welcome to news 4 "this week." hi, everyone. we're goog to show you some of the most interesting local stories making news this week. among them, caught in the act. what a youtube video led to the suspension of a metro train operator. the new anti-wrinkle treatment that could have many patients saying bye-bye to botox. and some life lessons from a local high school principal who is leaving his post. but first, a teenager not even old enough to drive recently broke a world flying record. 15-year-old kimberly anna deke is the first pilot to fly across country and hoping her feat will inspire others. jane latrell caught up with her when she stopped in college park on her history making journey. >> reporter: it was a flawless landing for a single-engine plane piloted by a teen that isn't old enough to drive. but this f3@ct15-year-old is determined to make history and

become the youngest african-american girl to fly cross country. >> it definitely inspires me to fly the best i can so i can make some smooth landings. >> reporter: kimberly is also inspired by her wingman on this historic flight, world war ii airman who is flying and greeting her along the way. >> she is amazing. you won't find a more motivated young lady than that young lady is. >> reporter: the history making trip is to also raise awareness that there are flying programs for at risk kids. sponsored about it civil air patrol and young eagles. kimberly is part of an educational program that is based in compton, california. organizers say there are plenty of groups right here in the metro area that will help young people who want to fly. and flying, they say, reinforces the importance of education. >> aviation teaches you why

like, for example in, school, how many times you have heard a kid say i know all this math. why i do have to know how to read? when am i going to use science? when you start flying, it makes sense. >> reporter: kimberly also hopes continue to speier other teens to reach for the stars. she wants to be a heart surgeon. >> i want them to believe in themselves that they can do anything that they want to do as long as they put their mind to it. >> reporter: jane latrell, news 4. >> kimberly also carried messages of hope on her cross country trek. the messages are being delivered to foster children. news 4 is also keeping track of jobs for new the area. and this report focuses on a company that is opening for caregivers for patients helping those near the end of their lives. kimberly souter talked to sisters who are inspired to start a business on their last day of their mother's life. >> reporter: she was 77 years old, dying of cancer. and to the grandkids, all 17 of them, she was mia.

>> the first day in the hospital she said the walls are closing in on me. i can't stay here. >> reporter: the walls like most medical facilities, needed cheer. so mia's twin daughters brought home to the hospital. >> it's makes all the difference putting the pictures in. >> reporter: they crafted uplifting scenes to transport their mom to gardens, beaches, even in imaginary crews. >> we put the whole theme of hawaii that, the big ship, the pictures of her with my dad and, you know, she had her bikini on and stickers and the big flowers and, you know, having a sip of a margarita. and she just felt like that was her big trip. >> reporter: it was mia's last big trip. she died the next morning. the moment her daughterses started to dismantle the collage, the concept of caring walls came in. >> the nurses said, don't take this douvenlt we'll take it down. we just need it up, you know,

for the rest of the day to remember your mom. >> reporter: now they create collages for other families. ronald mcdonald houses, the mayo clinic, and capital hospice in arlington. >> we're very interested in the story. and i think that's the other thing about the wall. behind every one of those pictures and names is a story. reporter: stories, she says, connect families to loved ones. nurses to patients, and patients to each other. >> people have gone through this journey before you. people are going through the journey. and people in the future will go through the journey. you don't really feel so alone, i think. >> reporter: mia's family knows these walls don't have to talk to say so much. >> we put a lot of love into it. and we're not looking to get a whole bunch back. we just want to spread the joy. >> kimberly souter, news 4. the average cost of a caring wall is $24. if you want to know more about them or ever considered a career in hospice care, there are job openings. news 4 contacted 16 hospice

centers around the region and ha of them are hiring. now to the youtube video that is sparking outrage and disappointment among metro riders. it shows a metro rider appearing to send text messages while he should be manning the train. it did prompt metro to take action. megan mcgrath has the story. >> reporter: at first glance, it looks like the metro train operator is sleeping. but he's actually writing a text message as the train speeds along the tracks. the cell phone video taken by a passenger was posted on youtube. the operator was suspended. >> there is no excuse for it. and it's very dispinting. especially given the fact that our train operators and really all of our operations personnel, for that matter, every single person of the transit agency knows what the rules are. >> reporter: the video was taken june 5th before the recent train collision that killed nine people. but metro officials say they only became aware of the incident after the crash. the operator captured in the

video has already served the five-day suspension and is driving once again. a fact that some metro riders find disappointing. >> too short. too short a time to be suspended. i mean people get -- that is a smack on the hand. maybe a month. but it could be better. >> when i'm driving and if i use my phone without a blue tooth, then i'm driving with me, myself and any the car where as a train operator has hundreds, maybe a couple thousand or so. and individuals on the train in there are taking those people's lives in their hands. >> reporter: the train was under automatic control at the time the operator was writing the text message. and the texting did not cause an accident. >> given the fact that this is making the rounds on videos and in the news, w certainly think that this will make calling the police, train operators, bus operators, everybody here take notice that you never know -- never know who might be watching. >> metro says riders are always

encouraged to report anything that looks wrong or unsafe when using the transit system. there is much more ahead on news 4 "this week." we'll catch up with hootie and bloat fish front man who is putting country music on his resume and what sweet tea is a sip above the rest? we'll find out. ( rock music playing )

