weeks apart. at the same jewelry store. are they the same individuals? we compared surveillance videos with the shop owner. the m.o. was too similar, stolen vans. older people. from what we can tell from the video. >> they suspect the band of senior burglars. group of older men believed responsible for string of crimes downtown and the surrounding area is that began december 1 and persist despite one arrest. >> the guy that did the december robbery did this robbery. >> the jewelry store got hit december 13. then this past sunday morning. in both incident the suspect bashes in the front door and races through the shop matching cabinets and loading up on the jewelry. ken is baffled by the bold burglars. >> never seen that. that is not the normal m.o.

the hit stores like this and do that kind of damage. >> he is confident that the good police work will crack the case soon and the suspects will be apprehended before hitting the store again. stephen tschida, abc7 news. larry: thank you. alison: talked about it online for months and now itks like metro board is willing to give them refunds if the trains can't get them to work on time. d.c. bureau chief sam ford covering metro live from the judiciary station to explain. sam? sam: well, it came out at a meeting today of the metro committee on the safety and the service delivery. as a way of assuring the public metro plans to win them back by putting the money where its mouth is if necessary. back on your smart trip card. a committee voted unanimously to accept a plan whereby m

would reimburse the fare of any smart trip rider is the trip was more than 15 minutes late. reaction? >> i think it's a great thing to do. frequently late on metro. >> you like the idea? >> yeah. it sounds great. >> the board members acknowledge the look of te reliability in the past lose riders but insist that is the bad old days. >> at some point we have to say yes. we can deliver what we promise. >> they smell smarttrip with one t. type in smartrip.com and they will refund it if it's more than 15 minute late. >> it's important to get the message out. that the system is performing. >> hopefully you are not 15 minute late. i need to be at wark on time. >> we'll see

at the end of the day, when metro works there is no better way to get around. >> that is metro headquarters there. you may be asking how can a cash strapped metro afford to do this. metro felt it had to do something. there is a metro board meeting in two weeks for the entire metro board. if this passes, as it is believed to pass, the new policy will take effect the very next day. january 26. reporting live from northwest washington, i'm sam ford, abc7 news. alison: thank you. metro stopping about ways to stop attacks on metro bus drivers. today a national peer review panel recommended buses with shields for some drivers on some drivers at some route. barring some riders from the buses altogether. metro called for stronger penalty for people convicted of assaulted drivers. larry: for months the "7 on your side" i-team monitoring

horace holmes has the latest trip as a company recommends you put a modle in park. horace: "7 on your side" was the first to tell you about the problem with the tacoma air bag andford is telling the owners specifically the 2006 models not to drive the vehicles after the death of a motorist driving a ranger truck in west virginia. that accident occurred in july. but ford insists it found out about it a few weeks ago. this was the second death involving a ranger and the 21st worldwide allegedly caused by the tacoma air bag. ford says to park a truck if you own one. contact the local dealership and the mechanic. come out and get the vehicle to fix it now. no charge. the dealer will provide a loaner car wile repairs are made. this affects 2,500 rangers in the united states and canada. alison: thank you very much. tonight two teenagers are recoveringa

school. maryland bureau chief brad bell live in capital heights. a third student is now in custody? brad: that is exactly right. three students were arguing. one pulled out a knife this size. a little blade like the camera man multipurpose tool here. we understand they were arguing over was going out with which girl. police and balances raced to and from central high school today the parents wait for word that the kids are safe. >> just waiting. you don't know. you say okay, nobody called me and somebody said anything. hopefully he is okay. i don't know. i am shaken. >> the police chief arrives that a typical dispute among three boys turned violent. >> in the fight, one of the students was able to produce a s

two students in the fight were wounded. >> they are not life threatening wounds. but it is a serious matter. brad: the boy with the knife actually turned himself in to the school office immediately. the school was put on lockdown. the school system c.e.o. says order was restored quickly and says there is confidence in the security system in place. >> we do not and nor do we have intention of doing now. like metal detectors at every single doors. >> the worried parents were eventually allowed to collect the students. the senior says the lock down was only briefly concerning. >> for us, this kind of stuff, it may not happen. but it's talked about and we hear enough about it every day. >> we should say that the boy with the knife, the aggressor in this fight suffered a slight wound to his hand as well. so three students suffered

