was actually texting on his cell phone. and i just said, oh, my god, you know. so what i did immediately was i pulled out the cell phone and i said i'm going to take a picture of this. >> reporter: this week, news broadcasts showing this video of a metro operator texting in early june led to his being suspended without pay for five days. but for train operators and metro bus drivers a new stricter policy goes into effect next monday, july 13th. >> starting on monday, we are going to have a no-tolerance policy, zero tolerance if you are caught using your cell phone or texting while operating a vehicle, you can go work somewhere else. >> reporter: metro's concern about text sing heightened by the indictment of a boston trolley operator for gross negligence for texting and in an zhaent injured more than 60 people. and the los aeles crash of a metro link that killed 25 people in which operator texting is being considered as a cause. but texting apparently played no

part in last month's fatal metro rail crash here in washington. since the operator's cell phone was found in her backpack. the union representing transit worker says safety is a top priority. but it is concerned about esfauril andur radio communications and issuing a atstentatay sgin t btegefor etnkoer zetol tceaner ho usage, we p in gewamata to bineg open discus ton ni w uboheas aonut broaderssthue ofecff etiveff communications systems for the operators. metro says that the new policy will only allow bus and train operators to use their personal cell phones in a metro defined emergency. that's the latest from metro stop in downtown washington. back to you in the studio. >> chris gordon, thanks, chris. do you agree with metro's new policy of zero tolerance for its operators using cell phones or pdas? that's our question of the day. vegis your opinion and go to

nbcwashington.com. a registered sex offender is back behind bars after he allegedly struck again. venpo ice leesburg ies ad terr 39-year-old david sddeanr he is facing charges of sexual battery that involved a child under the age of 13.an snider bad hnee out on parole for a previous sex offense and beinithe wldhout bond at the loudoun county adult detention center. a frightening night for a couple walking their dog last might when they were attacked w ait w stun gun and robbed. it happened on ridge view court in lake ridge, virgia. that's in prince william county. spocehali thray ttee men t wearing masksd walke up a to 29-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman and demanded money. when the man told the suspect he as tazed.ve any, he w the come told t attackers there s money in their apartment and they were forced back to their home and robbed. former d.c. mayor marion barry speaking publicly for the first time today since his fourth of july arrest. barry sharply criticized his view as park police for arresting him. prosecutors last night said there was not enough evidence to bring formal charge against him and they dropped the case.

tom sherwood, who has been following this, from the begin sing here with the latest. tom? >> wendy, barry says his arrest was an embarrassment around the nation. the park service still won't disclose why heas taken into custody. it has been more than four days of drama since barry's arrest in anacostia park. and the u.s. park police are still defining to publicly disclose the arrest report by an officer morales that started it all. >> mr. morales and the -- national officer police have caused great pain in my family and this community and in the nation. if this had not occurred we wouldn't be going through this pain. >> reporter: prosecutor space there wasn't enough evidence to formally charge barry with stalking an estranged girlfriend, donna watts brightau brightaupt. barry close to him were left wondering whether he was a stalker and even his elderly

mother was affected. >> this could have caused her to have a heart attack or stroke because she -- the trauma of it all. >> reporter: park police officials have sd in the statement that they believe that they had enough evidence to arrest barry but it was up to prosecutors to bring a case. barry didn't accept that and said he would pursue more explanation from the park service. >> the point i'making here is that this inappropriate arrest led to consternation and embarrassment around the nation and led to all of this and the buck ought to be put at this inappropriate arrest and so i'm expressing it in deep and strong language. >> reporter: late today the park police said that the saturday arrest report may be available tomorrow. eun, back to you. >> tom sherwood, thank you. redskins tackle albert haynesworth worked out a plea deal in a reckless driving case. haynesworth pled no contest and put on probation for three months. haynesworth was involved in a car accident in tennessee last

december when he was a member of the titans. prosecutors say that he tried to pass another driver who slammed into a median and the other driver was badly hurt besides probation haynesworth must perform 25 hours of community service and make a $5,000 charitable contribution and attend driving school. good evening. bob ryan, storm center 4. another beautiful day with comfortable humidity and little more in the way of cloudiness. but still a lot of sunshine and nice sky out there again. and look at these dew points in the 50s. we get 50s day after day. they can't be washington. humidity will be coming back as weet into the weekend. right now only 80 degrees and so another terrific evening. we will see that humidity coming back after one more day, i think. tell you all about that and also, beach and boating. got it all for you. maybe thundershowers over the weekend, too. i will tell thank you details when i join you.

