right now, four people are dead after a shooting in the district. five others fighting to recover from gunshot wounds. now police are trying to figure out what parked the mass shooting. a large fire this morninging in lorton. a home completely destroyed. firefighters trying to figure out what caused this. and let the warmup begin. temperatures headed who higher as we approach the holiday weekend. "news4midday" begins right now. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to news4 midday. i'm bear bra harrison. it's wednesday, march 31st, 2010. police are still searching for

answers after a shooting in the district that started around 7:30. nine people were shot, four are dead with at least one more fighting for their life. the crime spree didn't end there. police chased several suspects into prince george's county. that ended with a crash on st. barnabas road in oxon hill. four police officers were hurt but are expected to be okay. police and investigators have been at the scene collecting evidence since the shootings happened. news4's megan manage grath joins with us the latest. good morning. >> good morning. veteran police officers say they haven't seen a shooting this bad in a long time. the gunmen fired on a group of people standing out in front of an apartment building here in the 4,000 block of south capitol street right around 7:30 last night. nine people were hit in the hail of gunfire, four have died and at least one is said to be in

very grave condition. it's unclear whether that individual is going to make it or not. now, three people have been arrested. they were arrested following a high speed police pursuit. two of the suspects who are in police custody are in their 20s. one is a teenager. witnesses describe a bloody and chaotic scene as the victims dropped to the ground. >> pop, pop, pop, pop. and people just laying on the ground. like a football pile-up. >> the shooting began around 7:30 last night. witnesses say the gmen fired into a crowd of people in the 4,000 block of south capitol street in southeast. police have not released a motive but the incident is one of the bloodiest in recent memory. the crime scene stretches for blocks. >> we'ren the process of recovering forensic evidence on the scene and talking to witnesses. we won't have a clear picture you know what has occurred till we're able t take a look at the evidence and talk to the

witnesses we do have. >> and after the shooting, the suspects fled the scene. police then pursued and that high speed chase went into prince george's county and ended in oxon hill with a crash. they were then able to arrest those three suspects. no word on the identities of those arrested but again, two of them in their 20s and one who's in police custody is described as being a teenager. and obviously, the investigation continues here. i should also mention that in that crash, several police officers sustained minor injuries but they're going to be okay. barbara, back to you. >> thank you. and this was yet another tragedy in a neighborhood that was already trying to cope with more than its share of violence. police are looking into whether the shooting might be connected to a homicide that happened last week. news4's tracee wilkins continues with more on the investigation. >> good morning, barbara. yes, there there was another shooting last week.

the 20-year-old male was laid to rest yesterday and according to family members, a large number of people who were standing on the corner attended his funeral. his family tells me they think there is a definite connection. >> this woman speaking to me by phone says she is in protective custody after the shooting and murder of her 20-year-old relative jordan howe last week. she said at least one of the shooters responsible for howe's death attacked again last night on that south capitol street corner shooting nine people and killing at least four. and you think these suspects who they arrested last night are the same men who are responsible. >> the same ones because they had the same ak-47 which they threw out the window >> her relative was killed last monday morning in the 1300 block of alabama avenue. a witness associated with jordan's murder tells me he was parked here in front of this building when the shooters pulled up and started sprague.

inside the building, it's still riddled with bullet holes. according to police, la kwan carter was charged with jordan's murder but jordan's family members say there was also a second suspect taken into custody, as well. while cart ser still being held, that second suspect was released after prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to hold him. now family members say detectives told them they picked up that same suspect last night in connection with the south capitol street shootings. >> basically they allowed them to kill five other people. the people wouldn't be dead if he was still in jail. >> now, again, there were four people killed according to police but one person is gravely injured. now, family members say that they don't believe that this was at all gang related. but that this stems fm a beef between jordan and at least one of the gun pan a few weeks ago and say this appeared to escalate and escalate.

