right now, a warning for parents. a popular baby product being pulled from the shelves. and serial flasher targeting women on a popular running scale. i am tracee wilkins, coming up, trying to fight truancy. "news4 midday" begins now. good morning, everybody. welcome to "news4 midday." i am barbara harrison. it's wednesday, march 24th, 2010. and fairfax county police

are on the hunt for a gunman after a woman was shot and killed around 7:30 this morning in mt. vernon. megan mcgrath joins us. >> reporter: the medical examiner arrived on the scene moments ago and they will continue to remove the victim from the scene, and her body will be taken for an autopsy. a lot of the tea dadetails are known here. a woman was found murdered inside a red sea bing. they are trying to piece together what happened. a lot of people were getting ready for work when suddenly they heard the sound of several

gun shots, and they were unclear what was going on outside. some people report hearing two shots and others report hearing three or four, and then came the sound of police sirens. >> i heard two loud booming noises. was not sure if it was construction or renovations and then come out and it was gun shots. >> i heard three loud noises that typically did not sound like gun shots, more like construction noise. >> reporter: loud? >> yes, it was loud. and then i looked out the door, and i saw a police cruiser coming by with lights and sirens on. >> reporter: the suspect is described as a black male in his 20s or 30s.

neighbors say the lady was on the driver's side. police have not been able to make an id on the victim, but they can say she is an adult female. a shotgun was recovered from the scene is what some sources say. the suspect had dreadlocks, driving a gold sedan with a spoiler. weather are not saying whether it was a random act of violence or whether the victim and the suspect knew each other in some way. what we are hearing from police is that multiple shots were fired, and they cannot say at this point until forensics are concluded just how many shots, but multiple shots were fired. a shotgun was found here on the scene, and that's not clear if it was the murder weapon or if there was another weapon involved.

back to you. >> thank you, megan. and more than a million baby slings are being recalled, and this comes less than two weeks after a warning was issued about the sufficient indication. >> there was mucous with blood in it, and it was coming out of her nose, out of her right nostril. >> reporter: in cities across the country, baby slings are as common as pacifiers and play dates. >> it's good for them. it comforts them. it has been shown to lower their

blood pressure and calm them down. >> the safety commission says certain slings made by the company infuntino is not safe. >> children in the pouch has a potential of suffocating. >> reporter: with so many slings on the market, parents are being warned about improperly holding babies in any sling. the baby's face should never be covered, and it should never be bunched with its chin kuching its chest, and it should never

be pressed tight against who ever is wearing the sling. back in washington state, anna is a busy mom with two new children, but five yearsater she cannot forget how baby kathleen died in her arms. >> new babies are eecially at risk because their neck muscles are not strong enough to hold up their heads. if you have one of these slings stop using it right away if the baby is under 4 months old. let's take a look outside right now. a nice day, and 56 degrees. let's talk with tom about what we can expect for the rest of the day. >> a blue sky over the potomac river. temperatures climbed into the mid and upper 50s around the region on wednesday morning. 58 in washington, and arlington,

fairfax, montgomery county are as well in the upper 50s. it's near 60 from culpepper and southern maryland and around the northern neck. and we are still seeing the wind gusting from up to 35 miles per hour. and the temperatures now in the eastern shore in the mid-50s. richmond now up to 62. and now it's just climbing into the upper 40s to near 50 there in western maryland and west virginia. here is the view from space over the last six hours. a clear sky here and a weak high pressure moving over the region. and then we will have temperatures reaching the low to mid-60s by midafternoon, and the wind should diminish to around 15 by sunset. and then changes on the way for the rest of the week and the weekend and that will come up in a few minutes. let's check on the roads now and see what jerry edwards is

seeing. what is going on out there, jerry? >> well, as you leave springfield up towards i-66, constrktion in the left lane. and there is a good backup at the moment, but things calmed down. and then let's head on over and take a look along i-270. right in the middle of the screen, that's the northbound side. if you look carefully, you see construction cones blocking off the left lane. not having much of an impact right now, but we'll keep a watch on it. helping kids succeed by making sure they show up. that's the idea of the montgomery county there. it pairs at-risk students with a

volunteer judge, and this is not punitive but proactive. >> reporter: in montagomery county, they are finding other ways. when students are not in school, they are not learning. for many kids, they need to decide whether they are becoming graduates or dropouts. >> there is an underlying problem with children not being in school, especially in a bad economy. >> reporter: they kicked off truancy court. the baltimore city program has proven successful in one of the state's toughest school systems. the superintendent is hoping it can help with truancy issues in montgomery county, one of the nation's best systems. >> we have a problem and trying to keep control of the problem. the best thing you can do with the problem, is confront it and