markets held steady to price more gloomy economic news. the dow gained nearly five points and closing at 8183. the s&p 500 up three points and nasdaq gaining five points. unemployment retail sales and the future of genal motors sound familiar? some of the stories influencing the market still today. here now to talk about the development to cnbc reporter hampton pearson joining us from washington. the troubling news about the sales of the biggest retail chains now, summer, people on vacation. can this bleed over into september when everyone goes back to school? >> unfortunately it looks like the answer could be yes. same store sales down 5.1%. bigger than expected drop. and mall base closings stores in particular were hard hit. we a looking at no relief in sight for retailers and from consumers and with home prices falling and credit still tight. jobless rate at 26-year high of 9.5%. consumers are not in a spending mood. and that really doesn't help prospects with the

back-to-school shopping season. >> what about the report about unemployment? mum of people filing first-time claims for the benefits fell to its lowest levels since january. what do we do with that information? >> well, as you said the good news was it was as pride thing. first time claims plunged 52,000. seasonal adjusted number 565,000 now for the we can week ending july fourth, lowest since january. but the continuing claims number came in just under 6.9 million and an all-time high and, frankly, economists aren't backing off from the prediction it is overall unemployment rate will top 10% in the coming months. >> and general motors, is it -- the s there in develop the today? sit getting to emerge from bankruptcy? any good news there? >> they are coming outs of bankruptcy in record times. 39 days, believe it or not. bankruptcy judge green light gm's plan to sell most of its assets to new company, despite a last-minute legal challenge and gmc ceo henderson will held a

news conference friday. what you will hear is the pitch from him ex-planing new executive cuts coming, management changes and company's man to make money by emphasizing quality and fuel economy in its next generation of cars. >> okay. interesting. great. hampton pearson from cnbc. we appreciate it. talk to you later. >> great to be with you. more websites have kounld attack again by cyber terrorists. south korean officials say seven websites were struck early this morning. one of the affected sites belongs to the boston and other six are private. u.s. officials addressed the internet address to north korea but caution that does n mean kim jong-il's government is responsible. the cyber attacks started in the united states over the july fourth weekend before spreading to south korea earlier this week. new york's attorney general plans to sue a popular social networking site. andrew cuomo says tag.com sent unsuspecting recipients e-mails telling them to be private photos posted by friends. when recipients tried to access the photos, cuomo says they became new members of the site.

cuomo says he will sue the company for deexceptive e-mail marketing and invasion of privacy. tag.com suspended the internet campaign last month after users complained. construction on the department of homeland security's new headquaser is set to begin thi i ll . fa ginn theew ng odb buicilwh gd ish oing to be on w isthetests campu ofst elsabh'et h'starts ierde cemb. elear holmes norton says this will be one of the biggest developments ahead for the city. when "news4 at 5:00" continues tonight, area cyclists out on a charity ride learn the rules of the road the hard way. a police chase ends in a violent crash and caught on tape. warning against comacency as officials update efforts to keep the swine flu at bay during the next flu season. they grow up so quickly about the giant panda a teen in bear years. there is his little cake. we will see how he celebrated.

people are thinking about the swine flu in the summer but government, state and local leaders are gearing up for an outbreak this fall and rolling out a massive vaccination program with school children in mind. today they held the swine flu summit at the national institutes of health in bethesda. swine flu a swine flu vaccine could be available this fall as government officials brace for a resurgence of the h1n1 virus. >> this is a virus that's

spreading rapidly. we want to stop the spread right now as much as we can. >> reporter: the president called in from italy to talk to health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius. other cabinet members and state and local lead bers how to tackle swine flu. >> we want to make sure that we are not promoting panic but we are promoting vigilance and preparation. >> preparation begins with individuals and families and businesses and every type of government allentity that requires people to really think through what their own personal situation would be. >> reporter: experimental batches of the swine flu vaccine will be tested this summer to see if they are safe and effective and to learn whether they will require one of two doses. children will get priority. >> somehow the young people are getting preferentially and affected. the median age of people who were infected with the h1n1 is in the teens which is unusual for flu. >> reporter: and school officials are being urged to

