Transcripts For WRC 20100304

we're back now with our top story for this half hour. a plane that took off from the manassas airport crash understood a house in virginia this afternoon. >> the plane had landed in louisa county and shortly after it took off again, it went down into a house. the pilot was killed. but a person inside that house was able to escape. >> reporter: the faa and ntsb are here investigating this crash. now, the name of the pilot will not be released tonight, but we're told he left manassas, virginia, around 11:47 this morning. he stopped here in louisa at the airport to refuel. police say he only got a quarter of a mile from this site when witnesses say the plane plummeted from the sky and crashed into this house. a gaping hole in a chard house and a cessna's tail in the front yard. the pilot was killed. the homwner escaped. sarah burke still can't get the image out of her head. she was driving down route 33 when the plane went down. >> it caught my eye because it was sideways. it wasn't flying flat. i lost it in these trees here. when i saw it again it was coming down on top of the house right there. i hit the brakes and when i stopped, the plane like hit the ground and it just blew up. >> it's very frightening. it's terrifying to see something that you know someone is not going to walk away from. >> reporter: heather rosser was also driving by. >> came down just past the house and got to the sage sign and heard a loud boom and lots of black smoke. >> reporter: witnesses say the plane turned into a fire ball and they couldn't see the house through all the black smoke. >> the house was pretty well fully involved. the plane was completely involved. they did get water on the fire quick and got it knocked down and kept it to the building of origin. >> reporter: one man was in the home. firefighters tell us he had just walked into the basement to get something when the plane hit the house. the man was able to run out a back door unharmed. >> he was out standing next to my car when i got here. lucky for him where he was at in the house apparently. >> reporter: the surviving homeowner is shaken and has declined request to talk about his ordeal. we're told aga that t identity of the pilot will not be released tonight. it could be several weeks before we know the cause of this crash. state police and the faa and the sheriff's office willtay out here overnight and watch this crash site. they will resume their investigation first thing in the morning. he doesn't want the job for good, but metro's new leader is promising to do everything he can to help improve the agency. richard sarels was appointed interim general manager today. john schriffen is here with more on how he plans to meet the huge ch challenges ahead. >> richard saurels was pulled out of retirement and right away he'll have to deal with budget issues facing the cash-strapped metro system. his goal is to improve safety and prevent any more deadly accidents. the images many metro riders will never forget. back on june 22nd last year when nine people died after two trains collided. for metro it wasn't an isolated incident. this year, two metro workers were killed after being hit on the tracks by a truck. to put an end to these deadly mishaps, metro has hired richard sarels. his primary goal, safety. >> focusing on the training, make sure the rules are right, make sure people follow the rules. more than that is people have to think about safety every day they're on the job. >> reporter: saurels spent the past three years as head of the new jersey transit system. he also spent 20 years that port authority of new york and new jersey after serving with amtrak. with the threat of the u.s. government taking over the metro system and current general manager john catoe deciding to retire, the board of directors rushed to find a replacement. but sarels says fare hikes might be on the way. >> service cuts and fares are the absolute last resort. but in the economic times we're dealing with, these are the things that have to be considered. >> reporter: the 62-year-old said he's happy to have this opportunity but he made it clear today that he does not want the permanent position. >> five years from now i would hope that that person is still working here and i'm sitting on a beach somewhere. >> and sarels will earn $25,000 per month until metro can find a permanent replacement. he takes power on april 3rd. >> john schriffen, thank you. the mayor of baltimore was taken to a hospital th dizziness. she was treated and then released this afternoon. despite what happened, doctors sayy she is in excelnt health. she is 39 years old. she's been mayor for only one month. she replaced sheila dixon who resigned after a criminal investigation there. the investigation into a grade-changing scheme at winston churchill high school continues. the staff at the high school in potomac along with montgomery county police are looking into the case. the high school's principal was quoted in the school newspaper today. she defended the school and said they plan to validate all the grades but many students are concerned with what colleges think about their applications. one local university says students have nothing to worry about. >> churchill is a