design something to fix it and get the entire community behind it. >> reporter: less than 1% of the total student population is truant. >> why wait until you get 20%? >> reporter: it's identifying why the child is missing school and fixing the problem. through the truancy court, they voluntarily are in the problem. the idea is, even the worse behaved kids listen when they are in front of a judge. >> i think we can afford seeing them later in the courthouse and charged with something. >> reporter: there was a study

commissioned to find out which students were most impacted by truancy. they found latino and of african-americans are the students they will most focus on. >> students must increase school attendants by 75%, and they have to make better grades and demonstrate better behavior. and police say a man who has exposed himself to people on several popular trails nearly a dozen times has struck again. the latest incidentappened near washington lee high school, and police think the same man may be behind several incidents along the washington and old dominion trail as well. and if you do go running, police are asking you take along a cell phone and call them right away if you notice anything

suspicious. right now, police in st. mary's county maryland are searching for a pair of bank robbers. this was taken at 8:00 this morning in lexington park. the man displayed a handgun and demanded money and took off in an acura that has since been found. anybody with information is asked to call police. the time is 12 minutes after 11: 11:00. senators are debating on a package of changes on the health reform law. and the legal fight against the law started yesterday morning. and then a slip of the tongue. and then from hardwood to

democrats are spending time celebrating the passage of the health care reform bill. the senate, though, is now taking up a series of changes to the new law demanded by house democrats. that fix-it bill will pass at the end of the work, but attorneys general in more than a dozen states filed lawsuits claiming the law is unconstitutional. >> it forces people to do something to buy something or pay a penalty or tax or fine that the constitution does not allow congress to do. >> other states may join that lawsuit or sue on their own. secretary of state, hillary clinton, says the u.s. wants to turn the page on the rocky relationship with pakistan. she is meeting today is pakistani officials here in washington. she wants them to understand the u.s. considered them a key ally.

>> our countries have had misunderstandings and disagreements in the past, and there are sure to be more disagreements between there are any friends or frankly family members, but there is a new day. >> anti-american sentiment in pakistan has been growing in recent year. many pakistanis are angry about drone attacked the u.s. is launching on suspected terrorts. the usa today says there is a device that can tell how long a wait time is in information posted in airports across the country. civil liberty groups are expressing concerns about this.

we have a beautiful day out there today. have you looked outside? it's chilly, but the sun is out. let's talk to tom about how long we can expect thelear weather to last. >> throughout the day today and in through tonight, there will be a chance of showers. but until then we will have dry weather. we can squeeze a couple hours down to just 30 seconds and show you the sunrise. we had wind this morning and it was chilly as well, and the sun continued to climb higher, and a few clouds drifted through in the morning hours. and then a live view of the city camera at this hour, the blue sky is over the monuments. and we can expect cooler than average temperatures from friday all the way through the weekend into much of next week. we will have cooler than average weather. let's look at the lows we had.

it got down into the upper 30s, to low to mid-40s. and right now eight has climbed back into the upper 50s to near 60 degrees. and prince george's county in the 50s. shenandoah valley, and western maryland in the mid-50s now. southern maryland, chesapeake bay, these are the latest wind gusts, up to 30 miles per hour coming in out of the northwest, and that will continue through the next hours. and it was a chilly start this morning, right near freezing in many locations in western maryland and west virginia. right now in the upper 40s to 50 degrees there. on the eastern shore, it's cool, still there, in the mid-50s, but central, southern virginia and the carolinas, it's in the low 60s. and we have had our sky clear and just a few high clouds drifting in from the west.

we do have a weak area of high pressure passing over us now, but as that moves off further to the east, it will, then, allow a low pressure to begin to move in from the central plains, the same low dumping snow in colorado now is coming our way, but i don't expect any snow from that system as we go forward over the next 48 hours. and then a few high clouds will come in this evening, and then by dawn it will be mostly cloudy and then thursday when the low pulls in, it will swing in a chance of showers our way here by late thursday afternoon and thursday evening, where you see the color on the future cast. that's the potential precipitation. the green and yellows may come down harder for a time by late thursday and friday morning, and then that low will passover the top of the region during the day on friday, but then it should exit quickly and allow a dry start for the weekend. for the afternoon, sunny and

mild, and then a wind that will diminish by late afternoon. and then overnight tonight, we will have our temperatures in the 50s through the evening, and sunset today is at 7:24, and mostly cloudy by dawn tomorrow in the mid-40s, and then thinking clouds on thursday, and highs to the low to mid 60s. and then overnight through the metro area and into friday as well. cooler weather, too. friday's high near 50, and maybe below freezing on saturday morning, under a clear sky, saturday afternoon near 50. and then increasing clouds again, another weather system coming our way late on sunday with more rain on monday possible. barbara? >> tom, thank you. we will check on the roads now. let's go to jerry edwards with a look at what is happening. what do you have to say for yourself? >> that was an accusing way of pointing your finger at me.