have a plan in place in case of outbreaks at schools. >> closing schools is always the last resort and not a first resort. the sigh sense telling us and that's the right thing to do, we want to help do that. >> reporter: right now there are 1 million swine flu cases in the u.s. 170 people kite from the virus and 3300 people are hospitalized. officials worry more outbreaks start thing fall will drain the health care system. tomorrow the obama administration will announce $350 million in grants to states and hospitals preparing for swine flu outbreaks and the government is using face book and twitter to get the word out to young people. wendy? >> in news 4 your health the problems of obesity still growing. the centers for disease control says the number of obese adults reached 26% last year. .4% increase from 2007. researchers say obesity is

mostly prevalent in the southern states and states such as alabama, mississippi, oklahoma, south carolina and their obesity rates topped 30%. the study was based on phone interviews with more than 400,000 adults. women who suffer from migraines are less likely to develop breast cancer. researchers at the fred hutchinson cancer research center in seattle studied more than 4500 women between the ages of 34 and 64. those who had been diagnosed with migraines had a 26 reduced risk of developing breast cancer. doctors don't know why these migraines may protect against breast cancer. both hormones affect both conditions. researchers say more study is figu needed to figure out why this link exists. >> what's going on with the july weather? >> almost two weeks in a row we had the temperature below average, low humidity. don't leave washington. >> beautiful weather. >> besides, it has been too cold

in new england. outside right now, we have another beautiful sky. bit more in the way of cloudiness than we had yesterday. but still, the dew points in the 50s outside our current temperature and remember now, folks, we are into the hottest time of the year. 80 degrees, 12 of the last 13 days, and the temperature has been below average. we had a couple of great nights with the excellent visibility to see the international space station. look at what the folks in florida saw this morning. this -- there's the international space station. apparently passing right in front of the moon. that was captured down there around palm beach so because they were in a different position than we were, this was about 5:30 this morning. look at the temperatures now. isn't it something to see? great to see the international space station here in washington. there was a bit higher in the stay and right -- apparently right across the moon. 80 degrees, closer to earth. about 400 miles and the moon quarter million miles away. look at the temperatures again

today. boston, folks that are up there saying please, give us some warmth. 65 degrees in boston. but here is where the warmth is. dallas would send them a little bit. 1 on 0 2 degrees yesterday was the second coldest day ever in portland, maine. the high temperature only got to 58 degrees in terms of the high. look at oe again how much of the east, this is really exceptional. not only for us, but for spots like chicago and buffalo, to be having that dry air. there is where the humidity is. it is beginning to creep our way. remember, when we have the dew point below 60 as it is now, really comfortable, by the weekend, i think we are going to be seeing in the mid to high 60s. that's the dew point temperature. in the meantime, we still get the general northwesterly flow. but there is an area of high pressure that has been getting in some northeasterly winds at the surface. that's the reason for the clouds. meanwhile, down south, more rain. boy, they have had more rains in florida and more localized flooding.

look at tampa getting another surge of moisture and on into palm beach and at least they were able to see the space station early this morning. then into south georgia, too, more of the same more rains down there. for us, overnight mitt, high pressure is still our dominant weather maker. that will be slowly moving off so we will still have that northeasterly breeze and bringing a little bit of ocean moisture but the real humidity will be coming in as we get on in to the weekend. so for the evening, to begin, it will be partly cloudy. temperatures into the 70s with still very, very comfortable air in on us. tomorrow when you get up and head out, partly cloudy in the morning. once again, a comfortable morning with the temperatures dipping into the low 60s to about 67. begin to notice a bit of the humidity as we get into tomorrow afternoon. nothing too bad. for the wshgsd beach and boating, here is the way it shapes up. i think we will see a slow moving weather front that brings off late day thundershowers going out sailing. and some great sailing weather, though, on saturday because of that wind from the

south-southeast. 10 to 15 knots. late in the day, again, keep a weather eye, weather ear peeled for thundershowers. some of those may be lingering out to the beechs. they will be scattered and the beaches also. general lay good weekend coming up. and just for you well, no, we don't want humidity. it will be back. >> it is wash, after all. the rescue after hiker after 11 days after falling into a rav e ravine. i'm liz crenshaw. the sonic scrubber says it cuts your scrubbing time in half. does it really do that? find out coming up. barbie, america's favorite doll, bringing her style to the district. >> traveling around the area and here is what we have in store for you. delay, it will be slow as you leave the tysons area. here is what have you in store for you. make your way through bethesda. this is towards silver spring. connecticut avenue. as you can see there was an accident along the left side and ickly moved to the left

