pat collins talked to the victim and he joins us from metro headquarters in northwest washington with the exclusive story. pat? >> reporter: dorene, at a metro station, a man sees a beating. he goes to call 911, and he becomes victim number two. for robert joy, it's hard to talk. you see, his two front teeth were knocked out. he had six stitches inside his mouth, two stuch stitches outside. his right eye, black, blue and bloodied. >> it's a tragedy. that, i mean, for innocent people to get attacked at the subway. >> reporter: now listen to mr. joy's story. the suitland station, the green line, friday night around 6:30. he's waiting here for his niece to get off the subway. he says he is standing over there, near the station manager's office. he looks over near the gates and he sees some teenagers, about 15 of them, attacking another teen. he says they're all dressed in black, some are wearing masks. that teen is on the ground. he says a woman comes running to him and says, call the police. call 911. mr. joy says he comes out here, and as he goes to call the cops, those teens attack him. knock him to the ground. kick him in the face. to say that mr. joy has lost confidence in the security on and around metro, that might be an understatement. >> oh, i'm not going to ride the subway. not even the metro west. >> reporter: not anymore. >> no. i'll be safer in a cab. >> reporter: reaction now from some riders at the suitland metro station. >> oh, we are not safe on metro. i already know that. you're not. >> reporter: do you feel safe riding metro? >> for the most part, i do. so -- but i to know that in some places, it does -- they do need to beef up security. >> reporter: do you feel safe riding metro? >> it all depends on who is on the train and who is not on the train. >> reporter: metro says the transit police are aware of the incident, and they're investigating. if you know anything about what happened at that station, give them a call. 202-962-1792. 202-692-1792. dorene, back to you. >> pat collins reporting. thank you, pat. it is now official. the redskins have released the second-leading rusher in franchise history. we're talking about clinton portis. and lindsay czarniak has been tweeting about this all weekend long. now the skins have confirmed our reports. lindsay, this is really no big surprise, is it? >> not at all. clinton portis knew when i talked to him over the weekend this was going to be the case, because he had had conversation all along with head coach mike shannahan, along with team owner dan snyder. they offered him the chance to renegotiate his contract, but portis did not want to learn less than the $8.3 million he was due this season. he wants to be a number-one running back. he said as much on a radio interview today on 106.7, the fan. >> i always believed that i'm number one, whether i'm going to help another team, i don't think it's going to be long before it comes out, you know, that it was something more. left in the tank, you know. i don't mind. i think it's -- for me to sit with the idea that i'm a number two bat, i would never do that. i would never even let that adapt to my mind. >> clinton portis said the toughest conversation he had about a departure was with team owner dan snyder. tonight he said we would like to wish him and his family the very best. he will always be a redskin and go down as one of the franchise's all-time greats. portis says at this point it is more about heart than money for him. we will have more coming up in sports. but he kept reiterating how he didn't feel the same way as he did when he played you said coach gibbs. he thinks he can get back to that bruising type of running back that he used to be. >> i heard somewhere he also said he would like to go someplace where this is less drama. >> he did say that today on the radio. less drama, all about winning. but the thing is, he's got to prove he can do that on the field because he did not do that last season. >> we'll talk about that some more. a mega bus was involved in a deadly crash in maryland today. it happened on interstate 70 about 1:15 this afternoon near hagerstown. maryland state police say a pickup driver was killed when the pickup truck slammed into the bus that had broken down on the eastbound shoulder. police closed the eastbound lanes as a precaution. no word on when they'll reopen. at least six people on the bus were hurt and treated at the hospital, but their injuries, they are all expected to survive from those injuries. there was a deadly chain of events on the key bridge overnight. a virginia man was hit by an suv and killed. moments later, a police officer on the scene was hit by another car. that driver is accused of driving under the influence. and as derrick ward reports, the incident also brought to light problems with the police department's breathalyzer tests. >> reporter: two people struck on key bridge within an hour and a half of each other sunday evening. one of them, a d.c. police officer investigating the first incident. in the first case, a man was walking his disabled moped across the bridge toward virginia. >> just prior to entering virginia, he was struck by a silver mercury suv. the signify verify mercury suv did not stop, it fled into virginia. >> reporter: that man died from his injuries. less than an hour and a half later, another person, a police officer, investigating