great school. nothing about a single incident is going to change that reputation with most colleges and universities. >> eight students are accused of stealing teachers' computer passwords. they reportedly changed the grades of more than 50 students. no charges have been filed yet. three people are facing charges hafor vandalizing a socr field in woodbridge, virginia. the three were arrested late tuesday night. police say the three were in a vehicle that drove in circles all around the school's soccer field. it caused about $1,000 in damage. ficers found the suspects after they followed a trail of mud from the field to a town home in dale city. all three suspects areeing held on bond. coming up, new video shows what happened aboard a cruise ship when a deadly 26-foot wave hit. we'll tell you about a guy who survived for days when the boat he and his friends were on capsiz capsized. here's to the believers. the risk-takers. the visionaries. the entrepreneurs... who put it all on the line to build and run their own businesses. at at&t, we know something about that. our company started out in a small lab, with not much more than a dream. and today, we know it's small businesses that can create the jobs america needs. that's why at&t is investing billions to upgrade and build out our wired and wireless networks. making them faster, smarter, and more secure. connecting small businesses to markets across the country, and arod the world. we invest now, because we know it will pay off... with new jobs, new growth, from a new generation, putting their belief in the future on the line. now is the time for investment and innovation. the future is waiting. and the future has always the future is waiting. and the future has always been our business. at&t. >> beginning at 8:00, the big dipper in the northeastern sky. 44 is the temperature now. it's 42 in baltimore. and 43 degrees currently in manassas. still on the breezy side. winds out of the northwest at 10 to 15 miles per hour. tomorrow around freezing when we start out. temperatures will be on the chilly sideo start off your friday. we'll start warming up pretty good. tomorrow starts our warming trend. 45 for a high temperature tomorrow. then right at about 50 degrees for saturday with low sunshine. close to the mid-50s for sunday. there might be a few locations on monday that hit close to 60 degrees. those clouds will start filling back in and our next weather system could bring rain by tuesday night. certainly right now we've got it posted for wednesday with some plain old rain showers. isn't that nice to talk about plain old rain showers instead of snow for a change? >> yeah, it is. thanks a cruise ship passenger was recording a home video when some deadly waves crashed into the ship yesterday. it happened on ship called the majes majesty. the ship was ending a 12-day cruise. three massive waves, each one taller than 30 feet, slammed into the windows of the lounge. two people near the windows were killed. 14 others were injured. it all happened off the coast of spain as the ship was returning to italy. that area of the mediterranean is known for big waves when storms hit. the captain made an emergency stop in barcelona so that the injured could be treated. the sole survivor of a deadly boating accident in the gulf of mexico is talking about his ordeal today. his name is nick skylar. last february, he left clearwater florida on a fishing trip. skylar says the boat capsized when they tried to escape from a sudden storm. all four tried to hang on. but it would be two days before help arrived. skylar says he watched his three friends die, but he didn't give up hope. >> you know, i never gave up hope, obviously. but watching three guys die in my arms, it obviously was in the front of my mind. >> nick skylar has written a back about the deal. dan as our sports report smoot? they got rid of smoot? >> yeah. >> what is that locker room going to be like without fred? >> every single one of these guys were our go-to guys for interviews. they gave great interviews. some of our favorites. several players who have been referred to as core redskins in the past no longer redskins at all with free agency set to start at midnight. bruce allen and mike shanahan are going to be very active. they released no fewer than six players toda many of them big names. here is the list so far. randy thomas, ladell betts, fred smoot, antoine randle el, rock cartwright, and cornelius griffin. all of the players you just saw at least 30 years old. so the skins clearly going with the youth movement. free agency starts at midnight. the redskins sure to be very active. bruce allen talking to the media in a few minutes. we'll have this comments tonight at 11:00. this afternoon, another redskin called it a career. based on pro bowl appearances, you would have to say he's the most consistent redskins player of the last decade. chris sammalials retiring after a ten-year career that included an incredible six pro bowl appearances. samuels held down the left tackle position for the skins. he did it as one of the best in the league. samuels forced to retire because of a spinal condition that he's been battling since high school. he's not done in washington, though. he will stay on with