Jackson is staying, the occupants of the apartment called police on us and said we were suspicious people. Police came back, realized we were with channel 7 and said everything was fine. Indianapolis colts tell us theyre aware of the arrest but had no further comment. No comment from jackson. Reporting live im jennifer donaldon, back to you in studio. All right. Thanks, jen. Uhhuh. Temperatures topped the 50degree mark outside today but dont get used to it. Yeah nice and pleasant out there. Chief meteorologist doug hill in the stormwatch 7 Weather Center with a look, of course of the changes headed our way. Hi, doug. Hi there. We should be used to this roller coaster pattern weve had. Warmer colder warmer colder. Were in the warmer phase. 53 right now outside of the belfort furniture center. Live look at Bell Haven Country Club in alexandria. Gorgeous afternoon. Somebody on the golf path there, on the cart path. Beautiful day to golf with temperatures in the 50s. 53 at dulles. 58 degrees at fredricksburg right now. 53 officially at Reagan National and the temperatures outside right now ranging from 15 to 20 degrees warmer than they were at this time yesterday. This time tomorrow theyll be 15 to 20 degrees colder than they are right now. Through the evening, well stay in the 40s with clear skies and more clouds late tonight and in the overnight hours, temperatures by morning near the freezing mark and tomorrow mornings weather dictated by a cold front. Windy and colder. Snow flurries and snow showers all possible here after a day in the mid to upper 50s. Ill see you in the studio in a few minutes. You got it. Today marylands newly elected governor outlin he plans to carry through on some of his campaign promises. Brad bell joins us live from annapolis with more on governor larry hogans first state of the state address. Hey, brad. Hey, leon. You know, larry hogan said basically one thing for the entire duration of this campaign. That taxes in maryland are too high and he was going to do something about it. So today, when he walked into the maryland House Chamber to address a joint session of the house and senate, he did lay out his very first priorities for the legislature and they do include several tax cuts. For instance he doesnt think that retired military and police and fire should have to pay income tax on their pensions so hes going to put in a bill that would make that happen. But he also paints a very bleak picture of what he calls the current state of the state. Marylands antibusiness attitude combined with our onerous tax and regulatory policies have rendered our state unable to compete with any of the states in our region. Its the reason that businesses jobs and taxpayers have been fleeing our state at an alarming rate. Well very interesting dynamic in the chamber today. He was greeted warmly but then, the democrats who dominate the Legislature Sat stone faced while republicans got up and applauded most of what the governor had to say and then afterwards, well the gloves were off. Just listen to what the Senate President had to say about the speech. It was politics at its very worst and the governor is still in a campaign mood. Hes still campaigning. You know he crossed the idea that the governor is in the toilet. Thats something we heard as well to the speaker of the house. Its easy to toss out Campaign Rhetoric but hard to govern. Were still picking through this and laying out all the details of the various tax cuts. Well have more on that coming up at 6 00 as well some more of harsh reaction here in annapolis annapoli at the statehouse, brad bell, abc 7 news. See you soon. Thank you. Meanwhile in Prince William county, a bleak budget forecast has the board of education considering cutting programs and increasing class sizes. Northern Virginia Bureau chief Jeff Goldberg is live in manassas where that board will Start Talking about bridging the gap in a few hours. Jeff . Thats right, alison. Its 7 00 tonight, this room will likely be filled with people talking about the budget. Heres the situation. Prince William County schools looking at the possibility of having to cut 11 million from its budget. That could mean lower teacher pay, want increasing teacher pay. Not decreasing class sizes. Also, cutting some bussing. A big topic getting a lot of discussion. The possibility of cutting all day kinkeddergartenkindergarten. Parents arent happy about that possibility. Some in the board of supervisors saying this situation is not as bad as it sounds. Well hear from some parents about what their thoughts are on the possibility of these cuts. Hear what the board of supervisors has to say about how bleak the outlook actually is. And also, very interestingly, going to hear from some students about just how tough it is to learn and for teachers in those big class sizes and why they firmly believe that that should remain a priority. Until then live in manassas, Jeff Goldberg abc 7 news. All right, we move now to d. C. Because the d. C. Considering a bill that would make it illegal for preschoolers to be suspended from school. Councilman david gross introduced the bill after a report last year found that 181 prek students were suspended in the district in the 20122013 school year. He cant think of a single reason