Is going on here. They know this will cause major issues. The Board Chairman jack evans talked about how he felt the entire metro area would be affected. Impact the metro region. He said the safety is paramount in the situation. We know they talked to the o. P. M. About making adjustments. But we dont know what they are. We know they have had some communications with the Public School system in d. C. We dont know exactly where those talks are now. Wiedefeld indicated there might be a Transportation System that could be put in place. Some buses for both regular passengers and perhaps for school children. We will have to see. Reporting live, Richard Reeve, abc7 news. Leon thank you. You hit it on the head. This is going to affect the entire region. Because of that as you might of commuters draws to job. We pick up the Team Coverage from the rosslyn station in arlington. You have talked to folks who expressed shock at the news. Mike frankly, leon, they dont believe me. They are just hearing about this from us or more twitter or from our coverage. Many people hear at rosslyn just learning about this. On the message board here by the Arlington County there is a warning to riders they can expect the shutdown for 29 hours starting at midnight. But many folks here just getting word and just starting to contemplate what it will mean. Unprecedented shut down of the entire system impacting 700,000 people. More than 700,000 people ride metro rail on the weekdays on average. That will have a major spillover effect on the highways and the roadways on the metro buses. And the other folks who take cabs or yubeer. It will have a major spillover effect. Many people, not just metro riders today and the drivers and the others who ride the bus are concerned about what it means for them in the commute tomorrow. I talk to several people. Here is their initial reaction. I wont be able to get to work. I dont think. I am probably two hours out of here. I have to find a bus or walk. Its been bad for a long time. It is only going to get worse. If anything they have to shut it down for a month to fix the whole system. Mike as i mention the bus concern is front and center for many people who ride metro bus. I talk to a guy a couple of minutes ago in the span of 30 seconds realized that the metro rail shut down. He said good thing i ride the bus and soon realized a lot of the people, hundreds of thousands of the metro riders will be looking for alternate options and many will likely turn to the metro bus. We will stay on the story to bring you all alternative options to get to work. We will have the latest on the developing story. Leon you can tell that man he wont be lonely tomorrow. Thats for sure. Shutting down metro will have a huge impact on the roads. The kids trying to get to school. Anyone using the rails will be affected. Chris papst has a look at the contin general plans taking place. Chris government officials and employees are starting to hear what will happen tomorrow. D. C. Public schools just released a statement. This is seconds ago saying the schools tomorrow, march 16 will be open. They say they are working with metro to add additional bus services. Even though school will be open tardy and absences will be excused. Office of the Personnel Management we have if messages and the em saying they are working with the wmata, d. C. , Regional Government and the entities to assess the Current Situation and see what is likely to happen tomorrow. O. P. M. Will have agencies on the status of the federal government soon. They did not identify what soon means. We assume its an hour or two. People will need to plan for what they have to do tomorrow. Senator mark warner from virginia is released a statement saying this is disappointing that it has come to this but people do depend on theafety of metro. They are glad that wmata management is treating safety with a sense of urgency. Congressman connelly of virginia took it a step further and encouraging o. P. M. To grant unscheduled leave to workers, federal workers in the light of what will happen tomorrow and other congressmen take it further. Congressman don buyer is encouraging all employees including the office of all employers i should Personnel Management to be generous and flexible in the face of tomorrows unprecedented metro shut down. This is clearly affecting many people and only a way that weather in the news industry affects almost everybody. This is having that same type of effect. 