the hit and run, was himself struck by a vehicle. >> that vehicle stayed on the scene. subsequently, the driver was charged with dui. >> reporter: d.c. police say it was actually u.s. capitol police who performed the breathalyzer test. d.c. police stopped doing those tests after several dui convictions were thrown out because their machines were allegedly improperly california operated. d.c. councilman's judiciary committee held a hearing today on that very issue. and while a deputy attorney general testified that breathalyzer results are the soul factor contributing to dui charges and convictions, officers say there are ramifications. >> there's a lot of cases that are, you know, not being prosecuted at this point, or they're getting let off with a slap on the wrist. it's bad enough that our laws are -- in the district are pretty week for dui, but now it's just basically watering them down completely. >> reporter: while police aren't officially saying that capital police performed the test because of d.c.'s problems, it's not uncommon for this to happen. but police say issues could arise there, as well. >> i was just down in court today talking to several capital police officers, and, you know, they're worried about their program, because the oag's office is now starting to question their policies and procedures and protocols. >> reporter: now, the investigation into both of these incidents continue. police want to hear from any witnesses that may have been on the bridge at the time that they happened. in georgetown, derrick ward, news4. the hit and run victim has now been identified as 23-year-old eliaster madrono. a plane was leaving a national airport this morning when it hit a bird and forced to make an emergency landing at dulles airport. the crew reported the air strike. the plane lost control of one of the engines. it was a continental flight 1559 on its way to houston. emergency crews on the ground scrambled in the area of interstate 295, just in case that plane went down. the plane was carrying 44 passengers, all of them got off the plane safely. they were all rebooked on to another flight. there's a new report out. it says d.c. officials may have broken the law by providing council chairman kwame brown with a fully loaded lincoln navigator the report also says brown inappropriately requested the luxury suv. tom sherwood with more on the story. >> reporter: the report says the city has dozens of suvs that may violate the law, and mayor gray is promising swift action to fix it. at a dedication of the city's restored petworth library, the mayor has asked the administrator allen lou to get an immediate handle on all of the leased cars. >> it's going to be an austere budget. we've got what probably is in the neighborhood of $500 million deficit. those are the things we need to be focused on. and we'll solve these issues. >> reporter: it all started when it was learned kwame brown had the city lease two luxury suvs for him. he didn't like the first one's color scheme at a cost of $4,000 a month. now a new report by tommy wells says a quick review shows the city has released 42 suvs that may violate city law, but not being used for police, emergency, or other public safety reasons. >> i do believe that it appears that laws have is been broken, and we'll have to make referrals to the attorney general, as well as to the inspector general. >> reporter: council member wells has oversight of city leasing policies. he said it appears that then chairman elect brown last fall exceeded city law by requesting a fully equipped suv and that mayor fenty's public works office violated a 2002 law restricting such suvs. >> we're going to straighten this out, and the d.c. government can straighten this out. and we will straighten it out. >> reporter: kwame brown declined to meet with reporters monday issuing only a brief statement saying he agrees the suv issue needs to be cleared up. and more trouble. council member mary shea has announced an investigation into reports of high salaries paid by the gray administration, saying salaries and suvs are hurting the city's image and bottom line. >> i mean, we shouldn't be sort of in the quick sand of these kinds of problems. because while they have to be addressed, we have such bigger problems, we need to address these and move on. >> reporter: several city officials are complaining that the salaries and the suvs are both damaging the city's credibility. jim, back to you. >> tom sherwood. thanks, tom. coming up on news4, wildfires shut down schools and force an entire town to evacuate. oil fields in libya in the hands of rebells now. and there's a new threat from moammar gadhafi. a driver who plowed into a crowd of cyclists says he felt threatened. the government will run out of money on friday, drivers claiming self defense after he plowed into dozens of bicyclists in brazil. he could be charged with attempted murder today. he was in a hurry, he said, friday, and he was blocked by a group of bicyclists. the group was demonstrating against too many cars allowed in the center of town. so the driver drove his car at a high speed, right into the crowd of cyclists. he hit nine people. surprisingly, all of them were discharged from the hospital. the driver said he felt threatened by the cyclists when they began to hit his car. there is an effort under way to honor this nation's last