devastation in indonea. rescue workers desperately search for those trapped after another natural disaster. hello, and welcome to news 4 at 4:00. >> those major rescue efforts continue in western indonesia, after an earthquake that's left at least 777 people dead. officials there say the death toll could reach into the thousands. paul davies has the latest. >> reporter: 24 hours ago there were high-rise apartments and offices, today there are mountains of rubble. somewhere buried beneath this devastation, there is still people who survived, trapped and running out of time. it is a desperate fight to reach them. while they can still be helped. for many, there could be no help. indonesian authorities are warning the number of dead could run into the thousands. local television has broadcast these pictures of the panic and confusion in the center of the

city, immediately after the quake. the air is full of dust, people appear to be trying to get away from the worst affected areas where buildings collapsed. since then, sudang has experienced the night where fires started by the earthquake burned, as ordinary people led the operation to recover those lost beneath the many fallen buildings. there have been moments to encourage the rescue teams. here a woman covered in dust is pulled alive from the rubble where she has been entombed since the earthquake struck. but for every success, there are many where it was simply too late. with aftershocks and a second lesser earthquake to contend with, this operation is being carried out in the most desperate circumstances. paul davies, ibt news. >> in samoa the death toll from

the tsunami there is at 150. at least 20 of those reported are in the u.s. territory of america samoa. rescuers are still searching through the muck and debris left on the island expecting to find mo victims. hundreds of survivors are being treated at local hospitals that are still standing. a u.s. navy ship carrying medical supplies arrived late last night, and australian officials are sending 20 tons of humanitarian aid to the islands. the first plane of tsunami survivors from neighboring new zealand touched down in aukland last night. they gave startling accounts of the disaster after getting off the plane. many said they narrowly escaped the wall of water that came crashing down on them tuesday. >> it was right on the water. there was nothing left. nothing. we've lost everything. >> 170 people returned on yesterday's flight.

the samoan islands and tonga have grown in popular as tourist destinations over the past couple of years. close to home, the chill is on today. that mercury is falling out there today. ver on i ka has your forecast. >> 50 degrees this morning at reagan national, making it the coolest it's been around here since may 20th. and there were some locations that were even cooler. down to 41 degrees dulles. here's a look at the satellite loop. you can see the clouds moving east out of the area. during the overnight period there will be cloud cover around. again, decreasing clouds as high pressure moves in. 64 degrees the temperature right now reagan national. 64 also in quantico. 61 in packs river. some cloud cover around. we'll lose it, 11:00 tonight. dropping to the mid-50s. not quite as chilly as it was last night. so about two or three degrees

higher overnight. but clouds will be increasing throughout the day tomorrow. another weather system ready to move in. and we'll talk about our first october weekend. and rain chances in just a few minutes. thanks, veronica. new developments in the death of michael jackson this afternoon. the associated press has obtained a copy of his autopsy report. it suggests jackson was a fairly healthy 50-year-old man before he died of a drug overdose back in june. he weighed 136 pounds, which is in the acceptable range for a man who's 5'9" tall. the coroner found jackson had tattooed eyebrows and lips, and his skin was covered with punctures. however, his heart was strong, and most of his major organs were normal. although his lungs were chronically inflamed. still, the coroner found the lung condition was not serious enough to be a direct or contributing cause of his death. the world is watching copenhagen denmark today, waiting to hear from the

international olympic committee about which city will host the 2016 summer games. but perhaps no one is watching as closely as those in chicago. one of the final four cities. jay gray has the story. >> reporter: president barack obama wrapping up his work at home befor boarding air force one for an overnight flight to den marg. he'll join an all-star team, led by the first lady who met with international olympic committee president jacques rowe. >> this is an opportunity for the united states to connect to the world. >> reporter: another key player for the star-studded chicago delegation is the first lady of television, oprah winfrey. >> my message is really about my love and -- my love for chico, and the spirit that we know the games will bring. >> reporter: as the olympic delegation gathers in copenhagen, a host of celebrities and dignitaries are making the final push for chicago. but it's still clear who carries