13,000 people taking the trip to metro every day. I am two of the trips. I take metro to work and back home. Im one of many people trying to figure out what i will do tomorrow. One of the more of the hundreds of thousands. Leon you will have plenty of company in your misery, chris. That is for sure. See how it plays out. A lot of cooperation to get through the next 36 hours here. Be sure to tune in good morning washington. We will start at 4 00. Julie will have traffic update all morning long. Alison now we have new developments in the last two and a half hours. As the Prince Georges County state attorney announced new charges in the death of officer jacai colson. Today we have new about what happened in the moments before the bullet started flying. Outside the district three headquarters. Maryland bureau chief brad bell is there live with new developments today. Brad . Brad new information on two front. Charges of the suspect and the shootout itself which left the district iii Police Station riddled with bullet holes. This image a screen grab that the police say was taken from the videotape attack on the Prince Georges County district iii station that show michael ford gun in hand. The video taken by the brothers malik and elijah. Multiple sources say malik and elijah can be heard laughing as michael shoot at police, laughing at attempted mass shooting and suicide by police. The laughter turning to crying as the brother is hit twice and falls to the ground. It defies l fire chief among those who have seen the video. An ambulance crew also comes under fire. I dont want to think about the what ifs but we could talk about more carnage here. The shootout ends and realize one of their own officer jacai colson is dead, victim of friendly fire. They said someone must be held accountable for colsons death just as if they held the gun. We reviewed the facts with the Police Department and agree there is probable cause to file charges in this case. There are other charges, including conspiracy, assault. But a commissioner found no probable cause for murder and additional handgun charges. Alsobrooks says she will seek indictment for murder. We will apply the law of the facts to the man with a gun in his hand will be charged when he is released from the hospital. He was shot twice in the gut the injuries are not life threatening. Leon across the board. Friends, family, colleagues calling officer colson a leader, a hard worker and a caring individual. Amy aubert spoke with law enforcements today some speaking out for the first time to say the one of a kind officer will never be forgotten. I spoke to the High School Basketball coach with the commander and they say the same thing. This is the kind of guy you want on your team. A day spent remembering a fallen officer. This is devastating. Not only if for officers that knew him best but the throughout the region and throughout the country. Flag flying at half staff. Memorial growing in front of the department. In honor of an officer colleagues call a leader. Courageous and dedicated. The man if you had a daughter you would want marrying. Lively, vivacious. Funny. Not only good at his job he is that guy that you want on your team. Major jason boag is the commander of the Narcotics Enforcement Division with the department and says the team is like a family. Wonderful kid. He said colson started out young and proved them pition and the decision to be there. He stood out. He had a smile and was willing to help people. Leading a helping hand anywhere he could. He was the first person here in the mor ready to work. Put in a full days work. Team coming together to remember their brother. This is a young officer that the Department Says had a bright future. Live in Prince Georges County, amy aubert, abc7 news. Is that the maryland house passed a bill named by a Police Officer killed by suspected drunk driver. Named after officer noah leotta it would require anyone convicted of drunk driving to have an inner lock installed in the vehicle. They will determine if driver had anything or too much to drink. The measure is expected to pass the senate. Governor hogan said he will sign it. Alison all right. Coming up, as new evidence comes to light about concussions in the nfl. Find out how the local g kids safe when they play sports. Leon plus d. I wouldnt encourage anyone bystander that was watching to just go jump in and give at it shot. This is video that has gone viral and has the creators giving a warning to anybody watching this. Our phone lines are open for you to call our tax accountant who are here to help you out tonight. A panel of them in the help center. They are here ready to answer the questions with a month left before the filing deadline. Call 7032369220. Lines are open until 6 30. Alison metro will not be running at all tomorrow. Anywhere. The entire system shutting down for at least 29 hours. So crews can emergency inspections after the cable fire near the Mcpherson Square station monday morning. So the federal government and d. C. Schools are now working with metro on some contingency plans. The d. C. Schools will be open. However tardy or the absent students will be excused. Well let you know as soon as we hear anythi story out of Prince William county where the debate over changing the name of a middle school is getting ugly. We are talking about mills e. Godwin middle school in woodbridge. Diane cho went to the school to see what is going on. Diane the middle school