shoulder. does not matter because you have more delays throh silver spring. pace improves out college park. springfield, 95, doing just fine. no big problems reported along 66 aside from the normal volume leaving the beltway towards 123. áf?g;f?yt<

five people are dead after an amtrak train crashed into a car. this happened around 1:00 this afternoon in canton, michigan, outside of detroit. 150 people were on the train at

the time but was heading to chicago. no one on the train was hurt but all five people in the car, they were the ones killed. investigators say that it appear it is crossing gate was working and that the train was operating normally. it was a wild police chase that ended with a violent crash. last week con sta billions in dallas chase ad suspect for nearly two hours. the driver sped up and down highways, skidded across medians, ran through a train crossing. the whole incident was broadcast live on television and now we are seeing -- cam video of the chase from a constable's car. the chase ended when a pickup truck broadsided the suspect's car and the driver was critically hurt and is still in the hospital. a french climber is recovering after she was rescued in northeast spain. she had been lost in the pyrenees mountains for 11 days. rescuers found the woman in a deep ravine and doctors say she is suffering from fatigue but is expected to make a full recovery. presidt obama says that the world has to come together to battle global warming. this is day two of the g-8 sum

and it the world's industrial nation reached an agreement to cut the world's greenhouse gas emissions in half. by the year 2050. there was a group of developing countries that was not willing to sign on to that plan. nbc news white house correspondent savannah guthrie has more. >> today the president is still here in italy important the g-8 summit but today the world leaders expand their numbers by five, inviting the five faszest growing developing countries, including china and india, to the conversation and on the agenda, of course the world economy. some of the countries have been very hard hit by the worldwide recession. also, climate change. yesterday the leaders agreed to keep the temperatures, world average temperatures, from rising more than two degrees. they couldn't get the developing countries to sign on to even tougher goals. >> baselines of the solutions and carbon emissions, the -- chinese and russians certainly are not onboard for the 50/50 agreement 50% reduction by 2050. >> reporter: tomorrow the

president will remain in itly and has a meeting along with the first lady and with the pope. savannah guthrie, nbc news, rome. after the presint wraps up his trip to itly tomorrow, he heads to ghana where he is expected to make a foreign policy speech. the leaders of the g-8, including president obama, are getting around italy with the help of an ecofriendly car, appropriately it is the new quadra cycle. it looks like a golf cart. runs on electricity and travels up to 30 miles an hour and has no emissions. the quadracycles come in a hybrid version. once the summit is oar the vehicles will be turned over to the italian postal service and will be used throughout itly and when the vehicles get old they will be recycled. >> looks like fun, too. there's more to come tonight. up next, how cyclists move during a charity ride turned into a bad experience and that could affect their driving records. >> several gang members are charged in the beating attack on a maryland man that ended with

his death. >> dozens of people carried out a capital building in handcuffs today. we will explain why. having the right tools is crucial to being able to manage your diabetes properly. it's very important for me to uh check my blood sugar before i go on stage. being on when i'm feeling low can be like a rollercoaster. it does at times feel like my body is telling me to do one thing... and, my mind, my heart is telling me to do something else. managing my highs and lows is super important. with my contour meter i can personalize my high/lo settings so it really does

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welcome back to our second half hour of "news4 at 5:00." i'm wendy reer. >> i'm eun yang. coming up in this half hour, bikers ticketed while on a ride for charity. liz finds out if the sonic scrubber does what it says. a beating attack on a maryland man that weekends his death. >> six people are now under arrest in connection with that vicious atck. po wheaton ea. t lice say thateheary gruths inginisrbtu

investigate this crime and derrick ward joins us from the newsroom now to tell us about th this. >> reporter: it has turned into a full-fledged murder investigation after the victim of the savage beating on tuesday died earlier today. a quiet neighborhood in wheaton, rose bushes and well kept lawn, a scene of a violent murder, half a dozen arrests into the investigation at montgomery county police turned up a disturbing connection. >> we do know that all of the suspects we have in custody are members of a local gang. >> reporter: it was tuesday evening that the victim, 21-year-old edwin, was walking past the home in the 13 100 block of madey road. >> these girls on the front porch who he doesn't know, engages in conversation and they say that they are not interested in talking to him. and men come out of the residence and chase him away, and brutally beat him and one of those men stabs him in the head p. >> reporter: neighbors are still shaken by the incident. heard at first and sounds like a party. like -- lot of noise.

