kevin lewis, abc 7 news. leon: thank you, kevin. tonight, a stunning new portrait of the human toll in this tragedy -- 31 killed, 300 injured in brussels. many were injured by flying shrapnel and debris. mom fragments were pulled from survivors come including chunks of twisted metal. one was a professional basketball player in belgium. he is speaking and said when the explosion went off in the airport, he immediately thought of his family. >> it's funny how many things you think of. i started thinking of my seven-year-old. i was like, man, i got to get through this. she needs a coach. it gets you through the moment. leon: he says he does not remember much except for the loud noise. himselfhe kept telling he would make it until he got safely into the ambulance. thisn: the police say that man is behind a spree of violent crimes, even murder, and now richard butler iii is in handcuffs and we are unraveling more about his past. last night, butler was arrested after allegedly shooting at the police in southeast. tonight we find out he is

. >> i'm kevin lewis live at nats park. after the break we will highlight the improvement to the ballpark in time for the 2016 season. narrator: all that political mail mlet's simplify.lming. only one candidate has been endorsed by the washington post: kathleen matthews. as a journalist and progressive leader at marriott, she has a broad and deep facility with policy. emily's list praises matthews as pro-choice and the post says on gun control, clean energy, education and health research kathleen matthews "has greater potential, following the van hollen model, to move the ball forward." kathleen: i'm kathleen matthews and i approve this message. alison: new developments in the race for the white house today. republican front runner donald trump standing by his embattled campaign manager. police in jupiter, florida, charged corey lewandowski with battery. police released surveillance video that appears to show lewandowski grabbing reporter michelle fields after a press conference. lewandowski says he will plead not guilty. b

i'm kevin lewis, abc7 news. jonathan: thanks. turn to the weather. you may ditch your jacket tomorrow. michelle: chief meteorologist doug hill is in the stormwatch7 weather center with a check of the forecast. it's nice. doug: nice already. in the lower 60's. take a look outside. a lot of sunshine. 61 degrees at the reagan national airport. tonight is the warmest night in five or six days. good news more sunshine. we might hit 72. will the warm weather continue in the easter weekend? i have the forecast coming up. president obama: i have come here to extend the hand of friendship to the cuban people. michelle: president obama wraps up his trip to cuba with a plea for cooperation. >> emotional words from the sister of the i'm brad bell in annapolis where the family is speaking out in hopes of saving lives. jonathan: in light of all that has happened today, stay connected on abc7 when news breaks. sign up for the text alerts on wjla.com or watch the facebook and twitter feed. jonathan: life pictures of air force one about to take off from cuba. relatio

live in southeast, kevin lewis. back to you. alison: all right. thank you. prince george's county police officer and her husband a retired officer have now been indicted on charges of theft tonight. officer sims filed false time sheet for two years raxing up $400,000 in overtime. her husband retired officer aerial sims is -- harold sims is accused as accomplice. >> we have at peak bloom at the tidal basin. we are proud sponsor of the cherry blossom festival, already underway. now you can see the pink blossoms of the cherry trees starting to pop. once they hit 70% of the blooms out. that is where we say we are in peak bloom. get this. some of the trees are more than 100 years old. that may not be old for many trees but it is life exceptensy of most cherry trees like this. e-mail us at pics@wjla.com. doug: cherry blossoms if they aren't in full, spring is around the corner. the peace bloom will start tomorrow and the average for the years is april 4. we are running ahead. here are the dates of the peak blooms. april 10, april 9 the year before that. march 20.