named after the former governor but someone proposed changing it after longtime Africanamerican Community leader hampton. The same School Board Member referred to godwin as a segregationist governor after the last meeting and recently discovered the Confederate Flag with racial slur written on it in the family mailbox. This comes after they deadlocked in two votes trying to name Elementary School. The first was to try to name it after fallen firefighter wilson and the second vote to name it after hampton and they agreed in a compromise to name the New Elementary School after wilson and change the Godwin Middle School to am the idea is their legacy is one that should inspire students if for future. The Facebook Page stop the godwin name change popped one 500 likes and change. Org petition with 700 supporters this afternoon. Where the controversy comes in some are saying lets not rename the school that already has a name. Keep that one and give one of those individuals to another school going forward. Alison diane cho reporting. A note to pass along. We at abc7 are proud to join the Parent CompanySinclair Broadcast Group to announce a new scholarship program. The Diversity Scholarship Fund to provide Financial Support for College Students interested in broadcasting, journalism or marketing. T need financial help. Its to help students who want career in broadcasting to complete the education. If you want to find out more and apply online just go to our website. Wjla. Com. Leon go to gulf coast. Heavily traveled interstate 10 between texas and Louisiana Closed now. Its not expected to reopen for two days. Alison the National Park service changed the dates again. This time pushed back. The peak bloom date for the Cherry Blossom. The peak bloom is now predicted to start march 23 and 24. Last week b weather the dates were moved up. Then the recent temperatures and blooming phases prompted the change. By the way, abc7 is proud to be a sponsor of the Cherry Blossom festival. Wherever they may be. We dont care. We are happy to be part of it. The question is if this is good or bad news. A lot of folks like the move but others who make their plans may not be happy. Alison yaw cant please everyone. Doug looking forward to it. Mild days tomorrow and friday. This is a trip. Well see what happens here. Higher. We jump out of the 50s to the 60s quickly. Now we are looking live at the national harbor. Its 64 at the Reagan National airport. Ten degrees above average with the north northwesterly wind at 9 miles per hour. 61 in frederick. Still cloudy in hagerstown. 52 in annapolis. The nav academy the winds out of the northwest are coming across the severn river where the water temperature is chilly. That is why they are only 52 degrees. For another couple of months we will see the wind direction near bodies of water that drastically change the air temperature. 68 in richmond. 74 in roanoke. 79 in charlotte. 63. Cooler air behind a frontal system in col umbus. What will happen next we have a quiet night with the clear to partly cloudy skies. We have evidence on s clear skies south and west. The temperatures are warmer. With that, a warm front that is moving through central illinois. Storm center in front behind it. Tornado watch posted for a big chunk of the northern half and the western half of the state of illinois tonight. Primary day in illinois as well. This line of heavy storm could move in to chicago land later tonight. Well deal with the front tomorrow with showers. We will keep an eye on the cold front. Future cast with clouds coming through in the morning. Temperatures hit 70s. Then the front will get closer and scattered showers. Thunderstorm through 6 00. After that most of the rain is east of town. Cooler air upcoming weekend. Hourly forecast for tomorrow, 16th of march, partly sunny skies and increasing clouds in the afternoon. Isolated showers and the thunderstorms. 71 or 72. As we get through the weekend, it looks like it will turn cooler on friday. The highs of 58. Partly cloudy and chilly. 51 on saturday. Sunday you see high of 47. There will be a storm center coming up to the south and east, coastal storm. It will produce rain and chilly rain at that. We will watch the storm develop closely. It should be out of here on monday but stay chilly. Hopefully by the end of next week we are in the 70s again. Alison back to spring. Doug nice thought. Alison we like it. Leon then well have another date for the Cherry Blossoms. Still ahead on abc7 news at 5 00 the woman whose name is synonymous with saint takes a step closer to becoming one. Tax time creeping up on us quickly. We have the experts to help. We will explain how coming up in a minute. But first, quick look at abc7. Just go to wjla. Com to become an abc7 fan. Get emails about the favorite shows and the contests right in your email. Leon speaking of favorite shows as we head to break get ready to see Harrison Ford grab the fedora again. They announced that he