to change the strategy from metro. brianne carter has more on the strategy. brianne: this comes after a show-stopper was discovered here at the foggy bottom metro station. ment to the general manager said there will be a change with the policies and the practices to keep the rails safe. we sat down today with wiedefeld less than 24 hours after defects were discovered. if it wasn't for the fire, this wouldn't have been discovered until inspections were slated to happen and it wasn't to happen until june. he is coming up with a plane to detect the issues before they threaten the safety. >> we will come out with a different plan. it will require different technology. >> now remember the metro officials said tracks were checked after the deadly smoke incident. we have the situation 14 months later that happened this week. wiedefeld called it unacceptable. other around the region are calling for them to step down to metro. we will have that tonight at 5:00. jonathan: stay with abc7 news on air and online. we will hear again from brianne carter at 5:00 and 6:00. michelle: we have the sun and the clouds and i had my today. but check in with doug hill. doug: there are showers north of metro washington. looking live in laurel. cloudy. we can see showers on the horizon. the plan for the evening if you are going out there will be scattered showers for the next few hours hours in the meto area. beyond that we will see the clearing skies later tonight. the temperatures will drop. eventually in 40's overnight. most of the might is fairly mild. just a bit of a breeze. the radar is showing the showers making progress across pennsylvania and new york. a few north and west of the district. but those will come to an end later this everything. fairly quiet tonight and tomorrow. a coastal storm is possible this weekend that could result in a rain/snow mix. we will give you the timing and the possible impact in a few minutes. michelle: hundreds of d.c. residents packed the wilson building concerned about a plan for the homeless shelters. where should they go? d.c. bureau chief sam ford is at city hall. as you reported earlier, it for this hearing. sam: extremely high interest in this. i have never seen so many people at the d.c. council for a hearing on anything. 90 people signed up to testify. the council chambers was full. overflow room was standing room only. there were people in the corridors. most councilmembers express support for the plan mayor bowser unveiled weeks ago that would close down d.c. general shelter that houses some 300 homeless families and distribute the city homeless among smaller facilities in each of the wards. some raise question about the cost of the proposed shelters and the amount of money that the city would pay landowners including some developers who contributed to the mayor's campaign. mayor bowser made herself available for reporters to respond to such criticism. >> we look at our cost for d.c. general. there are the results we get. we have a prudent plan. sam: the council to exercise oversight, particularly at a family shelter site in ward five in northeast washington between a school bus and metro bus lot. >> you do environmental impact statement to give us alternatives that says what the environmental impact is. you come to us later with that information. and we make a decision about which has the, which is the healthiest environment. sam: councilmember mcduffy and a number of people from ward five are still opposed to the site. the hearing continues and we will have more on what is going on at the wilson building coming up on "abc7 news at 6:00". reporting live from northwest washington, sam ford, abc7 news. jonathan: thanks. now the latest on the war on terror. today the u.s. officially says it believes isis is committing genocide in iraq and syria. the terror group is targeting christian groups among others ethnic minorities in the two nations. secretary of state john kerry making that statement today. the last time the government darfur in 2004. >> dash is responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. directed at the same group and in some case against sunni muslims, kurds and other minorities. jonathan: two days ago the house of representatives passed a resolution to use the term "genocide" to describe isis' attacks. now in race for the white house, more fallout from a rally that turned violent. a guy was sucker punched as he was led out by deputies. five deputies have been disciplined after the donald trump supporter punched the protester. they are accused of not doing enough to protect the victim. three of them were demoted in rank. michelle: chief judge for the u.s. district court in d.c. retired wednesday the same day a utah abuse lawsuit against him. he says richard roberts assaulted her in 1981 when she was a 16-year-old witness in a murder trial. roberts was the prosecutor. his attorney say the two had a consensual relationship that was legal in utah at the time. roberts denies the charges. jonathan: merrick garland, the president's pick to fill the late antonin