the most star power. >> no, i expect -- you know who the differencemaker is. >> reporter: even before he's landed, the president is apparently making a strong impression on the voting members of the ioc. >> i will listen to him very carefully, and this is one of maybe the most important men on the planet. >> reporter: but the main competition in a four-city race, has some star power of its own. arguably the most famous athlete ever, pele is trying to provide a strong kick for his country's effort to host the games. >> but we never have it in south america. >> reporter: as chicago prepares for friday's decision on the host city. >> we're just hoping for the right answer. and that chicago can celebrate. >> reporter: an answer that is now less than 24 hours away. the final presentations from each city, including the address from president obama, will take

place overnight. a decision on the host city will be formally announced tomorrow around lunchtime. jay gray, nbc news, chicago. barack obama goes over there, they send pele. >> every big name you can come up with. >> that's right. stay with nbc 4, a the latest on the olympics announcement right here. we're also going to be streaming it live on the website tomorrow morning. so sit at the edge of your seats and don't change thechannel. go to nbcwashington.com on your computer and search ymcs. fingers crossed. >> yeah. all aboard amtrak's new ride between washington and virginia. >> and a special boost for special education in the district. here's a look at some other stories making headlines in our area today. a search for gunman who killed a prince george teenager today. the victim a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed late last night on 56th avenue in riverdale heights. his friend was also shot. the friend has been treated and released from an area hospital.

tonight at 5:00, we'll hear from the victims' families. amtrak began its new daily service between washington and virginia today. every morning a train leaves lynchburg and makes five stops before arriving at union station. it includes charlottesville, culpepper, mo nas is, burk and alexandria. the amtrak prices will fluctuate depending on the day and how full the train is. right now one-way fares from lynchburg to washington range from $38 to $74. some new improvements coming to special education in d.c. public schools. mayor adrian fenty announced today that the district has increased the efficiency and quality of services for special needs students and their families. the new initiatives include competitive employment training and improvements in special ed services for incarcerated kids. when news 4 at 4:00 continues this afternoon, seven years after her kidnapping, elizabeth smart is testifying for the first time about the

harrowing night she was taken from her home. plus, we all know candy's not good for us, but now there's startling new information about what happens years after kids eat junk food. and the story of the dog that survived a sinking boat by living underwater for more than a day.

following the success of cash for clunkers, auto dealerships are now experiencing a slump in sales.

gm, chrysler and ford all reported september sales down. hyundai, however, bucked the trend and reported a 27% increase, compared to last year. over the summer, cash for clunkers spurred sales of nearly 700,000 new vehicl. american express is changing its gift card policy. under the old policy, you paid a $2 a month fee that started after a card was a year old. for example, a $25 card that went unused would be worth only $1 by the end of the second year. american express is dropping the fee now just months before a new law takes effect. the law bans dormancy fees for five years after a card is purchased of the. elizabeth smart testified in court today for the first time against the man she says abducted her to be his wife. smart was taken from her utah home backn 2002 at the age of 14. today she spoke about her alleged abductor, in details she had never told even her parents.

leann gregg has her story. >> reporter: for the first time since she was taken at knife point from her salt lake city home seven years ago, elizabeth smart described what happened to her after brian david mitchell allegedly abducted her. >> she was graceful, remarkable, strong, and gave powerful testimony. >> reporter: in u.s. district court in salt lake city, smart testified that mitchell, a homeless street creature, was driven by sex, not religion. for her family in the courtroom, a difficult and personal story. >> there were certainly a lot of things that i had never heard before. and i had -- i had no idea what she had gone through. >> reporter: smart's testimony is part of the proceedings to determine if mitchell is mentally competent to stand trial. he refuses to take psychological evaluations, and has twice been found incompetent in state court. >> it is the position of the united states that he has

attempted to fool or to deceive the system. >> reporter: smart was 14 when she was kidnapped and taken to a camp three miles from her home. she said she was raped repeatedly each day and told she would be killed if she yelled or tried to escape. a massive search was carried out with thousands of volunteers. nine months later mitchell and his wife were found with smart, walking along a street in a salt lake city suburb. now age 21, she said her faith has sustained her. >> no matter what people can take from you, or do to you or harm you, they can't take that away from you. >> reporter: and now reliving the crimes against her in pursuit of justice. leann gregg, news 4. accused kidnapper phillip garrido is reaching out to the media from his jail cell in california. he and his wife are accused of holding jaycee dugard hostage in their backyard for 18 years. garrido also says he fathered two of dugard's children during

that time. he sent a hand-written letter to an nbc reporter in sacramento saying authorities had mistreated dugard during the investigation. a spokesperson for dugard's family says they won't dignify the letter with a response. when we come back on news 4, new developments in the saga of a dog from virginia who turned up ten years later on the other side of the country. hear from the family who found him after the break. plus, first the president, now this. another shoe-throwing incident on the world's stage.