why 3 or 4yearolds should be kept out of school. All 10 of his colleagues on the council have signed on as cosponsors of that bill. So our question of the day is asking what do you think of suspending preschoolers . Go to the wjla Facebook Page and let us know what you think and well share some of your responses a little bit later in this hour. And also the preschool suspensions bill wasnt the only one before the d. C. Council today. Coming up at 4 40 mike conneen will take a look at the plan to let people die with dignity. Leon . Alison six people are dead and at least a dozen others are hurt after a deadly crash just north of new york city. Now, investigators are trying to piece together exactly what led to that crash between a commuter train and s. U. V. Yesterday. Heres the latest. A first look at the wreckage for federal investigators now on the ground. Their task collecting and documenting evidence from a fiery crash that killed six people. Car fire at the front of the train. We got one possibly trapped in the train. Possibly alive. I got a d. O. A. In the train as well. Trying to extricate everybody down now. Nearly 700 passengers were on the metro norths commuter train when it struck an s. U. V. Stuck on the tracks just north of new york city. There was a very loud jarring, you know, boom and jolt that got me out of my seat. The impact pushing the vehicle at least eight car lengths, sparking this massive fire. I saw people falling over each other as somebody fell on me. As that happened i saw chaos and flames which was about a foot from my face. So far, investigators have located and secured the trains event recorders hoping to learn the trains speed and if its brakes and horn worked properly. Our sole purpose for being here is find out what happened so we can offer recommendations to hopefully keep this from happening again. As for the injured victims, doctors say that at least 12 people were taken to the hospital and they were treated for various injuries and one of them remains in critical condition. Reporting from new york im Elizabeth Hur for abc 7 news. The National Transportation safety board will be holding an investigative hearing to discuss the metro smoke incident. That hearing will take place june 23rd and 24th at ntsbs boardroom and Conference Center in southwest washington. Theyll be focusing on the Ongoing Investigation into the january 12th incident at the Lenfant Plaza tunnel that led to the death of an alexandria woman. Worldwide anger is growing tonight after that execution of a jordanian pilot. Some say it will ramp up the fight against the group isil. Senior political reporter scott thuman with more at the live desk on how that might happen. It goes without saying all these executions that weve seen are beyond reproach. Its the manner of this one. Burning the pilot alive and videotaping it that have countries across the world calling for revenge on the islamic state. There is the most grief out of jordan over the 26yearold lieutenant who was captured when his fighter jet crashed in syria last december during an air strike. Massive prayers followed his death. So though did the immediate execution of two convicted terrorists who were in prison in jordan. They were hanged including a woman who isil was trying to free via a prisoner swap. Immediately after, jordans leaders vowed an earth shaking reaction and said there are no more bullets. Other countries, saudi arabia denouncing the execution as saying it crossed the line. This morning, senator john mccain stressed the need for more u. S. Resources in this fight. More american boots on the ground. Not massive american troops. But air controllers, intelligence, special forces and others that have been recommended by military experts. Is it likely that everyone will be contributing more at this period of time including the u. S. . Well we certainly would welcome additional contributions from other countries. And were going to continue to work to make sure that this wide variety of efforts is carefully integrated. The very latest out of the white house. Josh earnest addressing the fact that the other middle eastern allies are at least now implying theyll take a harsher stance in this fight. At least one had scaled back its role. Well tell you who and why that matters coming up on abc 7 news at 6 00 tonight. Leon . Ok scott. We want to invite you folks at home to take part in a town hall meeting on the escalating Terror Threat were seeing every single night. Your voice, your future the fight for freedom airs live monday night at 7 00 on our sister station on newschannel 8. Our panel of experts will be looking at the impact that terror groups has on our everyday lives islam and what action our government should be taking to protect all americans. Go to wjla. Com town hall to apply to be in the audience with us. Now, this afternoon, 7 is on your side to express utility futility. Well take a look at pepco and Washington Gas in this hour. Forget making it rain. Monopoly is making it real. Well tell you how. Plus more support for the purple line as marylands governor mulls over the proposals future. The d. C. Councils transportation chair called for a major discussion on the future of d. C. s Streetcar Program before going any further. Im sam ford. That story is next. First, just unbelievable video of a plane crash in taiwan. Well have the latest on a recovery coming up next. Were back now with this. A look at some really unbelievable footage out of taiwan. At least 26 people were confirmed dead after Transasia Airways flight 235 right there banked sharply right after takeoff. Amazing. It clipped a highway bridge and then fell into the river. 