the team as a coaching intern. he's at peace with his decision after a stellar career. >> it was definitely an easy decision. i knew i couldn't continue to go out there under the conditions i was in. i didn't want to be paralyzed. the docto suggested that i quit. i had to listen to the guy whose are professionals. >> is it going to be hard to step from that player role to coach role? you're going to take part in the minority internship program. i'msuming you'd like to say with the redskins. >> i love the area. i just want to learn. wherever the lord leads me as far as my coaching career goesugoes, i'm cool with it. >> the redskins tried to make this day all about chris samuels. they didn't comment on thecuts. they did -- they had a really nice ceremony for him today. it was just kind of crazy, the guys who were there ended up being some of the guys who are not there. >> that's good for stephan for giving chris a it props. >> yeah. he just said thank you very much, acted as a member of the media almost. one game left in the regular season. maryland tied atop the acc standings to make it even better, they got there by beating duke on senior night in a game that is one of the most memorable in history. johnny holliday has been calling terps games for 31 years. says it is number one on his list. gravis vazquez, all smiles on this night and the emotions were flying high. especially for number 21. first half, vazquez with the ball. driving and dishing to fellow senior. that was sweet. on the ensuing possession, the ball bobbled around. vazquez to jordan williams. the freshman throws it down right there. maryland led by 14 in the game. second half, duke closes the gap. maryland keeps it close. nice passing there. big dunk by cliff tucker. nolan smith keeping duke in the game. gets the contact there. smith led duke with 20 points. then it is a tie game. gravis vazquez says i'm not going to lose this one onenior night. wills the terps to victory off the glass. he had 20 points. playing it up for the crowd. check out his parents here. this is my favorite move of the night from gravis' dad. yeah. he is getting into it. i like that. now, if they like that, they'll love this. another miracle shot for gravis. the terps up by three. make that five after that runner. the terps win 79-72. gravis, how are you feeling after this one, man? >> unbelievable. unbelievable. you know, you -- iduke is a gret team. just to win like that means the whole world for us. and then proud of my teammate. >> we just wanted to come out here. it's another win. it's another -- another home win. trying to get, you know, all home wins for the acc this year. that was the first time we did that since i've been here. just a real big game. we just tried to come out here and play hard and get a win. >> i'm really proud of the team. everybody just -- you know, we just stayed tough. we wouldn't let them get away from us. it was tough there for a while because things weren't going well for us. but we fought through it. and i'm just proud of these guys. >> you know, really emotional game for gary williams and those guys with the negative publicity that they got last year. and to make it even better, gravis vazquez, a couple of years ago, he was booed by the student section at maryland. he could very well have won the player of the year honors in the acc over john scheyer from duke because of that. >> how glad is he that he decided not to go pro. >> oh, yeah. >> and take that one more year. >> yeah. he's going it be reaping the rewards in the ncaa tournament. >> his parents were happy, too. >> yeah. you could tell by the dance. the maryland women won their first game in the acc tournament today. they beat north carolina. georgetown, the guys getting ready for their regular-season finale on saturday. they're hoping that ostage freeman will be able to play after being diagnosed with diabetes on monday. austin freeman last played against notre dame. he was trying to tough out what he thought was a stomach virus but as you can see, freeman clearly was not himself. played 23 minutes. he never does that. went 2 for 5, finished with five points in the game. diabetes is something that will certainly alter his lifestyle but he will be ae to play in games again very soon. >> nobody wants to have something like this, but, i mean, could happen to anybody. i just want to stay positive. i have the support from my coaches, my temates, my parents, my whole family pretty much. so, i mean, i just want to stay positive. that's all. >> we love him and he loves himself. he's not going to do out there to harm himself. but it's just trying to learn, i think, because i'm not going through it, he is, what kind of tired am i feeling now? and so that's how it's been expressed to me. that's how we have to jump in right now so we can learn that. >> all right. so freeman fully participated in practice yesterday. fully participated today. and the best thing about this, dr. steven clement, one of the best in the entire world in his field. he's going to be at every practice and every game monitoring everything freeman does. >> he's probably going to be feeling better now that he's got a diagnosis and get some treatment. >> he'll have more energy than he has in a long time