signed on the reprise the role of indiana jones. Rickthere wi we need women in congress. If we want to be heard, it was the women who forced republicans to include Womens Health and contraceptive coverage in the Affordable Care act. In congress, ill fight for pay equity, family leave and tougher gun safety laws. And, as an environmentalist, ill work combat climate change. I know as a journalist and as a Senior Executive in business that when women are at the table, we get things done. Im Kathleen Mathews and i approve this message. Alison 7 on your side is getting closer to tax day. We have a few extra days so the i. R. S. The pushing back the deadline for everyone april 18. Now joce sterman is in the help center with a panel of experts ready to answer the tax questions. Joce two things in life are certain. Death and taxes. I cant help you with the first one but taxes we have you covered. Virginia society c. P. A. s here taking tax questions until 6 30 tonight. Give us aal call. 7032369220. Wi have experts here. They are prepared. The phone lines are blowing up. They are here to answer any question you have to be here another hour or so. 7032369220. Leon coming up at 5 00 sorry. There is a special place in hell for actions like this. Leon we take you to capitol hill with the water crisis in michigan. Alison later uninvited guests. Look at the new residents who seem to calld general home. Leon we are keeping a close eye on development after metro announced it will be shutting down the entire system. Starting at midnight tonight. Well have the latest plans we have heard of. We have it after the break. Alison back with an update on the breaking news. Metro plans to shut down the rail system for emergency inspections. The decision comes after the cable fire that was near the Mcpherson Square station monday. Richard reeve is live outside metro headquarters with the latest on the major, major announcement. Rich . Richard that is right. Metro general manager Paul Wiedefeld saying because of yesterdays fire and in the wake of what happened, Mcpherson Square, he thinks there were commonalities between the two cases where there was fire on the rails. He felt it was the right thing to do to shut down the system. We asked why not shut it down immediately . He said he wanted to give people kind of game plan to get home tonight. Then begin making repairs as of about midnight or so. Start repairs. There will be outside contractors that start work that we are told. We dont know how many people are working. You have been reporting there are 600 of what they are calling the jumper cables. This is on the third rail. This is a gap that they are looking at. They are concerned that some of these may be deteriorating. That is causing a gap. What wiedefeld called metal on metal that could spark off a fire. That is the big concern. He said look we know it will have a huge impact on even. We are talking about 700,000 people on metro every day. I fully recognize the hardship this causes to the region and to the community. In fact, i am will suspend rail service for 24 hours to inspect 600 underground what we call jumper cables so the entire rail system will be closed until 5 00 a. M. Thursday. Richard we are still awaiting word from the federal government about what their plan here is. Congressman Jerry Connelly has asked o. P. M. Do some kind of leave. Some kind of temporary leave. Perhaps teleworking for some workers. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of people. We are also told that the department, that d. C. Public schools will be holding school tomorrow. Reporting live, Richard Reeve, abc7 news. Leon thank you, rich. Want to hear good news . Moments ago we learned all the metro parking lots will be free tomorrow. So what, huh . Students what that are tardy or absent tomorrow will be excused. The federal government is saying they are working with metro on contingency pl about the metro decision abuzz about the metro decision. Joce sterman is standing by and monitoring the reaction. Joce everything from shock and frustration to cheers to metro for shutting down to deal with a problem they say is long overdue with a solution. Show you some of what we see on twitter. This guy saying i dont use metro and i havent for years but it will affect anyone that commutes no matter the methods. That is absolutely true. The only thing more dysfunctional than the metro is congress. Wmata get your act together. Thank god for telework. The entire region deserves better. Fix it now. Almost nothing makes me this angry. Understand that one. This guy says notice tomorrow inspection, not fixes. Imagine what will happen after they find issue. Question are saying there is a delay or closure for the inspection. What happens after they fin this guy is cheering saying to stamp a metro system shutting down completely on wednesday could be wmata finally taking safety seriously. His opinion echoed by many people. This guy saying im a big advocate