a drug bust in japan seizing more than $130 million worth of illegal drugs. police actually found the drugs in a bag left inside a bank. detectives then raided a chinese fishing boat and arrested several japanese gang members. officers found 265 pounds of illegal drugs onboard. former alaska governor sarah palin is now a best-selling author. her memoir going rogue, which doesn't even come out until the middle of november, is being called an overnigh success based on the pre-orders.

it's already number one on the barnes & noble.com, and amazon.com. palin worked with a collaborator and finished the 400-page book in just four months. it'sappened again. a turkish student has thrown a shoe at the director of the international monetary fund. it happened today. he missed. it happened after a speech to economic students at a university in istanbul. the imf is currently in talks with the turkish government about a new loan to revitalize investment in turkey. but many turks are suspicious of the plan. the annual meetings of the world bank and international monetary fund are under way now in istanbul. police have detained 20 protesters. >> when somebody takes their shoes off, you start ducking and bobbing and weaving. quick, on your feet. well, you know we led off the newscast, two earthquakes, one earlier in the week and one

yesterday, and a smaller one in california. >> this is just northwest of death valley. i wanted to put together a map to the relation of all these earthquakes. so here it is. you can see they're all in the pacific. and in fact, you notice the pacific tectonic plate area, ring of fire. i spoke with a geophysicist today, and asked him if it was unusual for these to be clust erd and he said no. it's a statistic law that these clusters would come up. but what is unusual, if these occurred, these earthquakes, the biggest one i indonesia and in samoa, in cracks in the plates. not from that shifting of the plates. when one plate shifts toward the other one which is known as plate interference. so scientists are scratching their head over that one. a quiet day for us with a few clouds across the area. 64 degrees the temperature. humidity at 50%. our winds out of the south at 9 miles per hour. but still, a cooler than average

day for us. 74 degrees now the average. look at one of the cool spots this morning. this is out west, western maryland. frostberg, maryland, low temperature 39 degrees. oakland, maryland, dipped down to 35 degrees this morning. another cool spot. 43 degrees in hay market. you're likely to dip down to about 42, 43. so temperatures not quite as chilly during the overnight period. and look at boston at 45. 44 in caribou. they've had quite a few cool mornings. i'll tell you in a few minutes how that is affecting some of the fall color. here's what's going on across the area. we've got high pressure that's moving east. winds tonight are going to be calm. as that high moves further east tomorrow, clouds will be on the increase. we're talking about a weather system moving in for friday night and saturday morning. right now in areas out west around joplin, arod joplin, missouri, tulsa, areas of oklahoma, some severe storms until 8:00, there is a severe

thunderstorm watch out for the area. so high pressure moving east. for us, another chilly night not as cool as last night. there's the leading edge of some of the showers and storms. indiana right now, illinois, chicago, rather cool and raw there, as there are some wind gusts coming through the area about 40 miles an hour. spots like chicago, and around springfield. and quite a bit of rain through this area, too. there are some one to one 1/2-inch rains pulling through the area. that's the weather system that gets to us by friday night. i think starting around 10:00, 11:00 p.m., wet weather moves into the area. it is a fast-moving system for us. here we go. during the overnight period, we're clear. then we'll start to see more clouds early tomorrow moving through. there's 8:00 p.m., the rain still west. by about 10:00, and early saturday morning, the rain will be moving through. so that is the forecast for friday, saturday morning. 57 to 61. chilly for the evening. with winds light.