known veteran of world war i. lawmakers have introduced a bill to have frank buckles lie in repose in the rotunda of the u.s. capitol. buckles died sunday at his home in charlestown, west virginia. he settled down in west virginia after his service, and advocated for a world war i memorial here in washington. his entire life. frank buckles was 110 years old. now to the latest from libya, where there are reports of new fighting. forces loyal to leader moammar gadhafi are trying to regain control of the city. the town has been in the hands of the opposition for the past several days now. today gadhafi's government warned that if the violence continues, hundreds of thousands of people would be killed. but at the same time, gadhafi himself told the british broadcasting corporation that libyans support him. he denied any widespread protests. a top european union official says gadhafi's regime is no longer in charge of most of the oil fields. production has been cut in half, because most oil workers have left the country. well, libya is not a major oil producer for the u.s. the unrest is disrupting shipments, causing prices in our country to continue to rise. nationally, the average price for a gallon of gasoline is $3.37 a gallon. here in the district, we're paying more than that. $3.45. in maryland, $3.33. and the least expensive gas in our region can be found in virginia, where a gallon is averaging $3.26. the federal government is going to run out of money on friday. and the government will shut down if congress doesn't take quick action. and there is a deal in the works. steve handelsman has our report. >> reporter: congress has four days to stop a shutdown of federal government with a short-term spending bill. president obama is agreeing to $4 billion in spending cuts in that stopgap bill. but compromise with republicans. >> everybody should be prepared to give up something in order to solve our budget challenges. >> reporter: he was speaking to state governors drowning in red ink. a budget crisis symbolized by the showdown in wisconsin. protesters still at the state capitol. wisconsin public employees unions now say they're willing to negotiate pay cuts. wisconsin's republican governor is refusing, saying he wants to force unions to take cuts, and to give up their bargaining rights to cut costs and, scott walker says, to make history. >> i know that collective bargaining has a cost. and when i'm cutting more than $1 billion from aid to local governments in this next two-year budget, i need to do what no other governor is doing across the country. >> reporter: the president opposes walker's move. >> i don't think it does anybody any good when public employees are denigrated. orville mied. or their rights are infringed upon. >> reporter: but mr. obama is offering a compromise on another hot budget issue. if you think obama health care costs your state too much, he said, design your own plan to cover the same people at the same cost. >> you can implement that plan, and we'll work with you to do it. >> reporter: work with you on crushing deficits. that's the mantra for the moment in washington. i'm steve handlesman, news4, capitol hill. coming up on news4, the same storm system that ripped apart homes in one community has moved into our area. you might want to get ready for another dramatic change in the weather around here. doug is coming up with the full forecast i'm. julie carey where board chairman corey stuart makes a decision about his political future. will it be a run right now, massive wildfires are ripping through parts of texas. this is happening in matador, northeast of lubbock. schools there are closed, and the entire town has been evacuated. firefighters worked overnight, trying to put out the flames. high winds are making it nearly impossible for crews to get a handle on it. so far, the fire is just 50% contained. homes all over travel and southern indiana were damaged when at least two tornadoes and several strong thunderstorms rolled through that area early this morning. those strong winds ripped the roofs right off some homes. heavy rains also flooded some highways. police say a few people suffered minor injuries. doug, we've had some warnings about possible severe weather here, but it hasn't been as bad as it could have been. >> no. and thank goodness for that. we were under a tornado watch earlier, and that got cancelled, because there was just not the severe threat we were thinking there might be. and that's very good news. a lot of types you say, hey, it didn't happen exactly how we thought it was. good. that is the good things thing, because we do not see the severe weather. a couple areas did see severe thunderstorms, most well to the west around hagerstown and down to the south in southern portions of maryland. now, there was a lot of rain to our north and west today. this was up towards lawrence county, pennsylvania around the pittsburgh area. a lot of rain from really anywhere in the ohio river valley saw a ton of rain move through the region. that prompted a lot of flooding, and still flood warnings. still in effect in this area and much of the midwest, as we continue to see that rain move out. now the cold air moves in for them. live digital doppler radar showing the rain to our south and east towards st. mary's county and the eastern shore. a few showers now showing up back to the