did to a 6-month-old. >> pull down the red handle and slide the left red door panel open. autria: the metro's approach to safety. autria: we will have the latest in today's revelations in that deadly plane crash in a moment but first, we want to let you know about some storms that are heading right toward our area. kimberly: chief meteorologist doug hill is in the stormwatch weather center tracking the rain. doug? doug: hi there. despite the fact that we have bright blue skies and sunshine outside of the belfort weather center, north and west the rain is starting. let's show you the weather story. first the clouds. you're looking at now to the east overhead a lot of sunshine. but just to the west and northwest like in frederick, looking live in frederick, maryland. plenty of clouds gathering and for good reason. there's showers breaking out in this very warm air and become increasingly unstable. in other words, stage is set for showers and storms. look at the numbers now. 75 at reagan national. warmer than that to the west.

the showers starting to pop up north and west. a little farther west along the cold front itself. there's heavier showers and thunderstorms developing. we'll track the timing and impacts of those through the metro area and what's coming next. we'll do that in the studio with you in a couple of minutes. kimberly? kimberly: look for you then, thank you, doug. break inging news out of new york where hundreds of firefighters are on the scene of a building explosion on the east side. chris papst is monitoring the situation from the live desk. what have you found out? chris: as of right now, the new york city fire department is reporting that 12 people have been injured in this explosion and this apartment fire. look at the video right here. you can see how intense this really was or still continued to be. very thick smoke and firefighters are trying to battle up to 200 firemen originally had gone to this fire and still remain there. one person so far, according to the nyfd has been critically injured. now, abc 7 has been doing a little bit of digging here. this building is in the east village of manhattan and

according to the greenwich village society of historic preservation, it was built in 1834 as a single family home five stories, huge single family home later renovated. right now into four apartments and then they're -- there are at least two businesses on the first floor of this apartment. the flames have been moving over to the next building over. two very old historical buildings in the east village of manhattan will be lost due to this explosion and fire. they are in a designated historical district. update right now, more importantly, 12 people have been injured and one person critically according to the new york city fire department. live in the newsroom chris papst, abc 7 news. autria: thank you very much. keep us updated much the families of some of those killed when that plane crashed in the alps on tuesday visited the scene today. they arrived as investigators confirmed the co-pilot of germanwings flight 9525 intentionally crashed the jet

into a mountain as it flew from barcelona to dusseldorf. marcy gonzalez is in new york with more on what they've learned from the cockpit flight data recorder. marcy: in those chilling final moments before germanwings flight 9525 slammed into the french alps investigators say the cockpit voice recorder picked up the screams of passengers and the frantic thuds of the pilot pounding on the cockpit door. locked out intentionally, investigators say, by the co-pilot who stayed silent as he hit the button to bring the plane into a nearly 10 minute long deadly descent. >> he activated that button for reasons we do not know at all. but which we can analyze as a willingness to destroy the aircraft. marcy: the cockpit voice recorder revealing the flight started out normally. once at cruising altitude the pilot is heard asking the co-pie loot to take control as he

stepped out presumably to use the restroom. when he tried to return the 28-year-old co-pilot andreas lubitz did not respond and kept the door locked. he's heard breathing normally until the moment of impact. >> they're listening to the breathing and considering that the pattern that they're hearing is consistent with somebody who is conscious, alert and doing something that they intend to do. marcy: a horrifying realization of the families of those on board whose remains are still being recovered today. among them three americans. 37-year-old robert oliver as well as yvonne and emily selke, a mother and daughter from virginia. investigators are trying to figure out the co-pilot's motive saying he passed a psychological exam and had no links to terrorism. marcy gonzalez, abc 7 news. autria: and this is not the first time suspicion has fallen on a pilot after a plane crash. november of 2013 33 people died after the co-pilot of a

mozambique airlines plane locked the pilot out of the cockpit and that plane crashed. 217 people died in october of 1999 when the co-pilot of that egyptair flight cut the engines and turned the plane towards the atlantic ocean. shortly after taking off from kennedy airport in new york. and in february 1982 the captain of a japan airlines flight was declared mentally unstable after 24 of the 174 people on board died when the plane crashed near tokyo. kimberly: how do the latest developments about the pilot's actions make you feel about flying? suzanne kennedy is live at reagan national airport where she's been talking all day about flyers' concerns. suzanne? suzanne: well, kimberly here at national airport right now it's extremely busy if you take a look behind me you can see down at security lots of people traveling both on spring break and for business before this morning, they might not have thought about the mental stability of the pilot flying their plane. but for some, now that's changed.

