standard round lot. >> thank you. the comments on social media for this one story have been overwhelming. pam barnes -- susan writes this -- now, we have more than 500 comments on our facebook page after george zimmerman's arrest. we will bring you the latest on our facebook page and on twitter as well. >> a controversial comments made by a democratic consultant has sparked a debate on and off the campaign trail. the comment was about mitt romney's wife and it has now been condemned by michelle obama, joe biden, and many other democrats. >> president obama has been busy trying to woo women voters and his advisers were quick to say this woman does not work for the president. she is a well-known voice for the democratic party. today and she apologized, her remarks sparked a heated divot -- a heated debate. >> it started with this comment last night. >> what you have is mitt romney running a run the country saying, white -- my wife tells me what women really care about our economic issues. when i listen to my wife, that is what i am hearing. his wife has never worked a day in her life. she has never dealt with the kind of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country is facing. >> that set up a frenzy. ann romney sent out a tweet. she said her husband gets it. >> met said to me more times than i can imagine, your job is more important than mine. >> i think we can all agree democrats and republicans, raising children is an extremely difficult job. blacks hillary rosen issued a statement today saying -- women voters we spoke to the fight it. some agreed with the premise of the remarks. >> unless you have a degree in economics or are really paying attention, she probably is not somebody to give economic advise. >> i think it is unfair criticism as a mother of four children. i would very much value her opinion in any event. >> hillary rosen was back on cnn today. she at repeated her apology but said this is not about the candidate's wife. it is about funding cuts she supports. and romney insisted women of all backgrounds are worried about jobs and the deficit under president obama. >> thank you rebecca. it looks like temperatures are going to be going way up. >> chief meteorologist doug hill has a first check the forecast. >> it looks like tuesday is our next chance of any rain. we will have an impressive warm- up. 58 degrees here in arlington. some clouds will clear out during the evening. these temperatures on a bit on the cool side will cool down significantly over night. in the evening hours we will drop into the lower 50's with partly cloudy skies. the winds will diminish. temperatures will drop to 43 degrees by tomorrow morning. we have a frost advisory that has been posted in the area shaded in blue. you get farther west and north and you have an area with a freeze warning. one thing is for sure, a definite warm-up is on the way. we will get the proof of that coming up in just a couple of minutes. >> you got it. as a dog and allison and i can tell you, -- doug and laison and i can tell you, it was a good day for the nationals. horace holmes is live with a look at all the excitement. >> it was a lot of fun. the game ended a short time ago. the sellout crowd ended up leaving buzzing about the national swim and a great day at the park. -- national's win and a great day at the park. >> it is a party. is a celebration. >> there are new features in and around the stadium like the beer plaza. >> and then there is the food. >> i have already had a piece of pizza and i have some peanuts and water in my pocket. >> of course, there are hot dogs and fries but also or may not chose and sausages and the most talked-about feature -- the strasburger. for fans like linda, it is an opportunity to make memories with families sharing their love for baseball and the home team. >> i think it will be a good game. i have a strong faith in the nationals. >> their return to the park with expectations for their team. they came to opening day believing their team will go far. >> i think they might actually make it to the playoffs. >> some extra inning baseball on opening day, a little indigestion with all the good food. tim brant will have more coming up a little bit later on in sports. horace holmes, abc 7 news. >>that strasburger is bigger than your head. we will have much more coming up in sports. tim brant will have the highlights. that is live just ahead here. >> moving on to some other news of the day. the trial of jerry sandusky will be going forward. sandusky's lawyer argued the statute of limitations might have run out for eight of the 10 alleged victims. the judge rejected that argument along with defense motions that some of the charges were not specific enough. sandusky has denied the allegation. >> two men linked with the crips and bloods gained pleaded guilty to running a prostitution ring. sylvia and face a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. they trafficked local high school girls. some of the young victims were given drugs and others were threatened with violence if they tried to quit. >> a fight leads to a big drug bust and a d.c. apartment building. police made the bust in summit place. sam ford is live with the details. >> this was a busy place full of police, fire, and hazmat vehicles after a police raid uncovered drugs and what police believe was a kitchen meth lab in the apartment. >> they spent much of the day at this apartment building where last night d.c. police thought they were doing just a crack cocaine bust and and discovered evidence of a math lab and called in the dea to help. >> at that point it was deemed necessary to call in the hazardous waste disposal team to mitigate any potential danger to the public. >> and loss nine's grade they