west. that's with the cold front that's going to make its way through. once these come through, you'll see a dramatic temperature drop the next couple hours. here's where the rain is toward oxford, denton maryland seeing rain, and along portions of st. mary's county still seeing the rain. as you move further down towards ashland and down towards richmond, as well, along i-95. now, the whole storm system itself does move out. but look at this. we saw a high temperature today of 72 degrees. it was incredible, a little bit earlier this afternoon with plenty of sunshine. this was the fourth day at 70 degrees this month. it doesn't happen very often that we hit 70 in february. and as a matter of fact, we have only had five years where we have seen four days at 70 or better over the last 120 years. is that too many numbers? let's just say you don't get that many days of 70 very often. and we saw another one today. we may not see it again for a while. but at least we saw today. out there right now, 57 with winds out of the south at 8 miles per hour. still a few showers around but most of us on the dry side. 55 in frederick, 56 in sterling and down towards quantity quo, temperatures around 57. so for now, we're nice and mild. look at the storm system itself. here it is. and this is the cold front, right here. this is where the colder air is, behind this much colder air ahead of it, still dealing with warm temperatures. highs today, very warm. near 80 in richmond. near 80 in norfolk. 81 in raleigh. 62 in pittsburgh and 63 in columbus, ohio. look where they are now, though. only 34 in columbus, 34 in pittsburgh, and that's that cold overnight tonight. so we're in for a dramatic temperature drop. the good news is, it's going to get cool, not cold. just like it did with the last system. we'll see cool conditions tomorrow morning. it will be cool tomorrow afternoon, and actually, as high pressure settles on in, i think we're looking at a pretty nice tuesday afternoon. it will be on the cool side. and then on wednesday, another dramatic shift. cold front moves toward the area. we warm up, some areas close to 60 degrees on wednesday. but behind it, another very chilly day setting up for the day on thursday. so a little bit of a roller coaster over the next couple of days. this evening, keep the umbrella out. you may need it. areas of rain, light to moderate, cooling off and breezy. 50 to 56 degrees. winds shift out of the northwest, and they'll become degreesy with gusts upwards of 30 miles per hour. tomorrow morning, clear, breezy early, 26 to 32 degrees. as we move through the day tomorrow, plenty of sunshine. much cooler, but again, i think a fairly nice afternoon. 45 to 50, i think the winds had calm down just a little bit. by late tomorrow afternoon. and by wednesday, we're looking at a gore jurts day. a lot of sunshine, high near 56. 43 on thursday after a low in the 20s. and i do think freeway day will be an okay day with partly cloudy skies, a high near 50 degrees. so really the next few days looking very, very nice. our next chance of rain moves in late saturday into the day on sunday. that one could be another big rain-maker. but notice most areas are at least 50 degrees or better as we move into the month of march. maybe the last of the coldest air we have seen is behind us. >> well, that would sure be good. >> wouldn't it though? >> we like that. we like that a lot. still ahead a new traffic change in northern virginia could speed up the trip for more than 8,000 cars every day. >> we'll tell you about a simple distraction that may have led to the death of a student. a local hospital has to come up with an emergency plan of more than 1,600 nurses walk off the job this week. and the day after the academy awards. hollywood still buzzing about who was left out of oscar night. the capitals are wheeling and dealing at the trade deadline. the wizards say goodbye to a teammate that only lasted a few days. and you've got to see what bryce harper did in his first strange training a good samaritan paying the price for his actions at a metro station. the man says he witnessed a gang of teens robbing somebody at the suitland station friday. he says the teenagers turned on him when he tried to call for help. so far, nobody has been arrested. d.c.'s problems with expensive suvs for city officials may be even worse than we thought. a new report finds that there are more than 40 of them in the city's fleet, and they may all violate a law which prevents the city from leasing vehicles with low gas mileage to nonpublic safety personnel. it appears that congress will reach a compromise to keep the government running past friday when the money runs out. but that deal is not yet done. a high school student from our area is dead, and a classmate may be responsible. the victim was hit by a car in the holly brook subdivision of spots spotselvania in virginia. >> she was in her rights. >> reporter: a grandmother tries to make sense of a terrible accident. 