This. This is the online reporting forum for the f. D. A. You can search any of the problem that have been reported to the government about this. They can be reported by patients themes so the stories may not be corroborated. They may come from manufacturers and doctors. Looking at the data. It knew of five fetal deaths linked to essure but other groups looked into more detail and they say they uncovered hundreds more. Essure problems started on facebook. Women joined for a common cause, complaints over the Birth Control devices. The 27,000 women belonging to the group now seeing signs of hope thanks to congressman mike fitzpatrick. Thaw have been ignored by the Healthcare Providers and the manufacturers. And ignored by the f. D. A. In a teleconference today with reporters fitzpatrick called out the f. D. A. For ignoring as many as 303 fetal deaths he said were linked to essure by an independent group using the agency own data. Miscarriages and ebb topic pregnancies and stillborn deaths were reported as malfunction. We are talking more than numbers. 303 unborn children. Who were killed because of the failure of the product. Joce the product long touted as suspect, proven and safe. Its the subject of illegal kickback in unsailed court case in california that claims they gave free equipment to physicians to drum up business for essure. This is a lap why are they not held accountable for the actions essure is made by bayer but they had nothing to do with the court case that was dismissed. We asked for a statement and we didnt get one. When we do we will put it on the web. F. D. A. Tells us they are looking at all the information. The failures are the main reason this device should be pulled. In the newsroom, joce sterman, abc7 news. Michelle we have been looking at essure for months. You can see it online at wjla. Com. Developing right now, Prince Georges County police say the number of confirmed victims in a child porn scandal is now up to carroway was a volunteer at judge Sylvania Woods Elementary School and youth choir director. Police say they are still conducting forensic interviews in the case. Update on a dog electrocuted in northwest washington. At first it was believed to be isolated incident. The dog seized up, slid on a patch of ice and then seemed unable to move. I didnt know what was going on. I thought my dog had broken her legs. If i had just picked her up and moved her from the area she might be alive. Michelle agony for a pet owner. The dog to die but the problem still isnt fixed. She wont let her dog die in vain. She plans to take the dog to the Agriculture Department for autopsy. More coming up at 5 00. Jonathan virginia approved dominion power to release coal ash in the creek. But its now a subject of controversy across party lines as well. Jeff goldberg explains how maryland is now getting involved. Jeff this is where Dominion Resources want to release 215 million gallons of streeted coal ash water. The coal ash water is currently being stored in dominion system point facility in five different ponds. Value water control board has approved the plan to release the water in the creek part of an overall e. P. A. Effort to dispose now the state of maryland is joining prince Williams County in Environmental Group opposing the plan saying it will have negative implications on the environment. The intent for the opponent is to appeal the state permit of virginia. Residents are not happy with the plan. It will be in the fish and then the birds eat it and they will die. Not good. Dominion feels there is information spread about the information saying this will be handled in a safe and environmentally sensitive manner. Hear from them directly at 5 00. Jonathan chesapeake progress online to keep one health of the bay and the water shed that includes several states surrounding our area. Michelle Hillary Clinton campaign is set to start airing ads each ad will run 30 seconds. Next up is the nevada caucuses. Last word there is things are neck and neck. Jonathan coming up for us at abc7 news at 4 00 one of the favorites is eagle cam. We check in with eagle cam to see what happens there. Michelle unlocking the mystery surrounding the San Bernardino attack. Apple is standing firm. Software it refuses to make to allow the f. B. I. To hack a terrorist cell phone. A former School Board Member accused of cheating the system to get taxpayers to buy her child school lunch. That trial is underway. Doug it will get colder around here but you do not want to miss the weekend forecast. Stay with us. A michelle an alleged scheme to take advantage of the lunch programs meant for students who cant afford to bring their own. As a former prince georges trial. Brad bell has the information out of court today. What have you learned . Brad this is a story we broke last spring. We got ahold of the documents and learned of the criminal investigation. The indictment was in august and now the trial has begun. The allegations very simple. Worked for the Government Accountability office and as well as the School System making 90,000. This is a mockup. She ha a form to fill to apply for free lunch for her child. She checked the box yes, she was receiving food stamps according to prosecutors. Left the income line blank and the county approved it. In court today, opening arguments this afternoon. Prosecutors telling the jury monday was ripping off the School System for her own benefit. That she knew what she was doing. Using a voided out food stamp number to win this subsidy at the expense of taxpayers. The allegation is over time she approved 1,300 in lunch fees and therefor she stole that money. We will stay on the story. This trial is going on now. Well come back at 5 00 and tell you what the Defense Attorneys say about this. This is much ado about nothing, and she said that she paid the money back. I will tell you why the judge is rejecting that argument. Jonathan the war on terror and now its a battle brewing or shaping up between