your sun will be setting at #:51. loost for mostly clear skies. chilly conditions by tomorrow. 45 to 52 degrees. meanwhile for the afternoon tomorrow, we're warmer, up to 74. we'll take a look at that weekend with the seven-day forecast. jim and pat, in just a few. >> ver on i ka, thank you. folks are cleaning up today after a water main break this mornin it happened at queens bury road and queens chapel road in hyattsville. wssc officials say it was a 16-inch main. the pipe is more than 70 years old and officials believe age may have been a factor. officials expect to take most of the day to repair the break. montgomery county residents have a place to go to learn about green programs and businesses in our area. state officials joined local business leaders this morning to open the education center and green business incubator in bethesda. the community center will showcase green products and services. you can also get information

about how to live more environmentally healthy lives. >> that's good stuff. >> it is. here's more good stuff. free entertainment with this news 4 bargain blast. the national free night of theater initiative starts today. free tickets are available to shows across the washington region. learn more by going to nbcwashington.com and search bargain blast. stay right there. we've got a whole lot more to come in our next half hour of news 4 at 4:00. capitol police officer arrested for a crime that has investigators and one unsuspecting homeowner scratching their heads. the. plus, the man behind the miracle on the hudson flies again. captain sully gets into the cockpit for the first time since january's flight. columnists are warning it will be a tough holiday time for job seekers. one retailer hiring thousands of people across the country, including here in the d.c. area. a sweet competition worthy

of a taste test. before you vote, we're letting you decide who makes the best cupcake in town as two bakeries battle for the locals. >> cast your vote, go to ybswashington.co ♪ ♪ i always feel like somebody's watching me. ♪ (announcer) it's right here, it's easy... ♪ i always feel like somebody's watching me. ♪ ...it's the money you could be saving with geico.

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welcome back. at 4:30 now, i'm pat lawson. >> i'm jim handly. the top stories we're following at this hour. the associated press has obtained the autopsy report of michael jackson. the coroner found that jackson's face and neck were scarred, and he had tattooed eyebrows and lips. however, overall, jackson was found to be in fairly good health. and did not have any medical conditions that would have contributed to his death by drug overdose. massive relief and rescue efforts continue in indonesia following yesterday's 7.#

magnitude quake. u.n. officials now put the death toll at 1,100. the world is watching and waiting to hear word from copenhagen, denmark, about who will host the 2016 summer games. president obama will take an overnight flight tonight to make a big push for chicago, one of the four finalist cities. olympic officials will announce the winning city around lunchtime tomorrow. the miracle on the hudson pilots are back together again. captain chesley sullenberger and jeffrey skiles flew to north carolina and new york back. it was their first time together in the cockpit since they hato ditch their plane saving everyone onboard. michelle franzen reports. >> clear for takeoff on #-1. the. >> reporter: captain chesley "sully" sullenberger returned to pilot duties after he and

jeffrey skiles made the emergency water landing on the hudson river. >> it's good to be back in new york. it's good to be back at work. [ applause ] >> reporter: it was a symbolic reunion for both. starting out the day flying from charlotte to new york, and finishing the return flight that was cut short in january. >> i had only one request. and that was, when i did return to work, i wanted to be reunited with my crew from flight 1549 on january 15th. >> reporter: us airways flight 1549 had just taken off from laguardia when a flock of geese collided with the plane and knocked out both engines. sullenberger made a splash landing on the hudson river. all 155 passengers and crew members survived and the flight became known as the miracle on the hudson. barry leonard was one of the survivors. today he returned as a passenger on the same flight. >> i think it's really taking it full circle. because, you know, i was on

their last flight and now their first flight. >> reporter: sullenberger said his life has changed more outside the cockpit. he's writing a book and receives a hero's welcome wherever he goes. that adoration not only comes from the public and passengers, but also us airways workers. many who turned out today to meet and pay tribute to their here rove. but sullenberger and skiles say they were just doing their jobs. and now that both are back to work, they plan to make sure the experience and professionalism shown on that miracle day becomes a standard in the industry. michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. >> sullenberger's it feat was a rarity. it was the first time in 50 years of commercial flight that pilots crash-landed a jet on water without anyone dying. a woman in arlington came home late saturday night to find a capitol police officer passed out in her bed. officer thomas mcmann was still sleeping when police arrived at the apartment around 1:00 sunday

morning. he was charged with unlawful entry. he lives in reston. police don't know why he decided to sleep in a stranger's apartment in north arlington. he is on paid leave pending the outcome of the criminal charges. and an internal investigation. some new driving laws took effect in maryland today. officials are cracking down on speeders and highway work zones and near schools with new speed monitoring cameras. also, don't even think about text messaging, that, too, will land you a fine. and tougher drunk driving penalties are taking effect. last year, alcohol was a factor in about 28% of the state's traffic fatalities. a virginia man is looking forward to reuniting a long-lost pet. his dog named brindle wandered away from his home more than a decade ago. what's even more incredible here is that the animal was found 1,300 miles away. gary rowley said brindle went outside one day back in 1999 and

