Week. Were going to begin with a consumer investigation that you saw only here on news 4. New accusations against the maker of a controversial guardrail thats being blamed for a number of deaths here in d our region a across the country. This particular guardrail end piece is called the x light, its been at the center of a news 4 consumer investigarlon anr neay two years. Susan hog has been on it all along. Here are the new details. Steve imers daughter, hanna, died in 2016 afteritting an x light. He believes the product is defective and he is on a mission to get the guard rails removed from our nations highways. So we traveled to his home in tennessee earlier this year to give you a firsthand look inside his ground zero, where he says hes made some surprising here x represents the max we can spend, okay . Reporter its a typical wednesday morning at timers home, melissa pulling double duty for mom and homeschool teacher for seven of h kids. Before leaving for work, steve heads to the backyard to feed the animals. Little nick chases the chickens and places nearly the Memorial Garden built for the sister he never met. You can be fine on nguyeminu and you never know whats going to get you. Reporter han imers was just 17 years old when she crashed into an xlite guardrail and died. Theid tragic at changed this family forever. It is something that is always there. It. Aware of but it doesnt always stab me in the heart. After a while, weve been able to think of, you know, you can remember hanna and its not instantly the memory h ofow she er lifeled, but more of in general. Reporter melissa and steve say the grief never goes away it just looks different over. Time and theyre working to make sure no other family has to experien it. For the past two years, steves een researching the xlite guardrail. He started Digging Deeper after learning three other people had also died in tenne ween xlite pierced their vehicles. The deadly accidents have happened in other states, too. Sarah weinbergas killed on i i66 in virginia and Michael Carter jr. Died after hitting an xlite on marylands eastern shore. Maryland, virginia, and4 other states are now in the process of replacing xlites. Back in tennessee, steve sortst rough the thousands of pages hes collected through public records requests and online research. The Tennessee Department of transportation says xlite function properly in hannas crash, something this father t accept, based on what hes sdiscovered. Articularly bothered by emails he found that show the federal Highway Administration was aware of concerns about the xlite before his daughter died. I have federal highway talking about extraordinary xlite images. Reporter youre looking at those extraordinary images. We obtained them through the freedom of information act. They show six different crash scenes in missouri where xwetes hit. I have them meeting twice in may of 2016 and june of 2016 and discussing these concerns. Reporter just a f months after those meetings, federal highway sent this email to one of its field offigs, flaggin potential problems. It says, have caltrans check with missouri d. O. T. Before they use the xlite. They knew this was an issue. They knew this was an issue. Reporter sve says emails from state transportation officials palace detailed concerns about the guardrail. Heres an email from the georgia d. O. T. And they said, we have some issues with performance. Reporter in this email, the rhode island d. O. T. Describes, quote, quality concerns. And this one from arizona mentions constructability challenges. But steve says the most troublin discovery hes made isnt in all ose the papers on his kitchen table, its out here on the roads. Theyve increased it by about 50 . Reporr he believes the xlite guard rails that line our highways today are nothe same products that passed crash test during development. What we have is the head was thicker. We have this part here is not as wide. These are longer and more. Narrow this bolt has been three different sizes. Reporter so how did steve discover the differences . He simply compared his measurements to specifications provided by the manufacturer in this crash testreport. He says hes found dozens of changes. They were havingfo perance issues and installation issues and multiple issues all the way and so we basically have changed virtually every part on this system. Reporter kind of on the fly, as on the fly. We were just, lets t is, lets try that, lets try this, maybe we can make it a little better. Makerorter we asked the of the xlite, Lindsay Transportation Solutions about the changes and whether they have run new crash tests. They didnt answer q ourstions and decline an oncamera interview citing steves wrongful death lawsuit, but did send us a statement saying, the federal Highway Administration has examined and reexaminedhe xlite and its inservice performance and has gathered input from state departments of transportation across the untry. In federal highways evaluations, the xlite has performe other end terminals on u. S. Roads and highways. But even the federal Highway Administration acknowledges it has limited information about how specific types of guardrails actually perform in crashes. They depend on states for t ot type data, and up until just a few years ago, most werent even collecting it. The only hard numbers federal highway has to go on is from a llot program it launched in 2015, whichked at about 500 crash es involving several different types of guardrails. Back at the eimers home, steve tells us, he will continue to fight until every state removes the xlite that are on the my goal is a national replay of the guardrail terminal. I dont have to fix all the worlds problems, but for some reason, i have been, i feel like this is my responsibility, to see it through. Reporter melissa says shell continue to support her husbands mission and she thinkg their daer, hanna, would be so proud. I would like to think that shes pleased and very proud of her dad. Steves going to keep pushing states to remove these