The American Medical Association is now recognizing obesity as a disease—meaning it officially calls for treatment and prevention.
Prior to the Tuesday announcement, the AMA had classified obesity as “a major public health problem,” USA Today reported.

"The most important aspect of the AMA decision is that the AMA is a respected representative of American medicine. Their opinion can influence policy makers who are in a position to do more to support interventions and research to prevent and treat obesity," said Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, USA Today reported.

MPD officials say that Floyd Neal, 20, and Lafeyette Robinson, 19, were both charged with first-degree murder in connection with the March 14 shooting death of Akinwole Olu Williams.

Williams was shot in the chest just before midnight on March 14 in the 1000 block of 44th Street. He later died at a nearby hospital. Police have not yet determine a motive for the shooting.

The arrest of Neal and Robinson are the second and third in connection to Williams' death. The Washington Post says that 18-year-old Deandre Shaheed was taken into custody earlier in June.

The Northeast Washington resident had graduated from Catholic with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies just a few months earlier.

Andrew Zuckerman took over as Starr's chief of staff earlier this week at a salary north of $165,000, the Gazette says.

To clear room for that position, three jobs in three different departments will not be filled. In addition, funding for part-time counselors that assist schools with scheduling matters, will be eliminated.

Starr took over as superintendent in April of 2011 after several years as the head of schools in Stamford, Conn. The budget for the school district at the time he took over was more than $2 billion.

Whitman died of heart failure at Orange Park Medical Center, his son-in-law Roy Beagle said.

Whitman's tenor falsetto and ebony mustache and sideburns became global trademarks - and an inspiration for countless jokes - thanks to the TV commercials that pitched his records.

But he was a serious musical influence on early rock, and in the British Isles, he was known as a pioneer of country music for popularizing the style there. Whitman also encouraged a teen Elvis Presley when he was the headliner on the bill and the young singer was making his professional debut.

Whitman recorded more than 65 albums and sold millions of records, including 4 million of "All My Best" that was marketed on TV.

His career spanned six decades, beginning in the late 1940s, but he achieved cult figure status in the 1980s. His visage as an ordinary guy singing romantic ballads struck a responsive chord with the public.

"All of a sudden, here comes a guy in a black and white suit, with a mustache and a receding hairline, playing a guitar and singing 'Rose Marie,'" Whitman told The Associated Press in 1991. "They hadn't seen that."

For most of the 1980s, he was consistent fodder for Johnny Carson's monologues on late night NBC-TV, and the butt of Slim Whitman look-alike contests.

"That TV ad is the reason I'm still here," he said. "It buys fuel for the boat."

"I almost didn't do them. I had seen those kinds of commercials and didn't like them. But it was one of the smartest things I ever did."

He yodeled throughout his career and had a three-octave singing range. Whitman said yodeling required rehearsal.

"It's like a prize fighter. He knows he has a fight coming up, so he gets in the gym and trains. So when I have a show coming up, I practice yodeling."

Born Ottis Dewey Whitman Jr. in Tampa on Jan. 23, 1923, he worked as a young man in a meatpacking plant, at a shipyard and as a postman.

He was able to get on radio in Tampa and signed with RCA Records in 1949 with the help of Col. Tom Parker, who later became Presley's longtime manager. RCA gave Whitman the show business name Slim - he was a slender 6-foot-1 - to replace his uninspiring birth name.

In 1952, Whitman had his first hit record, "Love Song of the Waterfall," which 25 years later became part of the soundtrack of the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Another Whitman hit from that year, "Indian Love Call," was used to humorous effect in the 1996 "Mars Attacks!" - his yodel causes the Martians' heads to explode.

He crossed paths with Presley in July 1954 when he starred at a concert in a Memphis park just as Presley - mistakenly billed as "Ellis Presley" in one ad for the show - was launching his career.

According to Peter Guralnick's book "Last Train to Memphis," Presley's brief, energetic turn on stage caused a wild reaction from the crowd. When Whitman came on for his performance, he told the audience: "You know, I can understand your reaction, 'cause I was standing backstage and I was enjoying it just as much as you."

With Whitman's early hits, he became a star on the "Louisiana Hayride" radio show.

His version of "Rose Marie," the title song from the venerable operetta that spawned "Indian Love Call," became a huge hit in England in 1955, staying at No. 1 on the charts for 11 weeks.

Whitman's other hits included "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You," ''Red River Valley," ''Danny Boy" and "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen."

"The material I did was lasting material," Whitman said in 1991. "A lot of people thought I wasn't doing anything, but I was in the studio. The biggest factor is the material you choose. You hunt, you cut."