for riding a bus but weekday without metro is not the day to introduce thousands to joy of the bus. Something i have seen quite a bit on twitter. Uber surge. About to 1,000 per mile. A lot of people anticipating the ride to work tomorrow if uber is the only option surging to exceptionally high price. Back to you. Leon uber just hit the power ball. That is what will happen. Thank you. You know this decision will have an impact on everyone on every single road in this area. More folks drive to get where they have to go. Tune in to good morning, washington and julie wright at 4 00 a. M. Well help you find the best way to get to work. Alison moving on. Mother teresa is set to become pope francis announced canonization date today. Mother teresas name synonymous already with being a saint. She received the nobel prize in 1979 and die in the 1997. And beatifid by Pope John Paul ii. Leon the minute water crisis is what everybody buzzed about there. Flint former mayor said there was plenty of blame to go around. Michigan financial manager system focused too much on cutting costs without adequate safeguard and transapparently. The regulators provided false assurances about the safety of the water and withheld risk the tap water was contaminated when the city used core roseive water from the flint river instead of the system they had been getting it from. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and the administrator mccarthy are scheduled to testify again on thursday. Alison two kayakers are in trouble for the latest stunt on the water. Look at the video. This is them going over the Cumberland Falls in kentucky over the weekend. This is spreading like wildfire online. They are professionals and they said they planned and trained for the stunt for a long time. So they dont want anyone to just decide to duplicate the trip on a whim. We are intrigued by the water fam. We went there. Scouted it out and set up the safety plan. Its dangerous to participate in the active aand the for the First Responders that have to respond. Alison the kayakers are facing several hundred in fines for trespassing and he said he is disappointed he was cited but understands why they are in place. Leon and broke them anyway. Alison he did. Planned on it. Knew he was going to. Leon we dont want people to follow this example. That is why we put it on the web for everybody to see. Really . Alison i know. They knew what they were doing and how dangerous it was. Leon you know where im going. I know what you are thinking. Leon one of my short books. You will not see a brother doing that. Alison i can read your mind. Its scary. Coming up at abc7 news at 5 00 do you think there is a link between football and degenerative Brain Disorders to c. T. E. In the answer to the question is certainly yes. Alison reaction to the first senior official to admit a link between football and c. T. E. Chief Political Correspondent scott thuman tonight. Once results come in on super tuesday 2. 0. Five States Holding primaries today. Your voice, your future starts at 9 00 on the sister station newschannel8. Joined by the former republican candidate ben carson as well as former congressman jim rad. We need women in congress. If we want to be heard, it was the women who forced republicans to include Womens Health and contraceptive coverage in the Affordable Care act. In congress, ill fight for pay equity, family leave and tougher gun safety laws. And, as an environmentalist, ill work combat climate change. I know as a journalist and as a Senior Executive in business we get things done. Im Kathleen Mathews and i approve this message. Alison check in on the eagle nest at the national arboretum. The two eggs could hatch any time now. I dont know if this is the first lady or mr. President. Im guess this is the first lady. Watch live stream anytime you want. Well see what happens in the coming hours. Alison raccoons riding elevators and falling thro some of the stories from the largest homeless shelter. What is done to contain the problem at d. C. General . Sam ford went to find out. Are you tomming to catch the raccoons here . Yes, sir. Sam he was back at the d. C. Shelter for the homeless families today. According to the residents who took pictures, raccoons are a big problem here. The raccoons are riding on the elevator. Sam these mothers havent seen that but seen them wandering if Building Full of children. They brought one out off of my floor. I was upset because the staff lied about it and said they were doing work in there and whole time they were catching raccoons. Totally scary. Its as big as her. Some 674 people are living at the d. C. General. They didnt catch a raccoon this time. What do you do when you catch them . We take them and transport them to the woods or euthanize them. One of the kids or one of us is bitten the rabies and the attack from raccoon with claws like nails it will do serious damage. Since 2013, they have had animal control over here. Dozens