>> reporter: it was no party. it was a savaged beating, six on one. >> i saw that the dude, the victim, two guys, trying to keep him off of him. just -- you know, throwing crash cans and trying to get him away. next thing i knew, are your of them, ten of them, came from up that way and ended up down here where they got him. >> reporter: the victim died earlier today and fall just yards from his own home. edwin had no gang affiliation. >> they always say that not in my neighborhood. it can't happen in my neighborhood. like i said, it is all over. >> reporter: police arrested 20-year-old christian salmoran, bud bay, and 18-year-old anthony racido, jose vazquez whom authorities identify as the one thattabbed the victim. and guerrero and jose hernandez, 16 years old. 17-year-old kevin mir dan, all believed to be members of the latin kings, all being charged as adults. the charges against the suspects include first-degree murder and first-degree say salt and

conspiracy. all are being held without bond and all have montgomery coty addresses. live in the newsroom. back to you in the studio. more than two dozen aides activists were arrested. capital police spokesman says the group enters the rotunda linked to form a human chain and protesters carried signs and urging congress to support funding for needle exchange programs. organizers of the event say president obama has broken several campaign promises to fight aids and help victims of this disease. they sparked fear in a surrounding neighborhood and they have been the source of embarrass many for the d.c. government. tonight the recent jail breaks in and a newly opened juvenile detention center prompted several firings by d.c. officials. jackie benson is live at the wilson building with the latest on the changes at the new beginnings corrections center. jackie? >> hello. d.c. mayor adoreen grow an fenty met with officials from the you

good beginning youth center today and when it was over the superintendent, dexter dunbar, had been severely demoted according to the mayor. five youth corrects officers were terminated, two others placed on leave. and now sunday's escape of six juvenile inmates from the facility locate order d.c. owned property in and ound anne arundel county, maryland, was the second, since the new beginnings opened last month as a replacement for the old oak hill prison. >> there were staff on duty who either should have or could have or just plain did not do everything that they could have and should have done to prevent these escapes. >> reporter: news4 learned the six who escaped on sunday were among the facility's most serious offenders and were recaptured at a nearby shopping center a short time later. eun, back to you. >> jackie benson, thank you.

a ctionary tale for cyclists who ride their bikes in virginia. obey the rules of the road or you can get a ticket. and that ticket could lead to four points or more on ythr ou er'sr linsere. ititap hd neigpeto ehtyc csstlin th noucoasn lonty mhot w taking part in a charity ride. jays watrel has more. >> reporter: if you blow through a stop sign like this one in loudoun county, the long arm of the law could reach out and write you a ticket. >> that's what folks have to realize. they have an obligation to obey the law like erybo seeldy. they can be hd accountable cke everybody el. >> reporte i htappened last month near ltsete ovll vienwh70n cyclists took to the road foa 15mile charity 15deri. eit cyclists got tickets for running stop signs. doug landsow got two of the bikers off with fines. the rest paid fines. and got four points on their driver's license. >> they should have been given warnings, information captured from their driver's lines. if they got caught a second time

they would be in big trouble. it is unfair that dogs get one free bite and cyclists don't in virginia. >> reporter: cyclists we talked to had no idea blowing through a stop sign could result in a fine and points. >> did not know that. i had no clue about this at all. >> i wasn't aware of that actually. yeah. i mean, i'm aware you have to follow the rules of the road and the bicycles, and vehicles, just like an automobile. i wasn't aware you could get points. >> reporter: the sheriff says ignorance is no excuse. a bike is a vehicle, period. points or no points the loudoun county sheriff says that he plans to step up and enforce many and ticket two-wheel violators the same as the four-wheel counterparts. jane watrel, news4. >> for the record, for failing to stop at a stop sign in virginia, it is 125 fine and four points. let's get a check of the lovely forecast from bob. >> lovely indeed. ght now, the eastern shores,