found cocaine and amphetamines in the apartment -- at last night's raid they found cocaine and in the apartment. the fountain to $400 worth of cash and drugs on him. after he got out of jail they raided his home. >> i am glad they took care of it. i am concerned. i knew the guy from the elevator and the building. he was a nice guy. you do not know how to feel about that. >> the dea says this is the second math lab they have cleaned up in as many months. -- meth lab in as many months. >> you do not want a meth lab in the neighborhood. you do not want one next door to you. the potential hazard to that is combust ability. >> it is another sign that meth is making its way to d.c., but particularly dangerous in places like high-density apartment buildings. he was in court today, because he was living in an apartment with a woman and a baby, he faced cruelty to children for having a meth lab and an apartment with a baby. >> an attack on two web and in alexandria, the suspect talked with as hours before his arrest. >> how much more could you be paying? >> a new report shows what caused the indiana state's collapse that killed seven people. -- stage collapse that killed seven people. >> the jet blew pilot to suffered a mid air meltdown has been indicted. he left the cockpit screaming about religion and terrorists. he has been indicted on one count of interfering with a flight crew. he is undergoing a psychiatric exam to determine if he was legally sane when passengers wrestled him to the floor. design flaws or revealed and a stage that collapsed and killed people in indiana last year. it was not built to stay building codes and did not meet requirements that it could stand when gusts of 68 miles per hour. it hit their at an estimated 59 miles per hour when it collapsed. it began to give way at wind gusts at just 33 miles per hour. >> the dry weather we are having is causing problems for home owners and farmers. >> there is a moderate drought right now and there is still no more rain in the forecast. >> for six generations this family has been farming 350 acres. they are very concerned about the windy and very dry conditions. >> probably two or days and it will be peccable. >> jo looks over his strawberries a live because of irrigation. this morning he planted wheat corn. >> there is absolutely no moisture in the soil at all. for this time of year that is uncanny. >> the national drought mitigation center declared a moderate drought and calvert anne arundel and parts of prince george's and st. mary's county. >> this is the first time in my lifetime but my experience as a professional farmer that i have seen drought in the springtime. >> we have had these per se -- persistent patterns that we had the winter no snow, now we have this persistent pattern of dry. there is no real extended period of rain in sight. >> down the road great shoots are a week and a half ahead of schedule. >> if we get a hard freeze now we are in trouble because we already have these soft little shoots that have come out. that would be a real miss. >> there was a little bit of crop damage. that is common with modern drought conditions. you have reservoirs' running low and potentially water shortages. reporting live, gail huff, abc 7 days. >> you know that area really well. >> that area is on well water. then you have aqua fires underneath the ground at the the wells, that becomes a concern, too. there is nothing good about any of it. >> and we had no snow over the winter. they did not get filled. >> we are drive from the get go. some are still down the road. >> the next chances tuesday with the cold front. let's make the best of it here and take you on a time lapse from the rooftop camera. i hope you cut jackets to the party went there. kind of a cool breeze. skies will clear tonight. i will show you the maps in a moment. 58 degrees in silver spring. this is really dry air. 60 -- 60 degrees the high so far. very dry air and a breeze out of the southwest at 5 miles per hour. 56 degrees reported -- 58 in martinsburg. temperatures fairly mild compared to what we will have later tonight. later tonight they will drop off with clear skies and mild winds even in the city we will be about 39 degrees. in suburban areas we will be briefly near freezing. all of these jurisdictions north and west of the city are under frost advisory. temperatures to the mid-atlantic pretty steady into the 50's right now. you go farther southwest the start to pick up temperatures in the 60's. that is where you will start heading in our direction tomorrow. right now temperatures are not hot, they are warm enough and the central and southern plains. all of this warm air will start moving in our direction. we will have a progression in temperatures as the center moves out over the next 72 hours will pick up when some of the southwest. that will draw and warm temperatures. we will eventually get into the 80's by sunday, monday, and tuesday of next week. this could be a big outbreak of severe weather in parts of oklahoma and kansas. is that time of the year. if you look at the details, there is high pressure. we could get a lot more sunshine tomorrow. as a move overhead warmer temperatures and then it will drift to the southeast. if you like warm weather, that is the place to be. maybe a few showers through pennsylvania and ohio early on saturday and through saturday evening. that will bypass us. late tonight in the city, 52 and clear skies. sunny and chilly in the morning. mild temperatures at 60 degrees at noon. we will climb to 66. low 80's on sunday and a cold front. that possibility will give us rain and thunder storm activity tuesday and wednesday. keep your fingers crossed. we need it. >> you have one more day to win vip tickets to a taping