He was survived by his daughter, Sharon Beagle, and his son, Byron Whitman.

Whitman told the AP in 1991 that he wanted to be remembered as "a nice guy."

"I don't think you've ever heard anything bad about me, and I'd like to keep it that way. I'd like my son (Bryon) to remember me as a good dad. I'd like the people to remember me as having a good voice and a clean suit."

The pair were found guilty Wednesday of failing to declare €1 billion ($1.3 billion) in income tax to authorities. The court sentenced them both to one year and eight months in jail.

Prosecutors argued that the pair had evaded taxes on income of 416 million euros each and 200 million euros through a Luxembourg-based company. The statute of limitations ran out on a charge of misrepresenting income.

The designers have denied the charges.

Two years ago, a judge threw out a tax evasion and fraud case against the pair, whose label Dolce&Gabbana is a Milan fashion mainstay. Italy's high court later ruled the designers could be prosecuted for tax evasion, though not for fraud.

The announcement was made Wednesday by Robert Foley, head of the FBI in Detroit, just a few hours after digging resumed. The dig began Monday.

Authorities have pursued multiple leads on Hoffa's whereabouts since his disappearance in 1975. He was last seen outside an Oakland County restaurant where he was to meet with a New Jersey Teamsters boss and a Detroit Mafia captain.

In a wide-ranging speech that enumerates a litany of challenges facing the world, Obama said he wanted to reignite the spirit that Berlin displayed when it fought to reunite itself during the Cold War.

"Today's threats are not as stark as they were half a century ago, but the struggle for freedom and security and human dignity, that struggle goes on," Obama said at the city's historic Brandenburg Gate before a crowd of 6,000 invited guests under a bright, hot sun. "And I come here for this city of hope because the test of our time demands the same fighting spirit that defined Berlin a half-century ago."

He called for a one-third reduction of U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles, saying it is possible to ensure American security and a strong deterrent while also limiting nuclear weapons.

Obama's address, delivered from behind bullet-proof glass, comes nearly 50 years after John F. Kennedy's famous Cold War speech in this once-divided city.

The president has previously called for reductions to nuclear stockpiles. But by addressing the issue in a major foreign policy speech, Obama signaled a desire to rekindle an issue that was a centerpiece of his early first-term national security agenda.

The president discussed non-proliferation with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they met Monday on the sidelines of the Group of 8 summit in Northern Ireland. During Obama's first term, the U.S. and Russia agreed to limit their stockpiles to 1,550 as part of the New START Treaty.

In Moscow, Russian foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said that plans for any further arms reduction would have to involve countries beyond Russia and the United States.

"The situation is now far from what it was in the '60s and '70s, when only the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union discussed arms reduction," Ushakov said.

Obama's calls for cooperation with Moscow come at a time of tension between the U.S. and Russia, which are supporting opposite sides in Syria's civil war. Russia also remains wary of U.S. missile defense plans in Europe, despite U.S. assurances that the shield is not aimed at Moscow.

Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, is a strong advocate of nuclear disarmament and has long called for the removal of the last U.S. nuclear weapons from German territory, a legacy of the Cold War. The Buechel Air Base in western Germany is one of a few remaining sites in Europe where they are based.

Under an agreement drawn up when they formed a coalition government in 2009, Merkel's conservatives and Westerwelle's Free Democratic Party agreed to press NATO and Washington for the nuclear weapons to be withdrawn, but did not set any timeframe.

Nuclear stockpile numbers are closely guarded secrets in most nations that possess them, but private nuclear policy experts say no countries other than the U.S. and Russia are thought to have more than 300. The Federation of American Scientists estimates that France has about 300, China about 240, Britain about 225, and Israel, India and Pakistan roughly 100 each.

Police say the crash involving two vehicles happened just before 8 a.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and North Capitol Street NW.

D.C. police spokesman Araz Alali says preliminary reports are that a van hit a light pole and the pedestrians. One of the pedestrians was pinned and trapped under the van and taken to a hospital in critical condition.

Alali says he doesn't yet know how the second vehicle was involved in the crash.

DDOT says to expect road closures in the area for several hours.

Eight people total have been transported because of the accident.

Video of the rapper from his music video shoot for the song "God Bless Amerika" hit the Web on Monday. In it, he appears to be stepping on top of the American flag. But he said in a Facebook post Tuesday the flag on the ground will not appear in the clip.

He writes it was never his intention "to desecrate the flag of the United States of America."

He says the flag will reveal a group of people behind him in the video.

The New Orleans-based rapper says in the statement his environment helped shape the way he views America and his song and video represent the people he grew up with.

And why not?