guarails, because the decision is ultimately areirs. S changes to the xlite, the manufacturer was allowed to make modifications prior to 2015, but ain, since the company is not commenting on the changes that steve has found, we nt know exactly when they were made or why. Back to you. Thank you, susan. When we come back, the effort to make your commute a little coolert two busy metro stations hits a snag. Plus, a new chapter for the Catholic Church. Washingtons new archbishop sits down with dorene gentzler for his first local Television Interview and will talk about his mission to resofre the faith ocal catholics. Protect your pet with the 1 name in flea and tick protection. Frontline plus. Trusted ye vets for nearly 20 ars. Get the deals now duringt e at sears. Save up to 40 off appliances like this kenmore fridge for twelve ninetynine ninetynine. Plus, get 300 cashback in points over twenty weeks. Shop in store or at sears. Com to start making your summer moments matter. Luily, her dorm is aboutis he10 minutesollege. From a hotel by wyndham. Ashleys meeting all her inlaws, and shes about 10 minutes from a hotel by wyndham. Jeff is flying to. Oh never mind. But hey, 10 minutes from a wyndham. Hes having the best. Day. Ever and hes about. 10 minutes 10 minutes. From a hotel by wyndham. With over 6,000 Hotels Across the country, a great hotel by wyndham is closer than you think. Book direct at wyndhamhotels. Com. A major investment is going towards improving Reagan National airport. This week, u. S. Secretary elaine chao announeed arly 5 million will be used for improvements to dca. The multimilliondollar grant is from the federal aviation administration. This money is gng to also be used to reconstruct an aircraft apron. Some bad news, though, if youre hoping for some cool air in a couple of very busy, verye hot mro stations. News 4 has lrned theres new delay for a permanent fix to the Dupont Circle and the Farragut North stations cooling stations along the red line. Metro tells us while they were trying to fix the pipeshat control the cool air, crews hit a lamppost in the past, so metro now has permission from d. O mo that lamppost and hope to restore the which ould air to t station sometime next month. But in the meantime, as news 4 has found out, temperatures inside those stations can stay routinely in the 90s. We wheome back after a break, an unlikely path to the priesthood. Only on news 4, dorene gentzlers conversation with washingtons new archbishop as he talks about his personal lifs as well as racm and the sex scandals that have shaken the lets get down to business. Th e business of getting it done. The business of road trips. The business of getting everyone back tother. The business of hustle. And hard work. And whatever this is. Modeesized comfort inns suit d because whatever business youre in, our business is you. Book direct at choicehotels. Com because whatever business youre in, compare comcast business to your cuent provider. My Current Service provider does not provide half of what you provide. And to know that i could save money . Id be thrilled. This sounds like a whole business package, re which would be incble. So what are you guys waiting for . Lets do it. laughs comcast business gives you more. Switch now and get fast, liable internet for a new low price of 39. 95 a month. Plus, get free installation. Better, faster . I mean sign me up. Call today at 18005016000. Comcast business beyond fast. A new c pter for the Catholic Church as it tries to heal from recent scandals. Archbishop willden gregory has been at the hem for a month and has been vigilant different schos and parishes across the archdiocesein of washon. This week, in his first local Television Interview, he talked with dorene gentzler about his plan to mend some deepseeated wounds and rebuild trust among catholics. N reporter outside johe t church in silver spring, Everyone Wants to meet the new archbishop of washington, wilton d. Gregory. Th i facetoface connectio a priority to him. Listen to the people, understand them, find out whats on their hearts and try to respond as generously and asly lovings you can. So thats what im doing. Ep rter one by one, they line up to share a hug or a handshake and to pose for pictures as he listens to their stories. Okay ill pray for it has. Epr snim o t iso t turmoil f Catholic Church here. Pashioners and priestsave told him how theyre feeling. They want me to know howde ly embarrassed, scandalized, and ashamed this past year has been for them a they want me to know that that pain is real, sb but so is the depth of their faith. Reporter that pain stems from highprofil sex abuse scandals involving gregorys two predecessors, first the defrocking of now excdinal mccarrick after the vatican found him guilty of sexually abusing children and adults. And then t resignation of Cardinal Donald wuerl, a of not doing enough to punish predator priests when he served s b ipsbhongh. Every bishop has to be a spokesperson for the church and now thats what i have to do. I have to do it in a particularly sensitive arena, because this is the nations capital. And so much attention is put on the events that take place here. Reporter people inside and outside of the church are looking for his leadership. Gregory arrives as the very first africanamerican archbishop he at a time of growing racial tension nationwide. I hope i can provide the kind of example that shows people that i can shepherd the entire church. I was notne assigd just for the africanamericans. Racism is like a cancer. It can metastasiz can go dormant, but all it needs is a catalyst to allow it to erupt again. So its an ongoing struggle. And i think it w l be an ongoing struggle. Reporter at 71, archbishop gregory is well respected in the catholic community, but his path to the priesthood was unusual. T he was raised in the Catholic Church. Growing up on chicagos south side, gregorys mother and granother enrolled him inic catholschool. They were hoping he would get a er education, but he quickly formed a special bond with the priest and nuns there and chose to join t church. I was mesmerized by these people. I had no personal firsthandf knowledge o catholicism, but they promoted and projected such a wonderful i image thatas enamored by them. And after about six weeks, seven weeks, two months in the catholic school, i decided i was going to be a youre hold ow old . 