i'm tracee wilkins. back to you in the studio. >> thank you. stay with news4 for continuing coverage of the mass shooting throughout the day and for more information anytime, go to nbcwashington.com. a house in virginia destroyed by an early morning fire today. flames broke out around 3:00 a.m. at this house in the 11,000 block of gunston road in lorton. no one was injured. the house appears to be a total loss. it's not clear how the fire started. a developing story from rhode island this morning. severe flooding led president obama to declare a state of emergency in that state. two major storms this month have sent rivers over their banks and caused people to leave their homes for safer locations. his declaration authorizes the federal emergency management agency to coordinate all relief efforts and bring in any equipment and resources necessary to deal with the flooding. rescue crews have been kept busy.

>> the water's in places it's just deep. it's pouring in through all the first floor apartments. >> how many people did you evacuate? >> we've probably taken in 20 to 25 people out so far. there's a few down there. i think when they dut the power off, we'll end up having to take the rest of them. the building is going tbe condemned. >> cars were strand throughout the area, some with drivers still inside them. dozens of streets are closed and high water is making it too dangerous to drive there. let's take a look outside. nice weather here. on the chilly side but bright sunshine and expecting some mild temperatures i think. look at those cherry blossoms. i guess we are just about at peak. i think tom said tomorrow and friday. tom, good morning. >> i would say they're just about there as well right now. and hanging on in the wind. winds gusting to 35 miles an hour. you can see the city camera bouncing in the wind right now. the crowds are gathering around

the tidal basin. we're in the 50s to near 60 degrees. it's 58 in washington. mid 50s in prince george's argentina. montgomery county to you near 60 degrees. we've had rather blastery winds. these are the latest wund gusts up to around 30 piles an hour now. last hour we had gusts up to 35. that's the story for the rest of the afternoon although the winds will diminish a bit by sun set. temperatures in the mountains down into the 20s but now it's warmed quickly. into the upper 40s to near 50. eastern shore in the mid 50s and all of this wind coming from the coastal low pressure system that's been plaguing new england with all the rain and flooding. that is finally winding down and pulling east and allowing the high pressure to begin to move in. the pressure gradient between the low and the high pressure creating gusty winds and it's also cleared out our sky. mild and rather windy this afternoon with gusts around 35.

temperatures though should climb into the mid and perhaps even upper 60s by mid afternoon. a look at even warmer weather on the way for tomorrow into the weekend. the weekend, that will be coming up in just a few minutes. barbara. >> all right, john. we'll be waiting for that. the traffic out there, we know there is traffic around the tidal basin. what's going on, jerry. >> good morning. there's a lot of traffic down around the tidal basin. take you over just for a short stretch as long constitution avenue along the mall. it is jammed much of the way off the roosevelt bridge along the mall, constitution, independence might be backed up right around the basin obviously is going to be the worst of it. with a combination of nice weather, still folks trying to get to work or trying to maneuver around the district. we're looking at traffic if you're going down to see the cherry blossoms knit. certainly metro is a better idea and that putting up with all this. wind whipped up here in germantown and gaithers berg area. despite the roadwork on 270, no

significant delays to report. that's how we're doing right now. back to you. thank you. and right now, president obama is headed to andrews air force base to announce plans to allow drilling for oil and natural gas off u.s. coastlines. including just 50 miles offshore from virginia. the president is still keeping potential drilling sites off-limits. the white house says the plan will create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. again, that's a live picture from the scene where the president will be shortly. it may secure the votes needed to pass a climate change bill that's stalled right now in congress and again, we are awaiting the president's arrival there at andrews airorce base. ten minutes after 11:00. rebuilding in haiti could cost an estimated $11 billion over the next ten years. what t united nations is doing this morning to help that country recover coming up. >> plus, the frenchresint gets a taste of d.c. we'll explain and and another celebrity husband in trouble for cheating on his wife.

could he be headed for rehab. >> s

we're going back live and there we are at andrews air force base where the president is being introduced right now. is he going to benouncing plans to allow drilling for oil and natural gas off u.s. coastlines including a place just 50 miles off the shore of virginia. we'll listen in and hear what the president has to say.

