Forever change taxi service in d. C. And we arent just talking uber here. This is real change. This is the cabs that you know and see on the street every day. Youve seen this video. The lawsuit against four d. C. Cab companies calls for damages and a permanent order to keep Taxi Companies from discriminating against the blind. Exhibit 1, 2, 3, 4 all from the court case against d. C. Taxi companies filed today, all still i ages taken from our may, with images taken from our may, 2013 undercover investigation catching d. C. Cabs passing blind passengers with service dogs instead going 100 feet down the street to stop for me. Reporter why didnt you let him in . Thats why i stopped. Reporter why didnt you let him in . Why didnt you let him in your cab . Im waiting for him. Thats why im backing up. Reporter sir, hes blind. Today that passenger, eric bridges, filed a lawsuit against grand cab, elite cab, yellow cab and pleasant taxi. I might add that im not just filing this complaint against these Taxi Companies on my behalf but rather also on the behalf of my friends, my family and colleagues. Reporter bridges works for the American Council for the blind. The wusa9 report is specifically identified as the basis for the lawsuit which charges violations of the americans with disabilities act and discrimination. I feel very strongly the day that i stood out in the cold rain doing this work with channel 9, it was incredibly frustrating. It was demoralizing and it showed clear discrimination. Reporter in our 2013 investigation of 42 cabs wusa9 tested with passengers using wheelchairs or guide dogs, 20 cabs or 48 either drove right past the passenger with a disability in favor of another fare, took them to the wrong location without warning or charged them an illegal extra fee. Yellow cab is the only company that responded to us. It denied the claims saying the company has a strong record of providing accessibility transportation and that it will be vindicated. Since our taxi investigation began in november of 2012, the d. C. Taxi commission has taken action. The office of human rights has taken action, but this is the first time a case landed in court. You investigated the fact that African Americans were not sometimes picked up as well. Where is that . We found that in investigation after investigation. The office of human rights is looking at that. D. C. Taxi commission is looking at that. People need to complain. In this case you have a complainant in mr. Bridges and you have the video. If you have those, you can take this case a long way and make change. Were learning of a local connection to a deadly military Helicopter Crash last week off the florida panhandle. Officials have identified all 11 victims and among them Staff Sergeant thomas florich, 26 yearold from virginia. Florich joined the Air National Guard in 2007 and was on a Training Mission last week when his blackhawk helicopter went down. The cause of the crash is under investigation, but investigators say dense fog may have played a role. A brilliant gw graduate student tried to blame his girl friend for a love triangle murder, but a Montgomery County jury today rejected that explanation and convicted ralul gupta of first degree murder. Bruce leshan is live in rockville on the latest with so many lives transformed. Reporter you got it, lesli. We of have so much in our children and today two families are shattered. The victims family mark waugh, they were in the courtroom, and they know that they will never ever see their son again, but so was the defendant, the killer, rahul gupta. His mother was here and she wailed and fainted when deputies led her son away for a possible life sentence. Guilty of first degree murder, he wept openly and his mother wailed and fainted. The victims father said what gupta did to his son was evil that he could not comprehend. Our son mark all i can say is a gift from god. Reporter it started a year and a half ago. Three brilliant graduate students, a night of binge drinking and murder, rahul gupta celebrating his 24th birthday with his Old High School friend mark waugh and his girl friend taylor gould. They all ended up back at the couples Silver Spring apartment and gould said she woke to a blood spattered scene of horror and gupta screaming for her to call 911. What do you need the police for . Hes here and i need emergency right now. Reporter prosecutors say gupta confessed that he told police he stabbed waugh when he walked in on him and his girl friend cheating and then he confessed again in a phone call he made to his father. Gupta insisted on the stand that he only confessed to save his girl friend who told police she was so drunk she had no memory of what happened, but the Prosecutor Says blaming it on his girl friend made no sense to him, nor to the jury. This tragedy that surrounds this case is really the tragic mixture of alcohol, jealous and suspected betrayal. Reporter suspected betrayal, there is no evidence actually of actual betrayal. Now gupta had been out on bail. It was kind of a strange scene up here in the courthouse hallway where gupta was pacing the hall back and forth for much of the day Holding Hands with his family, but never saying a word to all the reporters and producers gathered here to hear his fate. Reporting live from the rockville clouse, bruce leshan, wusa9. We are just two weeks out from some significant traffic changes that you need to know about for phase 2 of the 16th street bridge replacement project. Ddots director and d. C. s mayor made those announcements today. Stephanie ramirez is live in the newsroom with what they had to say. They are really hoping people Pay Attention to these changes because any traffic headaches are about to get worse starting march 27th. I know the area well enough to avoid it if i can if i want. Giorgio may already be used to phase 1 construction going on at 16th street and military road, but ddot said get ready for phase 2. Starting before the morning rush hour commute friday, march 27th, ddot plans to break down 16th street into one lane each direction with lane