58 people were on board. 15 people were rescued alive. Crews have pulled the fuselage out of the water but they say theyre just now starting that investigation into the crash. Thats absolutely amazing. Terrifying, too. I cant imagine. Absolutely. Were into february of course and d. C. Department of transportation still isnt saying when the citys streetcar line will open. Now, service was supposed to start along h street by the end of last year but now theres a call to make some major changes. D. C. Bureau chief sam ford is in northeast. Sam . Yes, leon the word out of the Council Hearing today was that the system has been at best haphazard. The head of ddot said d. C. Bought a few train cars and tried to build a system around it. Then there was the overhead wires. For years, they prohibited overhead wires in central d. C. Until the council made one exception for streetcar wires on eighth street. A lot of people dont like the wires and that was many of the subjects of the Council Roundtable today on streetcars. Back in the 1960s d. C. Had streetcars that somehow operated on underground power. But the experts told Council Member mary shea that the technology is not yet for the streetcars that d. C. Has now but some day will be available. Shea said the issue is one of many problems with the streetcar system that needs a lot more planning before it goes any further. What are we really going to do and how are we going to get there . So i would hope that in the near term, that the council and the mayor can get together and make some determinations along those lines and the whole idea of how are you going to move the streetcar becomes a subsidiary question to the larger issue. She said shes been extremely frustrated by all the delays and the streetcar actually working it. Reminded her of the cartoon peanuts that every time that lucy would put the football out for linas to kick, she would pull it back. Thats been the system here. Reporting live from northeast washington, sam ford, abc 7 news. Business leaders are joining officials from montgomery and Prince Georges County to support the proposed purple line. The 16 mile long light rail line would run from bethesda to New Carrollton. In a meeting in college park this morning, supporters said its just not about transit, they said the line would bring 6300 jobs just during the fiveyear construction phase and some 27,000 jobs after that. The purple line is gold to the state of maryland. The purple line will enhance your ability to achieve the jobs growth that are necessary for the state of maryland. The executives at todays meeting said they need to rally together to show Maryland Governor larry hogan that the purple line is a good economic decision. Hogan has said he wants to review the plan before giving it the greenlight. All right. Lets get a check on traffic right now and see how things are moving with bob emler in the traffic center. Hi bob. Hi there, alison. In manassas theres a truck fire on westbound 66 just before 234 Prince William parkway squeezing by to the left. And then on 28 south, long delays from lee highway getting past the crash at yorkshire lane in Manassas Park where all lanes are stopped for the moment and Old Centreville road is hung up badly as a result. Lets look at pictures of 95 south, going to slow down a bit here as you move down towards over the occoquan. Here on 295 brief volume delays. 395 headed south at the pentagon slows a bit to landmark and inner loop through bethesda and Silver Spring heavy and slow but the lanes are open. Im bob emler, wtop. I wish we could have a few more days like this. Soak up the sun and be outside alta little bit more. You know what this winter is all about, it teases us for one day and then boom, the falls. We saw in bobs live picture of the traffic out there, lots of sunshine. Temperatures in the 50s. Lets get you started with a map of temperatures around the area. No surprise the farther south and southwest you are from washington, the warmer the temperatures are. 58 degrees right now in fredricksburg, you look at quantico, this is 45. Thats weird. Not really. See the big bend in the potomac . The winds are blowing across the cold water of the Potomac River so where the weather sensor is at quantico, the air temperature is a lot warmer. Warm air hasnt penetrated in the far northern suburbs yet. We have a few high clouds around. More clouds will be increasing tonight. This is another cold front. We can tell by the cloud cover, temperatures falling behind and a little bit of moisture not a whole lot with this one. As we get through tomorrow morning, its certainly possible we can have a few snow showers or snow flurries with the trunk passing through. Behind the cold front, it will get a lot colder. Temperatures on our side of the front are very mild. Still chilly to the north but on the other side of the cold front, temperatures are falling. 