never came home. he thought he was gone forever. but two weeks ago an 8-year-old girl found brindle in oklahoma. he was under some bushes, he was terribly malnourished and he was sick. the girl and her mother took brindle to a vet who found a microchip with tracking information under the dog's skin. they then used facebook to get in touch with brindle's owner. the girl said she had to do something. >> if i didn't, then he would just be sitting there right now. with no family, no friends, no nothing. >> i'm pretty average. the most exciting thing that's happened to me recently is i won $15 on powerball. >> how does this compare to that? >> i would take this over powerball anyday. >> wow. brindle has another appointment with a vet in oklahoma tomorrow. gary rowley said if brindle is given the okay to travel, the two could be reunited sometimes next week.

and rouley says he's confident brindle and his other dog, whose name is chelsea, will get along. >> i think he's going to get star treatment. >> he probably will. and you should know that microchip technology is helping to reunite families with their lost pets. we'll show you how that works coming up tonight at 5:00. it's really good technology. >> i've got it in mine. >> a lot of vets encourage their clients to get the chips for their dogs and their pets. just in case something like this happens. >>e was a long way from home, too. >> but he's coming home now. coming up next, the link between kids who eat sweets and violent crimes later in life. >> the 911 call every dispatcher dreads. an operator takes the call about a house engulfed in flames, and realizes it's his own house.

a beautiful sky we're looking south. but it's chilly, temperatures in the low 60s across the area. this time tomorrow, partly supy skies, headed toward a mostly cloudy evening. temperature at 64 degrees. reagan national 70. nice and mild. richmond, 72 in raleigh. here's where more clouds are off to the west. but overnight, with high pressure, i think we'll still stay with clear skies and increasing clouds through the tomorrow. temperatures dropping from the low 60s to the upper 50s. and by tomorrow morning, 50 to 52 degrees. the high for tomorrow,73

degrees. don't know where that 86 came from. 73 for tomorrow. meanwhile, temperatures will be in the mid-70s coming up through the weekend. so showers late friday ending early saturday. back to you. jim? thank you. for a 911 dispatcher in massachusetts, it was no doubt the most terrifying call of his career. a witness phoned 911 to report a house in quincy was erupting. he relszed hfs tis house on fire. his parents live there, too. somehow he kept his cool, worked the emergency case like any other. >> there's a fire in a house. the garage and everything is on fire. >> it's surreal. you don't believe -- you hear it, and it's not registering. until you see it on the screen

and all of a sudden, it's like it's real, it's my house. >> his sergeant stepped in and took over for him. he raced to the scene. when he arrived there his mother and father were standing outside unharmed. pat? organ transplants happen in hospitals across the nation every day. one of the most challenging aspects isn't necessarily the surgery, it's mafg patients up with suitable donors. new software technology could change all of that. scott budman has details. >> reporter: as the health care debate rages on, a piece of silicon valley technology finds itself quite by accident taking a starring role. >> not only would it save lots and lots of money to you and me as taxpayers, but it saves lives. >> reporter: dr. michael rees is a kidney transplant surgeon and head of the alliance of prepared donation. he's talking about this program

called c-plex made by a software company recently bought by ibm. c-plex was made to do complex math algorithms and rees knows that 85,000 people are waiting for kidneys. >> that was going to take a computer program simply because of the amount of data. computers are great at math, and are fast. they can do things that humans can't do. they're passionate about the data. and i think it brings better solutions to bear. >> reporter: if c-plex meets its goals, 3,000 more people a year will get the kidneys they need. and that could save taxpayers $1.5 billion a year in health care costs. >> the beauty about the technology, in general, whether it's supplied to kidney patients or others, is that you get win-win situations where the cost goes down, the quality of the surgeries goes up, and you don't lose any work of the. >> reporter: it once took three weeks to match a kidney donor