"I think that's self-explanatory," Quenneville said, once again declining to explain the secrecy that is as much a part of the NHL culture as playoff beards and Zambonis.

Hossa's surprise scratch from Game 3 and the one-word explanation - "upper" - for the part of his body that was injured is part of a long-running cat-and-mouse game NHL teams play. The theory goes that any revealing information about injuries could become a competitive disadvantage.

Hossa is expected to play in Game 4, Quenneville said Tuesday, but only after making it clear that "I'm not going to get (into) exactly what the injury is or where it occurred."

"It's sort of a secret society in the hockey world and in the injury world," Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland said. "You don't want other teams having any injury information at all."

Asked if he had seen Hossa or had a chance to talk to him, Bolland said, "I don't know."

You don't know if you've seen him or talked to him?

"I don't know if I've seen him," Bolland repeated with a sly smile.

Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots from the depleted Blackhawks to help the Bruins win 2-0 on Monday night and move two wins from their second Stanley Cup title in three seasons.

Game 4 is Wednesday night in Boston before the series returns to Chicago for a fifth game.

Hossa's mysterious injury may have been a turning point in Game 3, but it's hardly unusual in the secretive world of hockey injuries. Players and coaches say they just don't talk about what's hurting, partly because they don't want to seem weak in a sport where they hit each other for a living.

But mostly they don't want let the other team know where to aim.

"If I'm going out to battle and I have an injury to any part of my body, I don't want the other side to know what it is," Bruins forward Shawn Thornton said.

Injury information can also help the opponent strategize. Quenneville was so concerned about giving the Bruins advance notice of even a few minutes that he didn't let substitute Ben Smith skate in the warmup even though there was a chance he would need to play.

"I just didn't want to tip our hand that there's something going on," the coach said.

"Ben was ready. I knew he was doing everything," Quenneville said. "We were hopeful that Hoss was playing, and Ben was doing everything to get ready. He was ready."

No hard feelings, Bruins coach Claude Julien said. After all, he would do - and has done - the same thing.

"I respect that from other teams. When you're playing against each other, you know exactly where everybody is coming from," Julien said.

"There's times where you have to protect your players, and I understand it. I know it's frustrating for you guys as media. You're trying to share that information. The most important thing for us, we can take the heat for that, is protecting your players."

So, how to tell if an injury is minor? When a team actually admits it exists.

"I'll share one with you: Yesterday in a warmup, Zdeno Chara fell down, got a cut over the eye," Julien said, to laughter, of the injury to his captain that had already been confirmed and reported. "I'll let you know about that. That's not a hidden injury."

The Bruins also confirmed without delay the broken leg that knocked Gregory Campbell out of the Eastern Conference finals against Pittsburgh. But that was only because Campbell was out for the season after taking a shot to his leg on national TV and struggling to get off the ice.

"If it's something that doesn't put your player in danger, I don't see why you shouldn't talk about it," Julien said.

Players say they don't have to be told not to discuss injuries; they grow up with the culture in junior and minor leagues. Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp said he doesn't remember when he first learned the subject was off-limits, but it was long before he reached the NHL.

And hockey players are not alone.

"It's not just here," Thornton said. "I don't think Bill Belichick is (listing) all the injuries they have, either."

But even the notoriously uncommunicative New England Patriots coach is required by NFL rules to say what body part is injured. NHL coaches have to narrow it only to "upper body" or "lower body," which means a player with a concussion and one with a broken finger would have the same diagnosis.

During the playoffs, information is even more scarce.

"It's that time of year where everybody's kind of battling. I would say that not just injuries, strategy, all that kind of information we're not going to talk about," Sharp said. "It's all part of being this close to the ultimate goal."

And does he have any injuries he cares to mention?

"No comment."

Miami's championship reign would be over. Someone in Spurs black would replace James as NBA Finals MVP.

James and the Heat wouldn't let it happen.

"To be a part of something like this is something you would never be able to recreate once you're done playing the game. And I'm blessed to be a part of something like this," James said. "And I'm happy about the way we dug down and was able to get a win. It didn't look like we could muster up at some point in the game."

James powered Miami to a frantic fourth-quarter rally and overtime escape as the Heat beat the Spurs 103-100 on Tuesday night to extend the NBA Finals as far as they can go and keep Miami's repeat chances alive.

Losing his headband but keeping his cool while playing the entire second half and overtime, James finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, making the go-ahead basket with 1:43 remaining in the extra period.

"It's by far the best game I've ever been a part of," James said.

He wouldn't let the Heat lose it - or their NBA title. If the Spurs want to take it, they'll have to fight just a little harder to get it.

One last game, winner take all.