27 in detroit right now. 18 degrees in chicago. And the difference is pretty noticeable on this chart. This shows how many more degrees warmer than it was this time yesterday and how much colder it is than this time yesterday. And the colder temperatures obviously coming our way. Thats what were going to see the advancement of cold front and snow showers and flurries in the morning. Gusty breezes and falling temperatures through the afternoon. Sunshine cold weather for friday. Warmer temperatures saturday. And then sunday, lets talk about that in the seven day. Here we go for the express. Snow showers and flurries, 32 in the morning. Remain at 35 briefly and then temperatures falling in the afternoon. Wind chills probably in the teens by this time tomorrow. As we look into the weekend, clouds roll back in on late saturday. It will be warmer in the 40s but then sunday and monday cloudy. Looks like a chance of rain developing sunday night with another cold front in the storm system and a chance that the rain could change to snow on areas on monday before it ends. We have to wait and see. Thank you. Coming up here on abc 7 news at 4 00, where you can see some of rosa parks letters. Writing notes and photographs for the first time. And then a little later, the president meets with some dreamers to help make their dreams come true. Im Horace Holmes here in the 7 on your Side Help Center. Well talk with several of the panels experts to answer your questions and concerns about Utility Companies, water gas electric. Anything from billing to service. Ill give you some details on that coming up breaking news right now from d. C. Where a stabbing happened at or near the Center Street metro station. Were being told that one person is being questioned. No word on the victims condition at this point. But metro riders can expect 20 to 30 minute delays on the orange, blue and silver lines because of this incident. Well have a crew on the scene there in a moment. And well have more details as soon as they get there. So stay tuned right here. Now, gas water, electricity, we all have to deal with the Utility Companies to keep things up and running in our lives every day. Tonight, 7 on your side to help us with utility futility. When you feel like you cant get the help you need Horace Holmes in our 7 on your Side Help Center with one example. Hi horace. Hi, alison leon. We received so many calls and emails over the past few weeks from viewers who are struggling to stay on top of their utility bills and especially difficult this time of year when theres such a demand to keep your home warm. Thats exactly what john and doris mingle are experiencing right now. John and doris mingo have lived in their two bedroom Capital Heights home for 27 years. 27 years paying mortgage notes, and electric and gas bills. Gone up up up. The past two years, they say theyve struggled staying on top of their gas bill. A bill that usually costs them on average under 100 a month. But last winter it doubled. A look at their past bill shows how an expected spike in gas usage during the cold months spiralled their bills almost out of control. Manageable bills doubled in the winter but it was even higher than they expected. Couple that with the fact that their furnace went out on the coldest day of the year last year and they had to come up with 3,000 for a new one. On a fixed income they werent able to keep up. Now, they are dealing with trying to trim down a bill that with past due balances and late fees has climbed recently to nearly 1,000. How did it get up to 1,000 . 500 payments thatwere having. The mingos say they have been working with Washington Gas to restructure their bill and are now on a new payment plan. But on a limited income they are still struggling to make ends meet and worried about how theyre going to pay off that huge bill. We dont have it. Please dont cut it off. Problem a lot of folks have Washington Gas and other utilities have programs that help people like the mingos who are struggling with their bills but they say contact them as soon as you run into any problems. If you have any concerns or questions. We also have this panel of experts right here in our abc 7 7 on your Side Help Center. Were here to answer your questions and concerns. Your questions and concerns. The phone lines will open up at 5 00. Just about halfhour. So if you can, wait until 5 00. So the number to call is 7032369220. Im Horace Holmes reporting live in the 7 on your Side Help Center. Back to you guys. All right, horace. Thank you. Well we tend to earn less and then pay more. Still to come look at some of the places women are getting gouged so you dont waste your money plus a water main breaks. Just not in the usual way. Find out why this one left the that high profile decision by Brittany Maynard to end her life due to a terminal illness generated National Headlines last year. Now, it appears the socalled death with dignity laws that she promoted are getting momentum with legislation being considered in several states. Mike conneen joins us live from our newsroom with a look at this tonight. Mike, some local lawmakers are trying to pass similar laws here. Tell us about that. Leon and alison oregon and four other states here shaded in