of jeopardy when alex trebek brings the game show to d.c. next weekend. >> we are giving away five days -- 5 pairs of tickets. today's winners are on the web site. go to wjla.com/facebook and sign up there. meanwhile tonight "scandal" is all they tonight. >> i do not have any rest. nobody in this office does. >> i can arrester right here right now. >> being an upholder of the constitution, you would be an arrest warrant. you have one of those? >> is a night of drama starting night"missing" at 8:00 followed by "gray's anatomy" and " scandal." >> coming up on abc 7 is at 5:00, they are back in bigger than ever. will these jokes work on the 2012 audience? arch campbell is here with a review. >> a new idea that could change the landscape of the district. >> a new roster of proposed ring ring hello, progresso. it fits! fantastic! [ woman 2] ring ring progresso. they fit! awesome thank you ring, ring [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? you don't understand. i've been eating progresso because there's... 40 flavors 100 calories or less and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can lklk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. >> passenger complaints prompted metro to put the brakes on at least some of its fare hikes. >> stephen tschida is like to break it all down. >> the mentor budget is $16 million less than previously. metropolitan a bunch of fare hikes. some of these passengers ec are going to be paying more to ride metro. >> metro needs to raise more than $100 million and it looks like it will get part of it from its passengers. >> i am not looking forward to the possibility of paying more to go back and forth. >> today the board tentatively approved a slew of fare hikes. the baxter would pay for a ride during the busiest times would be $5.75. passengers who use paper fare cuts will pay an extra dollar surcharge. bus passengers will pay one dime extra. >> the tentative plan does not do away with the peak of the peak riders. >> what we did was to eliminate the peak of the peak. what the writers will see is in the off-peak changes. >> the proposals of adopted would lead to chiang -- cheaper could use for some passengers. those who ride it a short distance during rush hour will pay less since they no longer have to pay the 20 cent peak of the peak. >> it is really confusing and i do not think anybody will have any idea why they are getting charged what they are getting charged. >> they have also proposed a 20 a day unlimited pass for $230. for writers to write a law that could be cost-effective. if approved the fare hikes will take place july 31. >> thank you. metro customers will have another chance to give their opinion. 400,000 service cards will be handed out to riders. they will be handed out at all stations between april 13 and may 25. some will win a trip cards in the process. they can return the survey in a box, mailed a tan, or complete the survey online. >> still ahead, how this on a welcome guest got into a hotel. he had a close encounter with a real gas. -- thisunwelcome guest had a close encounter with a real guest. >> police say he was a person of interest in a violent beating case. then he spoke with us on >> you are watching abc 7 news at 5:00 with leon harris, alison starling doug hill weather, and tim brant sports. >> police have a man in custody for the attack on two women in alexandria. >> if the suspect looks familiar it is because he spoke to us on camera about the incident. two hours later he was arrested. >> that television interview was a bizarre twist in a case that shocked this community. now james click is in jail. >> this is his police mug shot taken late last night after he was a arrested for allegedly attacking two women inside of an abandoned building. it was hours before he spoke to our cameras and denied any involvement. >> this stuff happens all the time, i am sorry to say. >> the cannot remember a time we have had interest in a person who goes and gets an interview to the media. >> tuesday night at around 6:00, police say 31-year-old woman and a woman in her 40's came to view the building but the it building appear to be vacant. he dragged them inside and violently beat them. one woman's arm was broken. it was a manhunt for a man with red hair and a ponytail. the next morning he showed up at the building. police detained him as a person of interest but soon let him go. >> i went to the court house sometime back just out of curiosity to see if i could simply take control of this property. >> by day's end police had the evidence they needed to lock click up and they found him one block away on a moped. his grandfather spoke with us this afternoon. >> i was watching it on tv. >> what did you think what he said? >> i do not the migrants and would do anything like that. -- i do not think my grandson would do anything like that. >> today he was charged with two counts of assault and two counts of attempted abduction. jennifer donelan, abc 7 news. >> we have an update on the police involved shooting. prince george's county police have released the suspect was the identity. he is joseph halsey. a female officer was forced to shoot at him after it appeared he was about to pull out again. tonight he is facing numerous charges including attempted first-degree murder for stabbing a man before his confrontation with police. the victim is in critical condition and the investigation continues. a police chase and a crash snarled traffic. two officers were pursuing a stolen vehicle on route 3 this morning. news choppers 7 was over the scene as drivers crept by the scene. the officers and suspect were all taken to the hospital with minor injuries. >> the nationals won today's, owner against the cincinnati reds. some