once they get this thing under control. that's the good news sglnchls moving on to hockey. capitals hosting the lightning tonight, their first home game since the olympic break. the first game that their new acquisitions will be on the ice for. last night the caps in buffalo taking on the sabres and ryan miller. the caps, they didn't really take it to miller but they did enough to get it done against the mvp of the olympics. first period, alex ovechkin trying to beat miller here but miller says no, ain't going to happen. scoreless in the first period. second period caps up 1-0. the sabres get a lucky break. the puck bounces out to jochen hecht. now to the third, tied at 1-1. passes to mike green. and green ices it. his 15th goal of the season. the caps add an empty-netter to beat ryan miller and the sabres 3-1. they're at home tonight against tampa bay. so the caps still with the best record in hockey. and they were the busiest team just before the trade deadline. this afternoon hakem dermish sat down with the team owner and asked if the season would be a disappointment if they don't win that coveted stanley cup. >> you saw what we did on the trade deadline yesterday. the most active team. let's win it this year. let's -- and we made trades yesterday that really will help us this year. but didn't mortgage our future. so we stayed to our plan. i think that experts would agree most of our fans would agree, we believe that we're one of the best teams in the league. now, you've got to prove it on the ice. you've got to stay healthy. yeah, if we don't go deeper in inplayoffs and win this year i'd be disappointed. i hope can i say that every year for the next decade. the nationals played their very first spring training game this afternoon in florida. it's one to forget about. the bull pen literally imploded giving up five home runs to the astros. bottom of the second, mock facing michael. he ropes one to left. this bounces off the wall. we're coming home with this one. roger bernadina on the relay. ca castro trying to score. out at the plate. good throw there. bottom four, astros just pouring it on. marts pitching to pence with two on. pence just yanks this one out of the park. deep center field. that's gone. astros hit five home runs in the game beating the thnats 15-5. it is just spring training. there's a long way to go. >> it's okay. >> nice pictures. we'll be right back. i love economics study group. because every week, we start things off with ten dollar pizzas from pizza hut. yeah, it's insane. any pizza, any size, any crust, any topping is just ten dollars. meat lover's, supreme pan pizza...whatever we want. it's crazy. ♪ what's even crazier? ♪ i'm not even in economics this semester. [ male announcer ] right now, any pizza at pizza hut is just $10. any pizza, any size, any crust, and any toppings -- for only $10. only at your pizza hut. i new recommendations on when men should be screened are causing confusion. the cancer society, urologists and government researchers don't agree on whether certain exams are really effective. >> reporter: the psa blood test and rectal exams can detect prostate cancer but can't determine if it's harmless or deadly. >> we must find a way to ignore the kittens and focus our treatment on the deadly lions. >> reporter: biopsys can miss deadly cancers. to be safe, doctors treat them all and leave thousands of men impotent or incontinent. many live with the disease and never know it. >> many men will die with prostate cancer but not from prostate cancer. >> reporter: so is screening worth it? the american cancer society's new at vice, men should only be screened if they've been informed of the risks. >> there are uncertaiies, there are known proven risks and there are at this time possible benefits. >> reporter: lou gossett jr. was diagnosed. now he's pushing for a better, more accurate test. >> still like winning the lottery. >> reporter: this doctor is working on one and told congress it will save lives and money. >> there is a possibilityo save over $2 billion. >> reporter: but a big hurdle remains, getting men to talk to their doctors about prostate cancer. >> many men are putting off these tests, putting off these discussions, and they are simply suffering and dying. >> reporter: he's sponsoring a bill to give researchers $650 million to develop better screening and hopefully save lives. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. a final check on our forecast, veronica. >> evening temperatures will fall through the low 40s and by tomorrow morning, we'll be a few degrees lower than this morning. at the bus stop, the kids will need their coats still. 27 to 32. we'll have some partly sunny skies around the area. sun is up tomorrow at 6:35. some jacket weather for the weekend. we should hit a high between 50 and 55 degrees saturdaynd sunday. jim? >> thanks. a very rare diamond will be sold at auction in hong kong next month. it's a paeapear-shaped vivid bl diamond. the diamond weighs more than five carats. its clarity is said to be flawless. the collection was presented in the year 2000. the sale price is expected to be in the nghborhood of only $6 million. there's still time to get your bid in, dan. >> yeah. >> your wife will love you forever.