right now, police are searching for the person who stole a car with a baby inside of it. the child and vehicle have already been tracked down. there's a new threat today from osama bin laden and a brief audiotape, the terrorist warning of americans being killed. and getting ready for the cherry blossom festival and the crowds. news 4 midday begins right now. good morning, everyone, and welcome to news 4 midday. i'm barbara harrison. it's thursday, march 25th, 2010. we're following breaking news in northwest washington. that's where police are

searching for suspects after a mother's car was stolen with her baby still inside. it happened this morning at noh capital and pshg streets northeast. someone dumped the car with the baby safe inside in the 200 block of m street behind dunbar high school. that's where news 4's elaine reyes joins us. >> reporter: barbara, police are looking at cameras stationed around this area and behind dunbar high school. they're trying to figure out who the suspect . right now they are about three blocks away from here where this all started, trying to talk to people, gather some information and canvass the area, as well. now, this all ended again behind dunbar high school. police found a 1-year-old boy strapped into the back seat of an suv, a white suv. investigators say someone jumped into that running vehicle parked behind a home behind north capital and p streets north west. the boy's mother had run inside to grab something, but moments

later she heard tires squealing, her car and baby were gone, but they were reunited a short time later. >> the baby appears to be doing fine. when the officers found the baby, the baby just kind of looking out from the back seat in very good condition and, you know, just kind of trying to figure out what was going on they contacted the officers on the scene, they brought the mom down, and there was a prty happy reunion for the mom. >> reporter: as we speak, police are behind an alley or behind a house in an alley where this all started. again, they were canvassing the area, trying to talk to some possible witnesses. police say that the mother never saw the suspect. the baby was taken to a nearby hospital just to be checked out. but i understand he's doing fine. live in northwest, elaine reyes, news 4. >> thank you, elaine. and there are new charges in the road rage case on i-95. both drivers involved are now locked up. state police say 25-year-old

gabriel got into an altercation with a dump truck driver on southbound 95 and fired shots at the truck. he had his 2-year-old daughter in his jaguar at the time. he faces child endangerment and attempted murder charges. the truck driver, james brigham, has been arrested, as well. he was arrested last night. he now faces an attempted second-degree murder charge. both are awaiting bond hearings. police say as many as 13 shots were fired and they say it is amazing that wono one was hurt. metro's board is meeting this morning to discuss a major makeover. metro officials are presenting a $2 million plan that would include buying hundreds of new 7000 series cars. the new cars would eventually replace all of the old 1000 series cars, the kind that were involved in last year's deadly metro crash. the modernized 7000 series cars would also mean an improved public address system, overhead and seat-grab handles, new security cameras, active roof

maps and improved operator controls. the first 7000 series cars will be used on metro's new silver line and will run through tyson's corner to dulles airport. meanwhile, metro also has some new equipment to use in case of an emergency. these are mobile emergency response vehicles, also known as mervs. they're portable, battery-operated, motorized carts emergency workers can use to get to an accident scene more quickly. they can also be used to transport equipment along the tracks and transport people who can't walk away from an accident scene. there's been a nice start to the day out there. 11:04 is our time, and there are some blue skies but clouds as we, and clouds gathering, we understand, from tom kierein, who tells us we can expect maybe a little rain later today. good morning. >> good morning, barbara. we could get some rain later on tonight, and we've had a little sun around this morning but it's overall cloudy throughout the region as we approach the late morning and the noon hour.

right now it's in the mid and upper 50s and temperature at reagan national airport, 58 degrees. it has hit the low 60s in southern maryland, and they've had more sun there as well as the northern neck and eastern shore. actually, some of those locations may hit near 70 later on this afternoon, but the clouds farther north and west will keep us in the mid-60s for the afternoon. eastern shore, near 60 degrees, but the mountains, chilly, just in the 40s at this hour. richmond up to 65, norfolk up to 68 degrees, and they've had sun there this morning. as we look at the last six hours, you can see the leading edge of the rain just coming into eastern kentucky and far southwestern virginia. at will be moving into the metro area likely by perhaps 9:00, 10:00 tonight. in between now and then we'll have quite a bit of cloudiness, but it should be mild and a bit breezy, too, winds picking up out of the southwest around 29 miles per hour peaking in the middle to late afternoon hours as temperatures climb into the mid and upper 60s around most of the region. however, it will be milder in southern maryland and of course