>> i did not mean it that way, jerry. >> 95 virginia has it coming and going. southbound, the left side othe screen, look for the right lane to be closed off. a good-sized delay. and then northbound, seems to be okay, but a little construction there, too. and the outbound side of the 14th street bridge, can you see the arrow boards. and headed up to the pentagon inbound we are doing fine. >> jerry, did you see the cherry blossoms on the last shot? >> yeah, i did. exciting. oh, my goodness. >> you did okay for yourself, jerry. thank you. still ahead, we will tell you why a local chiropractor is being investigated by the feds. and plus we go into local school

cafeterias to see what your children are eating. there is a difference between school system to school system. first, here is a look at what is hot on nbcwashington.com.

starting today, you can take in a new elvis presley exhibit on pennsylvania avenue. it looked at the impact presley had on music and popular cultured. and features will be private telegrams and elvis's american eagle jumpsuit from his hawaii concert and the gold belt, it was given to him in 1969 for breaking las vegas's attendance records. and there is a video about elvis featuring vintage footage.

the exhibits open at noon today at the museum. a lot of people are talking this morning not about the signing of the health bill, but about biden's latest slip of the tongue. that was the vice president telling president obama that this was a big deal. he added an adjective that we cannot repeat on television, and you can probably guess what it is, and the microphone caught the whole thing. robert gibbs responded via twitter saying yes, mr. vice president, you are right. 11:27 is the time right now. and road rage on i-95. a woodridge man is accused of firing shots at another driver as his ye2-year-old sits next t him. and then gilbert arenas, we explain why some want him to go to jail.

and then tom kierein is back with an update on the weather. the sun is out out there, you can see it here in the live picture.

here is a look at what is happening right now. police in fairfax county are searching for a gunman after a woman was shot and killed. the woman was shot behind a town house development. more than 1 million baby slings are being recalled this morning. they are being called back after claims they were linked to three infant deaths. parents are urged to stop using the slings for babies under 4 months old. and he confessed but not taking responsibility, that's what prosecutors are saying

about gilbertbert arenas. he joked about the case. prosecutors say he deserved a stiff penalty because he has shown no remorse. he will learn his fate on friday, and either way he faces an uncertain future with the wizar wizards. >> we will be able to move when we know what the sentence is. >> his lawyers requested probation with community service. and a police arrested this man, who is also connected with an admitted drug dealer in florida. >> he is a drug dealer, a dirty chiropractor. >> reporter: he was arrested and charged with seven counts of

solicitation to deliver a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance. andy thomas wants bragged he was the largest steroid dealer in florida. he is awaiting federal sentencing on drug charges. detectives say on at least seven separate occasions, he send money to florida. >> he said they were for his personal use. >> reporter: investigators say based on conversation they are having with andy thomas -- >> he was saying it was personal use, and there was ounces and ounces and ounces of drugs sent to the doctor. >> reporter: nobody answered the door at his home, and we did find a nghbor.

>> he is my neighbor. i don't know anything about it. >> reporter: there has been no solid link, but dr. douglas nagle was a consultant for the nationals and capitals. >> there is no proof any of the professional athletes in our area bought drugs from the doctor. and tom kierein standing by. >> we have a beautiful blue sky, and that goes beautifully with the blooms showing now in a yard near you. red bud is out, and the daf dills have been up as well. you can see the camera bouncing around from the wind. d throughout much of the region, we are well in the 50s.