right now he is being introduced. this is at andrews air force base. >> we cannot afford to lose china, india or anywhere else. all the things we are doing will help us cut our dependence on foreign oil but no single energy source is enough. oil, gas, coal, nuclear, sun, wind, geothermal, biofuels, hydropower all need to be on the table. so today as part of our comprehensive energy plan for the country, we are influencing how weal responsibly expand oil and gas exploration and development on the outer continental shelf. our strategy calls for expanded development and production in new areas such as the eastern gulf of mexico where we can develop resources that are more than 125 miles off of the florida coast. we are also moving forward with significant new oil and gas exploration in frontier areas such as the arctic ocean and

areas in the atlantic where we must first determine whether there exists oil and gas reserves and then secondly, determine if we can develop them appropriately. and we are protecting areas off of our coast like alaska's bristol bay that are simply too important for us to develop. bristol bay has some of the world's most important fisheries, including one of the largest sockeye salon runs in the world. people come from across the globe to see its bears, its whales, the seals and the bald eagles. it is a national treasure that we must otect. together, our efforts to explore, very and protect represent a new direction from the past, a change from the past on the outer couldn't eventual shelf. after years of lawsuits and political battles, we are bringing much needed order and certaintity to our nation's offshore leasing programs.

this order and certaintity will come to insuring that development occurs in the right places and in the right ways and in a manner that protects our precious environment that we are making decisions based on sound information and sound science, much of it which still has to be developed. that we are listening to the communities that are most affected by development. and that we are following the law and have an orderly reinforce for exploration and development. and finally, that american taxpayers are getting a fair return on the use of their resources. these are the principles that will guide our offshore energy future. as the secretary of interior, my responsibility is to balance the many values, needs and uses on the outer continental shelf. i know full well that will the decisions we make will affect our prosperity and the availability of affordable domestic energy supplies for years to come.

but i also make these decisions knowing our responsibility as an american peopleo preserve the land, water, and wildlife that have allowed our country to flourish generation to generation. in 1907, president teddy roosevelt reminded the congress that though we are blessed with a rich, natural bounty in america, we must develop our resources with an eye to future generations. >> we are listening to the secretary of the interior, ken salazar, as he introduces president obama who will be speaking on the drilling for oil and natural gas off the u.s. coast. the president is going to keep some potential drilling sites off-limits. however, we'll continue to follow what's being said there and perhaps go back to hear what the president will say a little bit later. rit now the world is making a promise to haiti. here's a live look at u.n. headquarters in new york where a donors conference is under way right now expected to raise $3.8 billion to help haiti recover

from that catastrophic earthquake. the effort is getting big help from the obama administration which will pledge $1 billion over the next two years. breaking news out of russia. at least 12 people are dead in twin suicide attacks. another twin suicide attack. could be from the same people who bombed moscow's subway earlier this week. this morning's attacks happened in the north caucuses region. when investigators gathered at the scene, another bomber dressed in a police uniform detonated more explosives. this latest attack comes two days after twin suicide bombings in moscow. authorities blame islamist separatists. president obama is vowing to make the workplace more flexible for employees and families. he and first lady michelle obama are expected to speak this afternoon at a white house forum focusing on that issue. the president's middle class task force laid out several ideas earlier this year on how to help americans balance their

feeds at home with their needs at work. on the foreign front, the president is hard at work trying to get other countries to back u.n. sanctions against iran. . >> so i'm not interested in waiting months for a sanctions regime to be in place. i'm interested in seeing that regime in place in weeks. >> president obama will also meet today with the family of the late civil rights activist the cesar chavez as well as leaders of his united farmers workers. he will declare today cesar chavez today. some world leaders have state dinners when they come to washington. others have ben's chili bowl. you can count french president nicolas sarkozy among the second group. head lunch yesterday at the u street institution. sarkozy met with president obama later in the day. perhaps sarkozy should have invited the president to lunch. the president and the rest of