on the eastern shore and southeastern virginia. it may even hit the low 70s there by midafternoon. a look at the big changes coming in, a chilly change for tomorrow and into the weekend. i'll have details on that in just a few minutes. barba barbara? >> all right. thank you, tom. jerry edwards has the roadways. jerry? >> hi, barbara. a couple slow spots, midday roadwork well under way. in virginia, looking at the inner loop of the beltway, the flyover ramp that takes you from the inner loop to go sout onto i-95 and springfield, two-lane ramp, left lane is closed at the top of the ramp and traffic is going to be a bit slow. as a matter of fact, the's a little bit of a delay that has developed on the inner loop of the beltway lining up to exit onto i-95 southbound, wch makes us all nervous. hopefully everybody notes the backup is there. let's check out kennelworth avenue, construction taking away the left lane northbound and southbound at the maryland district line on eastern avenue. right now, no delay whatsoever. so a little good news there. that's how we're doing right now, barbara.

back to you. >> thank you, jerry. the democrats may have been able to pass health care reform, but the fight to get it up and running is still not over. senate republicans have now found minor glitches in a health care fix-it bill that will sd it back to the house. this comes as the fbi is investigating cases of vandalism and threats against those who backed the reform. brooke hart has more now from capitol hill. >> reporter: opponents of health care reform are turning anger in action, targ effoeting democs like bart stupak for his yes vote for president obama to reinforce the federal ban on abortion funding. now he gets death threats and profani profanity-laced threats. vandalism, too. offices of two female democrats had windows shattered by bricks and by a pellet gun. the fbi and capitol police met with lawmakers. top democrats acknowledged some are getting extra protection.

>> i don't have a number for you, but a significant number, meaning over ten. >> reporter: virginia republican eric cantor called the threats reprehensible, but democrats say gop critics of reform leading weekend rallies are fueling rage. sarah palin, for one, twittered, "don't retreat, reload." >> they have condoned putting hitler mustaches on pictures of president obama. >> just stand up and say this is wrong and we do not want you to do it, and we repudiate it. >> reporter: president obama heads to iowa, looking to win over skeptics of reform as senate backers wrap up debate over fixes to the new law. it got more complicated overnight. gop senators succeeded in getting a couple of student loan provisions stripped from the fix-it measure. that sends the whole thing back for another house vote, something democrats were trying to avoid. in washington, brooke hart, nbc news. arizona republican senator

john mccain has been a vocal opponent of health carereform. he spoke earlier on the "today" show. the senator condemned the recent violence and said that energy needs to be put toward getting the republicans back into office. >> this is unacceptable in america, but what we need to do, we, who oppose this legislation and worry about the future of our children being mortgaged, we should be translating into voter registration and preparing for the next election and working towards repeal and replace this terrible piece of legislation, which has been passed in the most unethical way that the american people soundly reject. >> mccain says his biggest issue is that this was not a bipartisan decision. civil rights icon and activist dorothy heights is in intensive care at howard university hospital this morning. yesterday was her 98th birthday.

she was supposed to be celebrating with friends and supporters but is now in recovery. she is the founder of the black family reunion. dr. dorothy heights has been the civil rights advocate and educator for more than 75 years. our time right now is 11:10. new threats against americans. coming up, what a new audiotape from osama bin laden says about putting the self-professed 9/11 mastermind on trial in the u.s. plus, this morning, defense secretary robert gates has announced new guidelines for how the pentagon carries out the 1993 law banning gays from serving openly in the military. and scientists have been flying over southern iceland to evaluate whether a volcanic eruption is now safe for nearby residents. we'll have the spectacular pictures. stay with us.

al jazeera has aired an audiotape purportedly from osama

bin laden. the authenticity of the tape, however, can't be independently confirmed by nbc news. the man on the tape says it would mean, quote, a death sentence for americans captured by al qaeda if mohamad is executed. that reference to mohamad is to khalid shaikh mohammed in u.s. custody, the mastermind of the september 11th terror atabs. there is a debate under way whether he and four alleged co-conspirators should be tried in civilian or a military court. new today, taking on don't ask, don't tell. the pentagon is changing how it implements the law that bans gays from serving openly in the military. the changes are designed to make it harder to discharge gay service members who violate the policy. higher ranking officers would run the discharge proceedings, and there would be tighter rules on evidence e. defense secretary robert gates made the announcement this morning. >> i believe the changes