changes on military road and a ramp closure. May 1st is when the bridge will be closed to be replaced. Its all to remove a basically rotting 16th street bridge and upgrade the roadways, but not without words from the mayor. We want people to think about their commutes, especially our neighbors to the north in maryland. Reporter a warning to avoid 16th street as much as possible. Area residents tell us theyre already halfway there. Theyre fixing the bridge, which is great and very needed, but theres no traffic management. For the People Living in this neighborhood its causing a lot of hardship. Im just excited the construction part theyve been racing through here really, really fast. Im surprised there have not been accident. Reporter ddot did suggest adjusting traffic light times, but they warn drivers to be cautious and be aware of the changes in place. Now ddot engineers told me to remember the call for help mayday, both because may is when the new bridge is coming and to help yourself by pucking out those new alternate route picking out those new alternate routes early. The project is supposed to be ready in about four months. Back to you guys in the newsroom. Thats a busy street. Its going to be a rough couple months. Thank you. If you are angry or whatever you are with d. C. Did not of motor vehicles, they will listen to my concerns you have about this any concerns you have about this project. Theres a live web chat scheduled for tomorrow. Weve got a link on www. Wusa9. Com or on our wusa9 app. This video was shot heading south on old georgetown right near the womans club of bells da. We reported this location because the maryland state Highway Administration is the Agency Responsible for fixing potholes. You want our Pothole Patrol Team to help you get rid of a pothole . Please include a city or cross street block number for that pothole location. Up next how a microphone mistake landed a suspected killer before a judge facing charges. Later on see how drones could help save lives for swimmers ending up in trouble this summer. What a beautiful evening. Do you think its warmer today than it was yesterday, 10 to 18 degrees warmer across the entire eastern seaboard. Well come back, talk about how warm it will get tomorrow, but [ female announcer ] Business Travel isnt just about the going. Its also about the going home. And being connected all along the way. Whether youre working or recharging do Business Travel on your terms. Acela. Take off. My tempurpedic made me fall in love with mornings again. I love how it conforms to my body. With tempurpedic the whole bed is comfortable. Its the best thing we ever did for ourselves. Its helping to keep us young. vo visit your local retailer and feel the tempurpedic difference for yourself. Notorious millionaire robert burst made a Court Appearance today in new orleans after being arrested for a 15 yearold murder. He agreed to go to los angeles to face the murder charges for his friend susan berman. This happened days before hbo was airing a documentary about his life. Durst was wearing a microphone in the bathroom and it sure sounded like an admission of guilt. For us it was a shock because it was many months since we had sat down with him. Extradition may be delayed because new orleans authorities are considering filing their charges against durst possibly related to drugs and a gun allegedly found in his hotel room. Were off to a great start, but cooler air could be moving in. How cool you ask and for in one year 5. 6 million hospital workers helped perform 26. 6 million surgeries deliver 3. 7 million babies and treat 133 million e. R. Patients. Now congress is considering cuts which could increase wait times reduce staff, and threaten your communitys health. Keep the heart of americas hospitals strong. For you and your family Tell Congress dont cut hospital care. I am never getting married. Never. Psssssh. Guaranteed. You picked a beautiful ring. Thank you. Were never having kids. Mmmmmm. Breathe. I love it here. We are never moving to the suburbs. We are never getting one of those minivan . We are never having another kid. M pregnant. I am never letting go. For all the nevers in life state farm is there. The Volkswagen Jetta is really funtodrive. Go for it. Okay. Wow. Woohoo im dreaming. Pinch me. No, not while youre driving. And, right now, you can get a onethousanddollar volkswagen credit bonus on jetta models. Seriously, pinch me. Its not a dream. Ow its the volkswagen stop dreaming, start driving event. Stop dreaming, and testdrive one today. Hurry in and you can get 0 apr plus a 1000 volkswagen credit bonus on 2015 jetta and passat models. Drones are used in everything from wars to weekend hobbies. Now a company in chile is hoping to use drones to save lives along the beach. A drone is fitted with a float, camera, microphone and speaker. The operator on the beach flies it out to a distressed swimmer, drops the float while a lifeguard swims out to help. The speaker and microphone help lifeguards on the beach give instructions to said swimmer. Authorities in chile are considering whether or not to put these drones to work next summer. Seems like it might be a good idea. I think you could export that idea. Especially with our beaches around here and all the tragic stories we do. Rip currents. Its Severe WeatherAwareness Week in maryland. Were trying to talk about the difference between a watch and warning. We always say Severe Thunderstorm Warning in effect. What does that mean . It has to do with satisfying one or two what . I was like what are you saying . It has to satisfy one or two criteria. It has to have wind gusts of 58 Miles Per Hour or higher and our hail 1 inch in diameter or larger. If theres a warning, it means its occurring. 