green on this map by the activist Group Compassion in choices, those states have already enacted these laws. As you can see, the states shaded in orange are where campaigns are currently under way to get these laws passed and enacted. Now, activists are turning their attention to our region. And the maryland senator plans to file such legislation in the next few days and the bill is already pending in d. C. D. C. Council member mary chase says the death with dignity legislation would not allow euthanasia or even doctorassisted suicide. Competent person and you have to go through a person to establish that. And ask for a prescription that he or she administers him or herself if she get a prognosis of a terminal illness and death within six months. With the districts budget process under way the bill is on the back burner. And also the Health Committee chair says she has several questions about mental health, power of attorney and Life Insurance issues. Its something that really is a lot more serious that would need a lot of discussion. Advocates say d. C. Maryland and 20 other legislatures across the country are considering this issue in part because 29yearold Brittany Maynard helped raise awareness before she chose to end her life in oregon in november due to terminal brain cancer. It gives families and those who are struggling with terminal illnesses a comfort and sense of relief if the pain becomes unbearable that they do have options. But opponents like the national right to Life Committee say instead of making death an option, we should improve Pain Management and end of life care. They also argue these laws dont have enough restrictions or protections for the mentally ill and other vulnerable groups. Theyve been diagnosed with a serious illness. They feel like theyre becoming a burden. These are not people making free and clear choices. The archdiocese of washington is also expected to fight this legislation saying today suicide is never a solution for anyone regardless of the stage or condition of his or her life. Society must offer compassion and do otherwise is to deny the dignity of every person. But advocates say terminally ill patients are not suicidal, they say theyre competent but theyre suffering and they want this choice. Mike conneen, abc 7 news. Lot of discussion there. Lots of questions. All right. Lets talk about the weather. Cold and then warm and then back to cold again. Last few weeks have been a bit of a roller coaster in the weather department. Tradeoff right . Now, folks brace yourself for another sharp turn ahead. Doug hill in the stormwatch Weather Center with a check of the forecast. Doug . Were up on the tracks way high and were out to take a big dip here with the cold front. Lets get started this time with a time lapse from our h. D. Weather camera on the campus of the u. S. Naval academy campus. Beautiful sunrise and a few high level clouds through the day but temperatures there were controlled by the winds blowing across the scenic river. So it was only in the 40s today there while everybody else enjoyed temperatures in the 50s. 53 at Reagan National. Showing the advance of the cold front and according to this model has a line of flurries or snow showers moving through the rush hour tomorrow. Clearing skies gusty winds and falling temperatures. The timeline hour by hour shows the peak temperatures late morning to noon and falling with wind gusts at 20 miles per hour. Cold weather hangs in through friday. What about the weekend . What about the weekend . Well talk about that in detail in a few minutes. Ok doug. A pregnant woman is recovering and crews are repairing a water main break that was caused by a crash this morning. A car slammed into a fire hydrant in the 4500 block of eisenhower avenue. This happened around 10 00 a. M. A passenger who was 7 months pregnant was taken to the hospital but expected to be ok. The impact caused a water main break at the hydrant that caused traffic delays. Alison . Leon anyone who goes to the dry cleaners knows that womens shirts cost more to launder than mens shirts. Thats far from the only thing that costs more for ladies. Where women pay more so you dont waste your money. Its 2015 not 1958. Some of it seems like were still living in the 1950s. One of the newest additions here is the monsanto house of the future. The old days when dad went to work and mom stayed in the kitchen. Unfortunately, a new report in kiplingers personal finance said women are still treated second class whether it comes to certain costs including dry cleaning. A ladys shirt will cost more to clean. Cars, kiplingers says men tend to get deals on the lot. Long term care insurance. Women pay more because they live longer. And personal Care Products like fragrance, deodorant and lotion. And from the doesnt that stink file, one item women always pay more is clothing. While Mens Clothing typically is bigger and uses more fabric womens jeans cost more. Ditto for shoes and blouses. Doesnt that stink . Manufacturers blame constantly changing fashion where men are ok with the same jeans they sold 3 50 years ago but it still stinks. If youre unhappy about a particular service charging you more, it doesnt hurt to ask. They may agree to rethink their policy. That way you dont waste your money. Past go and collect 200 . For real. Get this, folks. The French Version of monopoly is celebrating the companys 80th anniversary by replacing the play money inside with the real thing. One box will contain the full complement of cash. About 20,500 euros. 