scalia's seat on the supreme court has support from democratic senators on the hill. at least for nomination hearings. making the capitol hill courtesy call is a tradition for the nominee but that is hardly the only way the white house is pushing through the process. scott thuman shows us how both sides are employing new strategies over the fate of the supreme court. >> here in the first 24 hours after the nomination we follow the play book. scott: the play book he references isn't exactly standard. the tactic to get a reluctant republican led senate to take up merrick garland as a supreme court nominee involves a social media overload. sonia sotomayor and more than we saw for elena kagan. why this difference? >> some of is it that we have access to tools we didn't have frankly early on in the presidency. we have been more effective at using things like facebook. scott: the instagram and facebook accounts followed by millions. there is a new twitter handle. driving the useers to a highly produced even emotional video introducing garland. >> my father would be very proud. scott: why the global blast when only those on the hill have final say? perhaps because it is about using the links to lure in voters and hoping they will convince congress to confirm. the white house admits it has never been this aggressive in using social media and other platforms to push supreme court nominee. the president plans to pressure congress in other ways, too. >> the other thing that is important, scott. we don't believe that people should be using politics as an excuse not to do their job. >> those they blame use once said a president should wait when campaign season is underway. >> why is it different now than it was when senator biden then made the speech? >> vice president biden in 1988, when justice kennedy was confirmed was the chair of the judiciary committee. >> whose side time is on now is the largest question. at the white house, scott thuman, abc7 news. michelle: we want you to weigh in on whether the senate should move on merrick garland's nomination. more than 75% say yes. to be clear that is on whether the senate should hold hearings. not necessarily approve. take the poll at wjla.com. jonathan: come up us here at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- another hoverboard goes up in flames. michelle: the damage and the disaster narrowly averted. plus the aftermath of a police chase in montgomery county. what police say started follows. jonathan: plus, nike's new shoe. it's what the shoe does on its own that is unlike any other shoe that you have seen. how you can put yourself in a position to get one of these. it takes something-something to do it. michelle: so cool, though. in our second half hour, she survived five weeks after going overboard. meet luna the german shepherd and how she made it all along before a navy rescue coming up we need women in congress. if we want to be heard, it was the women who forced republicans to include women's health and contraceptive coverage in the affordable care act. in congress, i'll fight for pay equity, family leave and tougher gun safety laws. and, as an environmentalist, i'll work combat climate change. i know as a journalist and as a senior executive in business that when women are at the table, we get things done. i'm kathleen mathews and i approve this message. ♪ ♪ jonathan: another hoverboard fire. look at that. nothing left! this happened in virginia last night. a child jumping off the hoverboard just in time because smoke was coming out of it. according to folks that were there, they said right when he got off, that is when it burst into flames. this is what is left. nothing. melted rubber, metal. the boy is okay. the hoverboard, nothing left of it. michelle: a montgomery county police chase ends in a fiery crash. i was anything but a normal traffic stop. maryland bureau chief brad bell explains how the incident in rockville turned into a rescue operation as well. brad: the light colored toyota, burned out hope. the end of a pursuit that started on lay hill road. montgomery county police won't traffic stop. they report the driver refused to stop and the chase was on. brad: police followed the car and the three occupants. losing sight of it for a time before coming on the crashed car engulfed in flames. a melted wheel color. this is a terrible crash. you can see the path the car took driving off the road at the corner. the police behind it immediately having to become rescuers. two cops pulling two men and a woman from car. one of them on fire. now listed in criminal call condition. the others in better shape. >> the officer definitely risk their vehicle. >> the neighbor becausing to tell us he is impressed by the actions. >> the police man had to do what was right. >> the officer involved is not made available to speak to us. cash board cameras did not capture the incident. jonathan: do you ever have a moment that the shoe comes untied and you think it's a pain to cross it. so nike has a shaw for you. not velcro or loafers. no. this is a self-lacing sneaker. all