represent something important in the way the current law is put into practice, above all by month pro-viding a greater measure of common sense and common decency to a process for handling what are difficult and complex issues for all involved. >> the new guidelines would take effect immediately. they are considered a stop-gap measure until congress decides to go along with president obama's call for the law to be repealed. well, today a fallen soldier from rockville will be laid to rest exactly three weeks after he was killed in afghanistan. sergeant anthony pocci will be buried in arlington national cemetery this afternoon. he died march 4th when the military vehicle he was riding in flipped over. his father tells news 4 that his son told the driver to swerve to avoid hitting a civilian family. he also served in iraq. he grew up in bethesda and graduated from walt whitman high school. he leaves behind a wife and three young children. he was 30 years old. israeli prime minister

benjamin netanyahu's visit to the u.s. is over now without a deal in the dispute over israel's plan to build housing in east jerusalem. president obama and netanyahu held two days of unsuccessful talks to discuss israel's recent announcement of plans to build 1,600 new apartments in a traditionally arab-held area of jerusalem. members of israel's government are backing netanyahu in this dispute. two israeli cabinet members are accusing the white house of unfairly pressuring the jewish state. well, if you see heightened security around our area, it may be the navy's annual training exercises. they're taking place at the naval installations throughout the d.c. area until tomorrow. drills are under way at the washington navy yard, the naval port facility in anacostia, naval research laboratory and naval support facility in maryland. the goal is to test the response to threats and emergencies. this is spectacular video of an active volcano. scientists were able to get a close look at the volcano near a

glacier in southern iceland. the volcano began erupting over the weekend. scientists are concerned the eruptions could cause the glasher to melt. that would lead to flooding. the trail of lava right now is over five football fields long, we understand. so far authorities have moved 500 people out of that area, and international flights have been diverted. we still have a little time before the rain comes, i think, to get outside and enjoy a little sunshine. let's talk to tom kierein about how soon the clouds will roll in. tom? mild temperatures, too, this afternoon, but that will be the end of it for a number of days. it will be turning much cooler beginning tomorrow. here's our sunrise look this morning going back in time to just past dawn. our sunrise this morning was at 7:04 as the sun was up just enough to see it there at the beginning of the day. the following two hours, we had quite a bit of cloudiness coming through, and the sun was blocked by some clouds from time to time. we had some high clouds, as

well. the sun came out by about 8:00 and by 9:00 it had gone pretty much completely overcast around the region. as we take a live look at our city camera, you can see the overcast sky over the potomac river, the great waters there reflecting that sky. temperatures right now are rebounding from that morning low. it's 58 at reagan national. sunrise, sunset times today, 7:04, sunset 7:25, but we add about an hour and a half of daylight. by the end of april, sunrises around 6:15, sunsets around 8:00, so we are rapidly gaining daylight over the next month. look at the lows we have this morning. it was quite a chill in the air. it was down near 40 degrees in prince george's and fairfax countys. arlington in the mid-40s, upper nourts in washington, montgomery county in the 40s, but northern montgomery county down to the mid-30s this morning as did much of frederick county, loudoun county and prince william and

faulkier in the upper 30s, mid and upper 30s, as well, the panhandle of west virginia and the shenandoah valley starting off as a chilly thursday morning. but even with the clouds we have temperatures into the 50s now throughout the entire region except southern maryland. they have some more sun. they've had more sun there this morning so it's already in the low 60s there. it's also hit the low 60s in prince george's county, but right on the waters of the bay, any wind off the water is feeling quite chilly. pollen count up a bit, too, from yesterday, in the high zone, 209 for cubic meter and also the poplar, oak, and willow pollen is just now beginning to show up and likely it will be helped, though, by this rain coming in tonight. that'll wash some of the pollen out. temperatures right now on the eastern shore are into the midand upper sixty where they've had sun, as is southeastern virginia. out in the mountains, though, 20 degrees colder, only in the upper 40s there in western maryland and much of west virginia. and there is quite a bit of cloudiness all throughout most of the region. however, sunshine on the eastern shore, beautiful day at the beaches. but those clouds will roll in