76 degrees at cambridge and got a lot of great skies. talk great skies. i will take you to place where we had gray skies. just posted a slide show a couple of weeks ago i was at a weather conference in portland, oregon. and got to go to mt. st. helens and see this fantastic site and i put togethering a slide show and took a lot of pictures and ere is mt. st. helens as you are approaching it and it is a mile wide. you are looking at the fastest growing glacier in one of the fastest growing glaciers in the world. inside what -- come to nbc nbcwashington.com and read my story and see the slide show about my visit to mt. st. helens. temperatures in the nifts in the suburbs. 80s downtown. once again, picture clouds and sunshine. not too much humidity. that will be coming back as we go through the weekend. back to you. >> thank you, bob. still to come tonight, some ideas to get you through the dog days of summer and in the

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time to look ahead to the weekend scene with ell mccarthy of "the washington post" weekend section. hi zblen hi.

nice to see. >> did you tennis, oh, my god, tennis mania. it is not going away. it is great. >> so much fun, yeah. july is going to be tennis month in washington. people might not know we have our own professional tennis team but we do. and next week, in particular, it is going to be really, really exciting. serena williams is going to be playing in town on tuesday night. on thursday night, you can catch john mcenroe which is going to be really interesting. whatever night you can make it out there is fun. it is a social ene. right downtown and it is outside. people get a little bit dressed up. you know, it is a really -- they make it easy to mingle. you want to go have great tennis but you can also have a really interesting and very different night out. >> nice. president obama, items about -- with his mother are coming to town. exhibit about that. that sounds interesting. >> it is interesting. it happens in august at the textile museum. one thing you may not know abo his moer s iass whe a w collector tiexan tles d sle acal lyea a wrve herselfrhe s

was really i soea w anghevi tndn ywhhe tentheo t live ino innedoa,jaa, ka alhe se bheecam a rele o colorctforta aer cin typein fabric. o sd - s- gotten ahold of msveral of thete indms a they weeksoron dispywo for t in august. it is also just -- >> le>> tt e.on d gooe cnchaha t itf yon'vehat seen the textive ow s,umometimes it gets -- you , lost with our bigger museums, really nice opportunity to go and check it out and woodrow wilson is there, too. >> the national book festival is coming to poun. oh, my god. we are all reading our summer reading now. we will have even more to add to the list. >> this has become just such a marquee event for washington. it is one of the events that makes you so glad we live in washington. doesn't it? september 26 is the day that -- just huge names. tom sherwood will be there. >> he is everywhere. >> yeah. judy bloom, paula deen, our favorite cook will be there.

speaking of barack obama, he and michelle are going to be the honorary chair of the event. they will also be making an appearance. whatever kind of greeting you are into, there will be someone there for. >> did you july, august and september we are covered. >> yes. >> great. thanks, ellen. >> you can fed estoth sanri in a leotor o mf the eves g on this weendgon o the n b.we go t around townecontif o f nbcwashington.com. or you can visit washingtonpost.com/weekend. all barbie all the time. it is a five-day barbie doll conference comes to our area. >> i'm liz crenshaw. the sonic scrubber says it does the tough scrubbing so you don't have to. does it really do that? find out coming up. . >> in sports, former redskins hall of famer stops by the studio to talk about his mission to help fight leukemia. ñ/ñ/ñ/ñ/ñ/ñ/

it looks like an electric toothbrush but it claims to clean like an electric dynamo. >> the sonic scrubber says it will cut your scrubbing time in half but does it really do that? liz crenshaw. the summer. you don't want to spend all the time scrubbing and whatever. any time at all. >> let it get dirty. >> how can something so small claim to clean so well? well, the sonic scrubber says it cuts cleaning time in half. does it really do? let's find out. >> anthony sullivan with great news for sonic scrubber. portable high-powered sonic cleaner that fits in the palm of

your hand. >> don't mistake this device for your toothbrush. it is the sonic scrubber. ready to take on the toughest jobs in your kitchen and bathroom. its secret is the powerful 3600-power scrubs per minute which seems to make the toughest dirt just disappear. it certainly gets anthony sullivan excited. >> watch the heavy duty scrubbing cut scrubbing time in half. >> we sent the sonic scrubber and the infomercial to radford's house. between her children and her job and her church, she leaves a very busy life and wants everything that will add speed to her cleaning. the sonic scrubber and its extra cleaning brushes cost u $39.97 plus $18.37 for shipping and however, for that price, it will do the tough scrubbing so we don't have to. >> but -- >> does it really do that? >> so where do you want to start? >> i think i want to start with the stove. >> okay. >> it is something i dread doing. >> depending on the cleaning job