out of the mountains, still chilly there. and the winds are still blustery out of the northwest, gusting to 30 miles per hour. over the last six hours, we have seen weak, high pressure bringing us a sunny sky, and throughout the rest of the afternoon, highs reaching low to mid-60s. and overnight tonight, we will have clouds developing. should be down ithe mid-40s by dawn tomorrow. during the day on thursday, thinking clouds and rain developing thursday evening that may continue off and on until friday and saturday. near a 50 for highs and then maybe more rain on sunday and monday. and then here is jerry. >> we will head out and give folks a sampling, and we are moving nicely in both directions. the reconfiguration of the ramp was taken care of, and now things are going much smoother. westbound wide open out to fair

oaks. and then the inner loop and outer loop moving along very nicely. barbara, back to you. >> thank you, jerry. two drivers had a heated argument that ended in gunshot from i-95 in virginia. it occurred yesterday afternoon when both were trying to merge. a truck rammed a car twice before boelt vehicles were pinned against a jersey wall. and that's when state police said the car driver got out and fired several shots leaving his 2-year-old daughter inside the car, the shooter was arrested and has several charges against him now. he made his first appearance in court this morning. the other driver was cited with reckless driving and fortunately, nobody was hurt. their homes are being swallowed up by the chesapeake bay. and a beetle is standing in the way. people who live along the waterfront say their land is

eroding at an alarming speed, and take bill carmichael, for instance, his family was sitting around their deck around their hot tub. >> i woke up the last day after thanksgiving, and i knew something was just off a bit and could not figure out what it was, and it dawned on me, the hot tub deck is gone, and so is all this. >> homeowners want to build retaining walls there to secure the property, but the area is a protected natural habitat, and home to endangered tiger beatles. and sales fell to the lowest record in february. many are blaming the low on the storms and hope the housing

market is going to recover. >> this morning, new homes sales data from last month could signal where the housing industry stands. the figures follow sales of existing homes where it fell in february for the third straight month. the drop was not as bad as expected, but prices are far from hot. median home sales are down 2% from a year ago and the inventory edged. developers and banks are willing to sell below market for loan value. >> i think their loan was $375. >> but bruce baker purchased this for $205,000, and then he resold and flipped the house and made a $30,000 profit. deals and incentives could be key in the coming months for

sales. and the tax credit extension, home buyers have until the end of april to enter into a binding contract to qualify for the credit. house hunters need to move quickly to take advantage of a tax credit. and the executive vice president of the bernstein companies join us to talk about the home buyers credit and the housing market right now. thank you for coming in. >> thank you for having me. >> you are a local real estate developer and have a lot of optimism about the future of real estate becse you are in the middle of building a big condominium project. >> yeah. >> can people buy there yet? >> yeah, they can buy. we have sold 60% of the units since august.

>> we just said sales of new homes fell unexpectedly in february. let's talk about that. do you think that things will pick up as the weather gets better? >> i can tell you we have seen things pick up dramatically. we all know, the last few weeks of winter, nobody wanted to go out of the house at all, so we have seen a tremendous increase in traffic in the last two weeks, and right now written almost tenjzwuxñ in the last ten days. >> let's go over tíç detailsci the tax÷1!bo ,çcredit. first-time home buyersg have t sign by april 30th. >> yes, and then they have until june 30th to close. as long as you contract by april 30th. >> yeah, first time home buyer. >> are there any restriction on the home buyers that can get the

$6,500? >> $125,000 or less, they qualify, and then there is a lower program, and if you earn more than that it's faced in. >> the $8,000 for first-time buyers and this one for second time, how long do they have to own a home before they look at buying another one? >> well they cannot own a home for three years for the smaller ones. and the first one, it's your first time purchasing a house. >> if you are in a house already that you bouout and you want to buy a second home? >> it does not qualify. it's for primary residents only. >> i see. i see. so suppose you are changing primary residents? >> there is a three-year gap that you cannot own a home. and the district has a credit of their own, so you can look into the individually, but the real initiative here biy the federal

government, you can have incentives to buy homes. our particular product is $250,000, and you can buy for almost no money down. it's a great program. >> thank you very much. we hope that your optimism will ce to pass. still ahead on "news4 midday," the dow keeps climbing. plus, school lunches. what your kids eat depends on [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls with cinnabon cinnamon.

as simple as bake them, frost them, devour them. this sunday delight your family with pillsbury. [ speaking spanish ] ♪ [ male announcer ] old el paso stand 'n stuff taco shells. old el paso. feed your fiesta.

orders for big tickets rose. we will check in with courtney reagan. court kn good morning.

>> stocks are down. we are down about 42 points on the dow. it has been that way most of the morning. after yesterday's nice rally, investors may be taking a breather. europe is lower. and the day after falling existing home sales numbers, new home sales fell by 2.2%, and that's the fourth straight down month marking a record low in the month of february, and at's heightning the fears in the renewed housing market. and the fed cracks down on gift card abuses, issuing new rules. they must have five years to use the card before it expires, and activity fees can only be imposed if they have not been used for over a year. the rules take affect in late august. 3-d tv gets a big endorsement. the move is pitting walmart

against electronic retailers, like best buy. and industry insiders actually are surprised by walmart's announcement, they did not think mass retailers would offer 3-d sets until shoppers were more accepting of them. back to you. >> thank you, courtney. >> thank you. well, from michelle obama's garden to the senate agriculture committee, they wanted to create food standards for children. they want more money for free or reduced lunches. we wanted to compare the school lunch programs. and they gave us free reign to find out if all school lunches make the same grade. kimberly suiters reports.