there, too, over the next few hours. as in west virginia, just now beginning to see some rain moving into southern west virginia out of eastern kentucky, rockville now around the neighborhood network at 58 from their morning low of 44. laurel, maryland, now up to 59 degrees. they've got a southwesterly breeze. dulles bottomed out at 41 this morning. now they're up to 55. and they have a general breeze there. and all around the region, we're seeing increasing clouds due to an area of low pressure that is developing now in the m mid-mississippi valley. pushing some moderate to heavy rains through tennessee and down into alabama this morning. that area of low pressure will be passing right over our region here by late tonight, and that's when we may get a brief period of some moderate to heavy rain perhaps around midnight to dawn tomorrow morning. then after 8:00 a.m., that heavier rain moves over the eastern shore, the low pulls away. we should clear out by late friday afternoon with sunshine coming back. and then on saturday we'll have high pressure over us with sun but chilly temperatures, so cloudy and mild for the rest of

the afternoon and a southwesterly breeze as highs reach the mid and upper 60s here. where there's more sun, south and east of us, into the low 70s. that rain moving in late evening into the metro area. a wet night and by dawn tomorrow in the mid-40s. a wet commute friday morning but late friday afternoon, the sun back but chilly, dropping from the low 50s by the middle of the day down into the 40s by sunset, but 20 saturday morning. saturday bright and sunny with highs only near 50, and then on sunday into the mid-50s, increasing clouds. we'll get some rain sunday afternoon and evening that will linger into monday. but dry and on the cool side midweek next week. that's how it is right now, barbara. >> thank you. a look at traffic with jerry. >> we'll take a live look, a couple things going on around town. first, an accident in silver spring, georgia avenue at 16th street, midway between 16th street and the capital beltway. authorities are on the scene dealing with that. looks like the northbound side is going to be impacted.

leaving silver spring on georgia avenue trying to get up to the beltway might be backed up until authorities can clear the accident. let's head over and see how we're doing on the beltway in virginia. a report of a vehicle stopped in the roadway just about this location. i haven't been able to fd it. inner loop of the beltway near i 66. we'll check with virginia state police. right now, moving along pretty well at this hour. back to you. >> thank you, jerry. our time is 11:22. still ahead on "news 4 midday," toyota faces a court hearing today over dozens of lawsuits over safety issues will be consolidated. plus the octomom hatches a new plan to save her home from foreclosure. and an amazing story that highlights the miracle of modern medicine. surgeries that take half a girl's brain gives her and her family back a normal life. first, here's a look at what's hot on nbcwashington.com.

octomom is the new face of peta. nadya suleman has allowed the animal rights group to put a sign in her front yard. l it will say, "don't let your dog or cat become an octomom. always spay or uter." in exchange, she'll get $5,000 along with a month's supply of veggie burgers. she has 14 children including a set of octuplets. she's fighting foreclosure of her home. the mortgage holder says her loan is in default and she owes $450,000 balloon payment. a dog that beat all the odds is now looking for a loving home. this is trooper. let's have a look. you may remember trooper from last summer. she got the name after she was found inside a dumpster in southeast washington badly injured and duct taped inside a trash bag. well, now trooper is healthy and

loves to play. the humane society says she'll be up for adoption soon. right now, though, she is with a foster family. our time, 11:26. coming up in the next half hour of "news 4 midday," we're going to have an update on breaking news that we've been following all morning. police recover a stolen car with a baby inside it. the latest on the search for a suspect. plus the new effort to stop people from driving and calling at the same time. where a ban is now being debated. and the cherry blossoms are beginning to open and the crowds are beginning to form. the flowers mean big business here in the district. tom kierein is also back with an update on the forecast. stay with us. [ male announcer ] it's our hottest offer of the season,

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right now, police are searching for suspects after a mother's car was stole within her 1-year-old son inside. it happened this morning near north capitol and p streets northeast. the car was later found inside the 200 block of m street

northwest behind dunbar high school. the baby was still inside the car and was safe. police say the child is okay. and right now, coterterrorism officials are trying to confirm a new audiotape is from osama bin laden. the man on the tape says it would mean, quote, a death sentence for americans captured by al qaeda if mohamed is executed, references to khalid shaikh mohammed, who is in custody. he is the alleged mastermind of the september 11th terror attacks. right now presidentbama is on his way to the university of iowa. he will try to sway the public's opinion on his health care overhaul. it's the president's first foray beyond washington to promote the plan since it was passed on sunday. the president signed it into law on tuesday. well, signs of springtime in washington. the annual cherry blossom festival is almost here. it kicks off this weekend, but we've already gotten a sneak peek. tracee wilkins joins is live from the tidal basin with more on what's new this year.