she is a frequent flyer and her job requires she takes to the air several times a month. >> i just hope for the best. i recognize it's a crap shoot. suzanne: when she boards a plane, she knows anything can happen proven by the germanwings flight 9525. >> you're in the hands of the pilot, you know, really. it's out of your control. you don't know what's going on. you're trusting they're in the right frame of mind to fly that plane. suzanne: the deliberate crashing of the plane is eliciting outrage internationally. >> i don't call that a suicide. suzanne: and fear for some who have to travel by air. >> scary situation who have to fly. we have no choice but to fly so you know for me i tap into a higher power and just hope things work out well. suzanne: jennifer clark and her mother are flying home from orlando after their d.c. vacation. >> i was shocked to hear it was a suicide. suzanne: the suicide crash has

them thinking about their safety. >> if i want to travel it's something -- a risk i'll have to take that somebody like that might get through the system again. >> it does make me think twice but i can't live in fear. i have to be willing to travel and, you know i just have to be confident in who is flying my plane today. suzanne: some of the people that we spoke with today compared the way they were feeling about flying to some extent how they felt after 9/11. none of them said they would walk away completely from air travel in light of what happened on that german aircraft. reporting live at reagan national airport, suzanne kennedy, abc 7 news. kimberly: the investigation into the germanwings crash is renewing questions about having two pilots in the cockpit at all times. senior political reporter scott thuman spoke with a former airline captain and member of the f.a.a. about that today. he'll have that part of the story coming up at 6:00. autria: metro wants to be sure

that passengers know what to do on their trains in the event of an emergency. brianne carter is covering metro now with a look at these new videos just released today. >> i'm really catching it two to four times a day. brianne: jamal relies on metro to get around town he says he has concerns about his safety on the trains. >> i'm always worried. brianne: in an effort to increase safety today metro released a set of videos showing riders what to do and what not to do if another emergency happens on the train. >> here at metro, our first priority is your safety. brianne: the video available in spanish and english. >> if you're in a station, move away from the platform. brianne: come more than two months from a tragic incident that left one woman dead and dozens of others injured. we asked metro's interim general manager if he thought this video would make a difference in a similar incident. >> hopefully, that customers would stay on the tra waited for the first responders but again, we want to make sure

that they know all of the alternatives and certainly, we want them communicating with our train operator first and emergency responders second. brianne: reaction today from the riders on the yellow line. >> i think it's very proactive of them to do so. >> i definitely would watch it. but this is a repeated thing with metro. i mean every incident they keep saying they're going to do things better and better. brianne: metro says they do expect to roll these videos on television starting next week. if you'd like to get a look at them now, log on to our website at wjla.com. reporting live brianne carter, abc 7 news. autria: and metro's newest trains will be ready to hit the rails next month. the long anticipated 7,000 series trains will debut april 14th on the blue line. metro says the high-tech cars feature improved safety reliability and comfort. the cars replace the 1,000 series cars that have been in service since metro opened some

40 years ago. kimberly: a hearing that took less than two minutes drew plenty of people to the courthouse in charlottesville. it was the first appearance for martese johnson. the university of virginia student left bleeding after being arrested by virginia alcoholic beverage control officers. northern virginia bureau chief jeff goldberg was in the courtroom for that hearing. he joins us live from charlottesville now. jeff? jeff: kimberly this was a very short hearing, both the prosecution and the defense agreeing to wait until that virginia state police investigation is complete before having the next hearing which is set for may 28th. meanwhile, many students we spoke with say that race related problems have been a problem and a concern here for years. walking into court today, martese johnson is staying silent while friends say this about his state of mind. >> keeping his head high which is good. regaining his confidence. i don't think he ever lost his confidence. reporter: well over 100 u.v.a. students many wearing black in solidarity with martese