you do is touch the button like the guy is doing there and it makes it tighter. isn't that cool? you can get one yet. you have to have the nike plus app to get the shoes. it's starting this holiday season. if the laces go bad how do you michelle: that will be an issue. uber launching a pilot program intended to help the drivers get paid faster. they will deposit the earnings from each ride into an account with go bank. in an effort that may also fend off emerging payday lenders. they won't charge fees for the service. they won't charge a monthly fee either if drivers access their account at least once every six months. jonathan: that is just in time for a check of the traffic situation. jamie: we had issue with the residual delays on metro but that has wrapped up. we don't have issues now. this is approaching the american legion bridge that we are seeing the volume. you move to the map, the inner loop between 66 and the american legion bridge. currently we will average 23 minutes at 9 miles per hour. if you a through prince george's county, we are in good shape. northbound on kenilworth is slowing. southbound to national harbor is the same thing. building in a volume on 395. if you plan to get outside to celebrate st. patrick's day, the state highway administration are saying wear shamrocks, not handcuffs and drive sober. today it is easy to do that with the sober ride program. call the number and they will give you a free cab ride up to $30 fare. that is a look at traffic right now. back to you. michelle: thank you. the live eagle cam, one of the two eaglets. i started to make a crack in -- it started to make a crack in the shell. we got this late last night. a little crack in the shell. we suspect at any moment now, any day we should see the babies emerge. president and the first lady. we have a link to watch the stream at wjla.com. just search eagle cam. jonathan: somebody who loves the eagle cam said at the gym the other day -- michelle: wait. live. jonathan: this is live? michelle: this is live. he or she is readjusting. jonathan: there you go. michelle: pushing the eggs to the side. jonathan: he is saying why do we call it first lady and president? they are having babies? no, it's eagles. at the arboretum. we named them the president and the first lady. that was a live picture for you of the bald eagle adjusting the eggs. it's a matter of minutes before one eaglets pop out. doug: we'll be watching. this is thursday and 4:00 so we do a trivia question. in honor of st. patrick's day, i'll show you the question. what is the average high temperature in dublin, ireland, today on st. patrick's day? think about it. no googling allowed. jonathan: there is no googling going on. doug: as far as what is happening in our part of the world on st. patrick's day, cloudy with a few showers showing up at the st. john catholic regional school. 61 degrees. you see showers and the clouds across the middleton valley. we have more showers to the north than anywhere else. with the heavier cloud cover that is where we find cooler temperatures. we have had locally. and the pollen count is in. the trees in the high range. everything else, grass, weeds, mold in low range. they are tending to really start to wash out here. closer we get to generally we will look for clearing trend tonight. the future cast is saturday morning. saturday morning we see clouds increase. there may be enough cold air to mix or change with the snow. especially d.c. north and west. the way the temperatures are we suspect any kind of accumulation on the grassry areas. we put together the next seven days. pleasant and mid-60's. late afternoon or evening for the start time of the rain to mix and change with the snow overnight. chilly on monday and gusty winds. we start a warmup to get us back in 70's. michelle: michelle wants to socks. green socks. doug: we have a green wall. i'd disappear. jonathan: you don't want a pinch from michelle. that's all right. doug: ouch! jonathan: talk about green. white house fountain is dyed green. they brought it from chicago because the city dyes the river green before st. patrick's day. they do it every year. the new safety standards for all vehicles and when it must go in place. michelle: carcinogen and the household products. what will no longer be available in the capital. that's today at 4:30. michelle: there are new braking systems in place to help avoid crashes. alison starling as more. alison: this is a new standard. we are talking about all cars, s.u.v.'s, trucks, and vans. they will be fitted with the automatic breaking system. federal transportation officials and the auto makers agree to make this the standard by the year they see people or pets that are in the way. they slow or they stop the vehicle if the driver doesn't. >> today's commitment isn't just for those who can afford it. all the vehicles that get the technology will save lives. >> this will be an important step in finding new ways and new models of working toward more safety and fewer fatalities. alison: this agreement they announced today could