you seeing some blossoms actually open yet, tracee? >> reporr: yes, barbara, i am. and we've seen some trees that are really blooming and look like they're pretty close to peak, but by and large, this is what we're seeing, that the trees just have a little bit of a bloom on the edge of them. but folks are alrea out enjoying them. people who are in town will be leaving and won't be here for the festival want to make sure they get some good pictures today. what we have also found out in addition to the fact this year's festival has lots of new and exciting things happening, we also found out it contributes a lot of money to the local d.c. economy. there's already some blushing under way with more expected this weekend. folks are already getting out to enjoy it. >> it's actually really nice to have, you know, some of the blooms fully open and some of them just starting to bud. >> reporter: the cherry blossoms are expected to peak april 1st through the 4th, but today was about the festival. festival officials and the

national park service held a press conference previewing what folks can expect as the cherry blossom festival kicks off this weekend. >> the festival is three wonderful weekends of festival events. a lot of our traditional events have fantastic new things. >> reporter: and now new research done by george mason university reveals that the national mall contributes an estimated $3 billion to d.c.'s local economy annually. and the cherry blossom festival, $126 million. >> spending in hotels, eating in restaurants and bars, rental cars, souvenirs, t-shirts, whatever you can think of. >> reporter: and while enjoying the gift of blossoms, never gets old for washingtonians. for thousands of americans and people who are new to the city, it's like a present. >> you get people from all over the world to celebrate really a gift that was from the world to the city and the country itself. so that whole global aspect of it i think is very attractive. >> reporter: now, the festival kicks off this saturday.

it runs through april 11th. you've got to come down here. it is absolutely just like the best time of year in washington, d.c. i'm tracee wilkins live. back to you in the studio, barbara. >> just hold the rain back this weekend. i think tom said we'll have at least one good day. we'll talk to him about that coming up. >> reporter: i hope so. >> thank you, tracee. see you later. the snow is gone and now d.c. is getting money to help pay for it. present obama has signed a disaster declaration making d.c. eligible for federal funds to deal with february's snowstorms. it means fema will help foot the bill for the snow removal and recovery. the federal government closed for four consecutive days in february because of the blizzard. and now we'll ask tom how long is that rain going to stay away, tom? we going to be able to get out and see the blossoms without a downpour? >> i think so. certainly by friday afternoon, quite a bit of wind but those blossoms are really tough when they first come out so probably not many blow off. that will be tomorrow afternoon. the winds diminish for the weekend. right now, we've had increasing clouds, and at this hour we're

into the 50s. 58 in washington. it's in the 60s in our eastern and southern suburbs and northern neck, lower eastern shore now in the low 60s in prince george's county and montgomery, arlington, fairfax countys in the mid and upper 50s as well as throughout much of the rest of the region except southern virginia, southeastern virginia, eastern shore where they've had more sun this morning. they are in upper 60s right now. there is some rain now just coming into southern west virginia, southwestern virginia. that's part of a low-pressure system that will be coming right over the region late tonight. so for the rest of this day, cloudy and mild with a bit of a breeze out of the southwest as temperatures climb into the 60s here, in the low 70s, though, just south and east of washington, southern maryland and northern neck and the eastern shore. then that rain moving into the metro area by mid to late evening and off and on through midmorning to midday tomorrow, and then some sun back tomorrow afternoon with a blustery wind, much cooler. we'll fall from the low 50s around noontime into the 40s. by late in the afternoon, by 20s by dawn on saturday.

should be into the low 50s saturday afternoon with sunshine and a diminished wind. increasing clouds sunday. looks like sunday evening into monday we could get some rain moving in and then drying out tuesday and wednesday midweek next week. barbara? >> all right, tom. thank you. and let's get a final check on the midday traffic now. jerry, what are the latest conditions out there? >> barbara, good morning again. a couple of very slow spots but other locations moving along nicely, and that is a hopeful sign. let's take a live look. along 270, there is construction northbound and southbound between gaithersburg and montgomery village. if you look very carefully, you can see the cones blocking off the left lane in either direction. traffic on the southbound side, left side of your screen, dropping below the posted speed limit, but everybody seems to be doing all right. let's head back over to virginia and update you. the roadwork continues inner loop of the beltway at the sky ramp to go south onto i-95. two-lane exit. left lane at the top of the ramp is taken away and there's a little delay. not backed up too much on the beltway too much at this point