you attach either a disposable scrubee or reusable brush. then you spray your regular cleaner and the cordless sonic scrubber is ready to go. >> it does it very well. >> reporter: a few moments later, the work was done. how do you think it looks? >> i think it looks great. 100% better than it did before. >> reporter: we turned to the control panel on the stove. for this job, she tried a small soft scrubee pad. what do you think? >> i think it looks like it is taking off. >> reporter: a few moments and a quick wipe later -- >> how do you think that d? >> pretty good. that looks good. >> reporter: we moved on to a really tough job. the grout in the kitchen floor stained with her daughter's cool aid. for that, she used the firm cleaning brush. is that picking the cool aid up?

>> i think so. i can see where as i am going back over it, it is starting to look cleaner. >> reporter: wow. what she likes best about the sonic scrubber is that she didn't have to push hard and when the job was done -- what do you think? >> i think it looks great. >> reporter: wow. she had the same success when she used the sonic scrubber in her bath room. the sonic scrubber's performance far exceeded her expectation. are you wrecking your manicure? >> no. not at all. >> reporter: the sonic scrubber does that. >> it does. i think when they claim it cuts your cleaning time in half, it does. >> reporter: $58, would you buy it? >> yes. >> if you would like con together me, an easy way to do it. nb ascwngton.com.fo r e-mail question any inf you would like to send us by

e-mail, liz@nbcwashington.com. keep in pitch with us on twitter. i will tell you that rarely, as you know, do the cleaning things work but this woman was blown away by this. >> i'm impressed. >> there you go. >> all righty. thanks. >> watch out, grout. >> it has been a golden year for barbie. yes, indeed. now fans in washington are going to get a chance to gushver the same doll. the national barbie doll collection is in town this week. 1,200 collectors are participating. the event is taking place at the marriott wardman park in northwest d.c. and on saturday, the convention will be open to the public from 9:00 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon. and new and collector barbies will be on sale and they will be a major display of barbie dolls and accessories chronicling the dolls 50 years of existence. >> wow. all right. let's see what's coming up on "news4 at 6:00." craig melvin joins us. >> work on a number of things. it was one of the biggest fraud cases in history. tonight we are going to let you know whether bernie madoff will

appear -- appeal the 150-year sentence. disturbing story about an historic cemetery. authorities say that workers at the cemetery were digging up graves and reselling the plots. and some car makers are looking at fuel alternatives to compete with hybrids and we will report on whether diesel cars will help save you cash, all that and lots more coming up in ten minutes on "news4 at 6:00." >> see you then. >> thanks, craig. baseball striking out with the fans. new poll from the associated press says many fans are not going to the games because they are just too expensive. 53% of those surveyed say the steep cost is the game's biggest problem, bigger than steroids or players making too much money. overall attendance down 6% this year. some ball parks, camden yards, trying to attract fans by offering all you can eat seats at games. fans are gobbling up the idea. they can eat as much as they want for a set price. put food into it -- >> people show up. amazing.

>> how are you? >> good. >> what do you have? redskins? >> talking about redskins hall of famer bobby mitchell and he's doing some great things with his cause. and when the redskins halfback bobby mitchell was traded to washington from cleveland, in 1962, for heisman trophy winner, ernie davis, changed his life in more ways than one. he went on to have a hall of fame career. last 19 years, mitchell's mission is raising awareness in the fight against leukemia through his charity golf tournament. bobby mitchell played 11 seasons in the nfl and spent the last seven with the redskins. mitchell was a four-time pro bowler who played both halfback and receiver and he was inducted into the hall of fame in 1983. this afternoon, hi the privilege to sit down with bobby and we talked about why he's so involved in the fight against leukemia. >> the guys, the fact they keep coming here, as opposed to somewhere else, we will have -- hall of famers, from all over

the country. and they love to comend give their time and efforts on be half of the kids. leukemia society, fantastic group of people over there. and as i mentioned earlier about volunteers, i just think that leukemia, lymphoma society, gets such fantastic volunteers and give long, long hours. it is like a job. mine, and -- and because they are so involved -- they really believe in what we are doing. and so that keeps me going. and keeps me going. and this year, we -- we know we will be going over the $7 million plateau and so we are excited about that, yes. >> 46 hall of famers this year are coming, art monk, charlie taylor. how do you get them come back every year? we love to see them. how do you do it.