kevin lewis, abc7 news. michelle: maryland court of appeals heard arguments in the freddie gray place and will determine whether officer william porter will have to testify against his colleagues as he awaits retrial. porter previously, his trial ended in a hung jury. a baltimore circuit judge initially ruled he must testify against two officers by not the other three. the six officers are charged in gray's death. today is 25 years since the rodney king beating. the video clip one of the first police brutality videos to go group of officers took him into custody in los angeles march 3, 1991. he was released two days later without being charged with anything. i led to a new conversation about race in america. scott: michelle, racial issues getting attention in vote 2016. a couple of hours ago more protesters were escorted out of a donald trump campaign vent. this time in portland, maine. republican front-runner appeared a few hours after getting slammed by 220 -- 2012 republican nominee. >> if we republicans

kevin lewis, abc7 news. alison: lawmakers in maryland are considering a bill to expand paid family sick leave in the state. it would require most employers to offer paid employees seven sick days every year. supports say taking time off is important for those who work in the food industry. >> you hear about the chipotle and outbreak at the restaurants and what happens when sick workers come to work and spread the germs. spread the illnesses to customers and the coworkers. alison: critics offer it should be an employer's choice. and that they should consider that when they apply for a job. >> a lot of folks are sick and are to leave now driving through traffic in downtown d.c. a mess out there. jamie sullivan watching that. jamie: they are about to get sick once they are sitting in the traffic. two, three, one miles per hour. it's heavy. on the waze map the areas that show the red and the white stripes are the closure around the convention center. we are seeing the big delays in d.c. heads up for those coming

live in bethesda, i'm kevin lewis, abc7 news. michelle: thanks. high school baseball season underway. jonathan: it is. scott abraham joining us now. a day on the diamond, this puts it in perspective. has a different meaning for one local team. >> you remember "angels in the outfield"? this takes it a different level. it's an amazing, powerful story. six years ago jeff and laurie had the second child madison. eight weeks after birth, madison died from heart failure. since that moment, jeff has been using baseball as an emotional outlet after madison's passing. he led gaithersburg to the first ever state championship last spring. every time jeff steps on the >> it's a difficult question how many kids do you have? i have three kids. unfortunately one is not with us. scott: i'll tell this story and how they plan to honor madison on the diamond. emotional, power story. >> you love for someone to take that experience and translate it. it's not just a game. >> learning tool for players as well. michelle: thank you, scott. jonathan: food truck is all the

kevin lewis is in rockville with details. kevin: police say this rockville red roof inn plus hotel served as a backdrop for a prostitution hired a 16-year-old girl around christmas, saying she would make $750 a night. they provided her with a cell minutes, $250 15 for two hours. raleigh mcclam claims to have had sex with her at the hotel claiming it was quality control. as a buscclam worked driver for nine months, up until last month. and still, many questions remain, including what bus routes he drove. administrators have not told us whether or not they notify parents that an alleged pimp of a 16-year-old girl drove their children to and from school. in court documents, it is revealed that raleigh mcclam is a married man with three children. he recently managed to bond out of jail and is now awaiting trial. he faces up to 175 years in prison news. jummy: a big development in the race for the white house. take a look into this one. mitt romney: even though donald trump has offered very few specific economic plans, what little

reporting in frederick county, i'm kevin lewis, abc7 news. jonathan: police are also investigating a shooting near the montgomery college rockville campus, because this all happened about 10:00 this morning. here is what investigators say. a man was shot in his leg somewhere else. he was then picked up and driven to the campus. so it never happened at the campus. police say the victim is not a student and he is not being cooperative with investigators. michelle: well, it is just beautiful outside today but a change is on the horizon. chief meteorologist doug hill is here wi it looks like winter is trying to battle back. dolls it will make a grief -- doug: it will make grief comeback through the weekend. but all things considered we are in nice shape. we are still in 60's. charlottesville is 60 degrees. we are in the low 60's in the metro area. the clouds are increasing and the winds continue to increase out of the southeast. that is how we warmed up with the warm temperatures. the winds 14 to 18 miles per hour around the area. later tonight t

kevin lewis is outside the club with a story you will only see here on 7. kevin? kevin: hi, michelle. fans passed the restaurant and the hooka lounge on georgia avenue to hear the rap artists perform. police say it was meant to be a reunion concert of sorts to clear the air between the two rappers in a long-standing feud. but around 3:00 a.m. when the club was shouting down a fight broke out. swag used a little joe in the chest. little joe pictured here holding a gun was rushed to holy cross hospital where doctors performed surgery which ultimately saved his life. but today, during an on-camera interview haitian swag told us he acted strictly in self-defense. swag says he is a peaceful man with no criminal record but contends little joe is a hot-blooded entertainer who uses his music to preach violence. >> i just want people to know that whatever happened, they acted on self-defense. i would never thought anyone at any time. >> three or four people coming at you, you will fight your way out. you have to get out. you will not just say oh, my gosh, do what you want