attending the hearing one week after this video showed johnson, a third year student from chicago into the national spotlight. >> very important for him. very important to us that we make sure we stick together during this time. jeff: johnson was arrested after being turned away from a charlottesville bar during st. patrick's day celebrations. the video shows abc special agents forcing johnson to the ground, his face bloody. he was charged with public intoxication and obstruction of justice although tests show johnson was not drunk and witnesses say he was not beligerent. >> i'm really sad to say that i was not surprised. jeff: this is president of the naacp at u.v.a. and was with johnson during the arrest. >> to not be able to do anything but be standing right there, it's a terrible feeling. >> thank you for the support. can't make any comments at this time. jeff: johnson is not talking about the case. but it has led to rallies and protests at u.v.a. with many african-american students calling this moment a turning point. >> i think we are going to change the culture of the

university of virginia. jeff: yesterday, governor terry mcauliffe signed an executive order requiring retraining for the 130 abc agents across the state. in terms of dealing with use of force and also giving local police more authority over those agents. but the students we spoke with today want to go further and they want the general assembly to strip those abc agents of their law enforcement duties. live in charlottesville, jeff goldberg, abc 7 news. autria: and coming up -- auto reporter: a baby nearly dies at a home daycare center and the owner is facing felony charges. i'm kevin lewis in rockville. i'll have that story, one you'll only see on 7 after the break. kimberly: then a little later the anatomy of a recall. how companies decide when to issue a recall and why they often don't come from a higher power. autria: but first -- >> it's hard to believe that two years later, we're back at a more public school surveying damage. autria: tornadoes tear through

the plains with a city that's no stranger to the storms taking a direct hit.

kimberly: the iconic new jersey shore amusement pier will not be rebuilt over the water. the casino pier was battered by

super storm sandy. its owners want the new expansion built along the beach. the company that owns it says extending it out over the water would cost at least three times as much. and that price tag is already about 3 1/2 million dollars. the work should be done though by 2016. tornado season's slow start is officially over. twisters slammed arkansas and oklahoma last night killing one person in tulsa. autria: ted rollins has more on the particular weather pattern that fueled these violent storms. >> awful! ted: she breaks down walking through what's left of her tornado destroyed home in oklahoma. >> waiting for it to be over with. ted: at least seven tornadoes hit parts of oklahoma and arkansas. >> we got another one! ted: watch as this semi actually blows over on the highway.

>> got to help this guy in the truck. ted: a woman was inside this white truck when it blew over and skidded across the freeway. >> i felt glass breaking and i was on the top sliding across. i hung upside down until somebody got here. ted: in sand springs, oklahoma firefighters carried children to safety after a tornado hit a gymnastics center and the frightened kids are all safe after going spew into a basement. rob marciano talked to the gym owner about the ordeal. >> all of a sudden felt like a suction cup was pulling like my internal organs up and my ears popped. ted: also hit again more oklahoma where an f5 tornado devastated the town in may of 2013. >> it's traumatizing. it feels like a bad dream. ted: the tornadoes are being blamed for one death and several injuries but authorities say given the amount of damage it could have been much worse. ted rollins, abc 7 news. kimberly: our muggy, warm weather reminds you of that sort

of storm. doug: event. i think we could have an isolated thunderstorm or two tonight. certainly don't see any threat of anything severe like that. every now and then we'll get tornadoes and every now and then it happens but not with this pattern. so can stand down in that concern just a bit. let's take a look at things for you around the area right now. start with the h.d. weather bug camera in damascus. cloudy early and waited and waited for the prediction to come true. that actually would clear out and turn sunny. guess what? it did! all across the area. the temperatures jumped dramatically in a short period of time. beautiful there right now with temperatures in the 70's. 76 in king george. 72 in district heights. 74 in fairfax station. 76 in stafford. rain from earlier, .18 to .3 of an inch probably have a couple times more that amount and the rain will follow early tomorrow morning. here it is on doppler radar, a little downpour now to the south of front royal. don't have any lightning on that. there's more showers close to

the cold front across west virginia so all that will slide in. now, it looks like some of the showers will get here before 6:00 but the main line probably between 7:00 and 8:00 tonight. so that's the story. temperatures will start to fall a bit this evening. but for now, they are delightful. 75 in washington and manassas. 73 in gaithersburg. 77 right now in fredricksburg. if you wonder why you go between manassas and fredricksburg, it's so much cooler at quantico because the winds right now are out of the southeast and they blow across the potomac where the water is cool. it cools the land off on the base at quantico. what's going to happen next? gusty winds will continue out of the south. a little bit later tonight when the front comes in there will be an abrupt switch to the northwest and the winds will get gusty again. very breezy mild spring night with the temperatures ahead of it just for a lot of people me including wanting to be in the 70's down to the west 49 in charleston and that chilly air will spread in. temperatures tomorrow afternoon