the f. B. I. And apple. Michelle it is all San Bernardino attackers phone. Starl starl is here Alison Starling is here. Alison this isnt as simple as unlocking one iphone. If you try to do that too many times it wipes the information right now. Apple is worried to unlock the phone could lead feds down a slippery slope. Apple says the government is requiring them to create to unlock the phone and it could have future ramifications for all americans. This is according to apple ceo tim cook. At the heart of the issue is recovering information from the iphone of one of the bernanke killers. We have one of the killers phones that we have not been able to open. Its been over two months. We are still working on it. Alison the government trying to assess left 14 dead. They have been unable to crack the iphone losed by syed farook. Their concern is that ten unsuccessful attempts to open the phone would cause it to automatically erase key data and make the phone inaccessible. Apple says they dont have the ability to just unlock the one iphone. To offer the assistance that the government needs, they have to literally create a whole new system to backdoor these phones. Apple is saying look, once we create this, it will get out. Then everything we built in terms of protecting privacy is out the door. Michelle legal analysts say this case is not easily resolved. Alison it may be decided at the Supreme Court level. We want you to weigh in on this. This the suspect of the twitter poll. Should apple help here . Vote and leave us a response. We have a look at early voting in a half an hour. Michelle interesting. Thank you. Around the commonwealth now the Virginia Department of transportation will hold a Public Information meeting about plans to extend i95 express lanes. The meeting will be held tonight from 6 verz until 8 verz 6 00 until 8 00 tonight. Part of the proposal calls for extending the express lanes two miles south. Data shows they have already improved the travel times along the stretch. Time for a check of traffic. Jamie sullivan has details. Traffic looks to be at a crawl. Jamie mainly on 95. You are getting a good idea. This is just past the occoquan. The delay is not only here. A little sun l something we have not seen. Lets move to the map to talk about how big the stretch is on 95. You see this moving south. Lets look at the map to talk about how slow. 10 Miles Per Hour is the spot. It will take a tenmile stretch. That is where we are seeing the stopandgo. If you are traveling along the capital beltway we have slowing in the northwest corner. Talk about d. C. A lot of volume for you if you get closer toward the 11th Street Bridge leaving the city. Heading northbound on kennelworth avenue, at pennsylvania avenue the left lane is blocked. Only the right lane is getting by. We are seeing a twomile backup. Gas main breaks closing down 13th northwest between monroe and otis place. That is a look at traffic. Back to you. Jonathan this is one of the favorite part of the afternoon. A live eagle cam of mr. President and the first lady. The couple set up shop at the National Arboretum are waiting on two eggs. I cant tell if that is him or her. They swap out. Its 30 to 35 days is when we expect they will start to hatch. We saw the two now working on theirest ins. We saw them with the eggs. You can watch them, too. We put a live link on the website. H. D. Cam so its beautiful. Go to wjla. Com. Now its time to talk to doug. Doug i love eagles. I love to watch them. We have them where i live. But i have little tiny dogs. So i get nervous. I would rather see the eagles on the camera. Jonathan keep them on a tight leash. Michelle all snow gone from the nest. Doug its all good. Wait until the weekend. Temperatures in the 60s on saturday. Looking live at Chesapeake Beach along the western shore of the chesapeake bay. A little chop on the water. Not much. Its a good day around the region. The temperatures in the 40s locally. Colder north and west. Push of the cold air coming in. Tomorrow many areas may not get out of the 30s. A cold front coming through. Dry and sunny as well. 47 at reagan national. 50 in fredericksburg. 43 in baltimore. 41 in frederick. The forecast tonight is mainly cloudy. Mainly clear, just a few clouds in the area. Temperatures are 20 to 29 degrees out of the northwest at 5 to 10. A chill in the air but nothing major. Satellite images go, lots of clear skies from the area southeast carolina to georgia. We have a cold front to bring us Colder Weather tomorrow and chill in the air on friday. The forecast ahead through tomorrow. In the area, northwesterly winds. Getting in through thursday and friday. A cold front will make a run. We will get in the touches of the warm air in 40s for most spot for friday. We get in the lower 60s on saturday. Cold front comes through sunday and monday. We are back to the ballgame with a possibility of rain or snow. A passing sprinkle. Mild on monday. Tuesday and wednesday we have 30 something. Temperatures are 40 for a high. Does not have the earmarks of a major storm for the area. It is available on the internet and people look at it and not mow what they are looking at. Another major storm coming. Another major storm like that. That is the way i type. Michelle still ahead on the abc7 news at 4 30 the owner of natural gas in a neighborhood. Where sitcomming from and are people in the area at risk . Jonathan first look at part three of the Jennifer Donelan 7 on your side investigation heroin highway. The effects of this these little guys . They represent blood cells. And if you have afib an irregular heartbeat that may put you at five times greater risk of stroke they can pool together in the heart, forming a clot that can break free, and travel upstream to the brain where it can block blood flow and cause a stroke. But if you have afib thats not caused by a heart valve problem, pradaxa was even proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke, in a Clinical Trial