two of them were minor. we are told everybody is going to be just fine. in capitol heights, brad bell, abc7 news. nancy: i'm nancy chen at the "live desk" monitoring the deadly mudslides in california. >> oh, my god. mom! they are using anything they can find to find those trapped and could still be alive. 17 are dead and eight others are missing. >> i lived through fires and earthquakes. i have never seen anything like this. this is devastating. >> heavy rains after the devastating wildfires last month are blamed for the latest mud slides. larry: we could have rain tonight but nothing that bad. steve rudin in the weather system. steve: it all quiet right now around the d

and overnight with the scattered showers that will dot radar. temperatures in the mild side. upper 50's to the lower 60's. compared to 24 hours ago at the same time, we are about 15 to 18 degrees milder inside the capital beltway. show you the stormwatch7 satellite and radar. showers around fredericksburg. the showers moving our way this evening. then the cold front late tomorrow night early saturday morning. i will give you the timing on that and what is behind it. quite a cooldown. larry: thanks. in the last hour, students and administrators at howard university sitting down for a meeting about the problems that the cold caused on campus. several pipes burst and that prompted administrators to ask the students to delay return from the winter break and cancel classes this week. alison: deal or no deal on daca? there are conflicting reports about an agreement to stop deportation ofh

brought to the u.s. illegally as children. six senators are working on a bipartisan solution and they have reached a deal that would strengthen the border security. at last check white house has not signed off on any agreement. larry: a controversial surveillance program passed a big hurdle on capitol hill but it doesn't mean the battle is over. scott thuman reports fisa signifies for many a crucial point in the debate over your personal privacy versus the protection from another terror at scott: what you e-mail, say and send may not be as private as you think. revealed the foreign surveillance act. it would have required the spy agencies to get a warrant to see the american side of the conversations. >> when a brother is not followed alarm bells should go off. scott: this san alarm

>> absolutely. scott: mark spent years pursuing evidence that shows law enforcement doesn't always follow privacy rules. they describe how the process is not followed. that is significant. >> the reauthorization without the added layer of the protection. >> put the privacy of americans all across the country at risk. scott: but adding more layers some say it would take away the ability of the f.b.i. and other agencies to protect against attacks. >> back then after 9/11 i wouldn't have thought it would be this long before another attack. the reason is the military and the diplomatic corps have the tools they need. >> pass knowledge the senate may be tougher in light of the instances of the government intrusion. like the i.r.s. in 2013 tar getting

political beliefs or president trump claiming his own campaign was illegally monitored. >> it's important it's done right. it's important where a warrant is necessary a warrant be applied. >> in word when the senate might vote on the fisa renewal but we heard from rand paul who says he will filibuster anything similar to the house version unless an amendment is added. that would also clued another layer of personal privacy protection for americans. live on capitol hill, scott thuman, abc7 news. alison: thank you. the trump administration is allowing state to require those on medicaid to work in receive health benefits. the administration says only able-bodied adults will be impacted by this. children, pregnant women, elderly and the disabled will be exempt. ten states submitted proposal for the work requirement for department of health and human services. larry: president trump will have the first

commander-in-chief tomorrow. exam takes place at walter reed and the white house says the results will be made public. alison: still to come at 5:00, wal-mart is raising wages but the parent company is cutting back. we'll explain. >> montgomery county creating a dating profile of sorts. details still ahead. >> i'm hoping that you choose to speak out after seeing what happened to me and you don't let it become intimidation to you. larry: plus, a teacher arrested on camera speaks out about what happened. >> then later how hurricane harvey prompted one man to start helping in that and half a dozen other disasters

alison: you have likely heard 2,000 jobs will vanish from silver springs when discovery communications moves the headquarters to new york city. montgomery county putting itself back on the market in hopes to find a long-term commitment. kevin lewis is live in silver spring with the search for a match. it sounds like they need a dating app, kevin. kevin: match.com could help out. economic officials joke this is