the first family get free ben's chili bowls for life. let's talk about the weather out there. nice day to be in washington, tom. >> big warmup under way. we're still a bit chilly though. right around 60 degrees. here is what our sky looked like right around dawn this morning looking off to the west. that is the just past full moon, low in the western sky. as we go forward over the following three hours, that moon set and we had a few of those clouds racing through the sky and the sun got higher in the east and illumated the landscape and the winds continued to rock the camera. winds gusting throughout the morning over 30 miles an hour. a few high clouds drifting over. those coming from that large storm that will dumped all of the rain up in new england. actually this far away. that storm affecting us here with just the live sky watcher camera showing a clearing sky. there's the city camera showing the chop on the potomac river. quite a bit of wind coming right down the river. the blossoms are hanging on

right now at reagan national. 5 degrees and looking ahead, the next seven days are looking warmernd that average. and we deserve it as we get into april the first week looking terrific. it was really chilly this morning. look at the lows we had. it gon got down to 49 at reagan national. montgome montgomery lower 40s. out in the mountains bottomed out in the 20s this morning. right now temperatures all around the region in the 50s to near 60 degrees. charlesville up to 62 now. right around the immediate suburbs the mid and upper 50s. winds gusting to around 30 miles an hour. they've diminished over the last couple of hours. they'll do so throughout the rest of the afternoon. right now, quite a warmup from e 20s in the mountains we had early this morning. now near 50. eastern shore the mid 50s. up we will likely see mid 60s

happen over the next several hours. that storm system continues to pullway taking the clouds with it as well as the rain. in new england they have had the massive flooding and set all-time march rainfall records for boston, problem dense and hartford. that storm system unloaded torrential rain there yesterday and over the last 12 hours we've seen it weaken headed off to the east. we do have high pressure moving in. and it's going to be with us here going forward over the next 48 hours. the future cast shows this dry high pressure pushing in with milder weather, and it's going to be with us all of the way into the weekend bringing clear skies with cool evenings, but warm afternoons. so here's how things are looking for the rest of this afternoon. mostly sunny and mild. but a rather blustery wind still gusting perhaps over 30 miles an hour as highs climb into the mid and upper 60s. overnight tonight, just past

full moon arising around 9:30. it will be up brightly in the sky after that. by midnight we'll be down into the low 50s. sunset today at 7:31. by dawn on thursday, down into the mid 40s under a clear sky. then quite a warmup, about a 30-degree jump by tomorrow afternoon. we should make it into the mid and upper 70s. lots of sunshine and diminished winds. on friday santed both days may make it to around 80 with lots of sun. morning lows in the 50s. for easter sunday should be into the 70s and partly cloudy and opening day for the nationals at nationals park on monday afternoon, great baseball weather. hopefully we'll see great baseball. they're taking on phillies at 1:00. the president throws the first pitch. after that on tuesday should stay dry. highs in the seventies. that's the way it looks. >> all right, thank you. and again we're going to check in to see how things are moving on the roadways. >> very slow traffic in parts of the area because of roadwork.

fredericksburg, 95 northbound you lose the north lane. see folks coming north from thornburg up towards fredericksburg, heads up for that. closer in, that's the capitol beltway. the inner loop is crawling at this hour as you north from about braddock road up to route 50 and i-66, no lanes are closed but doing construction and pharoahing the lanes. as a result that, combined with volume of traffic things looking like an afternoon rush hour already. >> it is heavy out there already. thanks a lot. we'll see you in a little bit. still ahead, new details have emerged about tiger woods life off the court from his fairs to his gambling habits. plus three adorable little puppies so young and already a great survival story. the efforts to find them loving homes. and new eating disorders. hard to recognize and hard to treat. first let's take a look what's hot on nbcwashington.com. are you making it easier for bacteria

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was a big gambler playing $30,000 a hand. the author of the article appeared on "the today show" this morning and talked about earns from woods' lawyer that michael jordan and charles barkley were bad influences on the golf star. >> when he was very upset because he was very loudly and emotionally lamenting the fall of a great the man, the tiger woods that he knew. >> but did he say that they contributed to his down fall? >> he didn't know specifically but he said that he warned him early on to stay away from them. >> woods will return to the golf course during the masters next week. sandra bullock's husband may be m rehab. "people" magazine is reporting jesse james is seeking professional help to deal with his personalissues. people" isn't saying what those issues are but his five-year marriage to sandra is in jeopardy right now because of reports that he's cheated with a number of women.