>> i would like to say i threaten them. no. we -- it is difficult when you are asked -- ask an athlete to spend more than one day with you. you can pretty well call the average athlete and he will come for so many hours with you. but we require these guys to be with us two, three days. and that's a lot. and so -- we have to treat them good. they know that -- we spoil them. we say yes, sir, no, sir to them. we treat them good. so we would like to see people come out sunday. main day of the tournament. and then the gallery there. and for $5, you can pick up tickets anywhere, you come out and spend that day with us. and any athletes you see, you want to get an autograph, get it. >> before i let yougo, i have to hear what you think about the redskins, the opportunities this season. 8-8 last year.

of course, how do you think they will do this year? >> you know, unfortunately, i -- i think that we are looking at the same helped pick up people who can impact you right away. and i -- i don't see it. maybe they know more than i do about it. jason needs a lot of help. i don't see the help and i also know this. enough training camps to know this. the guys can come in and you think that, boy, i don't know if we are going to do this year and in a few weeks turn things around and play great football. that can also happen which we would love to see. >> bobby mitchell telling like it is. that guy -- exactly. if you would like to help out bobby and the cause head to lansdowne resort rs, $5. >> great. >> beautiful golf course. >> wonderful. >> thanks, hakim.

still ahead, from a little stick of butter to a now almost 200-pound teenager. look how tai shan celebrated her birthday today. >> our baby is grown up. nats park gets ready for the biggest event since the arrival of the pope. gecko: uh, you wanted to see me sir? boss: coother thingshad some you can tell people about geico - great claims service and a 97% customer satisfaction rate. show people really trust us. gecko: yeah right, that makes sense. boss: trust is key when talking about geico. you gotta feel it. why don't you and i practice that with a little exercise where i fall backwards and you catch me. gecko: uh no sir, honestly... uh...i don't think...uh... boss: no, no. we can do this. gecko: oh dear. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

preparations are under way at national stadium as billy joel and elton john concert. getting stage ready for the big show.

this will be the first concert ever at the stadium now and its second year. it will be the biggest event to take place since pope benedict held the papal mass last year. the concert is this saturday. el to be john and billy joel are performing around the country as part of the face-to-face tour. there is a big birthday celebration at the nationals zoo today. the lovable giant panda tie sean turns 4 years old. the zoo pulled out all the stops to mark the big occasion. megan mcgrath reports. >> it looks like april giant pink wedding cake. t tai shan didn't know what to think. the giant panda got into the spirit of things. and began eating his cake of frozen bamboo and beat juice. >> didn't know what it was. he was like hitting at it and smelling it and stuff. and after a while he kind of starts eating it. >> reporter: look out, mom and dad. tai shan is 4 years old. that means that in bear years he is a teenager. although judging from the reaction of his adoring fans,

this teen can do no wrong. >> i have been coming here since he was born. and love him to pieces. he's brilliant and he's handsome and he is beautiful. >> he is cuddly and beautiful. perfect. >> reporter: now he is a teenager. >> i know. better clean that bamboo up. >> reporter: it was 2005 that tai shan came to the nationals zoo. like his parents, he's on loan from china. and it is unclear how long he will stay in washington, though. hi ter is about to expire. >> the adults are here on a ten-year loan and tai shan had a two-year extension which expired this year. we are in discussions with our chinese colleagues about what is going to happen next year. we don't know yet. this was the only formal birthday event for tai shan. the rest of the day she spent laying around and sleeping. a typical teenager. from the national zoo, megan mcgrath, news4. >> they grow up so fast. happy birthday to him. marion barry speaking about his

arrest on stalking charges. wendy rieger joins craig melvin next on "news4 at 6:00." metro announce as new policy cracking down on drivers and train operators that text on the job. bernie madoff made a december identification whether he will appeal his sentence in that big fraud case in history, the biggest. >> also, workers at an historic cemetery accused of digging up graves and reselling the plots. we will get to those stories. marion barry for the first time since he was arrested and accused of stalking a woman, d.c. council member, spoke out for himself today. good evening. i'm craig melvin and i'm wendy rieger. jim and doreen have the night off. barry's comments came after prosecutors decided not to file charges in the case. tom sherwood ihere once more with the details. >> wendy, barry is talking about saturday night. but he won't talk about having the woman involved on his