kevin lewis live on the scene. do we know anything about a suspect or the victim here? kevin: no. police keeping tight-lipped but they do tell us this was not a random killing. overnight residents reported hearing heavy gunfire. you can see a bullet hole beside the front door of the home. if you look over there, you can see that the partially charred bush. victim's body. he was burned from head to toe. in a community lined with single-family town homes and a posted neighborhood watch, a man found shot and burped -- burned to death under this bush. for eight hours investigators processed the vene and examined bullet holes and the lincoln navigator parked in the street in addition the holding around a nearby front door. a flat-bed tow truck later hauled away the dodge white charger but police would not say who the car belongs to. >> the body set on fire. kevin: this man too afraid to show his face took pictures of the murder seen with his cell phone. one photo we blurred shows evidence marker next to the severely burned body and another shows a detective examining with a flash light

only on 7 now, kevin lewis spoke with the rap artist who is now facing life in prison. kevin? kevin: hi, leon. the reunion concert took place here at the champion restaurant and the hookah lounge along georgia avenue. but after the last verse was sung, a fight spilled out on the sidewalk here with the two rap artists sparring with knives. a cancer at the silver springs nightclub meant to unite two musicians caught in a longstanding feud. but police say after the club closed, rapper haitian swag featured in this music video stabbed rivaled performer little joe in haitian swag gave us this picture of little joe who paramedics rushed to holy cross hospital in rough shape. >> i was scared for my life. kevin: today for the first time haitian swag who is now facing life in prison spoke publicly claiming he acted in self-defense. >> the next thing i know, there was a knife. the guy was literally attempting to kill me. had a knife in his hand and tried to stab me. kevin: many of swag's close friends agree. >> there are three or four people coming at you, you will fight your way out. n

kevin lewis is finding what they will do to stop it from happening again. >> shot fired at the vehicle. prison want to know who used the windy road as a shooting range? 5:30 monday evening u.p.s. driver reported hearing a pop. then watched as the young window cracked. another car reported being shot at, all driving along woodville road outside of mount arie. the shooter was hiding in the woods. >> they are roping people in the area. >> they are gathering additional evidence. >> has the individuals admitted to the involvement? >> no. >> while no one was injured police say the projectiles could have caused a crash or worse a death. they said the shooter had malicious intent and will press charges accordingly. >> new trouble for royal caribbean anthem of the seas cruise ship. for the second time in a month, extreme weather cut the trip short. the ship was damaged after being in hurricane-force winds and 30-foot we they are also battling a norovirus outbreak. >> you had to walk by a medical facility and it was jampacked standing room only. this is not good. >> it is expected to dock tomorr

. >> i'm kevin lewis live at nats park with the baseball season underway. we will give you a tour of the sights and sounds after this break. wall street. the nra. they're powerful. they usually get their way. but not with democrat donna edwards. she won't take cash from wall street banks. and when washington insiders wrote a loophole to let the nra spend dark money to kill gun safety laws, donna edwards said 'no' she's fighting to ban assault weapons and putting the safety of our communities first. because to democrat donna edwards, the special interests aren't special. we are. women vote! is responsible for the content of this advertising. jonathan: drivers complained since the high occupancy toll lanes opened in virginia. not about the tolls but the fines that stack up if you didn't pay. as brianne carter report assettalment and a class action lawsuit could change all of that. -- a settlement and the class action lawsuit could change all f brianne: the operator of the toll says drivers will be able to sign up for e-mail alert system and let them know when