probably in the 50's falling into the 40's during the afternoon even colder tomorrow night and really cold here on saturday. here's the big picture. there's that major line coming through later tonight. steve rudin will be all over that watching it for you. some downpours and gusty winds we expect as a possibility. our futurecast has it timed out coming through the area about 8:00 tonight but there's more rain behind the actual frontal system itself. so we'll deal with that at times overnight through tomorrow morning. right now, we're thinking probably towards noon the last batches of rain or any steady rain should move out clearing in the afternoon, turning cooler and turning breezy once again. as we head through the day, kind of an hour-by-hour period update of what you expect. probably b5:00 the sun will break out and beyond that, expect a very chilly day for saturday. in fact, look to saturday highs at best 40 to 45 degrees. could be a flurry blowing around at times. it's going to be that cold overhead. 50 degrees with sunshine on sunday. back to 60 degrees on monday. early next week through the middle of next week looks very mild. back to average temperatures. next chance of rain will come up

on thursday of next week. autria: we're getting there. getting to springlike weather. >> we'll wait and be patient. autria: thanks, doug. kimberly: if it was a joke not many are laughing. why investigators are suspicious of a california woman's kidnapping claims. autria: and then a little bit later, more detailed plans from the vatican about the pope's trip to d.c. this fall. kimberly: plus -- >> one direction without him. autria: teenage girls around the world express their sadness on social media, one group decides to take action to memorialize their favorite band. first tgit. here's a look at what's coming up tonight on abc.

autria: only on 7:00 tonight, a rockville daycare owner accused of nearly shaking a baby to death. police say the infant has serious potentially life threatening brain damage. montgomery county reporter kevin lewis explains why the at home daycare center has been in trouble before. >> parkdale terrace. showing a baby not breathing. again, possible pediatric injury. kevin: a frantic 911 call from the take care center. the caller owner anna valentine told dispatchers a 6-month-old girl if her care was unconscious and not breathing. paramedics rushed the baby to

children's national medical center where doctors discovered massive brain hemorrhaging. the alleged cause -- shaken baby syndrome. >> it's shocking. it's really shocking. kevin: neighbor linda canter stunned by her arrest. >> she always seemed very nice and very caring when she set up her daycare. kevin: carla granger's granddaughter used to attend my angel and me. >> at first she thought it was really good because the lady you know, taught them, i guess, their abcs and maybe speak another language. if it's true i'm glad my granddaughter is out of there! kevin: records show the state of maryland has cited the daycare 10 times since 2013. violations include not maintaining children's emergency information. keeping a potentially hazardous item in reach of children. and failure to complete continued training. >> i'm hoping that it's not true and that it turns out to be something else. and i pray for the baby. kevin: we did speak with

valentine's defense attorney who told us she and her client categorically deny all allegations spelled out in the seven page charging document. as for the daycare center its license has been revoked. in rockville, i'm kevin lewis, abc 7 news. kimberly: new tonight, a lawyer disputes a claim by police that a california woman's kidnapping was a hoax. police were skeptical of aaron quinn's story that strangers broke into his home abducted his girlfriend and then demanded an $8500 ransom. tonight, the lawyer says huskins was kidnapped and quinn was drugged. huskins was found 400 miles away in southern california. she was unarmed. autria: coming up on abc 7 news at 5:00 we can't all be as lucky as the students who were able to meet the president at this week's white house science fair. or can we? find out how you can get an audience with the commander-in-chief. kimberly: a little later, more trouble along i-95 but this time it's the southern end. look at what happens in texas.