new features were launched at the game including a bier plaza -- beer plaza and the 8- pound strasburger. >> also tonight george zimmerman made his first court appearance today. he will remain in custody for now. he is facing a second degree murder charge and is expected to plead not guilty. an arraignment is scheduled for may 29. >> a democratic strategist is apologizing for comments she made sheann romney. she criticized mitt romney for taking advice on his wife for women and the economy. -- advice from his wife about women and the economy. it has to spark a debate about what an's work inside and outside the home. i had a chance to talk to dan certification -- diane sawyer about this. >> it looks like working women will be the story of the day. >> this whole question about work inside the home, which we know is so important and also worked outside the home which can be so important. and romney -- ann romney is at the center of it. also the trayvon martin case. we will learn how george zimmerman spent the first night in jail. >> very interesting. looking forward to that. see you in just a bit. you can see those stories and more tonight right after abc 7 is at 6:00. >> frederick county public schools are preparing for the g8 summit. they are closing on may 18 for the meeting at camp david. giving students the day off will ease traffic congestion and eliminate security concerns. it was a grim demonstration at thomas stone high school. one that is meant to save lives. the fire department sponsored the every 15 minutes program. it started with a simulated traffic accident on campus followed by the gramm reaper removing stories -- students from class that 15 minute intervals. they were not about to speak with anybody for the rest of the day. it is meant to show the dangers of drinking or texting while driving. >> let's get a check on the traffic situation this evening. >> westbound on the southeast freeway at the bridge we have a crash blocking the center line. on i-95 southbound from fairfax county parkway and from dale city toward trying will seeing traffic. inner lips getting into maryland, the dulles toll road and passed lesion bridge, and earlier crash has been cleared. through montgomery county has to go toward new hampshire avenue we are seeing slow traffic. on 270 northbound at 121 highet's town. back to you. >> the howard theater is back open and welcoming some big stars at a gala tonight in honor of somebody very special. >> a new movie pays tribute to the three stooges. it is better than a poke in the eye. we love gardening... yeah, but the feeling wasn't always mutual. i want you to grow big! if you grow for me you'll get cookies for free. nothing worked. ♪ ♪ but we started using miracle-gro garden soil. you just mix it with your backyard soil... and it feeds your plants for up to 3 months. my plants grew bigger... more beautiful... with more flowers and vegetables. guarananteeded. everything changed with miracle-gro. for you are these flowers, like soap is for showers. everyone grows with miracle-gro. >> stupidity and silly stunts return to the remake the"the three stooges." >> will it bring laughter and a disappointing cute -- true fans? we have been talking about this. >> and the new three stooges movie, moe approaches the matron and says, hey jumbotron, what more do you want in a movie? >> this flap they smash each other over the heads. "the three stooges" captures the spirit of the old school comment. they are on a mission to save the orphanage that raised them where jan lynch and larry david played nuns. >> the face rings a bell. >>moe and zepa in the cast of "jersey shore." in my book 3 1/2 stars. is this a guy thing? it makes the best bet list along bet"the hunger games," titanic 21 jump street american reunioni and bully. >> they do these dax with rubber hammers. do not try this at home. -- gags with rubber hammers. >> it is very touching. [laughter] >> have a good weekend. >> you, too. >> up next, a look at the best and worst jobs. see if yours made the list. >> see what happens when this alligator got into a hotel. ring ring hello, progresso. it fits! fantasc! [ woman 2] ring ring progresso. they fit awesome thank you ring, ring [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? you don't understand. i've been eating progresso because there's... 40 40 flavors 100 calories or less and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] proeresso. you gotta taste this soup. >> one of the many things that sets d.c.'s apart from other cities is the height restrictions. >> you will notice there are no skyscrapers. however we know the mayor may want to change that. >> natasha barrett is live with the story. >> a lot of people who have lived here for years and years think the height restrictions have something to do with the u.s. capitol. apparently these restrictions were set by congress years ago when an apartment building was built. it was 160 feet. people did not like it so restrictions went and and they have not changed since. washington is up there in the list but -- on the list of major cities like new york los angeles. it stands out because of what it does not have. >> we love new york but the buildings are so tall and it feels nice to be comfortable. >> buildings in d.c. are mostly limited to a height of 130 feet. washington mayor wants to change that. he has the support of all who have said they imagine adding an additional story to some projects. consider taller buildings in areas away from downtown. >> you never know with tall buildings. what happened with 9/11, i do nothing people here want to worry about the situation. >> what's as the capital city apart from the rest -- its historical buildings and european feel is what people wanted to stay the same. >> one thing that makes d.c. special is the low height of the buildings compared to every other city. >> it was tough to find people who are in favor of changing the skyline. their decision was based on economics. >> i think we do not have enough capacity to accommodate more. >> it sounds good to me. >> it might take just a couple of people backing this new idea -- the president to sign off on that. natasha barrett, abc 7 days. >> what do you think about the idea of relaxing the height limits here in the region? 