15-year-old shanta scott was hit and killed friday afternoon. this memorial marks the spot where it happened. >> the 16-year-old driver comes out of a side street on to cobblestone drive, makes the right-hand turn into brilliant, glaring sunlight, and is reported to us to have been blinded by the sun light. >> reporter: authorities say shai was listening to it music, using ear buds, and wasn't aware a car was approaching. her grieving family says the teen had two passions. spiderman and basketball. >> she had -- playing ball ever since she was 5 years old. i bought her her first basketball. and she said, grandma, she said, that's going to be my goal. i want to go to college, and she said i want to make you happy. make you proud of me. >> reporter: news of the fatal accident hit courtland high school court. the driver who killed her also goes to school here. shea's family says they bear no grudge. >> i feel for her, because now she's got to live on. but she took my baby from me, so -- but i feel for her, too. >> reporter: authorities say they don't expect to file charges against the 16-year-old driver. their investigation found that the sun light was indeed blinding on cobblestone drive right before the accident. and the victim walking along the side of the road did not have time to react. in spotselvania county, jane watrel, news4. >> funeral services will be held on saturday. next monday would have been her 16th birthday. nurses from the washington hospital center are meeting with d.c.'s labor leaders about their upcoming strike. more than 1,600 nurses plan to walk off the job at 7:00 friday morning. it's in response to salary cuts, staffing issues and patient care. >> i want everyone to remember that a nurse has the right and the duty to stand up for her patients. we are their gate keepers. >> reporter: washington hospital center released a statement that says recent negotiation meetings have been about pay and benefits, safety and staffing issues have not kept the parties apart, according to the hospital. officials also say the hospital will remain open and fully staffed if there is a strike on friday. >> anyone who travels i-66 in fairfax county knows how congested that road can be. there is some relief coming, though. the two westbound hov ramps at monument drive and at string fellow road are now open to all drivers during off-peak hours, as well as on weekends. virginia governor bob mcdonald and other government officials attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony this afternoon. it was held at the transportation operation center in fairfax. the governor said opening those ramps is a low-cost solution to improving traffic. according to the virginia department of transportation, an estimated 8,000 vehicles who use those reports every day. a high-profile northern virginia political figure has made a decision about his future. there's been a lot of speculation about whether prince william county board chairman corey stewart will jump into the 2012 u.s. senate race. but today he revealed his plans to news4. julie carey has our report. >> yeah, i'm going to run for re-election as chairman of the board of directors for prince william county. >> reporter: with that announcement, republican corey stewart answered the most immediate question about his future. best known for his crackdown on illegal immigration, his political profile has grown. consequently, he had been actively weighing whether to seek the gop nomination for the u.s. senate seat being ve vacated by a retiring jim webb. now stuart says that consideration is on the back burner. >> what i've decideded to do is not plan that far ahead. i'm not going to plan to run for any other seat, i'm going run for re-election, and then we'll see what comes after that. >> reporter: in recent months, stuart has been highly critical of former governor george allen. it leaves political observers to wonder whether stewart's real plan is to win the chairman's race, only to turn around and seek the senate nomination. >> it strikes me there can only be one motivation, trying to weaken george allen, because he himself is possibly interested in running for that senate seat next year. >> reporter: stewart says he makes no apologies for attacking allen, but adds he'll back off now. >> politically, it probably was not a good idea. but it was the truth, as i see it. i'm not going to take anything back. but, you know, certainly i'm going to stay focused on this re-election and probably will not be talking about george allen too much. >> reporter: but even one fellow republican says stewart's earlier wavering has created more competition with five challengers. >> i think this has been furthered by kind of his ambiguity or maybe his flirting with running for the senate overtly in a big way, and then running for chairman. >> reporter: delegate bob marshall says stuart's challenge now will be convincing voters he is serious about the job of chairman. >> if they perceive it as a stepping stone, they're not going to like it and that's going to be up to kory stewart to convince them it's not. >> reporter: julie carey, news4. the primary for the county board chairman's race is set for august, and the election will be in november. coming up, a spectacular sight from spahas some people questioning the safety of earth's satellites. craig melvin unlocked some family secrets that were lost, until now. >> i need to tell you, craig. this is pretty remarkable. and welcome back, everybody. the rain pretty much moving out of here for the time being. then we will see another round ever showers coming in. they're back towards hagerstown making their way into western loudoun county. most will be very light rain. but that's the actual cold front. behind it, much colder