i'm told montgomery county is already in talks with two undisclosed tech companies to make for perfect fit at discovery. >> this was news to me as much as other people. >> david was hired to bring jobs to montgomery county. his newest priority filling the discovery building which can house 2,500 people along ten floors of class "a" real estate. >> technology or media company of sorts. would be a fit there. >> this isn't a time to cry and wonder what went wrong. this is the opportunity for something new. >> the council candidate neil greenburger suggest the officials try to woo the f.b.i. which has looked in prince george's and fairfax county for the new headquarters. >> the f.b.i. is an organization trying to get leaner, younger, attract new people. what better idea to be in

urban location of emerging silver spring. >> i'm excited. the job is play match maker. >> the pitch to corporations worldwide includes intelligent workforce, strong schools and proximity to the federal government, transit and new york city. >> make the proposition to many people across the united states and across the world. showed them that silver spring is a great place to do business. >> montgomery county officials plan to tour the discovery building in the coming weeks to get a better sense of the layout. discovery says it will have left town by mid-2019. live in silver spring, i'm kevin lewis, abc7 news. alison: fire and ice. larry: a ice hotel in quebec city closed after a fire broke out when a candle fell to the guest sleeping bag. the hotel made of ice. so the flames didn't spread quickly but still the place is full o

alison: yeah. all around, really. steve: curious. i don't know. alison: stay in an ice hotel? steve: it would be cool. alison: good one. larry: he waited all day for that. steve: all day long. by the watergate they have a restaurant to eat in the igloos. they are plastic, though. but it's cool. on a cold night. anyway. get going here. enough about that. look at the fog over rehoboth beach, delaware. the reason why they have that with the warmer temperatures and the snow that is still on the ground. it's hard to believe last week, week and a half ago theyed a blizzard where -- they had a blizzard that dumped 14 inches of snow on the ground. if you are out and about, grab a bite to eat, shopping or take a walk. it's nice out there. mild for the time being. 61 in leesburg.

the chilly water of the bay. 43 in annapolis. wide the view out to show what is going on. guess where the cold front is located. center of the country. chicago, you are on the eastern side of it. temperatures in the lower 50's. minneapolis at 8 degrees. bismarck is 1 below zero. this is the cold air that is going to slowly advance the way in the next 24 to 36 hours. cold front arrives here late tomorrow night and early, early saturday morning. the moisture, the wet weather and the snow. west of us now and this will move our way and in advance of it, looking at the winter weather advisories for west virginia and ohio. winter storm warnings tomorrow in the day on saturday for pittsburgh area. if your travel plans take you to the north and west, you are likely to run in delays. if you are traveling through memphis or nashville or st. louis. expect the winter weather delays in the next 24 to 36 hours. satellite and rada

scattered showers south and west of the d.c. metro area. showers will become more widespread moving through the evening. if you are going for a walk, grab a bite to eat. grab an umbrella heading out the door. no need to layer up. temperatures tonight are 50 to 55 degrees. future cast is moving through the day tomorrow and in the day on saturday. notice showers will continue throughout the midday hours. good day to keep umbrella handy. indoor recess for most if not all the kids come tomorrow afternoon. once we get it out of here it will open the flood gates to the colder air. take a look at what it will feel like. this is the future cast for the feels like temperature and the wind chill, middle 60's to 60 tomorrow night. then the colder air will move on in. midnight tomorrow night to early saturday morning. take a look at how cold it will feel at 7:00 in the morning on saturday. just around 35 degrees in the district. in the 20's to the northwest of us. the winds will kick up more. then the cold

like temperatures by 12:00 noon on saturday to the upper teens and the lower 20's. the seven-day outlook from stormwatch7. once we get through the weekend, we have martin luther king jr. day on monday. it will be cold. on the windy side. the temperatures near freezing. we stay in 30's for most of next week. so i hope you had a chance to enjoy the nice weather today. mild temperatures tomorrow. it's a shock to the system tomorrow compared to 12:00 noon on saturday. not with the air temperature but the wind chill factor in the upper teens and the lower 20's. alison: today was nice. like spring. steve: yeah. larry: bottle it and hold on to it. alison: still to come, plans for women to give themselves the annual exams without visiting a doctor are raising eyebrows tonight. larry: plus, a surprise visit from a visit of the washington