11. But parents know that kids go through all kinds of vocational decisions. On monday hes going to be a fireman, on tuesday hes going to be a dentist, on wednesday hes going to be a Rocket Scientist and on and on. Reporter 11yearold Wilson Gregory never wavered. He became a priest at the age of 25 and later a bishop. Hes been the archbishop of atlanta for 14years. Reporter he says his place now is here in the pews with his people, presidingver mass at parishes across the archdiocese of washington and on this occasion baptizing a baby. And when hes not at church, hes walking among us in the ci. U might find him shopping in the aisles of your local Grocery Store or maybe playing a round of golf. Im a horrible golfer. Absolutely horrible, but i love the game. And when i go home, i like to put on casual clothes, now that its nice, warm, washington summer weather, i like to put on shorts and flipflops and i like to cook. What do you cook . I livedor four years in italy, doing my doctoral studies, loved italian food. The italians know how to do it. Will we see you out and about in the community in your shorts and flipflops and relaxing . You already ha. I havent. Well, some have okay. Some have. To be a human being, to be someone whooes to safeway and buys bananas, who goes into coffee, itsd has a a humanizing experience for me and that i hope it lets people know that, first o all, im very much at home, i very much have enjoyed this first month in washington, and i look forward to many, many more years of service. Reporter as for what the archbishop hopes his l acy will be here in washington. I hope that when pope franci says washington has had enough, i hope that i can leave a legacf healing and bringing the people together in a mor loving and peaceful relationship. The archdiocese of washington is home to more than 650,000 catholics. Leading it is a powerful potion and its one that could put archbishop gregory in line to one day be the countrys first africanamerican cardinal whewe come back, preparing for the fourth of july. A look at the road closures and the different events planned down on the mall this year. You try hard, you eat right. Mostly. You make time. When you can. But sometimes life gets in t way, and that stubborn fat just wont go away. Coolsculpting takes you further. A nonsurgical treatment that targets, freezes, and eliminates treated fat cells, for good. Discuss coolsculpting with your doctor. Some common sideeffects include temporary numbness, discomfort, and swelling. Dont imagine results, see them. Coolsculpting, take yourself further. Yo this is u shopping. And this is mau maximizing at t. J. You shopping, u ximizing. You shopping, you maximizing. Get more of the brands you love and the quality you want, and save every time. Its not shopping, its maximizing. Art maximizing today maxx life at t. J. Maxx. As your favorite restaurant in the district ht ditched the Plastic Straws yet they could be fined up to 800. Switching eriod for to paper or more environmentally friendly straws is now ending. D. C. s department ofnergy and environment will start issuing fines on july 1st and those fines could be as much as 200 per straw. However, restaurants are required to keep a few Plastic Straws on hand for customers with disabilities. E if you haven around the district during the fourth of july in the past, you know its best to keep the car at home. And heres why. Take a look at all the road closures planned for the hoday. Police will begin closing things off at 4 00 a. M. The morning of july 4thr. If y heading to the mall to view the fireworks, Public Access points will open up at 10 00 a. M. For you. And reminder, there will be additional events happening on the National Mall this year. The national indepdence day parade on constitution avenue will step off just before noon. In te to america, the eve which President Trump is set to speak, that starts at 6 30. The gates for that will open up at 3 30. And the annual capital 4th concert starts from the weste lawn of capital at 8 00 p. M. And the fireworks show, that starts at 9 07 p. M. Sharp. S that all for news 4 this week. Im leon arre harris, thanks fo. Have a great week and hope to see you after the great hoda thats why theres new frontline we all want our dogs to live long and happy lives. Oral defense, s. Daily oral health chew because for a healthy life your dog needs a healthy mouth. More than just fresh breath. Frontline oral defense prevents plaque buildup and bad breath before they start. It works two ways. It scrubs down to the gum line, then theeart shaped center coats for a whole mouth clean. And a mouth that stays clean a can heog stay healthy. Because no matter how old your dog gets shell always be your puppy. New frontline oralefense. With licensed agents available 24 7. Its not just easy. Its havingawalrusingoal easy roooaaaar its a walrus ridiculous yes nice save, big guy good job duncan way to go [chanting] its geico easy. Oh, duncan. Stay up. No sleepies. Its geico easy. When crabe stronger. Strong, with new nicorette coated ice mint. Layered with flavor. Its the first and only coated nicotine lozenge. For an amazing taste. That outlasts your craving. New nicorette ice mint. Anner news4 today starts now. Planes gut this Million Dollar home in virginia. We have the latest from firefighterswho spent hours got getting the flames under control overnight. On his way to south korea President Trump says he would cross the Demilitarized Zone to shake kim jonguns hand. S more from wide ranging overnight press conference. Festival g a d. C. Short this year but there is still plenty to enjoy at the folk life festival when it opens on the national