So close to being eliminated that they noticed officials bringing yellow tape out to block off the court for the Spurs' trophy presentation, the Heat hit a couple of big 3-pointers and got some defensive stops - everything that makes a great team a champion.

"We seen the championship board already out there, the yellow tape. And you know, that's why you play the game to the final buzzer," James said. "And that's what we did tonight. We gave it everything that we had and more."

Tim Duncan scored 30 points for the Spurs, his most in an NBA Finals game since Game 1 in 2003, but was shut out after the third quarter. He added 17 rebounds.

Game 7 is in Miami on Thursday, the NBA's first do-or-die matchup to crown a champion since the Lakers beat the Celtics in 2010.

"They're the best two words in sports: Game 7," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

And two the Spurs were oh-so-close to avoiding.

They looked headed to a fifth title in five chances when they built a 13-point lead with under 4 minutes left in the third quarter, then grabbed a five-point edge with 28 seconds left in regulation after blowing the lead.

But James hit a 3-pointer and Ray Allen tied it with another. Just 5.2 seconds remained in regulation. The Heat were that close to the edge.

"It's a tough moment. We were a few seconds away from winning the championship and we let it go," Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili said. "A couple rebounds we didn't catch, a tough 3 by Ray and a couple missed free throws. It's a very tough moment."

James was just 3 of 12 after three quarters, the Heat trailing by 10 and frustration apparent among the players and panic setting in among the fans.

Nothing to worry about. Not with James playing like this. He finished 11 of 26, even making a steal after his basket had given Miami a 101-100 edge in the OT.

Somewhere in there, early in the fourth quarter, James lost his familiar headband. He couldn't remember exactly when or how. Nor was it particularly important to him.

Losing the game would have been far worse.

"I guess the headband was the least of my worries at that point," James said.

Before that, he had been 12 minutes from hearing the familiar criticisms about not being able to get it done, from having to watch a team celebrate on his home floor again.

Then he changed the game and erased that story.

The Heat, who haven't lost consecutive games since Jan. 8 and 10, had too much defense and way too much James for the Spurs in the final 17 minutes. They are trying to become the fourth team to win the final two games at home since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format for the finals in 1985.

This wasn't quite the 45-point performance in Game 6 of last year's Eastern Conference finals in Boston, but given the higher stakes it may go down as more important - if the Heat follow it with another victory Thursday.

"He just made plays. I don't think there's any two ways to put it," Duncan said. "We were in the right position to close it out and he found a way to put his team over the top and we just didn't make enough plays to do that."

Kawhi Leonard had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs. Tony Parker had 19 points and eight assists, but shot just 6 of 23 from the field.

The Spurs had one final chance down 103-100, but Chris Bosh blocked Danny Green's 3-pointer from the corner as time expired.

Bosh had said Green wouldn't get open the way he has all series - and he didn't. Green finished 1 of 5 from behind the arc after going 25 of 38 on 3-pointers (65.8 percent) in the first five games.

The Heat, the NBA's 66-win powerhouse during the regular season, will be playing a seventh game for the second straight round, having needed to go the distance to beat the Indiana Pacers in the East finals.

Parker's 3-pointer over James tied it at 89 with 1:27 left. He then came up with a steal, spinning into the lane for a 91-89 lead with 58 seconds to go. Miami coughed it up again and Ginobili made two free throws, and he hit another after a third straight Miami turnover to put the Spurs ahead 94-89.

But James nailed a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left, and the Heat had one more chance after Leonard made just one foul shot to give the Spurs a 95-92 edge. James missed but Bosh got the rebound out to Allen, the league's career leader in 3-pointers, who made another one from the corner to even it up.

The Spurs went ahead by three again in overtime, but James found a cutting Allen for a basket, then scored himself to put the Heat on top.

"He just plays with great force," Allen said.

Obama says at least 50 threats have been averted because of phone records and Internet information the agency was able to access. He says those threats were not just in the U.S. but also in other countries like Germany.

Obama says both programs are subject to strict court oversight and are limited in scope. He says he believes the U.S. is striking the right balance between national security and civil liberties.

Obama spoke at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel says the topic came up in her meeting with Obama. She says proportionality and balance are important when it comes to surveillance.

ABC7's Adam Caskey was live at the Prince George's County Equestrian Center Wednesday morning to get all the details. Jeannette Blair, the co-chair of the event, says there will be pony rides, face painting and horse shows on both Saturday and Sunday.

The PVDA Ride for Life has raised more than $490,000 for the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center.

The move by Hamid Karzai raises tensions significantly and could derail the peace process even before it has begun.