11:28 our time right now. coming up in the next half hour of news4 midday, we continue to follow developments in the mass shooting in the district. four dead, five others injured. what police know so far. plus campaign season begins in the district. mayor fenty officially has competition. and could michael steele be out at the rnc after reports of a spending spree and a scandalous fund-raiser. tom is back with the latest on the improving weather conditions here

right now, on news4 midday, police still circumstancing for answers after a mass shooting in the district. it all started last night in 4,000 south capital street. nine people were shot with assault rival. four are dead. the investigation extends beyond d.c. police chased three suspects into prince george's county. the chase ened with a crash in oxon hill. four officers are hurt but expected to be okay. sources tell news4 police are looking into with whether the carnage that we see from last night is an act of retaliati retaliation. the latest development in a deadly game of revenge. it may have started with a shooting death of jordan howe last week in southeast washington. he was0 years old and laid to rest yesterday. the shooting happened as mourners gathered after his funeral. >> you think that these suspect who's they arrested last night

are the same men who are responsible. >> the same ones. they had the same ak-47 which they threw out the window. >> 19-year-old san kwan carter was taken into custody and charged with second degree murder in the howe case. however, police believe others were involved in that. one of his associates was shot and wounded recently in what sources say may have been an act of retaliation. sources say that man was involved in last night's mass murder as he went to avenge the attack on himself. and we invite to you stay with news4 for continuing coverage of this shooting throughout the day. for more information anytime, go to nbcwashington.com. well, several political races in our are already shaping up as some pretty big matches after months of speculation. challenges have come forward in two high profile races. vincent gray will run for mayor in the district and in maryland, bob ehrlich will try to get his

old job back. this fall will be the second timer lick will have to face off against martin o'malley. ehrlich says he'll officially throw his hat in the ring next week. the republican plans to launch his campaign with events in rockville and his home of ar beauty tus. a recent poll has o'malley leading by 6 percentage points in a hypothetical rematch. here in the district, vincent gray as we said is running for mayor. the d.c. council carom made it official yesterday setting up a showdown with mayor adrian fenty. gray has said little about his campaign strategy but says we can do a lot better in the district of columbia. voters will choose between fenty and gray in the primary come september. and council member jack evans will run for the city council chairmanship. wtop is reporting he will be helped by mayor fenty. vincent gray is the current council chair and he will be running for mayor. the republican national

committee is in damage control mode this morning after reports of the rnc's extravagant spending on private jets, luxury hotels and in one case a trip to a bondage themed nightclub. the rnc has fired one staffer who helped organize the visit to the club in would hollywood. norah o'donnell has the story. >> critics say it gives new meaning to republicans' grand old party. $17,000 for private planes, $13,000 for limos, $35,000 for luxury hotels. and nearly $2,000 for a donor after party at a lesbian themed nightclub for men that features topless dancers. >> this is a party the republican party that you know, is trying to make the claim that they would be better fiscal stewards right now when they are running up massive bills on private jets and limos and questionable entertainment. >> rnc chairman michael steele

has now fired allison myers, a 24-year-old staffer who headed their young eagles donor program. she initially approved the expense at the risque nightclub voyeur. but the daily caller, an online news site that broke the story now reports two top rnc officials also signed off on the expense. >> when a request for reimbursement like this gets paid out and more senior people check off on it, you get a bit i've whiff of scapegoating when the 24-year-old gets fired and the senior people who signed off on it are still there. >> the expenditures raise new questions about steele's leadership as chairman. tim pawlenty on msnbc's daily rundown". >> people want to see austerity. they don't want to give money to organizations that spend it frivolously. >> over the past decade, the rnc has vastly outraised the dnc but no longer. now the democrats have more