capitals. local youth hockey team has renewed hope. >> a look at what is c

nancy: i'm nancy chen with breaking news from "washington post." sources saying in an oval office meeting president trump said, "why are we having all the people from expletive countries come here?" this was apparently in a meeting talking abou

immigrants from haiti, el salvador and other countries in africa. the "post" reports the president went on to say we should be bringing more countries from people like norway. a white house spokesperson declined immediate comment for the "post" but expect more in the hours ahead. i'm nancy chen. >> ♪ we are going to build a nation ♪ ♪ that don't torture no one larry: 16 years ago today the first detainees arrived at guantanamo bay in cuba. this afternoon dozens of people gathering outside the white house calling for the closure of the military prison. this week 11 inmates filed a petition in federal court in d.c. challenging the detention. >> by silencing my voice they have taken away, tried to take away my first amendment right. to seek and i'm appalled at this. you should be too. alison: the teacher handcuffed and arrested at

board meeting speaking out after questioning the superintendent about a pay raise. elizabeth hur reports that the superintendent is making himself heard as well. elizabeth: this video of the middle school teacher being handcuffed and arrested at a school board meeting has been seen around the world. now hargrave after a visit to jail is telling supporters to keep fighting for what is fair. >> i'm appalled at this. you should be too. >> the outrage stemming from an incident on monday beginning with hargraving questioning why the superintendent was getting a pay raise of $30,000. the teacher's union says they haven't seen a raise in nearly a decade. >> i feel like it's a slap in the face. there is any other support staff we have there. the board explaining this is a time for public comment only asked harbrave to leave. she did but for some reason hargrave was arrested i

>> she is the one that made the choices that got her arrested. elizabeth: the school board defending the arrest is getting death threats. >> there have been direct threats. you will die. people in your district will die. >> the superintendent calls the situation unfortunate. >> what happened at that meeting should not have happened. should not. elizabeth: after watching the video the city attorney and the prosecutors say they won't prep charges against the teacher noting the officer who made the arrest working for school district. not the city. in new york, i'm elizabeth hur for abc7 news. larry: coming up at 5:00, when so many feel helpless. what one man is doing after the hurricanes and the fires last year. >> mclean makes a specialist at number three and it's sponsored by the u.s. government. what is all about? we'll explain in a report coming up. >> but first, a patient outside in the cold. what hospital o

alison: in the last hour the university of maryland medical center responding to the video. you see what appears to be security guards wheeling a patient who is disoriented out to the sidewalk and leaving this woman

right on the curb. keith daniels is live with the new developments on the story. keith? keith: alison, the hospital is addressing what happened here tonight. now dr. mohan, the president and the c.e.o. of the university of maryland medical center. he began his comments with an apology to the woman left in the streets. left in the streets behind me. at the bus stop down the block. he began with an apology to her and her family. he says there is an investigation underway now to get to the bottom of what happened here. he spoke to a packed room of reporters in the hour. my first question to him who thought of a good idea, what employee thought it a good idea to leave this woman dressed in only a gown barefoot in the cold? he said this. >> we are going through, the

employees. everyone involved in the care of this patient to understand where it is that the decision point was made to allow that to occur. i want to be clear that we do not believe what occurred tuesday night in any way defines who we are as an organization. keith: he also said he is looking for the man who shot that video. he says he wants to thank that man. looking for him. an able to find him. we did find him. we spoke to him and he said this. >> for a moment there i didn't see anything strange. then the wind blew. and her hospital gown rose and i saw all of her glory and i realized something was wrong. >> well, the other big question here tonight is what is going to happen to