and that's very good news. right now we're doing pretty well. barbara, back to you. >> pretty good out there. see you in the morning. >> okay. >> all right. in other news this morning, a suicide in arlington has now been linked to a murder in fairfax county. yesterday afternoon, you'll remember, police were called to south quincy street in arlington for the report of a man with a gun. when they approached the man, he killed himself. police later realized the man's car was the one spotted speeding away from a murder scene in mt. vernon earlier that day. a woman was getting into her car at 7:30 yesterday morning when she was shot and killed. >> i was in my kitchen, and i heard, like, three shots, and then my grandson came down, he said, grandma, did you hear that noise? >> yeah, it was loud. and then i looked out my door and i saw a police cruiser coming by with its lights and sirens on. >> investigators believe man and woman had a relationship. their names have not been released.

maryland could soon become the next state to ban cell phones behind the wheel. the state senate narrowly passed a bill yesterday that would require drivers to use hands-free devices. those who get caught using a regular cell phone would face a $40 fine. the measure now moves to the house of delegates. six states and the district already ban hand-held phones behind the wheel. in news for your health this morning, experts announcing up to a third of all breast cancer cases could be avoided if women it a less and exercised more. they say focusing on diet and exercise and drinking less alcohol could all reduce a woman's risks. breast cancer is thought to be fueled by estrogen, a hormone produced in fat tissue. the experts suspect that the more fat a woman has the more estrogen she likely will produce, which could, in turn, spark breast cancer. well, it was a ding choice to fight a nightmarish condition. a little girl is living a normal

life now after surgeons removed half of her brain. her name is cameron mott. she was just 3 years old when she began having terrifying seizures. doctors diagnosed her with rasmussen's syndrome, a condition that was destroying her brain. surgeons at johns hopkins felt they had no choice. they removed the right side of cameron's that left her entire left side paralyzed. children's brains, however, have a remarkable ability to rewire themselves. three years after the surgery, cameron is a happy 9-year-old. she visited the "today" show this morning. >> how do you feel? and when you watch that, do you have any memory of it? >> no. >> no. you don't remember any of it? >> no, none at all. >> and how are you doing today? >> good. >> yeah? are you doing well in school? do you enjoy it? >> i enjoy it. >> cameron can run and play although she has a slight limp and still wears a brace on her

left leg. she also has lost some of her peripheral vision, but otherwise she's in great shape. it is now 11:39. still ahead on "news 4 midday," investors hope stocks will rebound today after yesterday's decline. we'll have the latest numbers. and looking ahead to the weekend and some high-flying fun. stay with us. hi, anne. how are you doing? hi, evelyn. i know it's been a difficult time since your mom passed away. yeah. i miss her a lot, but i'm okay. wow. that was fast. this is the check i've been waiting for. mom had a guaranteed acceptance life insurance policy through the colonial penn program, and this will really help with the cost of her final expenses. they have been so helpful and supportive during this time. maybe i should give them a call. i really could use some more life insurance. is it affordable? it costs less t that's pretty affordable, huh? less than 35 cents a day? that's less than the cost of a postage stamp. so, you said it was guaranteed acceptance?

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tiger woods is preparing for his return to golf and a return to press coverage. woods will hold a press conference in nearly five months on april 5th, the monday of the masters. it will be his first time speaking to a room full of reporters since he won the australian masters on november 15th last year. 12 days later, woods crashed his suv into a tree outside his home, setting off revelations of his extramarital affairs. medical marijuana is legal in california, as you may know. it could be recreational use of marijuana be in the works out there in that state? that's the question that voters will likely face in november. supporters have gathered 700,000 signatures, far more than they needed, to put the issue on the ballot. medical marijuana is already legal, as we said, in the state of california. some say allowing recreational use just makes financial sense. >> millions of dollars we're

losing in the cost of revenue regarding enforcement of marijuana laws and the money made on the black market. i think the public is sick of that. >> federal law prohibits marijuana possession, but the obama administration has said it will respect state law when it comes to this drug. new signs of recovery in the job market. new unemployment claims dropped for a third time in four weeks. let's check in now with cnbc's courtney reagan with more on that and the rest of the business headlines. courtney? >> good morning, barbara. right now things are looking pretty good for the market today. the dow is up about 101 points, kind of a reverse from yesterday after we saw stocks kind of snap their recent rally, at least for the day. asian markets were mixed overnight, europe a bit higher. first-time claims for job benefits fell to a total of 242,000, lower than economists were anticipating. best buy earned $1.82 for the fourth quarter, three cents above wall street estimates.