In a terse statement from his office, Karzai said negotiations with the U.S. on what American and coalition security forces will remain in the country after 2014 have been put on hold. The deal was expected to define the future of American troops here and also pave way for billions in aid to the Afghan economy.

Karzai's statement followed an announcement Tuesday by the U.S. and the Taliban that they would pursue bilateral talks in Qatar before the Afghan government was brought in.

"In view of the contradiction between acts and the statements made by the United States of America in regard to the peace process, the Afghan government suspended the negotiations, currently underway in Kabul between Afghan and U.S. delegations on the bilateral security agreement," Karzai's statement said.

His spokesman was not immediately reachable for questions, and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said it had no immediate comment.

Though the Taliban have dismissed Karzai as an American puppet for years, they indicated Tuesday when opening a new political office in Doha, Qatar, that they would be willing to talk with the Afghan leader.

But both the American side and the Taliban said they would first meet together before any talks with the Afghanistan government.

In another incident highlighting the fragile situation in Afghanistan, only hours after announcing they would hold talks with the U.S., the Taliban claimed responsibility Wednesday for an attack on the Bagram Air Base in which four American troops were killed.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the insurgents fired two rockets into the base outside the Afghan capital, Kabul, late on Tuesday. American officials confirmed the base had come under attack by indirect fire - likely a mortar or rocket - and that four U.S. troops were killed.

Also Tuesday, five Afghan police officers were killed at a security outpost in Helmand province by apparent Taliban infiltrators - the latest in a string of so-called "insider attacks" that have shaken the confidence of the nascent Afghan security forces.

The opening of a Taliban political office in Doha with the intention of starting peace talks was a reversal of months of failed efforts to start negotiations while Taliban militants intensified a campaign targeting urban centers and government installations across Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama cautioned that the peace talks with the Taliban would be neither quick nor easy but that their opening a political office in Doha was an "important first step toward reconciliation" between the Islamic militants and the government of Afghanistan.

In setting up the office, the Taliban said they were willing to use all legal means to end what they called the occupation of Afghanistan - but did not say they would immediately stop fighting.

American officials said the U.S. and Taliban representatives will hold bilateral meetings in the coming days. Karzai's High Peace Council had been expected to follow up with its own talks with the Taliban a few days later but it was now not clear whether that would happen.

The Taliban announcement followed a milestone handover in Afghanistan earlier Tuesday as Afghan forces formally took the lead from the U.S.-led NATO coalition for security nationwide. It marked a turning point for American and NATO military forces, which will now move entirely into a supporting role.

The handover paves the way for the departure of the majority of coalition forces - currently numbering about 100,000 troops from 48 countries, including 66,000 Americans - within 18 months.

The NATO-led force is to be cut in half by the end of the year, and by the end of 2014 all combat troops are to leave and be replaced - contingent on Afghan governmental approval - by a smaller force that would be on hand for training and advising.

It was not immediately clear how long Karzai planned to suspend the negotiations on the agreement.

The U.S. has not yet said how many troops will remain in Afghanistan, but it is thought that it would be a force made up of about 9,000 Americans and 6,000 allies.

Six years ago, Afghan security forces numbered fewer than 40,000, and have grown to about 352,000 today. But questions remain if they are good enough to fight alone.

In the Helmand attack late Tuesday, local official Mohammad Fahim Mosazai said five police officers who had only been on the local force for three months were killed, apparently by five of their fellow officers. He blamed the killings on Taliban infiltrators, and said the suspects escaped with the victims' weapons.

In a similar attack in Helmand a week ago, six policemen were found shot dead at their checkpoint, and there have been several other such incidents in the past year, including officers poisoned while eating.

Taliban insurgents have warned they would infiltrate Afghan security forces to carry out insider attacks.

Overnight in the eastern province of Nangrahar, police ambushed Taliban fighters outside a village in the Surkh Rod district, killing four and capturing two militants. Two police officers were wounded in the fighting, said deputy provincial police chief Masoon Khan Hashimi.

A special ceremony is planned for Wednesday morning on the base, which has increased in size considerably the past few years under military base realignment.

The new exchange is designed to serve the broader military community, and not just Belvoir families.

It will also feature a home and garden section and an expanded food court.

In the most recent case, an Ashburn, Va., woman unleashed a string of expletives and called 911 to report that she was afraid for her life because she said her cabbie, Abdikar Aden of Alexandria, was "very Muslim."

Aden says the woman also poked him repeatedly in the back of his shoulder, though that part of the confrontation was not captured in a recording provided to The Associated Press.

The Council on American Islamic Relations, which is representing Aden, wrote Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Raymond Morrogh on Tuesday asking his office to prosecute the case.