air is beginning to make its way in. right now, still 57. nice and mild out there, with winds out of the south at 8 miles per hour. we will see that switch from the south to the northwest with the winds, and that will cool us down into the 20s to the north and west, down to 32 in washington. and after a high of 72, that is a 40-degree temperature drop, in under 24 hours. tomorrow's high temperature, only 48 in d.c. area. 46 in frederick right now. warrenton looking at 48 degrees in fredricksburg around 50. it's going to be a lot cooler tomorrow, but with sunshine and lighter winds. i think we're looking at a pretty nice tuesday. the rest of the week looking pretty good, as well. i'll show you the forecast, including the extended in a few more minutes. dorene? >> thank you, doug. one film touched out to be the biggest winner at last night's academy awards. >> the oscar goes to -- "the king's speech." >> my career has just peaked. >> reporter: the british preliminary came with oscars for best picture, best actor, best screenplay. natalie portman best actress. some of the snubs "true grit" it was nominated for ten awards and didn't win a single trophy. and there have been some complaints because the late actor corey haim was left out of the memoriam tributes. he died in march. >> that show is never perfect, though. >> the oscars? >> always complaints about it. >> it's like sports. everyone has got a grand idea of what would be better. >> and it always takes too long. they never give away the big one until -- >> they should ask me. i have a lot of good insight. >> you certainly have a lot of opinions, that's for sure. >> and i've got a lot of them, so get ready. coming up in sports, you're going to hear from clinton portis and bryce harper. and the caps, they're wheeling and the caps, they're wheeling and dealing at the trade somewhere in america, a city comes to life. it moves effortlessly, breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. [ male announcer ] america's beverage companies are working together to put more information right up front. adding new calorie labels to every single can, bottle and pack they produce. so you can make the choice that's right for you. ♪ you know, a guy who is a championship athlete has to believe that he has still got it, and still number one. clinton had been around for a few years and has not shown himself to be a number-one running back in a couple years now, right? he still wants to be number one, said? >> right, and he has been injured a lot and he has had some great runs, but the bottom line, there are also a couple runs where sometimes it looks like he gave up, looks like he's not running through as he used to do. and the most interesting thing to me is the fact that he kept bringing up coach gibbs. and he really wants to play for a contender. he wants to grind it out. but that's not as we were saying earlier necessarily what people always saw on the field. >> coach gibbs has left the nfl. >> yeah. >> left the building. >> and clinton doesn't want to be a nascar driver, so i don't know he has much option. portis was given the opportunity to restructure his deal, but after seven years of being with the redskins and after getting to the point where he has to prove himself as the number-one back, as well as taking a pay cut, he wants to move on. portis told me over the weekend that he's lost the passion that he once had while he was playing for coach gibbs. yet he says he wants to find a place where he can get back to that grintd-out, hard-nosed kind of play. for a time, clinton portis was a star, on the field, a character. the second leading rusher the franchise has seen. injury kept him off the field a large part of the past couple seasons. he did continue to produce. he had bright spots. but redskins' personnel pointed out, look at this play, the one against st. louis, it looked as though he kind of slipped on his own. portis maintains he can be the workhorse to carry the load with a new team, and he talked about it on 106.7, the fan, today. >> i always believe that i'm number one. and whether i'm going to help another team, i don't think it's going to be long before it comes out, you know, that it was something more. left in the tank, you know? i don't mind. i think this league is transitions to a two-back system. but for me to sit with the idea that i'm a number-two back, i would never do that. i would never -- would never even let that adapt to my mind. >> mike shanahan had a statement. he said, quote, i've known clinton portis since he entered the nfl and will always respect the competitive, drive, intensity and passion that he brought to the organization every day. and portis, of course, as we saw, worked out very hard in the off season. that was one of the reasons i think some people thought he would maybe remain with this team. but as he says, it sounds like he wants the respect. >> he's 29? 