so far so good. and fed chairman ben bernanke is currently testifying before a house panel. they plan to exit emergency lending programs created during the financial crisis. so far the marks are liking what bernanke is saying. bank of america is giving some of its most troubled homeowners relief from the threat of foreclosure. the biggest mortgage lender will forgive up to 30% of the balance of some borrowers' loans. to qualify, you must have missed at least two months of payments and owe at least 20% more than your home is currently worth. the move could pressure other banks to also forgive principal on loans in danger of failing. and a panel of judges in san diego will consider today whether to consolidate more than 80 class action lawsuits against toyota into just one national case. the suits are sensational, those involving hurt or killed when the vehicles allegedly sped out of control. but they could be more damaging financially. toyota could lose billions if it's forced to pay drivers from

complaints ranging from the diminished value of the vehicle to people behind the wheel of a car they think is defective. that decision should come out sometime this afternoon if they're able to make a decision today. back to you. >> okay. we'll be waiting to hear that. thanks a lot. >> thanks, barbara. d.c. public schools are getting high marks for their students' reading ability. a new federal report finds fourth-graders in the district have improved significantly since 2003 on a reading test. their scores, though, remain well below the national average, and eighth grade scores improved only slightly. some principals say they've made reading skills one of their top priorities. >> we specifically target those kids who aren't reading on grade level, and we work with them, we provide interceptiventions for . >> fourth-graders' scores showed little improvement nationwide. well, today we want to reintroduce you to a couple of

brothers you first met as wednesday's children back in 2005. the boys have been lucky to have remained together through their time in foster care, at least so far. they're still hopeful they're going to find a permanent loving home together. >> hi. anthony? >> yes. >> do you remember me? >> yes. >> so glad to see you guys again. how about a hug? wow, you've gotten so big since the last time i saw you. it's been almost five years now since we first introduced anthony and dekwan as wednesday's child siblings, looking for a home together, a home they're still hoping to find. we have a great day planned for you. you know what we're going to do? >> no. >> take a look at some very nice cars. i hear you like cars. is that right? >> yeah. >> hi. i want you to meet anthony. >> how are you? >> and daequan. >> both boys were excited about seeing and maybe a chance to sit in some of the fancy cars here. >> like convertibles? >> yeah. >> for guys 10 and 12 years old, the shiny paint and glistening

chrome is pretty cool. >> get on in there. >> daequan says this feels like a race car. >> look good inside this car. >> and they especially liked this one. and seeing the huge garage where the cars were fixed was pretty exciting, too. they both would have a lot to tell their friends at school. so, anthony, what grade are you in? >> seventh. >> you like school? >> yes. >> what do you like best about school? >> math and reading. >> and what's your favorite subject at school? >> math and writing. >> what do you like to write about? >> my own stories. >> since you last saw them, of course, as you can tell, they have grown a lot. they continue to do well in school. they have been very fortunate to be in the same foster home during that time. >> both boys already have some ideas about the future. what do you want to be when you grow up? >> a fighter. >> what do you want to be when you grow up? >> a basketball player. >> in the future, it could be them revving up this engine. for now they're ready to ride

hopefully one day with a permanent loving family. >> i'm looking far family that is able to devote a lot of time and atttttion to the boys. >> anthony and daequan's tour ended with some take-aways, not a mercedes but memorabilia they will hopefully be able to share with the family they've wanted to find for so long. if you have room in your home and your heart far child wor a s waiting, please call our adoption line. or logon to our home wage at nbcwashington.com. good morning. i'm meteorologist tom kierein. we've got the cloud cover thickening over the region. ahead of us, a rain system that will be arriving by later on tonight. there's a live picture from our city camera. a lot of the blossoms are beginning to show, cherry blossoms at the tidal basin. i'll have your forecast coming up.

