>> it's hard because you have to try to be both, you know, the mom and the dad. it's just really incredible when they come home you feel like you're a alcohol person. >> rr:hat's the first thing the family will do? >> watch his games on video. get the family together. sit down have a quiet meal. go out. do something. just relax. oh, my. great story. blossom backup. the amazing weather is drawing huge crowds along the tididal basin this morning. what to expect for the holiday weekend. good morning. i'm pat lawson muse. joe krebs is off. >> i'm eun yang. it's friday, april 2, 2010. we're taking a live look outside. 52 degrees. spectacular weather yesterday

and more of the same for the weekend. we're excited about it. meteorologist chuck bell is in the storm center with all the great news. you're a popular man. >> you are the man. >> thank you very much. feel better coming to work already. boy, it's going to be employee of the month time around here if the weather keeps up. temperatures will be close to 80 degrees again this afternoon. and we get to keep it all the way through the upcoming holiday weekend. a lot of folks have today off and a lot of folks are taking monday as well. lucky you. current temperature this morning, 56 degrees in maryland. frostburg, maryland, 54. westminster, maryland 54 degrees. plenty of sunshine for today. toasty warm. except for everybody who lives up along the chesapeake bay, low 50s. any kind of a bay breeze will keep your temperatures down to the low 60s and upper 50s. away from the water near 80

degrees. and your forecast for saturday sunshine again. little touch of summer, highs once again upper 70s to low 80s. there's the all-important 4-day forecast. wow, who would have guessed temperatures running 15 to nearly 20 degrees average. i made this comment yesterday. it looks like we'll have the warmest first week of april in weather records here in the washington area. little something for everybody. >> we deserve it after this winter. no doubt about it. let head out and see how we're doing. no weather concerns whatsoever. had one car on 95 that spun out between dumfries and dale city. no effect. very light traffic fredericksburg all the way up 295 to 395. prince george's county had an accident outer loop at st. barnabas road over to the shoirl once you get up to pennsylvania avenue both directions moving along without delay.

that's how we're doing now. back to you. as details emerge about the days leading up to that mass shooting in southeast on tuesday we know multiple city agencies tried to get two brothers off the streets before the two deadly crimes in which they are charged. tracee wilkins joins us with more on this story. >> reporter: good morning. one of the most frustrating aspects of this violent and deadly shooting. it appears the two brothers were both in custody and could have been taken off the streets before they had a chance to kill but weren't. orlando carter is charged in the murder and drive by shooting that left four people dead and several more injured tuesday night. carter would not have been on e street if the u.s. torn's off signed off on ooh ran for his arrest the week before. howe was killed last week on

march 22nd. orlando carter's brother sanquan carter is also charged in the murder. they tried to keep him off the streets three days before howe's killing but instead the judge put him in a high intensity supervision program. he was to attend an orientation for that program on march 23rd. the u.s. torn's office released a statement saying, in all violent crime matters we aggressively pursue cases with law enforcement while ad hearing to our ethical bligss to making sure there is enough evidence presented in order to justify detaining a suspect. that's the process we follow in all of our criminal cases and that's what was done in this case. i'm will will live in the newsroom. back to you. d.c. police are also trying to find a pack of thieves responsible for ten robberies.

they happened in an area that spanned from northwest washington to howard university area to a few blocks from walter reed army medical center. the suspects wore black ski masks. in some cases the robbers beat their victims. in another case they threatened to shoot. police are looking for a black four door vehicle with tinted windows. it looks like it is going to be a beautiful weekend and wha better way than checking out the gorgeous cherry blossom trees at the tidal basin. it will be very crowd. megan mcgrath joins us from the tidal basin with more. that's one reason why people would not go there is because of the crowds, right? >> reporter: i think that scares a lot of people away. the crowds are unting. with a little preparation, with a plan in place it's not that bad. just take the traffic and crowds into account. take a look at the tidal basin right now. absolutely gorgeous. the blooms are out in full force

here. ablutely gorgeous weather. that's what we're going to see over the next couple of days. just a perfect time to come down the tidal basin and take a look at the cherry trees. terrific crowds are expected to join you. it's spring break for a lot of folks. all the kids are off. combined with all the out of town tourists and it's friday so still a lot of people going to work. it is going to be crowded. the traffic situation is going to be daunting. take a look at this video that was shot here at the tidal basin. absolutely gorgeous. well worth all of the trouble you may go through getting here. yesterday we saw some real traffic tie ups all around town. connecticut avenue in particular, absolutely horrible yesterday. i know that i was driving around it and trying to take my kids to the zo and it took us over an hour to get to the zo because connecticut avenue was so jammed. same thing for many of the major roads around the tidal basin. keep that in mine p.