money in the bank. >> republicans want to make the 2010 election a referee dum on presiden obama. the more negative information that exists out there about republicans, the more difficult that is. >> that was norah o'donnell reporting. a spokesman for the rnc says democrats too spend lavishly. it's part of fund-raising. still the rnc says it is embarrassed about these charges at the hollywood clubnd want to put that behind them. our time right now, 11:37. t tom kierein is in the weather. >> a live view showing pomac park where the cherry trees are at peak blossoming period there and hanging on in this wind. so yes, you can see the cherry blossoms there as well as around the tidal basin as well as the kenwood neighborhood near river road and little falls parkway. the temperatures are still on theool side.

it's right around 60 around the region. now 58 in washington. late wind gusts have been around 30 miles hour. just had a gust at reagan national to 29. over the last six hours, winds coming from the coastal storm that's been hitting new england with all the rain and flooding now moving away. and it's cleared out the sky. as it does pull away, the winds will diminish this afternoon. tomorrow bright and sunny into the upper 70s. sunny again on friday. we may hit the low 80s friday afternoon. that's going to feel like summertime weather. the blossoms should still be at peak by then. over the weekend, some of the petals begin to fall. highs around 80 on saturday. easter should be around mid-70s or so with a few clouds around then for opening day for the nationals and phillies. tuesday, as well. barbara. >> thank you. and we're going to get one more check on the midday traffic. there's jerry. >> let's check things out. we'll start in montgomery county along 27, southbound and

northbound. work zone between gaithers berg and montgomery village reaching up toward germantown. the good news is, no significant delays. everybody's moving along well. that's where the good news ends. and the bad news starts in virginia now. right side of your screen, southbound i-95 looking better and that a couple of minutes ago. they configured the hov lanes to an leavate some of e delays. we're looking at slow traffic to woodbridge. construction in the right lane. i suspect a few folks getting a an early start othe weekend. barbara, back to you. >> have a good one. you're going to be here tomorrow though, right. >> absolutely. >> we'll see you then. new today, a man in the hospital after being hit by a car in georgetown. police say the victim was struck near the corner of wisconsin and m streets northwest. there's no word on his condition at this point. police say the driver though did remain at the scene. they're still piecing together exactly what happened. and a woman involved in a

chain reaction crash in sterling, virginia, was pulled from her burning suv moments before it exploded. it happened at the intersection of drains wil road and route 7. police say the crash involved six vehicles. one was a jeep that flipped over. fortunately, a group of good samaritans kicked in the windshield and dragged the driver out with moments to spare. >> i started help kick the windshield to help the lady out of the vehicle. right when we got her out of the vehicle, it did end up exploding pretty good. >> four people were taken to the hospital. lease no word on their conditions. the cause of the crash remains under investigation this morning. american university student newspaper will apologize for a column that some say blames women for date rape. the column calls date rape an incoherent concept and says women should hold themselves more responsible. it says "to cry date rape after you sober up the next morning and regret the incident is the equivalent of putting a gun to

someone's head and later claiming that you didn't ever actually intend to pull the trigger." the columnist says the piece was foes supposed to point out how men and women who drink are held to different standards. >> if a woman has too much to drink, i'm saying we should treat her like the adult she is and say she put herself into a volatile situation. >> these are people that have been hurt. their friends, their family, people have been very affected by the issue of rape. it's not an abstract concept we can just write about. >> several newspapers bins were turned over as a result of the column. the paper will holt a public forum tomorrow in addition to apologizing. if you are in the market for a new puppy, the washington rescue league may have a perfect pooch for you. three rottweiler puppies rescued from a home. one of the puppies had a rubber band tied around her leg. that leg had to be amputated.