30? is he 30 yet? >> yeah. and he's getting up there. he's had a very good career. we'll see what happens he also said the toughest part was having the conversation with dan snyder, because of the emotion involved there between the two of them. moving to hockey. capitals general manager george mcphee doesn't like to show his hand. but today he played his cards right. the capitals made some moves before the trade deadline this afternoon, and key among them was trading for a center with a boatload of experience, including a stanley cup. the capitals traded center dave stickel in the 2012 nhl entry draft for jason arnot from the devils, 36 years old. and this will be the fifth nhl team he is with. he comes from the devils, where in 2000 he scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime to help new jersey win the championship. the caps also made a move for defenseman dennis wideman from the panthers. they traded this it year's third round pick and prospect jake houseworth. as for losing center dave stickel, george mcphee said he's just trying to make the club better. >> we took a player out of our roster that we love. he's just a great guy, and he's done really well for us here, and he's become an nhl player and a solid nhl player. but we felt that we had some depth there if we were going to upgrade the club in another position, this was the asking price. so you do it reluctantly, but it's a decision you have to make in this position sometimes, and as much as you don't want to see a guy go, you know you have to do it to help your club. >> george mcphee also talked about dennis wideman and he said that he's a guy that will actually block a puck with his face. so it's always good -- >> we don't need anymore of that -- >> no, exactly. >> someone you want on your team, though. >> that's the kind of heart you want someone to play with, so to speak. point guard bibby has agreed to fork over $6.2 million he was going to earn next season to not play for the wizards in order to play for a contender. he was acquired last week in a trade with the hawks and plans to sign with the miami heat. not a bad choice. 32-year-old mike bibby was distraught about being traded to the wizards. he lasted less than a week. he appeared in two games. here's the deal, though. bibby is a 13-year nba veteran, made the playoffs in each of the past nine seasons, wants to play for a contender. did not want to join a rebuilding team. for the wizards, they will only lose about $1 million with salary fees. one of the most common themes you'll hear a sports star utter is stig staying even child, not getting too high, not too low. today bryce harper got a big dose of that. after being the toast of spring training, the outfielder got at first at-bats with the big guys. and let's just say it was a learning experience. pleasant day, though. pleasant spring day in port saint lucy. top of the seventh. mike morris gets all of this pitch to left field. that is a thing of beauty. never mind the wind is blowing out. that's a two-run home run and one of two morris hits on the game. the nationals took a 7-3 lead. bryce harper, not such a great debut after striking out on three pitches. this is his ninth inning attempt. two-looking strikes and then a swing and a miss. a tough start. but the gnats are victorious in their spring opener, beating the mets 9-3. that's okay. that guy has got all the confidence in the world. >> different up there in the big leagues. >> heck, yeah. >> you've got to get the speed. you know, at least he's got really cool shoes. dan hellie told me he has the coolest shoes he saw. >> we'll have to notice next time. >> thanks, lindsay. >> both pretty stylish. coming up, craig melvin makes a remarkable discovery about his ancestry. >> and for all your news, be sure to follow news4 online. just search nbc washington on facebook and on twitter. [ dog barking, sirens wailing ] [ alarm sounding ] ♪ [ woman ] please say "one" to speak to a representative. one. one. [ sneezes ] a little off the sides. [ scissors snipping, razor buzzing ] ♪ no! [ male announcer ] these days, it's hard to find good customer service. thankfully, there's still one place that gets it right. this week, make pasta night more exciting for your family with a little help from the italian sausage experts: try... since 1945, this delicious italian sausage has been made with only the most premium cuts of pork and unique blends of quality herbs and spices you can actually see. and the taste? why not let the empty plates speak for themselves. make pasta night a weekly dinner your family looks forward to. choose johnsonville, america's favorite italian sausage. brand power. helping you buy better. every friday night, nbc reveals the family trees of celebrities on a show called "who do you think you are." many of those are amazed at what they discover. recently craig melvin decided to find out about his own family history. >> these pictures are pieces of my family puzzle. anastasia leads a team of researchers for ancestry.com, and the popular nbc show, "who do you think you are." she met me at the national archives to help me put the puzzle together. >> we got back to the late 1700s. i need to tell you, craig. this is pretty remarkable. >> reporter: this is my grandma, florence wily. she is my only living grandparent. my mother's mother. and the matriarch of our close-knit family. grandma-flo was married to frank delano wily, my grandfather, he died in 1977. i never knew much about him other than he was born in south carolina and adopted. adoption adds a nice twist. >> reporter: according to the federal sen as i say of 1930, my grandma frank's mother's name was ella calhoun. her husband -- >> right here, we have israel, your first great grandfather. >> israel wily. >> reporter: this is a picture of might have 9-year-old mother on israel's