"(T)he assault is made even more deplorable because it was based on Mr. Aden's faith alone," wrote CAIR attorney Gadeir Abbas, saying Morrogh's office "can send the message that bigoted acts of violence have no place in Fairfax County."

Abbas believes the case should be prosecuted as a hate crime.

The woman, identified in a police report as Jennifer Crabbe, did not return multiple phone calls this week, and no one answered when a reporter knocked on her door Monday. In a police report, Crabbe and her companion deny that she ever struck Aden. The police report states that Aden was paid his $50 fare after he pulled over, and another cab was called to take Crabbe and her companion the rest of the way.

Morrogh did not immediately respond to a phone message left Tuesday afternoon.

Last month, CAIR intervened on behalf of another Muslim cabbie who also recorded an obscenity-laced tirade prompted by his passenger's suspicion about Islam. In that case, the passenger allegedly broke the driver's jaw and has been charged with assault, with a trial scheduled for August.

Aden acknowledged that he did not suffer any real physical harm from the confrontation in his cab, but said the woman's actions should not be allowed to stand unopposed.

"If anybody hit you, you have the right to defend yourself. Some people might use their hands. Some people might use the book. I'm going to go by the book," said Aden, a Somali native who came to the United States in 1995 and has been a naturalized citizen for more than a decade. "I'm the victim, and I need help from the people, and I need help from the government to get justice."

Aden said he was called to The Capital Grille steakhouse in Tysons Corner in the late-night hours on April 23 to pick up two passengers headed to Ashburn, about 20 miles away. He said the female passenger, Crabbe, was angry from the start because a $17 fare had already accumulated while Aden says he waited for 50 minutes for his passengers to come out. But Aden said that both a restaurant employee and the woman's male companion had asked him to stay and keep the meter running while they concluded their evening in the restaurant.

According to Aden, the woman was also belligerent about the route to Ashburn, insisting that Aden take the Dulles Airport Access Highway even though the toll-free road is reserved for traffic only to Dulles International Airport.

During the ride, Aden said, the woman assumed that he was a Muslim and said that all Muslims come to the U.S. and serve as taxi drivers for a year to save money so they can blow themselves up.

Aden said that when Crabbe started poking him in the shoulder and threatened to have him deported, he pulled over to the side of the road and called 911.

After Aden called 911, Crabbe decided to call 911 herself, and that is when Aden recorded Crabbe's diatribe. Crabbe says the word "Muslim" 10 times on the four-minute recording, telling a dispatcher, "Oh, he is Muslim, so I'm a little afraid," then describing him as "very Muslim" and later saying, "I have some Muslim guy, which I am very scared, who is our taxi driver, who's pulled over, and I'm afraid." Interspersed are multiple obscenities directed at Aden, including more than a dozen uses of the F-word, according to the recording.

All the while, Crabbe's companion tries to calm her down, telling her that Aden is "a good guy."

"This guy's Muslim. Are you kidding me? Muslim. He's not a good guy," she says to her companion.

The recording concludes as police are about to arrive, with Crabbe continuing to use expletives while berating the driver.

"Do you really feel that way?" her companion asks.

"Yeah, I really feel that way," she replies.

Aden was shaken by the confrontation. He stopped working nights, fearful that a hateful confrontation could turn violent.

Abbas believes the case should be prosecuted as a hate crime.

"Anti-Muslim violence is something we've seen in the past," Abbas said. "We have an opportunity now to send a clear message that assault against Muslims will not be tolerated."

A 7-foot bronze likeness of Douglass is being unveiled Wednesday in a ceremony led by House Speaker John Boehner.

The likeness was previously at Judiciary Square.

The statue joins sculpted tributes to fellow black Americans Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Sojourner Truth on permanent display in the Capitol's Emancipation Hall.

Douglass was born a slave in 1818 in Talbot County, Md. He advised President Abraham Lincoln and was a voice for women's rights as well as those of black Americans.

Boehner is calling the statue "a fitting tribute to one of the greatest Americans and voices for freedom who ever lived."

The statue by Maryland artist Steve Weitzman portrays Douglass in his 50s.

‘GOOD MORNING WASHINGTON’: Among the stories – Male teen is electrocuted in Herndon with three others hurt after apparent accident; Statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass is unveiled at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center; much more, beginning at 4:30 a.m M-F.

OOPS: But it was right there, and now it’s gone, per the Baltimore Sun, “Nearly 1,000 guns were reported lost or stolen from federally licensed gun dealers in Maryland last year, the third-highest number of any state in the country, according to a federal report released this week. Gun dealers in the state reported 886 lost guns and 98 stolen guns in 2012, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Pennsylvania had the most guns reported stolen or lost from dealers, about 1,500, while Texas had more than 1,200 such thefts or losses.