1 inch, think of it always quarter sized hail. If it has one of those two, it is a severe thunderstorm. You got to get the kids inside. Take cover. Take action when youre under a warning. Well give you more of these going through the week. Live look outside, very nice, clear. Clouds will return overnight, but check out these temperatures. Still 68 downtown, calm winds. Winds pick up tomorrow behind the cold front. In fact, the cold front approaches late tonight and is here by Early Morning. Generally going to move through dry. It will throw a few cloud our way but generally dry. Bus stop temperatures 44 to 60. So were looking at temperatures around 60 as early as 8 45, 9 00 tomorrow morning. Windy and warmer tomorrow for st. Pattys day, temps around 70. The winds will gust at 30 Miles Per Hour. The cold air will not move in until tomorrow night. Were okay, but these northwest winds will eventually usher in colder air. It is march. Its going to remind us that its march. Tonight 10 00 see the clouds return . Mild, 58 downtown, 54 in gaithersburg, 58 in leesburg and manassas, not bad. A lot of clouds in the morning, but not much in terms of sprinkles. Even by Early Morning its only 49 in manassas and 53 in leesburg. By 9 00 close to 60, 58 downtown and fredericksburg. By 1 00 were in the 60s, pretty good shape. Weve got northwest winds howling, but the cold air wont move in until tomorrow night. By 5 00 looking at 59 downtown and still well into the 50s in the burbs, both north and west and south and west as well. We get into the evening hours tomorrow, 40s, clear skies and the winds usher in cold air. How strong . 27 mileperhour wind gust is possible tomorrow about 2 00. This is a wind gust tracker, a forecast of peak wind at this hour. By evening a little stronger. We think by 5 00 we could see wind gusts 28 to 32 Miles Per Hour, 31 downtown, maybe a 30 mileperhour wind gust in manassas by evening tomorrow. Day planner, 54 at 7 00, 58 at 9 00, 57 at 1 00 with a mix of sun and clouds. Breezy and cooler wednesday, 51 and still cool thursday, clouds coming in late mainly at night, low 50s. Next seven days its march, got a little wet snowflake early on friday possible. Otherwise just a cold rain, 46. Dry weekend but cool, mid50s on saturday, low 50s on sunday. Only in the upper 40s next monday. Everybody becomes a College Basketball fan. We got our brackets out. I got this, i got them. Everybody has kentucky so far, right . Hopefully thats not the case. Theyre undefeated. Hopefully some of the locals will do some damage. You still got to beat the best to be the best. Will there still be shining moments for virginia, georgetown and maryland . Were its the biggest trade violation in history. Today middle east governments are shredding open skies agreements they signed pumping over 40 billion in prohibited subsidies into their stateowned airlines. Protectionism at its worst. And their actions threaten thousands of u. S. Aviation jobs. Its time for middle east countries to play by the rules. Restore competition. Restore open skies. Fight for american jobs. I know grandmas house isnt the most exciting, but its only for a few hours. Look what ive got. When you get verizon fios, you get beautiful hd picture quality, super fast internet, and americas most reliable network. 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Military families are thankful for many things. The legacy of usaa Auto Insurance could be one of them. Our worldclass service earned usaa the top spot in a study of the most recommended Large Companies in america. If youre current or former military or their family, see if youre eligible to get an Auto Insurance quote. Wusa9 news is sponsored by your local toyota dealers. Now wusa9 game on sports brought to you by xfinity. Maryland is focusing now on valparaiso facing them friday afternoon in columbus, ohio. Terps seemed stunned by the lower seeding, but theyre in the tournament for the First Time Since 2010, so theres plenty of motivation for the terps. They feel this is a special group and want this run to last as long as they can. Right now were focused on val po. I dont know anything about them, but i will by tonight. Theyve won 28 teams. Georgetown has been good, not great, inconsistent this year. Hoyas gladly take the fourth seed in the south season taking on Eastern Washington thursday night at 10 00 out west. This time around we get another chance at it and i dont plan on going home any time soon. We seen it happen before and dont want that to happen again. We are motivated. Im motivated. Im going to fire the guys up. Well be ready to play. Virginia also may be motivated, getting 2 seed in the east region get the Belmont Bruins 15th seed in charlotte friday afternoon. I just feel like at some level its disrespectful. Whats the purpose of winning 29 games only losing one real game all season, you dominated the conference . I believe the best conference in the country and they kind of disrespect you and give it to a team that didnt win a tournament or the conference in duke. Big night for the women of maryland, the terrapins, terps likely a top seed. Gw would have to win the top 10 and so is american in the patriot league. Well have more on the womens tournament tonight at 11 00. The redskins signing a safety, two year deal jeron johnson. They need it. I saw an article in the paper picking maryland as an upset pick to lose to val po. They need all the motivation they can get. Were rooting for the home team. That would be really sad. I dont want to think about that. Like turgeon said, they won 28 games. Thats going to do it for us. Stay with wusa9 for the cbs evening news next. Bye. Pelley boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is taken back to the boat where his run from the law ended in a blaze of bullets. Also tonight accused murderer robert durst may have tripped over his own loose tongue. New recommendations on cardiac stress tests why doctors say millions of people should not get them. And something new under the sun, a solarpowered spacecraft. Thats exciting. Captioning sponsored by cbs this is the cbs evening news with scott pelley. Pelley today Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the admitted Boston Marathon bomber, took a field trip with the jurors who will decide whether he lives or dies. The destination the boat in which he hid for hours until the police, acting on a tip from the