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the all-new 2010 after michael jackson's massive memorial service, people

in the d.c. area also pause to rent king of pop. >> i had every album he had, every album he has. it's just a big loss. >> many fans took the day off this week to watch jackson's memorial service with others. outside the white house, fans signed a book of condolences that will be sent to the jackson mily. fans can also view a window display of jackson memorabilia at the gallery downtown. darius rutger is the front man for hootie and the blowfish. last year he launched a solo career. he is synonymous with 90s pop music but he only has had country in his heart. craig melon has his story. ♪ i left out in a cloud of tail lights and dust ♪ >> reporter: today the only thing you recognizebout darius rutger is the trade mark voice that made hootie and the blowfish one of the most successful bands of the '90s. ♪ you got your feelings hurt

his album is the 15th best-selling album of all time. now, 15 years after manufacture the songs became the stuff of pop legend, rutgers is going country. >> i just sit back and -- really, i pinch myself. who really gets a second chance at a career? >> reporter: rutgers new album, "learning to live," has sold three quarters of a million copies. we caught up with him recently at nissan pavilion getting rea to play an unfamiliar role. >> it's hard. you know, you're the opener. and i know i have to go up and get involved. i d't want anybody walking out saying that guy hootie sucks. >> reporter: rutgers admits today's country crowd is a lot different of the hootie crowd. >> i love coming out here and walking on the stage and

tailgating. country fans are crazy, man. they're crazy. >> reporter: the fans have changed and so has darius rutgers. ♪ reservations >> you know, i'm not staying up until 5:00 in the morning and expected to get up the next day. life is mellow for me. it's all about family and playing. so i have mellowed a lot. i've grown up a lot. >> reporter: and for rutger, the music has, too. >> i think hootie, we wrote stories and country is always a story. you know, it's really -- you want to say what people feel. you know? it's not so much about saying this guy is awful or this guy is good. >> reporter: smiling, singing, and pinching himself. could be a song on his next album. >> i know. it's crazy. you're a bona fide country star. yeah, i guess.

♪ craig melon, news 4, washington. >> and darius rutger plans to release another country album next spring. coming up, the new alternative to botox. some say it may provide even better age reversing results. fios guy! where ya headed? ah, just installed fios in the whole building. now everyone has the fastest upload speeds. and we're giving them a mini netbook. well, i'm sticking with cable. so's ted. (voice) no i'm not!

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it's a tradition in the south. and now sweet tea has become a marketing battle between fast food restaurants and premium drink makers. what happens if you put all the teas to the taste test? liz crenshaw found out. ♪ >> reporter: sweet tea, looks good. certainly good enough for mcdonald's marketing campaign and for us, a taste test. so we set up in downtown washington, d.c., to taste four different iced teas. here's the heavily marketed mcdonald's, a 32 ounce cup cost

us $1. wendies also sells sweet tea, it cost us $2.09. this is arizona sweet tea, a 23-ounce can cost us $1. and we threw in a ringer, lip ton powdered tea, a 24 1/2 ounce key good for 40 eight-ounce servings cost us $2.99. we poured the sweet tea in cups marked a, b, c and d and proceeded to announce our famous taste test rules and regulations. >> we want youo taste one of each and tell us which one you like the best. >> reporter: sweet tea is loaded with sugar and history. legend dates ito3yz back to theh century when americans began to grow tea in south carolina. add sugar from louisiana and sweet tea was born. bubut it took the sweltering st louis world's fair in 1904 for an enterprising merchant to pour ice in the mix. and now you have yourself a tradition. as for our taste tests, each tea

got sweet reviews. tea a is wendy's. >> a had a very sweet flavor to it. and it seemed like it was more fresh. >> why do you like a? >> because i dislike the other ones. >> reporter: you picked wendy's. >> wendy's? >> yes. >> reporter: b was our powdered lip ton. >> b is my favorite. it has more flavor than just sugar water. >> i like b. i like a lot of lemon in my tea. >> b is less sweeter. and that's the one people should be drinking, i think. >> reporter: c is sweet tea from mcdonald's. >> liked c. i thi it tastes the most natural. >> c is smoother. it wasaxc balanced. not too sweet. >> c is definitely a little sweeter, a little more interesting. >> reporter: and d is arizona sweet tea from a can. >> it is lighter, more of a tea taste. >> reporter: what is about it d you like? >> i don't know. it tastes like a peach flavor. >> reporter: why do you like d? >> it wasn't as sweet as the