security guards or any other employee who was involved in the decision to leave the woman on the street. that simply a question he cannot answer tonight because the investigation is ongoing. live in baltimore, back to you in the studio. alison: keep us posted. thank you. a day in general assembly session maryland house of delegates voted to override the veto of hogan's sick leave. no word when the senate could vote but it's expected to be close. larry: thousands of people losing their jobs as wal-mart is closing 63 sam's club stores nationwide. a store in baltimore shut down and it doesn't look like there were any d.c. area stores closing. some employees only learned of the move when they show up for work today. the company says they are closing the store because they are not generating enough sales. alison: the move comes the same day that wal-mart announced it's

starting pay and giving $1,000 bonuses to employees. starting next month a million hires will earn $11 an hour. they are expanding parental leave benefit and will offer the new benefit to adoptive parents. they allows it to make the changes. larry: one of my favorite stories of the day. but now most of you have taken the christmas tree to the curb. but a woman had another idea. she decided to return the dead tree to the costco where she bought it. the man behind her documented in a facebook post saying she took the tree back in santa clarita, california and wanted to return it because it was dead. this took place on january 4. he says costco did let her return it and gave her a refund. so far costco is not commenting on what happened. alison: give her a little credit for being gutsy and giving it a try? larry: make them say no. as a kid i

i saw pair of six-week-old tennis shoes, worn, torn up and the manager said give her a refund. i could not believe her. >> did they say they didn't fit? larry: these don't fit. sure they don't. they're barely shoes anymore. give it a try. make them tell you no. alison: you never know. mclean, virginia, on an elite new list. it has the third highest average household income in the country. richard reeve says residents were surprised the community didn't rank higher given the number of the d.c. power players who live there. mclean, virginia, home of the megamansions, fancy cars and generallous incomes. >> there are some super rich. i don't know them. >> d.c. power players like dick cheney, colin powell live or lived here. and bradley beal and alex ovechkin call

ups store. i thought he was high up there. >> so perhaps no surprise the u.s. census bureau says mclean has the third highest median income household in the country. university park, texas, outside of dallas is number two. then mclean with the average income of $190,258. despite the megamansions and the luxury cars, a lot of folks are surprised that mclean is number three. >> i don't see any ostentatiousness. you are right. it looks like a real place. >> if you are wondering the average home value here is $982,900. >> it sounds about right. where it needs to be. maybe a little more. >> that is janet. she works in the food industry and she is also a real estate agent. >> this is a nice area. you have bad and good

>> maybe number three in the scheme of things is a good place to be after all. in mclean, richard reeve, abc7 news. alison: all right. still ahead at 5:00, around attack. look at this video. what was happening. we'll let you know. >> a major milestone in construction of a new basketball arena in southeast washington. i'm mike carter-conneen with

steve: all right. moving through the everything hours. if you are outside, gran an umbrella. temperatures slowly fall to the 50's with the mild everything ahead. falling temperatures are early saturday morning. in the 30's. only around freezing on summed. coming up we will look at the seve

larry: all aboard to elvis express. hundreds of elvis fans boarding two trains to attend the annual elvis festival in australia. the event in the 26th year. this year's theme honored his 1968 comeback special. thank you very much. alison: thank you very much. a rare baby entering the bu

park zoo. take a look at this baby a -- orangutan. a little girl. fewer than 100 of the endangered species in north america to make at it significant moment to help them thrive. oh, boy. larry: this is when the reporter becomes the story. the bbc correspondent trying to do a piece on the british zoo animal count when he was mauled by a group of lemurs. he tried to distract them and finally he did taping with several on his shoulders and tell bows. -- the elbows. alison: gave up. >> and now from the -- ow! [laughter] alison: put it on the resume tape. larry: absolutely! alison: all right. still to come here at 5:00. >> i'm like oh, my

>> not only made her day, he brought smiles to an entire new hockey team. how he is helping them get back on the ice coming up. >> a virginia man is headed back to puerto rico to offer helm. he has traveled all over responding to disasters.