75% poll on our facebook page said d.c. should not allow for taller buildings. 25% said they should. you can join the discussion and let us know what you think. >> dozens of people gathered to make some of grades to a home owned by a veteran. they began building a deck and a wheelchair ramp. they built a fence and provide some general yard work. the group is doing the work called "rebuilding together alexandria." >> nice job. if you are looking for a new job were thinking of changing careers, the 2012 jobs rating report is out. software engineer, consultant, and human resources manager are among the best jobs to have. the worst jobs -- lumberjack, dairy farmer, and enlisted military personnel, will read worker and newspaper reporter rounded out the top five. >> this is not the kind of wake- up call you get when you stay at a motel. animal control workers removed this six-foot alligator from a louisiana hotel today. the alligator bit one of the guests when he tried to catch the animal on his own. the alligator was captured and released. the lesson from that story, do not try to capture the alligator on your own. >> i think alligator milker was on the list as well of bad jobs. let's see what is coming up. >> we are all glad gordon peterson is here to do it. >> there is a blend game over why the budget proposal did not go over as planned. gov. o'malley is talking about it. he thinks the reason it did not go the way he wanted it to was the plans for the casino got in the way. we will have a live report at 6:00. if you like to read books with a candle or on an ipad, you may be getting some of your reading material for a good price in the coming days. -- an kindle or an ipad.l >> let's get another check of the weather situation with the dog. >> -- whether situation with doug. >> clouds will continue to clear out. temperatures will tank. let's talk rain. 4.40 inches below average at reagan national. we need rain. the next chance of rain will not be until tuesday. that will be in the form of showers and thunderstorms. this is the upgraded -- updated drought monitor. it is a very rich agricultural area on the eastern shore. it is a tough deal. we will continue to monitor things. very chilly and winds diminish diminish. frost advisory overnight. here is the warming trend. no chance of rain until a 30% chance comes our way on tuesday and wednesday. otherwise sunshine with a very impressive warming trend. >> let's go back out to nats' park. >> it was a beautiful day. what a great game. >> opening day is always fun. especially this afternoon because the air was fresh, the baseball was good. the nationals beat the reds 3-2 in extra innings. seven shutout innings, seven strikeouts. in the bottom of the fed still a scoreless game. adam laroach found the hole and everybody was running. it looks like the 2-0 with a whole -- would hold up. a wild pitch and the nationals when the home on -- the home opener. >> it feels like we have been on the road for two months and we have. home opener had a great crowd. a lot of energy. a great game. >> we played good defense and we pitched well. we got solid support from the bullpen. >> the capitals play the bruins tonight in boston, game 1 of the best of seven series. at the skate around, the a store was the goalie. he is only 22 years old and was 4-2-1 in the regular season when he was called up. this is his playoff debut. >> i do not want to get to jack up or anything. i still have a job to do. i have to prepare the same way i have all year. >> the capitals and bruins tonight, a game won in boston. the big story today early on, the nationals when 3-2 in 10 innings against the reds. >> you got to stay there for the home game. >> the next time i will let you pick up the tab. >> we have celebrated the howard theaters grand opening. >> after being closed for 30 years and a multimillion-dollar renovation the howard theater is better than ever. a red carpet is out for a grand gala. >> we are a couple minutes away from the stars hitting the red carpet. as you can see purple is a much more regal color for some of the music royalty we will see tonight. we will say smokey robinson and the motown founder. this theater opened in 1910 before even the a famed apollo theater opened. this was a crown jewel for black performers around the country. lots of big-name artists got their start here. the theater fell on hard times. it shut down in 1980. after a $29 million renovation it is back and open for business. this gala tonight is in part a fund-raiser. they want to open a cultural center that will include a museum to encapsulates some of the history of this place. we will be standing here trying to track down some stars and get inside for a sneak peek at some performances. >> thank you. that is it for abc news at 5:00. coming up -- >> a sellout crowd watches a thriller on opening day at nats park. now, the ride home. >> maryland political leaders will the dice gambling. now, the governor says it is the people of maryland losing. >> the trial of john edwards gets under way. >> live and in hd this is abc 7 news at 6:00 on your side. blacks in a big story at 6:00, baseball is -- >> in a big story at 6:00, baseball is back. businesses in the area around