others. >> reporter: you know this is a sweet tea taste test. >> i know. >> reporter: by the way, that not too sweet comment was raised again and again by our tasters. >> too sweet. >> too sweet. >> too sweet. >>eporter: it is called sweet tea. >> it's refreshing and not that sweet. >> not that sweet. >> not that sweet. >> reporter: called sweet tea, you want your sweet tea not that sweet. >> right. >> reporter: you don't want your sweet tea too sweet? >> exactly. >> reporter: of 39 tasters, mick done altdz received seven votes. arizona and wendy's tied and the winner is lip ton powdered tea with 12 votes. so much for old dixie land tradition. >> and it's cheaper! >> that's right. >> reporter: you save money. >> news for your health now. a cup of coffee could hold the key to preventing memory loss. new research shows that mike

wi mice with alzheimer's did better after having caffeinated water. the next step is to see how caffeine affects humans. researchers warn against too much coffee because kit raise blood pressure. the only fda approved treatment for years was botox. the agency approved a new product that is promising similar and possibly better results. and some are saying it could mean the end of the run for botox. >> i got tired of looking like i was old and tired and grumpy all the time. i always looked mad. >> reporter: shelly craft said the age lines on her face were starting to affect her self-esteem. >> you look tired, you feel tired. you know, it brings you down a little bit. you know, you don't feel like smiling. >> reporter: craft decided to take action. she didn't want to use botox. she decided to try something new. >> this part is a toxin type a, the same as botox n terms of

comparison, they have very, very similar type of effects. >> reporter: some say that it can have benefits that botox doesn't have. doctors in europe have been using the wrinkle smoother since 1991. they found that in some cases, patients using disport saw results in two to four days w botox, kit take a week or longer. there is also reports that disport lasts longer, up to six months. with botox, wrinkles start coming back in four months. >> some people feel that it might give a feeling of a more natural look. by and by, botox and disport are equivalent products. but you should realize that physicians here in the united states are just getting this product. and we haven't really had the experience with it. >> reporter: still, d.c. dermatologist says there is some evidence that disport works better in larger areas like the forehead because the toxin disperses differently in the body. botox might be more beneficial in smaller places where injections need to be precise

like around the lips. right now both productsost the same ranging from $300 to $400 to do one area of the body. but now that botox has a competitor, there is speculation that it might get keeper to look younger. >> there may be price wars that are out there. that may be beneficial to the patient. but that has yet to go ahead and be seen. >> reporter: shelly craft had her injection six weeks ago. she is already seeing results and that is making her smile. >> when i looked at my before and after pictures, i was like, wow. it helped my self-esteem. it really has. i don't feel 46. and now i don't think i look like i'm 46. >> reporter: next, what one retiring high school principal wants to pass on to local students and parents.

mike has seen just about everything. he has been a principal in the

d.c. area. and he recently retired. as pat collins reports, dersa has a final lesson every parent should hear. >> reporter: for the final time, mike dersa walks the halls of springbrook high school. he retired just a few days ago. dersa has s. a district native, a product of private schools. st. john's high school and then catholic university. >> it's really been a great ride. i have been extraordinarily fortunate. i always say i was presented with a good education whether i received it or not, the jury is probably out. >> reporter: but it was in public schools that dersa earned a reputation as a tough, fair, and effective principal. he's been at it for more than 30 years and three jurisdictions. including seven years at wilson high school in the district, seven years at yorktown high school in arlington and for the last 13 years, the principal at springbrook in montgomery

county. in all of that time, in all of those schools, mike dersa has learned a lot of things and he speaks about them candidly. drugs -- >> i think today's students are probably more discreet. i think overall students are making better decisions. but i we think that we're drug-free or the no-drug zone signs that are up or say no to drugs is working, i think we need to pinch ourselves a little bit. >> reporter: gangs -- >> big problem that i don't thk we are honest about admitting. in some communities, there has been a reluctance to even use the term gang. >> reporter: literacy -- >> literacy, it remains in my

opinion a huge issue. we have more and more students, i think, across the board not reading or not reading well. and i think that accounts for a lot of our academic issues. >> reporter: race -- >> always a challenge, always a problem. i think how it's dealt with, are students not unlike their predecessors i think are very concerned about fairness. >> reporter: mike dersa. if there was a halve fame for principals -- and there probably should be -- mike dersa would be voted in on the first ballot. he knows teenagers and he has a lot of hope for the future. >> i'm never ceased to be amazed by the successes of young people

who under some extraordinary odds just are able to do some great things. >> reporter: i'm pat collins, news 4, montgomery county. and that's all for news 4 "this week." thanks for joining us. have a great weekend.