with a patient. with this software, it takes seconds. to save lives, and money by bringing people together. scott budman for nbc news. >> the c-plex software is already being used to guide medical devices like the cyber knife, which targets tumors. when we come right back, fighting the swine flu virus is proving to be a tough battle for many states. we'll tell you about the latest efforts to prepare after the break. also, new evidence that websites like facebook and twitter could be driving friends apart instead of bringing them

a criminal connection to candy. a new study discovers a link between kids who eat sweets every day and adults who grow up to commit violent crimes. this british study looked at more than 17,000 children for nearly 40 years. 69% of those who ate candy every day ended up under arrest for violent cres. some researchers believe parents who give in to their kids' pleas for sweets may keep them from learning how to wait to get what they want and push them more twor impulsive behavior. health officials at the cdc say the first batches of swine flu vaccine will arrive around the country early next week. but as the virus spreads, there are new concerns about whether hospitals will have enough space to take care of the sick.

tracey potts has that story. >> high fever. >> reporter: flu season officially starts sunday, but this dallas hospital is already on overload with 50% more patients than this time last year. >> i feel just awful. >> reporter: the staff is trying to cope. >> i sleep when i can. >> reporter: things could get worse. the robert wood johnson foundation and trust for america's health reports by the time flu season hits its peak, 15 states could run out of hospital beds. and that's assuming the h1n1 virus stays relatively mild. >> you're going to see different standards of care. people not being hospitalized when under ordinary circumstances they would be. people being discharged early. and some treatments being postponed. some people who need to be hospitalized may have to be treated at home. >> reporter: the cdc reports a third of those who died from h1n1 that they tested also had bacterial pneumonia. health advocates are urging hospital workers to be even more careful. >> they need to be taken care of

in a very protected way, which, first of all, includes everyone in the health care organization washing their hands every time. >> reporter: the cdc's got 600,000 doses of vaccine headed to 25 states and cities arriving by tuesday. and for the sickest children, the agency's also sending 300,000 courses of tamiflu, with expired dates. officials say it's safe and it works. >> the extension is based on testing. this isn't a matter of, okay, let's just change the labels. >> reporter: know 6 million to 7 million doses of vaccine should be shipped out next week. when it comes to the hospital beds this flu season, it looks like the district will be in pretty good shape with less than half the beds available full at the height of the flu season. virginia could be right at capacity. but maryland could face a real problem. with 43% more patients than beds available. from capol hill, i'm tracey potts, news 4. tomorrow morning on news 4, we'll be getting answers to your questions about the swine flu.

a doctor will join us live on the set on "news4 today" starting at 4:55 a.m. you can send your questions to us at "today" at nbc washington.com. tune in tomorrow morning to get the answers. all right. coming up on news 4 at 4:00, more americans will be looking for extra work this holiday season. and it appears there will be fewer jobs to go around. but one retailer says they're hiring thousands of workers. and later, america's wealthiest people, the new list is out. and some of the filthy rich are the same folks. but there are also some new and local folks with this distinction. coming up on news 4 at 5:00, a proposal that would allow some of your neighbors to keep chickens in their back yards. the latest in the story about a dog that wandered away from a home in northern virginia more than a decade ago, and was found 1,300 miles away. and liz crenshaw reports on

the latest tactics by banks that some say are unfai

getting a job in retail during the holiday season may be tougher this year. the down economy is making those jobs at the mal very competitive, because more unemployed workers are applying. right now, toys "r" us is the only major retailer looking to hire large numbers of employees this holiday season. the chain is looking for 35,000

seasonal workers across the country. hard to think about the holiday season. but with the weather cooling off, maybe it's not so hard. >> exactly. hey, look at me. i've got the sweater on today. we're talking about the cool temperatures. pat, i don't know if you noticed this, if you look really hard, you can see that some of the leaves out here in front of nbc 4 and maybe around your neighborhood have started changing color. let's take a look at one of the coolest spots across the area this morning. it dipped down to 35 degrees in oakland, maryland. they're 40 now at hay market. meanwhile, overnight our temperatures will not be quite as cool. dropping to 44. martinsburg, 43. st. mary's down to 47. fall color, there's already some color, near peak as a matter of fact. caribou, new hampshire, and vermont. meanwhile, our peak color around here, not until late october.