without the need for regular blood tests. And, in the rare event of an emergency, pradaxa is the only oral blood thinner other than warfarin with a specific reversal treatment to help your body clot normally again. Pradaxa is not for people who have had a heart valve replacement. Dont stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor. Stopping increases your risk of stroke or blood clots. Ask your doctor if you need to stop pradaxa before any planned medical or dental procedure. Pradaxa can cause serious, and sometimes, fatal bleeding. Dont take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding. And seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. Pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if youre 75 or older, have kidney problems, stomach ulcers, a bleeding condition, or take certain medicines. Side effects with pradaxa can include indigestion, stomach pain, upset or burning. Dont just go with the flow. Go with pradaxa, has a specific reversal treatment. Talk to your doctor about pradaxa today. Jonathan the department is a subject of a City Council Oversight hearing going on all day long. Michelle testifying is the medical director who pulled no punches last week when she stepped down. D. C. Bureau chief sam ford has been in the hearing all day. There seems to be an immunity to grief here. I feel tre young person waits 18 minutes for a transport unit. She was flagged by the counterparts from texas and oklahoma as she told the councilmembers the d. C. Department lacks urgency when it comes to medical. At one point talking how firefighters or e. M. T. On ambulances disappear in hospitals. From the time you get to the hospital and the time you transfer care and go back in to becoming available again, it is almost like they fall in a black hole. We cant find the unit. She wanted to correct a firefighter about a medical call she often time had to go through the battalion chief first. These days 80 of the work in the fire e. M. S. Is e. M. S. And just firefighters run about everything. The new fire chief who is increasingly facing criticism told reporters before the system he just got we came here nine months ago. Trying to get the training we need. The chief talked about ambulances for less critical cases but the doctor said the training is so poor she would question whether the e. M. T. s or paramedics are qualified to determine if a case is cit a or not. Sam ford, abc7 news. Jonathan the 7 on your side heroin highway series drives in virginia tonight. Michelle all week we are focused on a section that begins in baltimore. Nicknamed the heroin highway after explosion of the overdose and the deaths plaguing communities in three neighboring states. Jonathan filing back against Crime ReporterJennifer Donelan joins us. Road to virginia now. Jennifer we will start visiting each state. The number of the the Prescription Drug overdoses in the state are sobering. They are not getting better. Virginia attorney general said he decided to go after the problem with the documentary. Its real virginians with the real story. We are heading to winchester. You will meet the tiniest victims. We have a mothers story of loss. Her 27yearold son keith died of a heroin overdose. The hardest thing is being powerless with the drug and not being able to save your child. That feelingness of the helplessness. That is coming up. Of the series heroin highway and get caught up watching the first two stories online. Jonathan coming up for us. El chapo is known to break out after a prison or two. Now he is complaining about the stint in a mexican prison. The chief complaint well have it for you coming up. Im kevin lewis looking for announcer youre watching abc7 news at 4 00. On your side. Michelle the smell of natural gas is distinct and it can be scary. Jonathan it can. Once you smell it, what happens next. In woodbridge earlier this month a home exploded after a family escaped to safety. The leak had been reported. Michelle some in the neighborhood smell gas there. Kevin lewis is there. What is the latest . They were top. A resident complained about the pervasive smell of the natural gas. She combined a google map. Each marker, 19 in total showed where someone reported an issue. So some are wondering what is the cause . The theory is aging cast iron pipe and the cold Winter Weather created cracks to allow the gas to seek out. So far they say they have not been provided with a clear answer. This morning driving down the hill i had to pause. I opened the window. Gas leak . Yes. This is releasing methane in the air with the Global Warming issue. Washington gas tells abc7 its aware of the issue and while the map shows 19 trouble spots it has only responded to three gas leaks so far this year. Live in bethesda, im kevin lewis, abc7 news. Jonathan thank you. Dog rescue caught on camera. The dog fell through an icy lake. The crews were there in less than ten minutes and pulled the dog out. He was cold but they were able to pull him out to safety. The dog was evaluated by medics and turned over to the owner with no ins. Michelle hopefully the days of all that and friday. Then it warms up dramatically. The closer to february and march it has to be the cold snaps will get colder and colder. Almost there. Cloud cover broke up. At this hour, looking at the temperatures holding in the mid40s in the metro area. A little colder when you work north and west like hagerstown at 37. 37 degrees in cumberland. 39 in martinsburg. 41 in winchester. Do better at fredericksburg at 50. Keeping it chilly at 43. Well tonight is west of down and look at that zone now from strasburg, mid20s. 26 in culpeper. Stafford is 24 by tomorrow inside the beltway. The forecast tomorrow pleasant day. A lot of sunshine throughout. 26 for the average wake up. 36 for midday. 40 in the afternoon. Some areas may be stuck in the upper 30s. Friday we will do better as far as the temperatures go, mid40s. Friday and late in the day a warm front is going thr