alison: all that devastation after hurricane harvey left many wondering what they could do to help. a man stepped up to volunteer and months later the help for harvey turned into volunteering at more than six disasters. amy aubert spoke to him about heading back to puerto rico for a third time. amy: when it comes to packing for trips to help with disasters, they know the drill. >> i enjoy going out on these things. amy: he deployed in early december to help with hurricane harvey. >> i enjoy coming back. >> and one disaster led to another. >> i started out harvey at the national capital region and went to puerto rico. then to

i was in puerto rico when irma hit. then i was back at puerto rico when maria hit. i stayed there a few weeks. i got home. seven days later i got deployed to northern california for the fire. >> the red cross volunteer spends more than two months away from home. flying from one relief effort to the next. >> it seems like somebody got mother nature mad. >> the retired director of technology using the expertise on aal volunteer basis with -- on a volunteer basis with the red cross. >> he is giving back again. aiming to head to puerto rico in the next few days. >> a lot of computer, and other communication equipment out. it's a matter of trying to find it to get back. >> he gears up for the next trip, the california native can't help to think of a recent disaster. the mudslides. >> i don't know what i want to spend time going

opportunity. probably made me cry. >> amy aubert, abc7 news. larry: remember the film "independence day" when the alien spaceship descended on earth? that is how many describe the cloud formation over sydney. it looks like it. but don't worry, aliens didn't obliterate the metropolis. a community shelf cloud that accompanied a strong line of thunderstorms. alison: a neat picture. steve is here now with one of our favorite segments. lunch box weather. steve: you'll like the question. 100% of the time you will guess the answer. >> 100% of the time? are you right all the time? steve: you got it. alison: really? [laughter] steve: molly visited elementary school in leesburg for lunchbox program. no

abc7 kid cam. molly talked about the local weather pattern the severe storms and the winter weather and gave them an indepth look for the instruments on stormwatch7. we had a great weather question. here it is from ella. >> hi name is ella. i'm a fourth grader at elementary school. my question is what percent of the time do meteorologists predict the weather correctly? steve: my mother would say 100% of the time correctly and my father. we are right more than people give us credit for. technology changed so much with the computers. i think the biggest problem when people believe they aren't getting the right forecast they are not listening close enough to the specific area that we are referencing. so if we say a lot of snow, they only hear their city though it may not be their city we are talking about. a lot of snow in the mountains is different than no snow at all in the district.

we are right more than wrong. i would give us a high ranking. especially on abc7. we are not here to hype on anything. just here to give us the facts to how to dress and prepare for the day. go at it. alison: be safe. larry: i would agree. alison: i think you are right 100% of the time. steve: thank you. larry: she is not your mom. steve: all right. time for a few weather graphics? there we go. not a lot of movement in the evening hours. the temperatures will fall if you want to call it that. or won't fall from feels like in middle 50's moving through the everything hours. take a look at the future cast for you to give us a good idea when we expect showers to arrive in the area as we move through the next 36 hours. so by 10:00 tonight to the west of us. we may see heavier downpours around frederick. the main event is tomorrow. head out the door, it's not going to forget umbrella and the rain gear.

dress comfortably. mild day with the highs for the middle to the upper 60's. heavier rain and indoor recess to the 12:00 noon hour. main event is the cold front late tomorrow night to bring us warmer temperatures moving in the day on saturday. there you have it. alison: thank you. all right. new tonight at 11:00. a rude surprise at an elementary school cafeteria in northern virginia when a kindergartener tasted milk he said put his throat on fire. >> i was shocked. because when you send your kid to school you don't expect when the school gives them milk it is anything other than milk. alison: well, the boy's school promptly pulled all the milk products there. the tests came back positive for a fluid that should not have been in the milk carton. so tonight at 11:00, "7 on your side" investigates what the dairy said happen and what the s

the students. larry: so when it's time for the doctor's visit would you skip it in favor of a do it yourself pap smear? the f.d.a. is weighing the possibility of the at-home pap smears that would cost less than $100 and a big step to make sure every woman is getting the screening she needs. >> what you do is you start handing them out. women will tell women i used this, it was easy. i did it at home. i didn't go to the doctor. all the reasons they don't go are eliminated. >> once you take the test at home you send your culture to a lab for testing. the f.d.a. held a workshop to discuss approving the tests. so far no word if or when they could be regulated. i could see that. people can't afford it, can't get to a doctor. alison: if it's between not doing a test at all or doing that, better to do that. erin has a fun story. e