take metro. leave the car at home. you don't need that frustration. take metro or park somewhere else, p a cab and get dropped off closer by and then walk on over. but a lot of folks will be here, excellent time to come. the weather will be primo. we're expecting to see a big crowd. >> gorgeous. megan mcgrath at the tidal basin. thank you. this is good friday, the day christians mark the death of jesus before easter sunday. yesterday archbishop donald warhol washed the feet of 12 people during a solemn ceremony. ione of a series of traditional holy week rituals leading up to easter sunday. pope benedict did the same ceremony in rome. he spoke about priestly duties but did not speak about the growing revelations about priests who abuse children.

several lawyers representing victims say they want the pope to testify. they want to prove the vatican was negligent. >> he's a head of state so calling the pope to testify in a u.s. court would be like an italian lawyer ask the queen of england to come and testify in a trial here in italy. it's just not going to happen. >> on the vatican's website, a cardinal who heads the office that deals with clergy accuses the "new york times" being unfair. major cuts in mayor fenty's budget. >> what's on the chopping block and what changes the pentagon is make being after a recent shooting. >> next if we don't hit 80 we'll be awfully close. a check of your weather and traffic up next. you'll like it.

good morning. once again, the time is 5:11. i hope you get a chance to enjoy the weather. temperatures in the upper 40s and low 50s in downtown. 54egrees at national airport. 50 degrees in falls church this morning, 45 in manassas, 47 degrees in leesburg, 43 in frederick, maryland. what a day we have for you today. plenty of sunshine, sun coming up at 6:51 this morning. going down at 7:33 this evening.

temperatures will be in the upper 70s across most of the area. a lot of spots might touch 80 degrees if you're away from the water. if you're up alongside the bay a touch cooler, the great weather extends all the way through easter weekend. going back the last ten years our warmest easter in the last ten years and maybe one of the warmest first weeks of april we ever had here in washington. all this following a march without a freeze and 32 inches of snow in february. jerry, which month did you le the most? >> the one that's coming up. all right, chuck let's head out and see how we're doing through northeast. new york avenue, kenilworth avenue, east capital street very quiet so far. no concerns through northeast washington whatsoever. elsewhere the trip to the wilson bridge travel lanes are open. out to the bay bridge we're doing all right in both directions. 270 you should find the lanes southbound open but have that pesky road work on the northbound side up near montgomery village. back to you. 5:12 is your time.

52 degrees. next is the story of the maryland soldier who led a double life as a pitch. >> plus it's finally here. we'll tell you whether experts tell you it's a winner. the major change to airline security.

a soldier is facing life in prison after pleading guilty to running a prostitution ring out of his house. 23-year-old craig corey used his home in maryland as a brothel from january to april of last year. he was stationed at ft. meade at the time. he used the internet to recruit women to woke as prostitutes. he'll be sentenced april 28th. the pentagon is making some security changes this morning in response to last month's shooting at its metro station. the pentagon forced protection agency said visitors will now have to undergo more rigorous screening. defense department employees will also be subject to more random searches and there are plans to add sensors to detect biological and chemical weapons. pentagon officers will get more training for situations like that shooting which took place on march 4th. the gunman in that incident, john patrick bedell was killed. airports are changing their

security measures. starting this month travellers from 14 different countries that have been home to terrorists will no longer automatically face extra screening. instead the screenings will be based on specific information about potential threats. these new procedures replace those that went into effect after the attempted bottoming of a plain on christmas day. today president obama is headed to charlotte to discuss the economy and today we'll learn what happened in march when it comes to march. many economists think it could be the month we saw gains rather than losses in payroll. brooke hart is live on capitol ll this morning with details. sounds like some good news. >> expects jobs were created in march. but not enough to move the unemployment rate. ahead of today's labor report predictions, jobs came in march like a lion. >> i'm up 100,000. >> reporter: some say the start

of a hiring strength. >> we think this is the beginning of the strength of private industry jobs as it passes from government sector to private industry. that's what you need to sustain this economic recovery. >> reporter: thousands of march hires were for census, temporary workers. broader signs are hopeful. the number of people needing jobless aid is down. factory activity is up. in march it hit its peak in five years. with 8 million jobs lost in a great recession the job lines like this one for construction work in florida won't go away quickly. said treasury secretary tim geithner. >> the unemployment rate is still high. it will stay one acceptably high for a long time. >> reporter: that keeps president obama on defense about his actions, his economic stimulus, his health care reform. this was portland, maine. >> i want you to know we're working every single day to spur job creation and to turn this economy around.