all three dogs are now doing very well and awaiting new homes. one has already been adopted by a firehouse. the humane society is still looking for the person who abused these little puppies. 11:41 is our time right now. still ahead, investors are hoping steady gains continue to be the story of the stock market. plus, new eating disorders causing trouble for the patients and medical professionals who don't know how to diagn

a real scare at a county fair in florida. a ride at the fair got stuck stranding people high in the air. two women were stuck for about an hour and they were 70 feet above ground hanging sideways. ride operators eventually fixed it though firefighters were standing by to rescue the women if they had to. the women walked away under their own power. frederick county, maryland is one step closer to getting a pay as you throw trash system. the maryland state house dels passed a bill yesterday allowg county commissioners to create a pilot program that would create a volume-based or weight-based system. customers would be charged more for throwing away more trash and less for recycling more. county officials hope it will increase recycling while reducing trash expenses. the legislation now goes to the state senate. well, fewer people are flying and experts blame that on

the economy. according to new data from the bureau of transportation, 68.6 million less people flew on commercial airlines over the past two years. experts say the economy combined with increased fees seemed to be the biggest factor keeping people from flying. well, the dow has chalked up four straight daily gains. let's check in with courtney reagan live with more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines too. >> good morning. it's been a pretty good quarter. today is the final day that have first quarter. stocks unfortunately right now are a little lower, the dow down by about 13 points. the nasdaq posting marginal gains. stocks drifted but closed higher thanks to the tech sector. i'm sorry, we have quite a big band behind me. you probably can't hear me at all. i'm going to keep going in case you can. asian markets lower overnight. the first of three reports on

the unemployment -- tracked the private sector and swed the economy -- many economists had expected that -- president obama announce issing today a plan to allow oil and gas drilling off the coast of virginia aimed at reducing u.s. dependence on foreign oil. the u.s. has had a 20-year ban on oil drilling except in the gulf of mexico. the proposed drilling area 20 miles from virginia shoreline estimated to have 1.1 trillion feet of natural gas. federal government set so to unveil an updated version of the $100 bill next month. some of the new security features are making it harder to detect making it harder to copy. very fine lines have been added behind the image and on the reverse side. moneymakers added tiny words around the portrait in the

borders. don't try anything if you're trying to counterfeit money. >> i have to say if this had been tomorrow, april fools' day i would have taught you were pulling a joke on sfus that was for real. there was a band here for -- we're, of course, an active newsroom here and we've got the call on right now. power lunch is coming up. they've got the band featured on their show. they are for real right behind me. i'm sure you could hear that. >> from what we could hear, they didn't sound that great. but maybe from your end it was pretty good. we will look to see what you've got for us for april fools' day tomorrow. >> you never know what i have up my sleeve. >> we'll talk to you later. see you in the morning. does your child have adhd or simply energetic? it's estimated now that 5% of american children have the disorder making it the nation's most common childhood mental disorder. on the today show this morning, they spoke with matt lauer about

common symptoms and how to diagnose it. >> if there's a parent sitting at home right now trying to decide whether they have a child who's energetic or who has adhd, that's the new way we say a.d.d., what would say to look for in terms of common symptoms. >> differentiating normal from impairing levels, it's three times as much. we look for a long-standing consistent history of inattention, hyper activity, and impulsivity. each of those has a number of ways we can look for symptoms or behaviors that characterize those. >> when we show a list of symptoms like those on the screen, does the child have to have all of those symptoms or one or two of the symptoms? >> great question. we have a list of nine symptoms and between a parent report and the teacher report, we look for six out of the nine to be above and beyond what would be expected in typical development. >> while there is no cure for

adh drks dr. curtis says that treatments including behavior therapy, appropriate medication and parent training can help control the symptoms and make it easier for those with the disorder to lead a normal happy and successful life. our time right now is 11:49. coming up, fish falling from the sky? plus tom kierein will be back with another check of the forecast. perh