prince george's county, they have been playing without a home ice rink and the proper equipment after a fire damaged everything last january. capitals defenseman heard about this story and he did everything he could to help. >> a day the members of the tucker road hockey organization will never forget. >> i think it's nice for them to donate it. >> the capital defenseman heard the tucker road ice rink was force to shut down and all of their equipment was lost. after two-alarm fire last year. >> we just felt bad for the situation they were in. especially for the organization doing good things for the kids. couldn't afford ice time or the equipment. >> michelle robinson is the vice president of tucker road and runs the

>> it can't be. i'm all on facebook. it can't be. it's a prank. my god. it really is orpick. i said thank you so much for liking the page. he responds back, oh my god. it's orpick. >> the long story short he reached to do something to help the program. >> that is when orpick reached out to the nlrb player association goals and dreams fund. >> it seems like it took longer than it needed to. >> cool to see them come together. >> to think that someone of his stature would come to talk to the players association and have them come all the way from canada donate equipment to the program to make sure the program continues. long after my son is age out, this is huge. >> they were so grateful. the players were grateful, the parents are grateful. they hope to be back at the home ice rink soon. next year.

sirture. he is so humble that you wouldn't know it. because he is not a big talker. big gesture there. alison: still to come, the wizards are also getting a new home. see how this is getting hey! yeah!? i switched to geico and got more! more savings on car insurance!? they helped with homeowners, too! ok! plus motorcycle, boat and rv insurance! geico's got you covered! like a blanket! houston? you seeing this? geico. expect great savings and a whole lot more.

larry: construction of a new basketball court reached a milestone. alison: they celebrated the topping off of the structure meaning it's reached the final construction height. >> we are betting big-time on ward eight and everybody else will follow. congratulations, everybody. >> d.c. mayor muriel bowser and construction workers signed the support beam for the future home of the washington mystics. it's also used by a g-legal team called go-go. it will only hold 4200 seats but instead of using a mostly

empty capital one arena, the coach believes this will improve the performance since it's dedicated to the team. >> now we sell out every night. it's intimidating. there is an atmosphere and an aura that your team feels every night when they walk in. >> events d.c. will operate the arena. >> we have concerts and community events as well. we see great diversity for the arena. >> some raise question if the project, mostly taxpayer money is a good investment. others said it will only result in gentrification. but supporters say the arena will be a catalyst. >> we have a great community. >> we would like to see the healthcare improved here. we would like to see food and the restaurants and the food trucks and the grocery stores. >> the construction team says the work is on schedule and the facility is set to open in the fall.

carter-conneen, abc7 news. larry: very nice. thank you for joining us at 5:00. alison: "abc7 news at 6:00" starts now with breaking news. announcer: from abc7 news, this is a breaking news alert. michelle: as we come on the air word of the president using foul language to describe people fleeing to the united states. nancy: we are tracking this from the "live desk." tim? tim: the "associated press" writing that sources said in an oval office meeting president trump questioning why people from, "expletive countries" would come here. this was during a meeting talking about restoring protections for immigrants from haiti, el salvador and african countries. the "washington post" reports the president went on to say we should instead be bringing more people from people like norway. the white house spokesperson declined an immediate comment to the "post." expect more on the story in the coming hours ahead. i'm tim brant at the "live desk" -- tim barber at the "live desk." michelle: more breaking n

apartment fire. these are live pictures from ellicott city. we are told three buildings are burning there. and that 45-mile-per-hour winds are complicating the firefight there. apartment workers were apparently able to evacuate everyone. >> the i-team is breaking news about more potential grade inflation in d.c. schools. >> since the item broke the story of the grade tampering at ballou high school, the d.c. leaders said they believe other schools may have similar problems. and now we have evidence that shows they were right. >> i-team investigator nathan baca is revealing about what we are learning about faking the grade at the columbia heights education campus. >> the test scores rose but we have attendance and the records that show a different story. >> whene