of times. Removing raccoons. That at least 23 animals have been taken out of here. But the number could probably be higher than that. Reporting from southeast washington, sam ford, abc7 news. Alison thank you. Coming up at abc7 news at 5 00 how a local university is making waves in the pool and making a mark in history. All at leon but first. I had knowledge in 2004, i truly wonder if it would have made a difference for jake. Mother who lost her son to a concussionrelated injury helps fight to keep all kids safe in sports. Alison we are still waiting for word from the federal government if there will be changes for the employees tomorrow. After metros big announcement it will be closing the entire rail system. Trains will stop running tonight at midnight and will not run again until the system opens on thursday morning. This is all for emergency inspections. After the cable fire near Mcpherson Square station yesterday. We will get you more information as soon as it comes in the newsroom. Its about taking a stand. For too long, wall street banks had their way. They crashed our economy. But democrat Donna Edwards wont take their money because she stands up for us. As a single mom, she knows the challenges our families face. Shell be our voice. Tightening regulations on the big banks and fighting to keep dark money out of politics. Democrat Donna Edwards, marylands next senator. Alison breaking news about the freddie gray case. New trial set for the six officers connected to grays death. The first is may 10. The last officer goes on trill october 13. Now recently a court determined that officer willia trial ended in a mistrial will have to testify in the other officers trials. Leon 7 on your side with help matters. The nfl top Safety Officer acknowledges publicly for the first time there is a link between football and c. T. E. This happened yesterday in a congressional hearing in d. C. Jeff miller with Boston University not evidence of c. T. E. In 90 of 94 nfl players studied. Now reaction is pouring in. Players knew this all along. I heard the response and i was relieved. The league for a period of two decade denied any connection. C. T. E. Is linked to repeated brain trauma with depression and dementia and mood. Players diagnosed after the death is wossen sayeo they believe this is a game changer. Alison well, parents worry, of course, about concussions but there are other sportsrelated injuries that can prevent a problem for the young athletes. As abc7s Suzanne Kennedy tell us that is why a group of experts gathered in washington to make the youth sports safer. Jake snakenberg High School Football career just kicked off when he suffered a fatal injury in a game. It was an unusual complication of a concussion called second impact syndrome that took his life. Now his mother kelly jance advocates for parents and coaches to be aware of the dangers of concussions. Its so key we make it okay for kids to say i was hurt. And i need some help with this. I think we need to encourage parents to support that. She is attending a oneday conference aimed to make youth sports safer from concussions to cardi the risks are all being discussed. Including the problems with overuse injuries. Better to have the kids participate in a variety of sports where they are using different muscles, where they are involved in team sports and the individual sports. Both as opposed to being in one sport at a very young age and doing that one sport. Sarah died when she was 12 years old and her mother thinks everyone should be prepared for sports related mother emergencies. Sarah had a cardiac arrest. No one started c. P. R. They didnt know what was wrong with her. They thought she was having a seizure. They brought the a. E. D. s to her side and didnt use them. The concussion rate with the High School Athletes has risen 200 in the last decade. Soccer, basketball, football are the sports in which the injuries are most likely to occur. Experts say the problem with the youth sports go beyond concussions and that more needs to be done safe. In arlington, Suzanne Kennedy, abc7 news. Leon melt row plan to close tomorrow metro plan to close tomorrow will put extra drivers to the road in the area everywhere. Jamie sullivan on traffic watch with a look at the alternatives if you have to hit the road tomorrow. Jamie we have extra people. If you drive i suggest an extra 45 minutes. If you leave anytime after 5 00 or 5 30 tomorrow morning. Capital bike share, the metro buses will be running. Yubeer, lyft but keep the uber, lyft but the surge charges will go up. The streetcar or circulator. Carpool, or walk. Tomorrow morning its really nice to walk. Tomorrow afternoon you need the umbrella. Bring it with you. But weather is not terrible in morning if you want to walk. As we move to take a live look outside now. 66, volume we have and heading eastbound. Keep in mind accident activity over to the lefthand side. You can get through but this is the traffic lav city, jammed to fairfax. 