23,600 u. S. Dollars and another 79 boxes will have smaller amounts of real money in them. This promotion runs through the end of march. Might be worth paying for a plane ticket to go to paris. One way to get people to buy the game. Wow. Speaking of money real money, a vermont man best known for his simple lifestyle is now being remembered for his 6 million gift. Ronald reid surprised everyone when he left 6 million to his local library, hospital and other Small Charities in brattleboro. The 92yearold said reid was so thrifty, he would hold his coat together with safety pins and walk long distances to avoid parking meters. It wasnt until after his death that he also had a hidden talent for picking stocks. Little did they know he had all that money stashed away. If youre his relatives, you got to be going what were you doing . I know. What a story. My goodness. Still ahead here on abc 7 news at 4 00 starting today, well get a peak of rosa parks past. Well take you inside. As we head to break, another look at our question of the day for you. What do you think about schools suspending preschoolers . Well share some of your response from the Wjla Facebook lets get back to the breaking news of the stabbing at the federal metro station. Diane cho with the latest. You can see there are still several officers here at the scene right now. About 30 minutes ago, though it was a much busier scene with a lot more Police Activity and ambulances and e. M. S. Crews as well here outside of the Federal Center, the metro stop. The suspect has been taken into custody and were told hes a 19yearold male. Metro spokesperson says the suspect allegedly tried to rob someone after boarding on the Lenfant Plaza around 3 30 this afternoon. Took the train towards New Carrollton when another man were told, tried to intervene on behalf of the victim and was stabbed in the hand at that time. Police say the victim is expected to be ok. There have been delays earlier due to all this Police Activity. Were told that the delays were due to the fact that police and Law Enforcement here were trying to collect evidence on the trains. A metro spokesperson told us the delays should be done now and everything should be back to normal and they are going through all the details and their investigation. Well have more details for you as soon as we get them. For now, though well send it back to you in the studio. Ok diane, thank you very much. 7 is on your side tonight to help you with your utility futility. Absolutely. Leon, coming up well tell you how d. C. Is about to embark in the very early stages of a billion dollar utility upgrade. Im chris pabst. Well tell you what that means for you. You guys can just leave your coats right over here. Wow. Your bedroom is amazing. Oh, thanks. We worked with a designer from havertys. Total refresh. Oh, i cannot believe people. What . Covering up your new bed like that. Its okay. What kind of animals did you invite to this party . We can help. Much better. Refresh your space with an extra hundred off every thousand at havertys. Plus enjoy 36 month no interest financing. Havertys. Discover something you. Want to know how hard it can be. To breathe with copd . It can feel like this. Copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Spiriva is a oncedaily inhaled. Copd maintenance treatment. That helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. You know, spiriva helps me breathe easier. Spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms. Tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. These may worsen with spiriva. Discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. Stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens your throat or tongue swells,. You can get hives, vision changes or eye pain or problems passing urine. Other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. Nothing can reverse copd. Spiriva helps me breathe better. Sfx blowing sound. Does breathing with copd. Dollar type stores like this one in suitland. Im working on a story about how an Environmental Group has studied many of the products sold at these stories. They say some could be hazardous to your health. Ill have that story coming up at 5 00. All right. This summer d. C. Will embark on a billion dollar construction project to improve its electrical grid. Yeah what does that mean for you . 