put things in place faster than if the national highway traffic safety administration issued mandatory rules instead. so again, automatic braking will become standard in new vehicles over the next six years. jonathan: life-saving technology. thank you for that. michelle: coming up next at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- digging through the rubble after a fire and the search for a man and his dog. jonathan: and in 15 minutes, a luna, the dog, goes overboard and survives five weeks on an island before being rescued by the navy. how she did it. that is still ahead on "abc7 news at 4:00". michelle: one more look at the weather trivia question. doug has the answer after this break. announcer: you're watching "abc7 news at 4:00". on your side. jonathan: if you haven't noticed yet we have surrounded ourself in green. this is a big deal here. it's st. patrick's day. michelle: tons of fun things are out there to do. like all you can eat doughnuts at district doughnuts. that is from 6:00 to 8:00 tonight. jonathan: all you can eat? michelle: yeah. jonathan: if you prefer the adult beverages, please do so responsibly. we find mike carter-conneen at the ireland four court in arlington. lovely shade of green you have on there, mike. mike: same 20 you, my friend. i can't do an irish accent. i thought you were going to say mike carter-conneen is in ireland. that would be awesome assignment! look at the crowd in arlington. they have been open since 9:00 a.m. very festive mood here. folks enjoying a pi guinness or different brands of whiskey as well. i'm joined by the owner, the long-time owner of the establishment, jimmy fagan. on the scale of one to ten how celebratory is the crowd now? >> i'd say this crowd is about at six. but they are headed in the right direction. >> around what time do we see the ten reached? >> about 8:00, it will really see it. from 6:00 to 8:00 it will warm up. >> you are an authentic irish person. we hear the accent. in ireland it's not as big of a deal. why do americans love the holiday? >> i love what americans do. we generated it. we thought we had to go mass. now ireland is changing the other ways, they are going to the bars and taking the american way of doing things. mike: some of debauchery you might need to go to mass the day after. >> possible. mike: you will be here for the day after. 1:00 tonight? >> probably till 2:00. clean it up, strip it down and get it ready for the regular 10:00 a.m. mike: thank you so much. happy st. patrick's day. we are encourage you to celebrate responsibly. there is an offer of free cab ride through 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning through the sober ride. call 1-800-200-taxi. up to $30 fare will be recognized. a lot of celebrating to go tonight. we will keep you posted throughout the evening. jonathan: you might want to try to enjoy the corned beef and cabbage. it's fantastic. thanks, mike. michelle: all right. we have the trivia question. my guess is 45. jonathan: i'm going with 45. doug: the average high today is 56 in washington. the question in dublin on st. patrick's day, is it 45? 479? 53? the answer are -- jonathan: 45. michelle: 45. doug: no, it's 49. you lose. no parting gifts for the friends. jonathan: why does he enjoy it when we lose? what is up with doug? doug: i don't know. we'll have another question next week. i have some people saying st. patrick's day. look. it's the rain is all green on st. patrick's day. isn't it nice? we move it in and out. frontal zone pushing through. showers north of metro, washington. we tend to be slowly diminishing and toward sunset the trend will continue and it will turn clear later tonight. meanwhile we are looking to the northwest. lower rockies. the area of low pressure developing in the midlevel of the atmosphere. make a turn up the coast. more we don't know about the system than we do. there will be different effects on the area. the timing is something we are not rain will continue overnight. mix with the change to snow. we could in many areas wake up to snow on sunday morning and eventually turning to rain again. low impact storm. saturday we describe it to sunday. monday is breezy and maybe a morning flurry. then we start a slow and a deliberate warmup next week tuesday, wednesday, thursday. jonathan: thank you. the valor awards are today that honors the local hero from the police, fire and rescue for the courageous action. this year's event comes two weeks after officer ashley guindon was killed responding to domestic violence call. jeff goldberg will share the stories today at "bc 5:00". michelle: d.c. mayor muriel bowser is signing a bill to ban flame retardant chemicals in products. what does it mean for you? john gonzalez explains. >> the city council voted unanimously and this afternoon the mayor's signature is making this official. d.c. joining the states such as maryland, new york, and minnesota banning a handful of carcinogenic products. the announcement is made here at the engine company nine firehouse in northwest d.c. the mayor joined by police chief