700,000 people a day ride metro. Yeah. Doug wow leon incredible. You have something going on. Doug we visit cools a lot. We schools a lot. We target fourth grade because they are the age group to learn about the weather. We have lunchbox weather and a meteorologist will go to an Elementary School and talk to them, great presentation. Josh knight went to carter rock spring Elementary School in bethesda. Got there. Talk to class and put on a demonstration. We handed over abc7 kid cam to jack wilson, one of the fourth grade students and jack shot everything you see here. He shot himself. They had questions for me. They chose one person. Her name was eden to ask a question. Take a look at what she wants to know about the weather. What do you need about with weather . We show it on the screen. What variables to do you need to think about when forecasting and observing the weather . That is a good question. One of the problem with accurate forecasters is dealing with the variables, all the things that change you cant get your arms around. The things we look at to do forecastk, clouds, satellite, dew point, weather of the moisture, winds at the surface. The highlevel winds and the jetstream. Energy, doppler radar, satellite. What is happening on the ground. The computer models. That is scratch the surface of everything we have at the inventory that allows us to do Something Like this. Give you a look at the next seven days based on the variables. Pleasant on thursday. Cooler on friday. Rain likely sunday. Cooler and start warm up next week. I have been to carter rock Elementary School a number of times. They must be doing a good job when fou the word variables. Alison impressive vocabulary. Way the rich are getting richer. Rse. The nations top c. E. O. S made a lot of money last year. I think verizon is the worst of all. According to bloomberg news, verizons c. E. O. Makes more than 200 times as much as the companys average employee while trying to take away job and Retirement Security from its workers. This company is the poster child for corporate greed. Erin Howard University swim team that many people dont snow exist its more than swimming. There is a History Lesson to be taught and learned as well. Its like part of history every day. Erin from afar you would never know it. What the swimmers are doing is historic. Definitely. We really dont want to lose that especially. I think we are special now that we are the only ones. Erin Howard University is the only black college with a division i swim team. I want to know that we actually have great swimmers and we like exist. Erin that existence that the coach plans to use as inspiration. 70 of the africanamericans cannot swim. That is a ridiculous number. Erin that is why for this swimming. They volunteer at the africanamerican civil war museum. Its an initiative to get minorities to swim. Africanamerican youth drown at three times the rate of their white counterparts. That is ridiculous statistic that we can do something about. Erin the coach helps make the students better swimmers but better people. Its amazing. Its why i do what i do. Anybody can really come in and coach in any position if they know the sport. To make an impact on the individual lives and to hear them say that they are becoming a better version of themselves. That is what i i do what i do. Erin to graduate from Howard University every college of arts and Sciences Student must take and pass a beginners level swimming course. Alison great story. Thank you very much. That is it for abc7 news at 5 00. Here is what is coming up at 6 00 tonight. Regarding metro. It is closing. For 24 hours. 29 hours rather. The timing and the reason just ahead. New development in the death of a Prince Georges CountyPolice Officer. What is next after a Court Official threw out charges against two of the brothers in the shooting death of detective jacai colson. Why the state of ohio is a key state to the road to the white house. We are on eagle watch as we wait for baby eaglets that could hatch soon. Abc7 news at 6 00 starts now. Announcer from abc7 news, this is a breaking news alert. Maureen we begin with breaking news from metro in an unprecedented move. The entire rail system will shut down for 29 hours starting tonight at midnight. Leon that is right. Abc7 has you completely covered tonight on this big riders. Chris papst has the word whether the government is open for business tomorrow. But begin with Richard Reeve who has details to the announcement the came out a couple of hours ago. Richard that has never been done before. The shut down of the system now for 24 hours starting at midnight tonight. The trigger for this is that Mcpherson Square fire yesterday, i believe we have video of it. And also the faneuil fire from 2015. They plan to inspect 600 of the jumper cables. They connect electric toy the third rail underground. The insulation is big on the certain they deteriorated to get metal on