7 on your side investigator chris pabst looked into it and he joins us from the help center tonight. Chris . Leon and alison if youre familiar with d. C. In any way or if you live in d. C. You know the problems this city has had with its electrical grid. In recent years, Severe Weather has really played up the vulnerability and highlighted the invulnerability on that power grid. Right now, the city is embarking on a billion dollar nearly decades Long Campaign to increase the reliability of electricity by lowering it. Good. With a confirmation good. And a little spray paint. These surveyors are prepping for a billion dollar utility upgrade in the nations capital. In may of last year the former mayor signed into law d. C. Plug to create a stronger electrical grid by moving power lines below ground. Integrate reliability. The project is a partnership between d. C. Ddot and pepco. The 1 billion price tag will largely be funded by customers who will pay up to 3 more a month that pepco hopes will be a small price to pay to improve its service and its reputation. It was just four years ago citing poor reliability that Business Insider named pepco the most hated company in america which prompted the utility to invest. And d. C. Government numbers obtained by 7 on your side show it has worked. In 2006 the average pepco outage lasted 4. 5 hours. By 2013, that was reduced to just over two. The number of outages increased to. 88 in 2013. Both stats are now below the industry average. The d. C. Plug initiative will contribute to increased reliability. In tandem with that well continue our enhanced program in the district. This surveying has already happened in ward three where construction is scheduled to begin in june. This map shows the first stage of the seven year project. According to pepco, these underground lines will be 95 more efficient. But they do come with a downside. More road construction. We will try to lessen the inconvenience as we learn lessons throughout the project. And we also think that this project is worth it. Now, there is one more negative when you move these wires underground, that is it does generally take a little bit longer to fix them when something does go wrong. You may remember a couple of weeks ago when it was very cold out, there was in Dupont Circle a power outage. That was the result of construction crews hitting an underground wire and of course people did not have electricity for days when it was bitterly cold. Tonight, starting at 5 00 7 is on your side with these men and women who are taking calls about the utility concerns that you have. These are Government Agencies and nonprofits that assist people with utility questions and their problems. This can be any utility at all. This can be gas. This can be electric. This can be water. Any question you have any concern that you have you can call the number 7032369220. Give that number a call. Coming up at 5 00 these men and women are here to help you because 7 is on your side. In the newsroom chris pabst abc 7. Thanks, chris. Buildings in our area rate pretty well when it comes to going green. They rank West Virginia fourth in the country when it comes to using sustainable designs and construction. Illinois and colorado are ranked first and second. Were in good company. Yes. Members of the d. C. Council are considering a b that would ban schools from suspending preschoolers. Our question of the day is asking what do you think of suspending preschoolers . Norma posts it is ridiculous. It can be permanently damaging to the children. If adult know how to effectively discipline 4 and 5yearolds then those adults should not be in the educational field. If a kid is dangerous and seriously hurting other children, a suspension may be warranted. But i find it hard to believe that d. C. Is overrun with violent 3 and 4yearolds. Michelle asks this i have to say, i would be on the fence about this. Kids are raised nowadays with no respect. If the child is endangering another preschooler, why should a whole group be disrupted for the misbehavings of one child . Theyre there to learn and be social. Not be a babysitter. You can join the conversation yourself on the wjla Facebook Page. Let us know what you think. All right. Lets find out whats going on weatherwise. And we wish we could hang around todays weather. No such luck. If we get through the next few weeks, we will get through the next few weeks. I was going to say. Something we dont know. No then start to talk about the days when you get in the 60s and wont be long to see days in the 70s. Next couple of weeks will generally be cold despite the fact that its so warm today. Our numbers are very impressive. 50s some places still. This is a live look from our cameras, beautiful looking across the city. Few high clouds and nothing more than that through the evening. Temperature map shows the whole story. 55 in charlottesville but in the darker green areas weve highlighted that to show you where the cooler air is and its mainly to the north and northeast and east of the metro area. The warmer winds have been blowing in from the south and southwest having an impact south and west of the city. These numbers indicate how much warmer it is right now. Andrews air force base 21 degrees warmer right now than it was at 4 51 yesterday. Tomorrow afternoon at 4 51 it will be probably 21 degrees colder than it is right now. This cold front sweeps through the area. It will get rid of the mild air, the temperatures will start to fall. We may see a flurry or snow shower in the morning. This computer model takes a couple of looks at them right now. One washes a lot of the snow out over the mountains and brings a few flurries and snow showers out in the morning. We clear them out, breezing and falling temperatures in the afternoon. I think thats what were dealing with. Nothing substantial. But in the morning when temperatures are close to freezing, 30 chance we could have