cathy lanier and the fire chief dean. they are making the important announcement for the products in the homes. we can tell you that the so-called toxic products found in the products such as furniture. children's products. used in foam padded sleeping materials. now the firefighters here will tell you that even though fire retardants are components to the fire safety, the products including tcpe and tdcpp are suspected of causing cancer. we asked the fire chief why haven't these been banned before? and everywhere. >> each state has an opportunity to take a look at the toxins that are used for the fire retardant. as a cobles we said we want everything to be fire retardant. now we look back and say some of these are more toxic than others and we want to remove those from the everyday use. >> we understand certain products are exempt from the ban including some car parts. even some housing insulation. and believe it or not some of the electronics. in northwest washington, john gonzalez, abc7 news. jonathan: checking news around the nation this afternoon. a mess to tell you about in louisiana. look at this. the flooding is so bad in lake charles that caskets started rising up out of the ground. low anyway. the sabine river that borders texas and louisiana ran over the banks. seven cassettes were recovered after washing away -- seven caskets were recovered after washing away and dozens are still missing and floating around. it could be weeks before the bodies are return and identified. michelle: plants are moving ahead to concert harriet tubman's historic home to a national park. the tubman national historical park is on track for the formal establishment this summer. the home is on the border of the city of auburn and the neighboring town of fleming. jonathan: still ahead for us on "abc7 news at 4:00" -- house hunting season is underway. as spring arrives. you better act fast. we'll explain the trend that is making becoming a homeowner more expensive. >> this is not a day we thought would happen. >> unimaginable reunion next. luna a dog missing for five weeks found a an island after this. glenn:threateningicans: gofederal workers;ns over 60 votes to repeal obamacare. now they're refusing to even consider president obama's nominee for the supreme court. it disrespects the president and all of us -- and we won't put up with it. in congress, i'll protect president obama's legacy, defend obamacare, and stand up for social security and medicare. i'll take on republicans - for all of us. ♪ ♪ jonathan: want to see a big fish? check this out. 823-pound marlin. catch reeled in of hawaiian islands. two families, one russian, the other from the states aboard the boat playing hooky. it took six hours to reel that marlin in. big marlin. michelle: yeah. that could serve an entire village. jonathan: you think? nice. michelle: well, florida woman is fighting to keep her pet gator. jonathan: wouldn't? he is so cute! mary thorn has owned rambo since he was 4 years old. that is rambo. now he is 11. the 125-pound gator is not little and cute anymore. he is big and cute. without her rambo he would die because he can't be outdoors for long periods of time. >> they want to put him outside. he is sun sensitive. he can't go outside. >> he is my baby. he likes to show off. he is a big hambone. michelle: a homebone! you see, jonathan! jonathan: that is his leather jacket. did you see that? michelle: in trend. florida wildlife because thorn has owned rambo for more than a decade she might be grandfathered into the existing state law. thorn is looking whether rambo can be considered a therapy animal. jonathan: what is funny, the producer said when you read the story, i'll give you time to talk. there is just no words. michelle: so cozy. that is incredible. jonathan: never seen somebody cud with a gator before. you see everything. michelle: maybe a german shepherd is more your speed. jonathan: absolutely! michelle: one was rescued after falling off a boat in the pacific. jonathan: this is funny. luna, 18 months old missing for five weeks. fell off the boat. they thought the dog drowned. everybody thought never survived but somehow luna swam to an island owned and operated by the u.s. navy. the staff there happen to come across the dog and they found her. >> we are driving up the main road. spotted her. opened the car door and whistled. everyone on the island wanted to see her, have a picture with her and fell in love with her. >> i'm speechless. not any words to explain it. >> this is not a day we thought would happen. jonathan: okay. now cuddling with luna, i get that. beautiful dog. great eyes. luna survived eating fish that got stranded in puddles thanks to el nino storms. also scavaged for rodents and stayed well away from gators. michelle: nailed the doggie paddle to make it to the island. that is incredible. jonathan: long swim. especially with the currents. good for luna. all right. coming up next for us at "abc7 news at 4:00" -- spring is in the season for the house hunters. you might want to act fast. if you are on the fence, jump