>> lunchtime at columbia heights on 16th street. an 30 miles away at west field, the biest high school in virginia. >> i just have grown used to it. >> at columbia heights, there are three lines. >> they serve pizza every day, and it's not that good. >> you don't think it's the most nutritious food? >> no. a greater percentage of kids get their lunch for fr. but the most obvious difference, the west field kids get lots of choices. >> this is our salad bar. >> i think they have a lot of options. they change it every day. >> we have spicy chicken wraps. >> and more than a dozen

different ontrays, but cookies. >> how many calories is in there, and how much fat and the protein in there, and if students want that they ask for it. >> they want it too. >> i am trying to keep check on my diet, and find out what i am putting in my body. >> the head says he is working on a program to let kids know what they are eating. >> we will break it down from not only fat, but vitamin a and c. >> i don't eat green apples. >> reporter: it doesn't mean every child will choose it. >> everybody wants corn today. what is wrong with peas and carrots, because they are very good. anyway, enjoy your lunch.

>> 60% of the students buy lunch, and only 24% require financial help, and compare that to d.c., many get federal and local assistance to do that and they are charged less for lunches th [ male announcer ] it's our hottest offer of the season,

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there are a family of five making the ultimate journey on one bike. they cycled more than 4,000 miles from eastern kentucky, and not done yet. they are in california, and they plan to continue until they reach alaska. >> reporter: the harrisons are living a dream. one bike, three kids, five seats, and one long journey.

they left their eastern kentucky home last august and plan to end up in alaska. where have they been so far? >> kentucky, and georgia, and south carolina, and georgia, and florida, and alabama, mississippi, louisiana, texas, new mexico, arizona, california -- >> reporter: biking big sur was the toughest. >> head wind, chilly rain, and climbs from sea level to 1,000 feet. >> reporter: a fire destroyed their tent trailer. it has not been easy. but there are plenty of blisful moments, too. >> we put our feet in the atlantic, and i just cried. >> reporter: they are not biking for a cause, but hope the sight will be laughter. >> we wanteded to prove you don't have to be rich to live

your dreams. we left with $300 and no safety net at all, and we made it over 4,000 miles by generosity of the american people. >> reporter: soon it's time to hit the helmets and gloves back on, and the family only logs 30 miles per hour. and this is likely why. the family can keep on biking and bondi all the way to alaska. >> the family plans to pedal across the golden gate bridge this morning. let's look at some of the stories we are following for you this afternoon. pat lawson tells you about a preview of things to come. >> that was a great story. i would love to pedal with them. and first at 4:00, turns out

that filling out your 2010 census form and identifying who you are is not quite so easy. this afternoon at 4:00 we will help you sort out the confusion over the forms. and then tonight at 5:00, we will take you in the newest exhibit at the museum, and it pays tribute to none other than the king. those stories and all the day's latest stories coming up starting at 4:00. >> thank you, pat. let's get a final check on today's forecast. here is tom. >> delightful spring wther on the way. chilly with a busterly northbound wind. but temperatures are warming into the low 60s, and the pollen count is beginning to show up. the temperatures are now climbing up in the upper 50s and low 60s, and latest wind gts up to 30 miles per hour out of the north and west. view from space showing a clear

sky throughout the entire region as the weak high pressure is moving over. for the rest othe afternoon, shine to the low to mid-60s, and the wind should diminish overnight. and increasing clouds on thursday. and cooler friday with highs just near 50, and the sun is back by the afternoon. clearing up, friday into saturday. and then afternoon highs should make it to 50. on sunday, increasing clouds. another rain maker should make it through. and that's the way it looks right now. we'll see you tomorrow morning. barbara? >> thank you very much. we'll see you in the morning. here is a birthday shotout you probably won't hear willard scott make. oscar is 20 from texas, but he is still the oldest big. 20 may not seem old, but consider this. the average life span for a pot belly big is between 10 and 15

years. if you want to get him a birthday card? you may get him one with his own mug on it because he posed before for a card. that's it for us. be sure and tune in for the "daily connection," and then i will be back tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. with "news4 midday," and we hope you plan to join us for that. until then, have a great day and enjoy the sunshine.