we are looking ahead to the weekend scene with "the washington post." >> hey, barbara. >> good to see you. all eyes on the cherry blossoms this weekend. >> absolutely. >> you have some this to talk about. >> the kickoff wouldn't be a great event without the start of the smithsonian annual kite festival. it's held one day every year and it's a spectacular view. you've got the kites flying against the washington monument and it's so fun, it's free, and it's great way to see both the blossoms and get this great event in. it's family friendly from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. this saturday. >> you have ideas of places you can see the cherry blossoms and not go downtown. is that right? >> if the last thing you want to do is go to the tidal basin, there are so many secret spots around washington that a lot of people don't know about, especially tourists, which is great. so the kenwood neighborhood in bethesda has a thousand trees in the residential streets and locals go but you're not going to see that same crush of

people. another great spot is the u.s. national arboretum. they have 2,000 trees, which is almost as many as you can find on the basin. >> wow, i didn't know that. 2,000 trees. >> call your local botanic garden and see if they ha some. brookside gardens has some, meadowlark and others in georgetown. >> there are a lot of flowering trees all over the washington area right now, the downtown capitol hill area. just taking a walk through washington can be pretty nice. >> a great way to experience spring. >> finally, you talk about a trip to baltimore. ecofriendly baltimore. tell us about that. >> when you think of baltimore, you probably don't think green. you think industrial, city. but they are beating washington when it comes to going green. they have added more bike lanes, more trees, and a lot of sustainable businesses are springing up. and so you want to go down to baltimore, you could hit a few great spots. one of them is spoon's coffee cafe where you can have a lae,

a great dessert and know you're still doing something good for environment. they use wind power. they are sustainable as a business. and there are great parks like the arboretum, new trails, more gardens, lots to do this and really get a sense of the green environment in baltimore. and finally, the baltimore -- has a green week, april 17th through 24th, and there is a festival during that week. it's all around earth day. >> what kinds of things will they have there? >> they'll have performances and there will be lots of vendors and sort of booths telling you about how you can go green. >> that's april -- >> april7th through 24th are the events. >> but the big thing this weekend is the cherry blossom festival. >> absolutely. you have to go. and we have cherry blossoms, i heard, around the basin. >> all right. thank you for coming in, as always. >> thanks so much. >> telling us what's coming up this weekend and weekends to come. >> thanks. >> thanks for being here. well, we're working on quite a few stories for you. oh, but let me tell you before that, if you want more

information on what's happening, you can go to washingtonpost.com, the around-town section, or to nbcwashington.com to find out those things that she was just telling us about. we're working on several news stories this afternoon on news 4. first at 4:00, a problem nationwide and not just for the banks that order foreclosures. a leading mortgage company is promising big benefits for consumers who promise not to trash their homes. what are your rights dealing with a debt collector? news 4's liz crenshaw will explain the news. those stories and the day's news starting up on news 4 at 4:00 p.m. today. let's get a final check on today's forecast now. tom kierein is in storm center 4 with a look at that. tom? hey, barbara. we've had quite a bit of cloudiness over the morning hours. the clouds have thickened up a bit. still some weak sunshine coming through. the high levels of the atmosphere are getting increasingly cloudy. at the surface, the clouds lower a bit in the late afternoon

hours. we're in the 50s to low 60s especially in southern maryland, a bit warmer there. they've had more sun this morning as has the northern neck and the eastern shore. but farther to the west it's been mostly cloudy and as a result temperatures are in the 50s. and as we get into the rest of the afternoon we'll see beginning perhaps early as around 6:00 p.m. for the central shenandoah valley, some light rain moving in and then later for the metro area. so for the rest of the afternoon, cloudy and mild, a bit of a breeze out of the southwest as highs climb into the 60s throughout mu of the region, although it may reach low 70s in southern maryland or the northern neck and the eastern shore. the rain into the metro area by mid to late evening and some rain may pick up in intensity predawn tomorrow as we get into the 40s and it may come back to low 50s by noontime friday, but then much cooler weather moving in on gusty northwest winds clearing out friday afternoon into saturday and sunday. a chilly weekend coming up. that's the way it looks right now. barbara? >> thank you, tom. they say true love will always find a way, and that's

definitely the case for two storks in croatia. 18 years ago a man found a female stork with a broken wing. little one, as he calls her, has been living on top of his house ever since. every march 24th for the past eight years the stork's partner, clatterer, returns to the nest. he leaves at the end of august or early september and always calls out as he flies away to little one to follow him, but of course she can't fly because of her wing. so every year he flies hundreds of hours and always arrives almost at the same hour march 24th, this year with no exceptions. have a great day.