reporter: plus friends and colleagues are remembering a prince william county mother and daughter killed in a tragic plane crash. coming up we'll

kimberly: really more questions than answers after investigators started listening to the flight data recorder from germanwings flight 9525. autria: investigators who have

listened to this tape say you can hear the captain frantically pounding on the door after the co-pilot locked himself inside. but we don't know why 27-year-old andreas lubitz then manually set the plane to descend right into a mountainside. all 150 people on board died including two women from virginia. diane cho spoke with some of the people who knew yvonne and emily selke. diane: 23-year-old emily selke seen in this photo smiling is what her pastor remembers the most about her. >> always cheerful. always happy. diane: this is the family's pastor at sacred heart catholic church, the parish emily grew up in singing in the children's choir. >> we've lost -- that family is down by two. we're down by two. we've lost two people that were important to us. diane: he says emily's mother yvonne selke loved working with children. >> her mother was very involved in the religious education program. diane: yvonne was a government

contractor who worked at booz allen hamilton for 23 years. her daughter worked in their old town alexandria office last year. >> as i walked through the halls today, every single person is literally silent. we look at each other and we feel the same. diane: shawn wilson is the regional manager. >> truly is a numbing experience. diane: wilson says emily was a go-getter who took on fellowship outside of work so she could better herself and always made a lasting impression on everyone she met. >> i mean, people naturally gravitated towards her but i think that equally she gravitated towards them. diane: and the girls council released a statement saying they lost two devoted members of their family and that they are deeply saddened by the tragedy. in prince william county diane cho, abc 7 news. autria: thank you. now checking the other top story. at least 12 people are hurt three of them critically after a building exploded and then

collapsed in new york city. this is in the east village in lower manhattan. there's no word what started the fire. but early reports say it might have broken out in a restaurant. we will bring you the latest as soon as we hear it. kimberly: we're expecting an update in the next half-hour from polaski county virginia on the case of noah thomas. sources are telling richmond television stations that the 5-year-old's body was found in a septic or sewage tank this morning. thomas had been missing since sunday morning. autria: metro says it will start running those new 7,000 series cars on april 14th. the first of eight cars will roll out on the blue line shortly after 7:00 a.m. i believe from the franconia springfield station. kimberly: pope francis plans to visit the white house during his first papal visit to the u.s. this fall. the white house says president and mrs. obama will welcome pope francis as a guest to the white house on september 23rd. francis will become the first pope to address a joint meeting on congress on the 24th and will

speak at the u.n. general assembly on the following day. well, it's easy enough for the pope to get an audience with the president but what about you or me? now could be our chance. we found this contest on barackobama.com today. you enter your e-mail address and zip code and you're entered to win a meeting with the president. once you enter you'll get directed to a page asking you to make a donation. we found you're still entered even if you don't give up any money. the site says it's all part of a campaign to raise organized grassroots activism across the country. autria: it is time now for a check on the traffic situation around here. jamie sack on traffic watch for us. jamie: couple of things going on. i want to begin in virginia. slow traffic, we've got that. a lot of congestion for you working your way outbound. first, i'll begin here on 395 just to show you we are now in the single digits. yes, it is slow. heavy for you, too, in the stretch on the inner loop right near allentown road.

the thing, is it's a disabled but not a crash. we have a lane blocked and a lot of people looking to see what's going on. as far as our volume for you right now, working your way through this stretch. getting from maryland into virginia crossing the american legion bridge. this stretch for you on the inner loop very slow. i want to focus on 270 though mainly the 270 spur. it is a crash that's right after democracy boulevard. so for you heading southbound, that's going to be slow. northbound on 270, typical delays getting a little closer towards rockville and even getting closer towards german town. we take a look at the top side of the beltway, it is very slow. that whole stretch through montgomery county and let's take a live look. a little bit of sun glare keep that in mind for you. this is near old georgetown road. we are in bumper-to-bumper traffic. in the single digits. as far as accidents, nothing to worry about on your interstates. that's a look at traffic. over to you. autria: thank you very much. some girls out there, lot of girls are worried about this. in fact, they're still reeling

from the news that zayn malik is leaving the music group one direction. but some fans aren't willing to take this news quietly. there is a petition to change the name of boston's leonard t. bunker hill bridge to zayn malik bridge. it went up this morning. it made a lot of waves in boston but we hear there's only like 50 supporters as of tonight. boston's mayor was asked about it during a chat on twitter yesterday and the mayor responded. "we are all devastated about zayn malik but we must soldier on." the remaining members of the british band say they plan to do just that. just as a quartet instead. kimberly: they need to ask a bunch of 11-year-olds. they'll want to vote for the name change. all right. the british show "downtown abbey" will be calling it quits during the upcoming season. final episode will air on christmas day in britain. show typically broadcasts in the u.s. starting in january. once it's finished its british