"I'm trying to think of some explanation as to why Maryland would rank so high on this, other than we've got a bigger problem," said Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. Webster said the figure is not in line with either Maryland's population or low gun ownership rate. "It's just such a red flag. There's no reason to not be able to account for your inventory," he said.” http://bsun.md/1403EtR

EYE CANDY: For the GOP base, per the Washington Post, “The House approved legislation Tuesday that would ban abortions starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy, the most sweeping abortion restriction to pass any chamber of Congress in a decade. The vote was 228 to 196. While the measure is unlikely to become law — it faces opposition in the Senate and a White House veto threat — it could reverberate politically over the next year and a half, as both Republicans and Democrats appeal to voters in this year’s special elections and the 2014 midterms.” http://wapo.st/15hTkNe

IMMIGRATION REFORM: Or something like that, per the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “As the Senate debates a bipartisan immigration reform proposal that would eventually put 11 million undocumented immigrants on a pathway to citizenship, a House committee led by Va. Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte, R-6th, is moving toward approving a tough enforcement-focused immigration bill.

“Also Tuesday, the Congressional Budget Office said 8 million immigrants living unlawfully in the U.S. would initially gain legal status under the Senate bill, adding that the measure would cut deficits by $197 billion over 10 years and $700 billion in the following 10 years.” http://bit.ly/11xqo2N

A MATTER OF TRUST: It’s quite tricky, per the New York Times, “The Taliban signaled a breakthrough in efforts to start Afghan peace negotiations on Tuesday, announcing the opening of a political office in Qatar and a new readiness to talk with American and Afghan officials, who said in turn that they would travel to meet insurgent negotiators there within days.

“If the talks begin, they will be a significant step in peace efforts that have been locked in an impasse for nearly 18 months, after the Taliban walked out and accused the United States of negotiating in bad faith. American officials have long pushed for such talks, believing them crucial to stabilizing Afghanistan after the 2014 Western military withdrawal.” http://nyti.ms/19NLzpj

VIRGINIA BEACH ICON: Still standing – but pending, per the Virginian-Pilot, “The City Council learned more Tuesday about the proposed deal to renovate The Cavalier Hotel, including the business partners involved, the city's upfront contribution and the breakdown of what developers would spend on the estimated $259 million project. Council members appeared to mostly embrace the terms of the deal, which calls for $18 million in city money.

“A public hearing on the project is scheduled for June 25. The council vote is set for July 2. Cavalier Associates LLC, led by hotelier Bruce Thompson, has until July 22 to buy the 22-acre property for $35 million. A Circuit Court judge approved the sale last week to settle a lawsuit among the owners.The group plans to renovate the old Cavalier Hotel and build 100 homes around it. It also wants to fix up the historic structure's sister hotel, located across Atlantic Avenue, and build a new hotel tower next to it.” http://bit.ly/15i5W77

WHAT THE?: Whatever, per Gazette.Net, “Montgomery County Public Schools has cut three positions and part-time staff funding to make room for a new high-level administrator who will earn $165,875 a year. Andrew Zuckerman became Superintendent Joshua P. Starr’s chief of staff on Monday . Brian Edwards, who served simultaneously as chief of staff and chief of communications, now will serve as chief of communications. Edwards’ salary — $159,265, according to schools spokesperson Dana Tofig — will stay the same.” http://bit.ly/1414yGv

FATAL MISHAP: Just the facts, per ABC7—WJLA, “Police say a Fairfax teen was electrocuted on an elementary school's roof late Tuesday. Three of his friends were taken to the hospital. Police think they climbed onto the roof of Fox Mill Elementary School, where the 14 year old became entangled in electrical wires.” http://wj.la/16ffdz1

POLITICO PLAY: "Vice President Joe Biden insisted to a subdued audience Tuesday that he and President Barack Obama “haven’t given up” on gun control. But his remarks came at the first White House event since the Senate’s failed April 17 background checks vote. And all that he had to show gun control supporters by way of progress was a list of completed or mostly completed executive actions — and a set of new guidebooks for churches and schools on how to deal with a mass shooting situation." http://politi.co/17lWK8w

A MESSAGE FROM OFFENBACHER’S -- Offenbacher’s Huge Father’s Day Sale Extended: Save 10% off Big Green Egg Sale Prices, Get free delivery & set-up on grills. http://bit.ly/16eRgbL