but we'll be well on the way going from green to red. skyline drive, average peak color, that's mid-october. kids off to school tomorrow, chilly start, 43 to 48. high temperature tomorrow, we should be getting up to about 70 degrees. 70, 73. back to you. >> thanks, veronica. facebook fanatics, are people who spend their time on facebook losing friends because of it? plus, the little pup who survived underwater for more than a day. we're co

here's some of the stories making news on the web today. >> the list of the richest people in the world is out. and for the first time in seven years, the wealthiest americans are losing money. the collective net worth of the super rich often known as the uber-rich, fell $300 billion in the past year. microsoft's bill gates topped the 400 list, followed by warren buffett. washington football owner dan snyder owns radio stations and part of six flags. the youngest billionaire on the list, 25-year-old founder of facebook, mark zukerberg. he's already worth $2 billion. >> i hear he's a nice guy. so you can't hate him, you know? meet sophia, when her parents lost their jobs, the

d.c. couple decided to take sophia to every major league ballpark, taking pictures along the way. they did on tuesday. they stopped at stadium number 29 in phillie. tomorrow they'll make their final stop at camden yard up in baltimore. unbelievable story of survival by a chihuahua. take a look. this dog survived more than 24 hours trapped underwater inside a sunken houseboat down in mississippi. the dog's owner thought the dog didn't mak it, but a scuba diver found the dog hiding in an air pocket inside the boat. the owner says the dog is fine but a little more aggressive after that terrifying ordeal. chihuahuas can be pretty frisky. >> good for him. social networking sites like facebook and twitter bring peop together. can all this togetherness become too much of a good thing? grant stinchfield looks at the trivial pursuits of facebook

fanatics. >> see if i can get something going. >> that one got a lot of comments. >> reporter: you're looking at two self-described facebook freaks. >> if you don't have facebook, you're not cool. close to 1,400 pictures. >> reporter: that's right, brittany daniels has posted nearly 1,400 pictures on her face book page. >> i just get caught up in stalking, i don't know. roar her friend debbie sheets have seen them all. >> they just won't admit to it. >> reporter: debbie thrives off the voyeuristic nature of her friend's updates. while brittany prefers posting. >> i'm just kidding. >> reporter: and posting a lot. >> i love being lazy and watching tv all night. it's so much fun. >> reporter: some facebookers and tweeters call the prolific posting narcissistic. >> letting others know where you are or how you're doing or how you look. >> reporter: others call it

annoying, with unwanted consequences. >> we talked on the phone. we see each other last. >> reporter: for me, i love my friends, but i really don't care if they had eggs for breakfast. or if they found a front-row parking spot at the mall. it's all become more background noise for me to ignore. >> it's a game we all like to play. knowing that other people are looking after you, and wanting to know about you. >> reporter: but psychologists fear the game is a favorite for people with a short attention span. >> people are so unwilling to sit and have quiet time, where they contemplate or met tad or have time to thing. >> reporter: as for those trivial -- >> i don't care if you're taking a shower. >> reporter: sometimes useless updates -- >> ways to stop that is stop commenting on them. >> reporter: don't reward bad behavior he advises, that at least for some is too fun to quit. >> sometimes we could have 30 ments. the xhoel time we're laughing and cracking up.

>> some folks have got this really bad. here are five signs one sigh solgs says this makes you a facebook addict. you lose sleep because you're staying up late every ght. you become obsessed with old loves. because you're friending. you ignore work to spend time on facebook. the suggestion is to try to stay off facebook for an entire day, and see if that makes you anxious. if it does, you are hooked. news 4 at 5:00 starts now. tonight, city chickens, a bill in the area that could have some back yards looking a little like urban farms. counterfeit crackdowns. crackdown on illegal dvds leads police to a police and a suspect

they are familiar with. unfair fees, our report on a new fee by banks that some say are gouging customers. good afternoon, everyone. >> our top story tonight, a free ride through the easy pass lane becomes a sore spot for some area politicians. toll booths are supposed to bring in revenue for the state of maryland, but maryland state lawmakers and thousands of state employees are getting a free perk that is costing taxpayers. now some are calling for it to stop. chris gordon joins us now with the latest on this story. chris? >> good evening. 15,000 state employees are using maryland's bridges and tunnels for free. citizens say that's okay, as long as the employees are on official business. but not when they're taking personal trips. and they're even more critical of some maryland state legislators who free easy passes even though they get a yearly travel allowance. the driving public pays for their easy passes