run. autria: medical officials are rallying against a new beverage choice. still ahead, find out why they're speaking out against it. kimberly: unrest on the saudi peninsula. one government tries to maintain power against the rebels. autria: a baby born right on i-270. what the 911 calls revealed and the question the father asked that got an immediate respons don't do that! kimberly: that's never good. that's followed by abc's "world news tonight" and david muir is here with a preview. david: we'll have the breaking developments tonight. the young co-pie loot that locked the captain out of the cockpit. we have new details about his training in the u.s. and what we learned about the lock itself the combination and how that captain was kept out. deadly tornadoes in this kunlt. the -- country. and the tractor-trailer that smashed into a major interstate bridge bringing parts of that highway down. cars crashing. we'll have it ahead

autria: one person is dead after a truck hit a bridge in texas. this happened on interstate 35, 40 miles north of austin. a tractor-trailer crashed into an overpass that was under construction.

debris and backed up traffic in both directions for several miles. three people were taken to hospitals although the extent of their injuries is not known. and the maryland state fire marshall's office is trying to figure out what caused a bomb threat in elkridge this morning. howard county police received a call about a suspicious package about 9:30 this morning. it happened along route 1 north of montevideo. police said they found some sort of device. they're not sure if it was a hoax. kimberly: key military installations in yemen have been reduced to dust after a series of overnight bombings. saudi arabia launched air strikes with the support of nine other countries. it's all aimed at rooting out the rebel group that has forced yemen's western friendly president to flee. the saudi ambassador to the u.s. says military force is the last resort but yemen collapsing is just not an option. >> we have tried to mediate the situation with yemen. we will do whatever it takes in

order to protect the legitimate government of yemen from falling and from taking any dangers from outside militia. kimberly: the air strikes are drawing anger from iran and it calls the move an invasion and say it's a dangerous step that will make the crisis in yemen even worse. autria: a potential republican presidential candidate is taking aim at d.c.'s gun laws. a florida senator marco rubio introduced a bill to ban district officials from enacting gun control measures. that would leave the district governed only by federal gun laws. in a statement, rubio says d.c.'s gun laws infringe on second amendment rights and leave citizens vulnerable to criminals. find out why sugar ray was back to schools just ahead. kimberly: first, companies are recalling some of the products across the country. find out why that recall is not coming from the f.d.a. up next.

autria: update on the breaking news today.

that building explosion in new york. chris papst at the live desk now with the very latest. chris? chris: new york city mayor bill de blasio got done holding a press conference. 12 people were injured. three of them critically. there may be more people inside these building these don't know about yet. this happened about 3:15 this afternoon in the east village section of manhattan. four buildings have been affected. 350 firemen have been on the scene battling the blaze calling it a seven alarm fire. the commissioner said when he spoke during this press conference that they're blaming it on a gas explosion due to plumbing or gas work and that someone has been recently working on the gas inside of these buildings. these are old buildings, one of them we know is at least built in 1834 originally a single family homes and now they've been changed and renovated apartments and also on the first floor, there's at least three businesses that we know of two of them restaurants in that area

of where this blaze happened and apparently when this explosion did occur, it blew the front of the building across the street hitting the other side of the building. as of right now, 12 people injured and three of them critically. as we get more information, we'll bring it to you. live in the newsroom chris papst, abc 7 news. side" with a consumer alert. a brand of frozen spinach distributed exclusively at target has been added to a recall list for potential listeria contamination. now, so far, around 27 different products containing spinach had been pulled from store shelves. this is a voluntary recall which the f.d.a. says nearly all recalls are. >> i love that. i like to clean it myself. >> if you saute with onions, oh my gosh. reporter: many consumers aren't aware of the recall. >> have you heard of the limited recall on some products? what's that? >> as a restaurant owner, i would think it's especially

important to know there's no contom nation in your spinach. >> absolutely. kimberly: each day this week a growing list of frozen spinach based products under recall all tied to one frozen organic vegetable's processor. the green vegetable company in california features all kinds of vegetables on its website. no sign of spinach so "7 on your side" gave them a call and told us they've only been in the frozen spinach business for one year. a microbiology test detected the listeria. they then informed all of their customers and that got the recalls going. customers like wegmans, target any distributor of brands and the popular amy's kitchen. >> scared about it to be honest. kimberly: no one has reported an illness because of the frozen spinach but listeria contamination can cause serious and fatal infections in young children and those with weakened immune system. the safety of the food allergies are especially safety for her she has food allergies.