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in news4 your health this morning, eating disorders you've never heard of. millions are suffering from disors but can't get treatment because their conditions right-hand recognized by the mainstream medical community. we explain. >> didn't think i was fat. i was perfectly happy and healthy with my body. >> cristy russell w a college freshman with a positive self-image and says her intention was to eat healthy foods to avoid diseases like cancer. >> it started off being vegan. i was okay with eating grains and just foods that were big. >> but russell says it didn't take long before her diet had spiraled out of control get together point where all meals consisted of raw vegetables. she says eating healthy soon became dangerous. >> it was a constant losing weight. was diagnosed with osteoporosis. i had anemia.

>> it wasn't till the 5'4" college student weighed just 65 pounds that she was finally forced to get some treatment. >> it's insane that someone could have such obvious problems with food and with their mental thoughts about food but not be able to get help. >> russell's problem? she couldn't get quick treatment because she didn't meet the medical criteria for anorexia or bulimia. ta. tonya heller, medical director for the washington center for eat disorders says that's all too common. >> not everyone has to be underweight to have a serious eating disorder. >> dr. heller says the majority of people seeking help for eating disorders actually fall under this category. it's called eating disorder not otherwise specified or adnot that include binge eaters, those who overexercise or people who eat excessively at night. >> a big concern is many people

don't view eating disorders as being as serious an illness as the other more publicized disorders. >> research shows it could be more serious. one study found these types of disorders were more deadly and that anorexia or bulimia. at heller's practice, nearly 60% of patients have adnos. >> it's unbelievable that patients sti report that they can go to hospitals and other clinicians and if they have an eating disorder not classified as something more familiar to clinicians, the illness may be brushed off. >> the doctor says complications are like any other disorder and can include cardiac problems, kidney failure and osteoporosis. christie russell now 27 has recovered and found a name for her disorder. it's called org though rexia.

she hopes it go be recognized as a formal diagnose by the medical community. >> there's no reason anyone should go through that hell before someone says i'm going to help. >> you doreen againstler, "news4 today." >> some doctors are working to add the new disorders to the book used by physicians to treat all mental health problems. we are working on several new stories for this afternoon. for news4 at 4:00 and 5:00. first at 4:00, howrivate is your phone number, even if you have it on the do not call list. the new way people are scheming to get your number and how much trouble you can face when it happens. then tonight at 5:00, we'll introduce you to a brand-new wiz affords player trying to resurrect his career after a devastating injury starting on news4 at 4:00. let's see if we can see the cherry blossoms. there they are down on the tidal basin. let's talk about the weather. it's kind of chilly out there

right now. it's 58 here in washington. tom's been telling us we can expects a warmup beginning maybe later this afternoon. at least we don't have the rain. if you're planning to head out, what can we expect this afternoon? >> just a beautiful scene at the tidal basin now. >> a bit of a wind but those blossoms are hanging. temperatures right around 60 degrees and winds gusting to around 0 miles an hour. that shouldn't bother the blossoms. we do have though on tap a diminishing wind thanks to the fact this storm system that's been really hitting much of the northeast over the last few days now beginning to pull away and we have high pressure moving in now clearing out the sky. and giving us plenty of sunshine. highs today in the 60s but even warmer with sunshine thursday, friday, saturday. looks like that's going to linger into sunday. >> tom, thank you. you've probably heard of raining cats and dogs but what about raining firn? a florida man was leaving a restaurant when a giant till

lappia fell from the sky and landed on his windshield. the fish was still alive so he grab it had and put it in an squariam in a restaurant. he figures it was dropped by a bird flying by. the fish is just fine. the restaurant where he left him is a sushi restaurant. ever heard of tilapia rolls? be sure to tune into the daily nnection at 4:00. and we will start very early in the morning now, 4:30 in the morning. i'll be here at 11:00. we hope you'll join us then and have a great day till then. see you in the morning. [ male announcer ] it's our hottest offer of the season,

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