FOOD FIGHT: Apparently, it’s finished, per City Paper, “The heated four-year debate over food truck regulations appears to be finally coming to a close: The D.C. Council voted this afternoon to approve final amendments to the mobile vending rules. The Council made a few notable changes. It reduced the buffer area around so-called "mobile roadway vending zones" with designated spots for food trucks from the proposed 500 feet to 200 feet. That means that if a food truck doesn't get a zoned spot through the city's lottery system, it has to stay at least 200 feet away from the zones.” http://bit.ly/12Tzdu1

DISTURBING: And then some, per the Washington Times, “A Department of Labor attorney charged with assaulting a co-worker in a violent attack at her Northwest home was found dead with his throat slit at the D.C. Jail early Tuesday — the day after his preliminary hearing in court. A D.C. police spokeswoman called the case a “death investigation” and said investigators had not determined the cause and manner of death for the 58-year-old attorney, Paul Mannina. A police official with knowledge of the investigation said Mr. Mannina’s throat was cut.” http://bit.ly/13Rdtf0

REPORTER KILLED: Car wreck claims him, per Rolling Stone, “Michael Hastings, the fearless journalist whose reporting brought down the career of General Stanley McChrystal, has died in a car accident in Los Angeles, Rolling Stone has learned. He was 33.

“Hastings' unvarnished 2010 profile of McChrystal in the pages of Rolling Stone, "The Runaway General," captured the then-supreme commander of the U.S.-led war effort in Afghanistan openly mocking his civilian commanders in the White House. The maelstrom sparked by its publication concluded with President Obama recalling McChrystal to Washington and the general resigning his post.” http://rol.st/13RnZ5W

SPORTS, BRIEFLY: Nationals lose 4-2 against Philadelphia; Miami beats San Antonio 103-100 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

TRENDING ON ABC7 FACEBOOK: “Loudoun County health officials are issuing a warning to everyone who might have passed through either the international terminal or baggage claim area at Dulles Airport on June 7. WTOP Radio reports that a passenger infected with the measles was inside both of those areas between 6 and 9 p.m. that day and may have exposed others.” http://wj.la/12TbOsI

SAY WHAT?: Of a different ABC7, per the New York Post, “A knockdown, drag-out brawl between WABC/Channel 7 weatherman Bill Evans and his estranged wife took a nasty turn when she scratched his testicles and bruised his backside with a coat hanger, the meteorologist claimed. Evans, 52, told police his wife, Dana, went below the belt during the nasty fight over a set of car keys last month at their home in Old Greenwich, Conn.

“But Dana claims he brutalized her — punching her in the face even as she backed away during the scramble. The husband and wife — who are in the midst of a bitter divorce — were arraigned yesterday on charges of assault and disorderly conduct over the May 4 fight, and ordered to stay away from each other.” http://bit.ly/18ZhFyF

NEWSTALK: Among today’s guests (10 a.m., NewsChannel 8) is Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, who will be asked about his decision to seek a third term, the future of the Silver Spring Transit Center and more.

--Skip Wood

Montgomery County Police say that Roy V. Tjongarero was killed after he crashed his car into a utility pole just after 3 a.m. on Veirs Mill Road near Turkey Branch Parkway.

Tjongarero was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

Authorities still do not know what led to the crash.

Hastings, who was 33, was described by many of his colleagues as an unfailingly bright and hard-charging reporter who wrote stories that mattered. Most recently, he wrote about politics for the news website BuzzFeed, where the top editor said colleagues were devastated by the loss.

"Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians," said Ben Smith, BuzzFeed's editor-in-chief.

Smith said he learned of the death from a family member.

Authorities said there was a car crash early Tuesday in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles that killed a man, but coroner's officials could not confirm whether Hastings was the victim.

Hastings won a 2010 George Polk Award for magazine reporting for his Rolling Stone cover story "The Runaway General."

His story was credited with ending Gen. Stanley McChrystal's career after it revealed the military's candid criticisms of the Obama administration.

Hastings quoted McChrystal and his aides mocking Obama administration officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, over their war policies.

At a Pentagon ceremony for his subsequent retirement in 2010, McChrystal made light of the episode in his farewell address. The four-star general warned his comrades in arms, "I have stories on all of you, photos of many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter."

When he died, Hastings was also a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, where Managing Editor Will Dana was quoted Tuesday saying Hastings exuded "a certain kind of electricity" that exists in great reporters whose stories burn to be told.

"I'm sad that I'll never get to publish all the great stories that he was going to write, and sad that he won't be stopping by my office for any more short visits which would stretch for two or three completely engrossing hours," Dana said.

Hastings was also an author of books about the wars. "The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan" was published late last year and details shocking exploits of the military overseas.

In 2010, with the publication of "I Lost My Love in Baghdad," Hastings told the story of being a young war correspondent whose girlfriend dies in Iraq.