back porch with some could you saykins. i had seen this picture before but knew little about my grandfather. much less about his service record. poring over public records, she found his draft card from 1917. >> i'm assuming that's world war i. my great grandfather was in world war i. >> these are his parents, john and christina. >> reporter: my great, great grandfather was born as the confederacy died. >> what does that say to you, 1865? >> reporter: i don't knjohn wil at the end of the civil war. >> yes. so he was likely born free. first generation after the civil war. >> reporter: presumably, like many others dung the late 1800s in south carolina, john wily became a share cropper. then he got ambitious. >> right here, this o in this column, they were asking, are you a worker, are you working on your own accord. >> he owned the farm? >> yes, oh so he owns his farm. >> reporter: and would until his death. >> he dies right here. >> reporter: november 25th, 1946, 5:00. for two hours, harmon guided me on a tour through my tree, using census records from the mid 1800s. revealing after branch that had been bare to me for so long. two things struck me. >> two and a quarter centuries. >> reporter: south carolina, never left. >> south carolina. i told you had south carolina roots. >> deep roots, yes. >> reporter: i'm the seventh generation from the same south carolina county, and like most who look like me from that time and place, many of my ancestors were slaves. i knew that. i did not know their names. >> so what does that tell us about robert then? how he would have spent -- >> reporter: he was a slave. but his son, john, who was born free. i'm really speechlesses. but this is one of those rare occasions. >> i love this quote by alex haily, the author of "roots" who says knowing your heritage and who you are and where you come from is a hunger. >> reporter: it seems like the more you learn about how the pieces fit together, the more insatiable that appetite becomes. it makes you hungriest like clifford and josephine, the great aunt and uncle i never knew about until now. craig melvin, news4. >> census records, death certificates and birth certificates made up the lion's share of the research used to help craig trace his roots. if you're interested in learning more about your family tree, along with ancestry.com, there are lots of helpful websites. our national archives are also a good resource. >> coming up tonight at 11:00, a local astronaut on a space walk that went wrong, and had nasa scrambling back here on earth. also, a measle scare in the district. and we'll tell you where a woman who flew into dulles went while in washington. and it's also called a lunch time lift. how ultrasound technology is helping women change their appearance in just an hour. >> doug is here with a final check on our weather. we like this forecast and want to hear it again. >> you guys were talking about the oscars a minute ago. out of the top ten movies, i saw one of them. >> me too. which one did you see? >> i know which one you saw saw. guess which i saw? >> "toy story 3". >> "toy story 3". and i'm just listening to the thing. i need a babysitter bad. you said there are some pretty good ones. let's show you what we're dealing with. the rain continuing to move out for the most part, down to the south and east, the heaviest rain. notice rain in northern virginia and loudoun county and frederick county, maryland, and virginia. just light rain. but that is the cold front. and that's why we're going to see some temperatures dropping over the next couple of hours. there's the storm system itself. it's a big storm system coming across the country with severe weather for us. just a couple of severe thunderstorms but nothing really bad. nothing really damaging. report of a tree down along down towards route 4, but that was really about it as far as the damage in our area goes, just light rain now. and then the cooler air sets in. look at the temperatures right now. 45 in hagerstown. down 5 degrees from last hour. 32 in pitsberg. 39 in west virginia. that cold air is coming in a hurry overnight tonight, down to 32 inside the beltway. some areas into the 20s. warming up to about 48 tomorrow under plenty of sunshine. pretty nice afternoon tomorrow after a cold start. 56 on wednesday. wednesday is really looking like a great day. then back to the cold. 43 on thursday. 50 on friday. and as we make our way into the extended including the weekend it does looks like we will see another chance of rain coming up late saturday and into the day on sunday. right now, a little bit of a battle of the seasons between winter and spring. spring, i think, in this forecast, is winning out for the most part. >> we hope they're winning for the season. >> thanks, doug. >> thank you. the solar cycle lasts roughly 11 years. scientists say the sun is in the midst now of an active phase. there have been at least two solar storms this month. one of them happened last thursday. look at this. images of a huge solar flair were captured on tape by nasa's solar dynamic observatory. scientists say that 90-minute eruption was strong enough to kick up a plasma known as a solar prominence. thursday's solar flare was directed away from earth. let us all be grateful, because it is not expected to disrupt satellites or cause any other problems. i don't know how you measure the