off. we'll let you know about the trend driving up the price of becoming a homeowner. michelle: plus, lawyers for the company that arguably is america's most wanted hated ceo. ran turn on him. we are talking about martin shkreli and the warning from the pharmaceutical's top legal advisers when it came to the infamous price hike. mike: i'm mike carter-conneen at a high school in northwest washington. today they surprised one of several with full scholarships. the incredible when you build one of the biggest retail businesses in america, you spend a lot of time working closely with elected officials. from secretaries to presidents you learn what works in government and what doesn't. and if you're david trone you take those lessons all the way to congress. you pledge to take nothing from pacs or corporations because the only special interest a congressman should have is you and he'll promise to work with anyone if it'll get things done. after all he's spent 30 years working both sides of the aisle. i'm david trone and i approve this message. michelle: "7 on your side" with a consumer alert. as house hunting season begins you might want to move fast. for a third straight week, long-term rates has gone up. 30-year fixed rate is close to 3-3.5%. 15-year rate is below 3%. jonathan: more americans now are searching for jobs and help. the number of the first-time unemployment benefit filers rose by 7,000 over the past week. the monthly hour ticked up to 268,000. better view of the job market as a trend. that is considered at a healthy level. anything below 300,000 is historic mark. michelle: a former lawyer for turning pharmaceuticals warned the executive that then the ce raising drug prices. testimony came during a senate hearing on price gouging. shkreli raised the price of a rare aids drug 5,000%. he refused to testify at a house hearing last month calling lawmakers embow siles in a -- imbeciles in a tweet. he was arrested on conspiracy charges in december. stunning amount from seaworld. after years of controversy the company is ending the orca breeding program right now. jonathan: that is not the end of it. seaworld killer whale shows huge attraction are coming to an end. brandi hitt has the development from los angeles. brandi: the killer whales will be the last to live in captivity at the theme park. >> current orca under our care is the last generation at seaworld. we are phasing out the theatrical shows in the past. brandi: they announced thursday they have been listening to the growing criticism. b mounting protest the 2010 death of the whale trainer and the release of the scathing documentary "black fish" -- >> when you look into their eyes you know somebody is home. brandi: seaworld is changing with the tide and teaming up with the long-time critics, humane society. >> this is something every animal lover can celebrate as progress. brandi: the 29 whales in captivity, that is where they will stay. it's for their own safety. they are building them larger, more natural orca enclosures for the guests to observe with the message of conservation. >> the best place for them is at seaworld. no whale burn under human care has been released successionfully. brandi: the shows will end in california next year. the parks in texas and florida will follow suit in 2019. in los angeles, brandi hitt, abc7 news. michelle: finding beauty in debris after the tornadoes ripped through the m was turned in yesterday morning in iowa. a newspaper delivery man found it in a box on a hill. police believe it was blown over the mississippi river from the rapid city area of illinois. now they are looking for the owner. >> obviously it's a wedding dress. probably has sentimental value to someone. if it made it down the river and stayed in box it's meant to get back to the owner. >> i'd say. it's in great condition. they are asking with information where the dress belongs to give them a call. jonathan: take a live look at a big attraction for us. that is a bald eagle. this is the eagle cam. one of two eagles watching over two eggals -- eggs. we have seen cracks in the shells. getting so exciting. i don't know who is nervous the parents or us. when they pop out we'll show you what it looks like. the president and the first lady is what they call the two eagles. they both have been sitting on the eagles taking turns and bringing the food back to the nest. michelle: we have noticed there is more movement by the bird in last 24 hours there. could be indication we are very, very close to little babies born. jonathan: so cute. can't wait to see it. in meantime, talk about the weather. doug: momma eagle could get plain tired of sitting there. michelle: uncomfortable. jonathan: she is tired now. doug: just wait. time to check out the weekend forecast. let's do it here. thursday evening. getting ready for friday and saturday and sunday. the story tomorrow is much more sunshine than today. it will be breezy and mild with the high temperatures about 65 degrees. watching shoulders. as we head to the weekend, keep an eye on the storm center now over