>> do you get alerts directly from the f.d.a.? >> i do not. no. i didn't know that was possible. kimberly: it's very possible and we have a link to the f.d.a.'s website on wjla.com. click on the link to send recalls and alerts directly to your e-mail inbox. this is especially helpful for people with peanut and gluten allergies. you would be amazed how many alerts are sent out every single day. autria: good information. coming up at 6:00 examining that deadly crash in the alps. it's being called intentional now. the rules in place in the u.s. designed to prevent just such a disaster. plus hundreds line up for what's being billed as a first for the entire country. how it's tied to d.c.'s new marijuana laws and when it will happen again. that's at 6:00. what's being done after the new sidewalks began crumbling in one local community. kimberly: ok. it started out really chilly today. autria: it did. kimberly: you got your warmth outside. autria: a little bit. the sun was out, too, doug.

doug: temperatures jumped. it was beautiful. take a look at the cameras from the rooftop. rooftop camera is 30 stories up and as you notice you'll see it maybe bounce a little bit. we've been noticing that because the wind gusts but the winds are bringing in very warm temperatures. what do you know? we have a real spring day in the nation's capital. steve rudin is out in front of the building here in rosslyn enjoying every moment of it. what are you looking at steve? steve: every time you toss to me, the loudest bus or truck stops by. we hit 77 degrees today at reagan national airport making it the warmest day that we've had so far this year. temperatures, though, have cooled just a little bit. we'll head over to the map and show you what it looks like. can't complain considering how chilly it was yesterday. now, it feels a whole lot better. 73 degrees at dulles. 75 at reagan national. 72 in winchester. but look to the left-hand side of your screen, the areas shaded in green, that's cooler air. 53 in west virginia. that cooler air is behind a cold front that will bring thunderstorms to our area over the next few hours or so.

more on that the movement, the timing. we head back to doug. doug: steve, let's get look a look at things right now. we've been tracking the showers. couple of lines have formed up. let's go to live super doppler 7 radar. heavier downpours with lightning strikes from innwood, west virginia from hagerstown into southern pennsylvania. lighter shows coming from meyersville and meanwhile, to the south and west a few more spreading eastward towards marshall. and a few south between luray and flint hills. but it's a little farther west and you find the main line in southwest especially across southeastern sections of west virginia. just to the north end of the roanoke valley. what's going to happen is both of these lines will move through tonight with gusty winds, scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms and then as we get through the nighttime hours, we'll drop from the 70's and by morning, probably be in the 40's. still have some showers through the morning. probably through midday and then a little clearing and breezy. so much cooler in the afternoon. then it will be chilly with a flurry in the air. gusty breezes and then a warming

trend neck week. that's the latest from the weather center. back to you. autria: doug thank you. d.c. high schoolers got a few words of strength today from a famous, very famous boxer. sugar ray leonard visited the high school to promote mayor muriel bowser's empowering males of color initiative. he also pushed the importance of careers in science, technology engineering and math. kimberly: talk about a legend that held up well. tim: he used to be a regular on abc 7 back in the day when he was boxing and i was doing the sports here at 7 he was up here all the time. autria: you weren't boxing him though, were you? tim: no. but i did box against tommy herns who he's getting ready to fight. kimberly: that explains a lot. tim: cal ripken another icon. he loves baseball. he's a beloved hall of famer and he likes to give back. he's made baseball his life and he tries to develop players who can make it to the big leagues. well, now his son is a washington national. he's in the organization and he's starting to get some attention. he's 6'5" 200 pounds and a

first baseman. and he's got pretty good pedigree. from the front, he could be any prospect with any name. but from the back, not so much. >> i look at it as i'm ryan ripken trying to be just like anyone else and trying to make my name. tim: ryan ripken son of cal. as in cal ripken jr., beloved figure in baseball and everywhere else. >> now it's no big deal. in my mind, i'm not looking at it as i'm cal's son or my grandfather's grandson. tim: ryan was drafted by the nationals last summer selected in the 15th round, the 454th pick overall. his pro career started in the gulf coast league. humble beginnings sure. but beginnings nonetheless. >> you have a lot of thoughts going through your head and my thought is try to get better and try to live out a dream. and try to be the best player that i can be and hopefully try to help the nationals win the major leagues one day.

