss to Oklahoma City and its only right that the d. C. Native kevin durant led the thunder with 34 points. Heres the question will k. D. Drop 34 for the wizards one day . Its obvious, wizards fans would like to bring k. D. T d. C. That would be great kevin durant needs to come home have the hometown kids come back here with what weve put together would be amazing. K. D. If youre watching, come home buddy. If that wish came true theyd want nothing less than to be world champs. We havent won a championship since 1977 and to be a part of that in my tenure and my lives in d. C. It would be amazing. No excuses all the way as for k. D. He says hes never thought about playing for d. C. Until this past summer. However, he says he loves his city but all hes worried about at the moment is Oklahoma City. Certain level of pride that i have. Thats the only thing that i focus on and Everybody Knows that i represent where i come from and where i play at. No matter what arena. But i just focus on playing Oklahoma City. Feels like home to me now. Got the tools if he wants to come here. And the fans. Its about that, though. Thats the factor. Thats the factor. No matter where he goes. Exactly. All right. Thanks, robert. Coming up next on abc 7 news at 5 00 after two fatal shootings here in less than a week, residents in d. C. s Congress Heights neighborhood are holding a Community Meeting this evening on what to do about it. Im sam ford. The story is stop the violence. Thats the goal of a Community Meeting about to get under way in southeast washington. It comes on the heels of some turbulent weeks including a deadly shooting right near a peace rally. 7 on your side tonight fighting back and d. C. Bureau chief sam ford is live with how this community is coming together. Sam . Alison some of the members of this community are saying they havent seen it this bad since the crack epidemic and so in about halfhour, they are meeting behind me here in the old Congress Heights school seeking some answers of what to do about this problem. In just over a week, two young men have been killed here in Congress Heights. 22yearold kevin owens on monday and 17yearold Phillip Jones last wednesday. No arrests in either case. Today on nearby howard road another shooting. This time the victim is expected to survive but residents Say Something is going on particularly with the young people here and they say theyre hoping to get police and parents together talking to put a stop to it. Absolutely. Absolutely. And because theyre some of the children over here are to use the slang off the chain. And the parents have to get more involved in terms of what monitoring who what their children are doing. Last night here they had a vigil for the victim Phillip Jones. About 100 people were standing by around after the vigil when about a block away we understand, someone started shooting. There was fear and panic in this group. Folks here want something to be done before it gets even worse. Reporting live from southeast washington, sam ford, abc 7 news. Ok sam. Thank you for that. And thats it for abc 7 news at 5 clock 5 00. Ahead at 6 00, breaking news from annapolis where investigators make a grim discovery in the mansion fire. Find out if it will involve any cuts and well tell you the changes metro announced to try to keep riders safe. Abc 7 news at 6 00 starts now governor larry hogan is spending his first full day in office tackling the states huge budget shortfall. Today, he reviewed his budget that he promises wont raise taxes or lead to lay zofzoffs. Brad bell is live with what else the governors budget involves. Hi, brad. Hi, leon. This is what marylands budget looks like this big book. This is from this year. About 800 pages of numbers and fine prints. Tomorrow, quite literally, theyll be dropped on legislators desks with all the details. Today, we got what Governor Hogan says the highlights are of this fiscal year 2016 budget and he says hes done something that hasnt happened here in about a decade and he says hes balanced the budget. Larry hogan became marylands second republican governor in a half century yesterday by telling voters he will fix the states finances. Today, he says he is keeping his promise. We will stop spending more than we take in. We will stop using the maxed out credit cards and stop raiding the kids piggy banks and dipping into the retirement account. Hogan says he and his staff over the last eight weeks have created a budget that will kick in next october which spends no more than the state takes in. Without slashing agencies laying off workers, and while fully funding education and all of our other essential priorities. Hogan is also funding two big