>> reporter: investors seem bullish helping wall street close a fifth straight week of gains. >> markets are closed today for good friday meaning investors have the weekend to digest what will look like to be the most promising jobs report in three years. back to you. d.c. mayor adrian fenty presented his 2011 budget plan and includes some major cuts. budget cuts and fee increases are needed to make up some funds. the cuts -- >> given the amount of cuts and lack of revenue enhancements, really concern these cuts will be bad for children and families. we're concerned about some of the programs that are on the chopping block. >> the cuts include eliminating 385 government positions, freezing pay increases for city

workers and consolidating government agency to stream line operations. the plan calls for several fee increases including a 1% increase on inpatient and out patient hospital services and increasing residential parking passes from $15 to $25 a year. the mayor wants to sell ads on parking meters. things have been tough in detroit but finally u.s. automakers have some good news. sales accelerated more than 30% last month, a jump in sales was fueled by huge incentives from toyota in an effort to overcome gas pedal problems. that spurred a price war with gm. ford also saw big business you want it credits its demand for fusion and taurus cars. one analysts say it's a sign that the struggling industry is finally on the road to recovery. >> what we're seeing right now, i believe, is we're seeing a turn in the auto industry that is sustainable.

>> not all american automakers fared so well. sales of chrysler vehicles fell 11% in march. this weekend you can pick up apple's latest creation, ipad. how well will it go over with consumers? >> reporter: apple ceo steve jobs gave the world a look at the ipad in january. saturday the world gets its hands on it. smaller than a laptop but bigger than a smart fond it packages familiar functions that has options for wireless and wi-fi. >> people who already have a smartphone and/or a notebook computer decide i need this too. >> reporter: adding to the appeal is the launch of electronic books through the popular itunes service. that makes the ipad a direct

competitor to kindergartenle. >> it's sexier and in color. >> reporter: newspapers and magazines give the ipad an opportune. >> people will buy apps. they will pay for an app from a newspaper. >> reporter: the gaming industry is zeroing in. >> the graphics on it it will be a killer game device. >> reporter: analysts six 3 million to 6 million ipads to sold by year's end. >> it will have some kind of an influence. >> reporter: consumers will provide that answer in the months ahead. apple's competitors have products similar to the ipad in the pipeline. they are ready to capitalize on a new breed of executer devices. >> i'm still learning how to use a blackberry. >> i don't know if i need more. chuck, this is shaping up to be

some pretty nice and smart weather. >> very smart. very nice for everything you want to be doing in the great tdoors this weekend. it will be a great holiday weekend as the cherry trees, cherry festival, all kinds of things related to cherry. there's a money shot. jefferson memorial in the distance. cherry trees in the foreground. what a beautiful morning outside. temperatures will continue to climb all the way back up to the mid and high 70s today. if you're visiting washington, congratulations on picking one the best cherry blossom festivals of all time to visit. temperatures right now 51 degrees in fredericksburg, virginia. our forecast for today mostly sunny. away from the bay, bay locations will have some bay breeze. up 70s and low 80s today and tomorrow another little you so much of summer time across the area with highs once again nosing in on 80 degrees. it's so nice outside you can almost tolerate sitting in some traffic. >> not a lot to sit in this

morning. that's very good news. along interstate 270 the southbound flow, left side of your screen no worries, lanes are open. only iss you may run into southbound are the bright lights for the northbound road work that's tying up the left half of the roadway. those lights are extremely bright indeed. the trip along 95 northbound out of lorton up to the capital beltway, incident free. check your speeds this morning. as we head out on the beltway, springfield across the wilson bridge only seven minutes. continuing to move along nicely up to route 50 and between route 50 and college park a mere eight minutes. eun, pat, back to you. looks good. time now is 5:23. ahead in the news this morning the d.c. taxi bribery scandal back in the news. >> what new charges the man at the center of the investigation face. >> plus a little baby on the way? there are a lot of fingers crossed at the national zoo

again.

. did you get fooled? johns hopkins universitrsity in baltimore pulled off an april fools' day prank. saying it was changg their name to john hopkins. it showed pictures of staffers removing s off resident halls

and buses. the school is not changing their name. all a joke. april fools'. >> there's great expectations at the national zoo again. they are awaiting to see if another baby panda is on the way. mei xiang's hormone levels are rising. she could be pregnant or another false pregnancy. it could take another month and a half or so before zoo keepers know for sure. >> ahead, where busy bad guys committed ten armed robberies in just three hours. we'll tell you now who is pointing the finger at prosecutors after this week's mass shooting. >> pepco is telling