live in bethesda, i'm kevin lewis, abc7 news. leon: amazing. thank you. enough developments tonight in the murders of hannah graham and morgan harrington. about three hours ago, jesse matthew pleaded guilty and was given four life sentences. jeff goldberg was in the courtroom and joins us liv to matthew now. jeff? jeff: jesse matthew is going to be going to prison for the rest of his life. both the parents of morgan harrington and hannah graham say the support the plea agreement and inside the courtroom before the sentencing reading powerful statements about how dramatically impacted their lives have been by the murders. calling jesse matthew wicked, inhumane and selfish. dan harrington ending the statement asking how could he, why would he? here is video of jesse matthew coming in the courtroom after 1:00 this afternoon. matthew 34 years old pleading guilty to abducting hannah graham and morgan harrington. sentenced to four consecutive live sentences in prison without the possibility of parole or appeal. he does avoid the death penalty which was on the t

montgomery county reporter kevin lewis is live in bethesda with the story that you will see only on 7. tell us about it. kevin: hey, alison. this bethesda neighborhood is accustomed to dinner parties not multi-keg college raids. but that is exactly what happened in thisho did not want people inside. certainly not the police. they barricaded the front door with a couch. others hitting closets. >> it was totally out of control and it sounds like it was mayhem inside. kevin: a midnight rager at this bethesda house. inside police found 200 party-goers. many from american university and the u.s. marine corps. the conditions disgusting, dark, rowdy. alcohol dripped through floorboards while the air temp hovered around 100 degrees. the alleged party-host, 22-year-old tyler steinhart. now charged with 110 counts of serving alcohol to minors. >> how do you get this many people, this many minors here so far away from any college campus? that blows my mind. kevin: it took 30 officers to shut down the party. in part because a fraternity president jamison tieman got irate and attacked a cop who ne

. >> through social media posts and public records, the victims have been identified as lewis, and kevin corenno both of the tampa bay area. they were friends, classmates, and business partners and their loved ones are mourning them tonight. today the ntsb said it will document the accident scene, take measurements and begin to put together a preliminary cause of the crash. fire officials reported the incident yesterday around 11:30 a.m. peter o'knight airport on davis island. a cessna 340 crashed shortly after take off, killing the two people on board. they were headed to pensacola. witnesses reported hearing two planes take off around the same time. today investigates confirmed those witness accounts. >> there's evidence that there are two airplanes taking off approximately the same time. however, whether the accident occurred coincidental or as a and that's one of the reasons why we're here to start gathering all the information. >> and the airport is back open tonight. ntsb investigates say they should have a preliminary report out in 10 days. reporting in tampa, evan lambert, fox 35

could kevin spacey help them get the win? ind your your win, find >>. >> high school freshman has cerebral palsy and races in a wheelchair. >> that has not slowed her down one bit. omar lewis has her story. >> i have been wantinghis badly, so i'm ready for it. >> isabella is chasing her >> i started -- -- 2 weeks ago, my first competition. and i qualified for finals. >>> a track and field championship finalist, but she is not any ordinary athlete. she is wheelchair bound after being die kwrag/ tpoesed with cerebral pauls/ cerebral paulsy. >> i wanted to find something i would do that wouldn't make me feel so outside of everyone. this is something that i saw and i thought i could do it. >> that's what she did, competing in the 200 and 800 meter races with everyone cheeringer on. >> we were really excited from the first time she raced when we saw the response that everyone was giving her. it was like a blessing. >> this has been something t tt overcome so many ab sta/ khrs. >> she is just getting started. stop her. >> it's the

kevin dowdell. and patrick o'keefe. the loss is felt by their families and colleagues and also by jose giagos who developed a lasting friendship with the men who saved his life. >> i don't have any words to express how i feel about these guys. they live in my heart. i carry them in a very special part of my heart. >> although he now lives in his native colombia, he has come back to the building where he once feared his life would end. >> it was very hot. there was a lot of smoke coming out of all the windows. >> and we have a surprise waiting for him. on the corner of 7th avenue and 48th street. >> oh, man. >> hi. >> it's kevin shay now retired and living in montana. shay and giagos haven't seen each other for many years. >> what a crazy surprise. i'm so happy to see you. >> yes. it's a great surprise. >> for these two men, the experience on the 12th floor of this building has created a bond that will never fade away. >> doesn't it feel much better once you know you're not alone? >> oh, yes. >> almost everything feels b