tim: for the ripkens, baseball is business from cal sr. to junior and now to ryan. >> i'm very proud of my family in that regard. i want to live my own life and try to make a name for myself. tim: we're going to follow that story for you as well. now, to college basketball. the sweet 16 gets under way again tonight. west virginia and kentucky. notre dame-wichita state. wisconsin-u.n.c. did you see wisconsin's nigel hayes at the news conference? he saw this vision of a woman, a sports reporter. and then got to tell you, nigel, got to look out for open mikes. >> nigel, we want to let you know is there anything to stay to the stenographers to start things off. >> gosh, she's beautiful. >> did you hear that? >> i heard that! >> so open it up to questions! tim: the mike was open! he says gosh she's beautiful like we tell you guys every day. his mike was open. kimberly: that was really sweet.

tim: that's what everybody is saying. he's 20 years old young sophomore. did you hear that? autria: is this thing on? that could have been a tough lesson. it worked out well. tim: he could have said a whole lot more. autria: thanks tim. coming up next on abc 7 news at 5:00, a major mistake. why some local physicians are taking issue with a recent

autria: only weeks after the federal government gave a thumbs up maryland is still struggling with what to do about palcahol. kimberly: this week, maryland's alcohol industry agreed to voluntarily ban the powdered product and maryland bureau chief brad bell shows us why some doctors say that's the right move. brad: earlier this morning the federal government gave the ok for the sale of the product called palcahol. a powdered alcohol beverage sold in a pouch mixed with water to create an adult beverage. well, today prominent doctors from across maryland are standing shoulder to shoulder to say that is a mistake.

>> we don't know how quickly it gets absorbed edabsorbed. we don't know what other effects they have. brad: this is the problems they have with palcahol. like a child's drink, it can be far too easily mixed with a bottle of water, shaken and consumed. that they say could be dangerous. >> imagine your child is offered a product that can be snorted, eaten, mixed into food and drink. brad: tonight, as they push for a law to ban powdered alcohol sales in maryland, the state controller is announcing a pre-emptive strike on the product. at his urging, he says maryland's entire alcoholic beverage industry has voluntarily promised not to sell palcahol in the state ever! >> this product will never see the shelves in maryland. brad: he says as the law stands now, he can prosecute anybody who brings it into maryland from

a state where it is sold and at least 22 other states are proposing bans. virginia has already made it illegal. in maryland brad bell, abc 7 news. autria: and that's it for abc 7 news at 5:00. kimberly: abc 7 news at 6:00 starts right now with new information from that breaking news from new york. anchor: new video just in shows a building collapsing after it triggered what's being called a seven alarm fire. we have been following this first since it broke out about two hours ago. this was in manhattan's east village. now, within the past 20 minutes, fire investigators blame the explosion on a gas leak. abc 7 has learned at least a dozen people are hurt. four of them critically. cadaver dogs have been brought in to help in the search for victims. once it is safe enough for them to enter. we are also following new

developments in that deadly plane crash in the french alps that authorities there say was intentional. but first we're tracking possible storms heading into this area. and for the latest on that we'll go to chief meteorologist doug hill who is on storm watch. doug? doug: all right, thanks, scott. and they're definitely starting to pop up and no surprise, very warm temperatures and the cold front approaching, let's give you a look at the numbers outside. pretty impressive. took most of the day to clear it out some. 75 now. and 73 at dulles but cooler west of the mountains and the front has passed through there. look from martinsburg to hagerstown, active thunderstorms and nonsevere. gusty winds and heavy downpours moving from hagerstown into central pennsylvania. there's other fragments of thunderstorms and showers as we head through the evening tonight. this is all part of a pattern associated with a cold front that's moving in from the west. the cold front is active. have lingering showers in the morning. bigger thing tomorrow much much cooler temperatures. look ahead to the book