some snow showers or flurries. Clearing breezy colder in the afternoon. We get into friday bright sunshine. As we get through saturday, nice little warmup in the mid to upper 40s and sunday and monday another cold front and another area of low pressure along the front. Because were going to start off in the warm side, if we get rain, that will be the form sunday evening. It could change to snow in some areas monday when the storm moves to our east. All these question marks of these kinds of patterns are on edge. So much of these. So many of these lately. Ok. Come in on the weekend, too. All right. Thank you, doug. Lets get a check of the traffic situation on this evening with bob emler in the traffic center. What are you watching here . We had a truck fire on 66 west leon just before 234 Prince William parkway. And theyre still squeezing by slowly to the left as you head west of the rest area trying to get around that. Fire is out. Just a matter of towing the truck away. Bad accident in Manassas Park. Long delays on 28 south. 95 south going ok. Brief delays here and there. Lets take a look at cameras and t looks like now. Things are generally good on the beltway at river road. A lot of volume. No incidents. Southbound baltimore washington parkway has a crash before you get to powder mill. Long delays getting around it. Things are generally good on 395 headed south getting down to landmark. Im bob emler on wtop radio. See you soon. Thank you. And coming up next on abc 7 news at 4 00 intimate look inside a familys private life. Well take you inside a new exhibit on rosa parks. Next. Today, the library of congress is opening up a very rare archive to researchers. Caroline tucker reports, she was among those first to get a glimpse into the life of rosa parks. I have been pushed around all my life. And i felt at this moment that i couldnt take it anymore. Following her arrest in her own handwriting, rosa parks describes the moment she sat down in the front of the segregated bus. It was december 1 1955, in montgomery alabama. We have a window into the inner rosa. To what would have been the civil rights icon 102nd birthday curators at the library of congress are opening up their newest archive of memos, and family heirlooms of rosa parks. She found it important to preserve these records of her life. And as i said, you have to ask yourself why. Its the house that she grew up in. There are family photographs never seen before. This is just a small portion of the 7500 documents and 2500 photographs in this entire collection. And the library of congress will have it on loan for the next 10 years. The notes and pictures explain a deeper story of the private life behind a very public woman. Always viewed as the demure, perfectly poshed little hat on but the eyes burned fire and theyve been burning fire for a while. While her life might have been defined by that moment on the alabama bus, she left a question. Will they be interested or indifferent . Will the results be harmful or good . That answer may lie within the pieces of rosa parks past. Caroline tucker, abc 7 news. An airliners final moments caught on a startling piece of video that may reveal why the plane went down. Also, the nfl player who caught the ball that started deflategate is accused of assault. Grabbed my neck. And a local pizza deliveryman says hes got the bruises to prove it. Plus 7 on your side takes on you Utility Companies failing to fix their own costly mistakes while giving customers the cold shoulder. First at 5 00 this evening, a Winter Weather alert as we brace for another big shift in the weather. After mild temperatures today, we could see some snowflakes by tomorrow morning. Chief meteorologist doug hill here with the timing of that. The temperature plunge. All due to the approach of another arctic cold front. For the moment 53 degrees and partly cloudy outside of the belfort furniture Weather Center. Other temperatures coming up on 5 00. 53 at dulles. 53 in fredricksburg. Well see these temperatures slowly fall this evening. The numbers are on the screen now and indicate how much warmer it is now than it was 24 hours ago. Impressive numbers there. 18 to 21 degrees warmer locally and by that much more well be colder tomorrow afternoon. Yep, a big change coming in the front. Well stay in the 40s. Mainly clear skies this evening. As we head to overnight, only about 32 for a low. It will be cloudy late tonight and early tomorrow morning, there could be flurries or snow showers as falling temperatures in the afternoon. Friday into the weekend, thats part of the sevenday outlook. Ill be happy to present to you coming up in a few minutes. Well see you in a bit. We go to breaking news of a stabbing on a metro train near the Federal Center metro stop and its causing rush hour delays. Diane cho is live outside of the metro station. You told us earlier that the victim appears to be a good samaritan, is that right . Thats right, alison. Were told that the victim was actually trying to help someone else during an attempted robbery when he was stabbed in the hand. This is where it all ended here outside of the Federal Center metro stop. And i want to show you whats going on behind me. You can still see there are several officers remaining here on the scene