the rockies. it will make a move. first thing first. as we get through tomorrow. front will come through. hit 65. turn colder tomorrow night. then as we get into saturd come into focus here. as it does it will be chilly and increasing cloudinesses through the afternoon. they get through saturday evening, rain will overspread late saturday night. it will draw in colder air. especially at the higher elevations. where the rain will mix or change to snow. mostly rain. heavy rain. exactly how far south and east some snow could come is anybody's guest. we suspect any snow in metro will be more of a curiosity. maybe snow on the grassy areas. the weekend forecast saturday, martially sunny. increasing cloudiness with rain developing late saturday night. area of snow and/or rain and a cold rainy day with the temperatures only in the upper 30's to 40 degrees. warmer air arrives next week. how is traffic doing on thursday? jamie: not terrible. especially in d.c. not like what we had yesterday. we had bumper to bumper traffic everywhere. this is the waze map. i want to give you an idea. you see a few area the whole section was completely red. with bumper to buncher traffic yesterday. as we pull out on the waze map i want to show you heading northbound kenilworth avenue slowing, southbound 295. slowing as well. of course here, on the southeast/southwest freeway approaching the 11th street bridge. d.c. and the side streets not as bad as it was yesterday. let's go ahead and take a live look outside and show what we are working along the capital beltway. this honor on the tiner loop and the outer loop. seven locks road. this will take you to get from 66 continuing north toward the american legion bridge 25 minutes. so far 395 is lowing at 9 miles per hour. as you continue south on 795, slowing to dale city. michelle: next on abc7 news, the scholarship surprise. who g.w. is helping out and the incredible response from the students' classmat jonathan: new at 5:00, -- >> they should have rushed in sooner to rescue the people of michigan from governor and the indicative administration and the utter -- vindictive administration and the incompetence at every level. jonathan: sparks fly over the flint water crisis. michelle: then ahead new at 6:00, firefighters gear intentionally damage. where the potentially life threatening action areas -- life threatening actions are happening and what is being done. jonathan: this is auk lucky st. patrick's day day for students. they were ambushed in class by the leaders and mascot showed up to surprise them with the full ride scholarships. mike carter-conneen has the life changing moment. >> they started crying. student as the duke ellington school went wild. even before the the george washington university could announce her name. >> her father beamed with pride. >> i am so proud. i'm sure e is proud of her. >> what is impressive is how the fellow students take pride in the achievements. >> it gives them a hope that it could be them. >> a four-year full ride scholarship to cover tuition, room and board. >> this is perfect for my foundation. i love my family. >> many of the students overcome tremendous adversity. at age 16, carlos lopez sanchez immigrated to the u.s. from guatemala, mostly on and ahamad grew up farming in bangladesh. today his mother shed tears of joy. >> speechless. >> 1989 the program covered the college costs for 160 d.c. students with a graduation rate of 90%. >> this was her birthday. >> to complete the celebration the classmates serenaded her with song. leon: metro says to get with the program. >> has mast team goes in into effect at the zoo. and when the blessed event is expected high above the ash retomb. announcer: "abc7 news at 5:00". on your side. alison: today would have been officer jacai colson's 29th birthday. but instead of celebrating his family is planning a funeral for the officer. shot in the confusion outside of prince george's county district iii police station. maryland bureau chief brad bell has been on top of the story since it happened on sunday. the man accused of starting this event is out of the hospital? brad: that is right. on the officer's berth day the suspect blamed for touching off the violence is out of bed and behind bars. michael ford, who allegedly opened fire on the division division station released -- opened fire on the district iii station released from the hospital and held wit facing a long list of the charges including second degree murder for the alleged role in friendly fire death of the officer colson in the ford caught on camera attack. ford's gun traced. originally sold legally in georgia. today would have before officer colson 29th birthday. the memorial for him at the police headquarters continues to grow. >> a neighbor stops by to thank the police for the sacrifice. it means a lot to us. where this sign will stay as a reminder of the dangers cops face every day. >> that is our job. we accept that. that sign puts into words the feeling we bring to work with us every day.

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