gorngs -- gorgeous weather. forget about april showers. mass shooting memorial as loved ones mourn the victims. there are now questions about whether the suspects should have been locked up before the violence. >> security changes, the u.s. changing the way it screens international passengers. good morning. welcome back to "news4 today." i'm eun yang. >> i'm pat lawson muse. joe krebs is off on this friday, april 2, 2010. there will be big crowds at the cherry blossom today and throughout the weekend. yesterday's crowds caused huge backups. the peak bloom has passed but

the scene is still spectacular. the national park service says the trees will have 70% of their blossoms out through sunday. highlights include a fireworks show this saturday on the southwest waterfront. >> you know, we see those cherry blossoms every year. such a beautiful place look at them. i want does get crowded. you cannot park down there. >> take metro or you walk or you just drive by and sit in the traffic, chuck, and take in the view. >> they are worth seeing. we see them every year. each year they are spectacular. >> one of my favorite runs, exactly from my house it's two miles to the jefferson memorial. it's so beautiful down there especially in the early morning and late evening hours that's really the best time to get down there. sunrise coming up at 6:51 and that makes some of the prettiest pictures down there. if you're already up and got the day off get your camera and get on down to the tidal basin.

temperatures are in the mid-40s to low 50s out in the virginia piedmont to mid-50s downtown and upper 40s to around 50 up alongside the bay. as you get ready to send the kids off to school, quite mild, indeed. shorts and sunglasses and maybe a baseball cap not a bad idea. beautiful day today, policemen ever sunshine. temperatures looking up in the upper 70s. if you want something good to look at tonight, jerry edwards 30 minutes after the sun goes down you can see venus and mercury low in the western sky. a little something to take a peek at. >> let's head out and see what we're looking at. 395, folks are going to work. shirlington and landmark, lanes are open to and across the 14th street bridge. southbound 395 light volume. route 50, sandy point state park on the approach to the toll

plazas, just west of the bay bridge, right now moving along nicely. one camera we'll be using a lot. out on the rails metro rail, vre and marc reporting no early delays. back to you. thanks. nearly three days since the horrific mass shooting this morning a makeshift memorial stands in southeast in honor of the nine people shot in a stunning act of violence. those left behind are feeling pain and anger right now. >> we now know a number of city agencies tried unsuccessfully to get two brothers off the streets before the two deadly crimes. tracee wilkins joins us live with more. >> reporter: good morning. one of the most frustrating aspect of this violent and deadly shooting. it appears the two brothers were both in custody and could have been taken off the streets before they had a chance to kill but weren't. orlando carter is charged in the

murder and drive by shooting that left four people dead and several more injured tuesday night. carter would not have been on the street if the u.s. attorney's office signed off on a warrant for his arrest last week. carter is charged in the murder of jordan howe. howe was killed last week on march 22nd. orlando carter's brother sanquan carter is also charged in the murder. they tried to keep him off the streets three days before howe's killing but instead the judge put him in a high intensity supervision program. he was to attend an orientation for that program on march 23rd. d.c. council phil mendel son said d.c. police weren't the ones who dropped the ball in this case. >> they wanted to prevent the retaliation. that's what we want from our police officers.

>> the u.s. attorney's office dropped the ball? >> i think so. >> reporter: the u.s. attorney's office released this statement saying, in all violent crime matters we aggressively pursue cases with law enforcement while ad hearing to our ethical obligations to making sure there is enough evidence presented in order to justify detaining a suspect. tracee wilkins live in the newsroom. back to you. . thank you. two more people were shot in d.c. overnight. this time in the 1300 block ever congress street southeast. two men were shot before 11:30 last night. they were in stable condition this morning. police have not released any information about a suspect. police in montgomery county are trying to identify a man who was found shot to death in the woods. a man's body was discovered on wednesday close to the howard

county line. a preliminary autopsy determined the man's death was a homicide. anyone with information is asked to call police. a crime spree that stretched from the howard university area to walter reed. d.c. police are looking for a pack of robbers who struck ten times in just three hours. all of the robberies happened yesterday morning between 3:30 and 6:30 and they were all in northwest washington. police say the suspects were after phones and other electronics. in some cases the robbers beat their victims. in other cases they threatened to shoot. police are looking for a black four door vehicle with tinted windows. federal prosecutors have added new charges to their case against former d.c. official accused in a bribery scandal. last september ted loza was accused of taking money and gifts in exchange in trying to influence taxicab legislation before the city council. he was then chief of staff for council member of jim graham.

a grand jury indicted loza on four new charges yesterday including conspiracy and extortion. he has pleaded not guilty in the case. d.c. mayor adrian fenty has announced his plan to balance the city's 2011 budget. his proposal includes massive cuts and fee increases. but no new taxes. the mayor has to make up for a 3% drop in fund and he says his goal is to spend money more effiently. >> with our local budget that doesn't grow, we also are presenting to the people of the district of columbia is we're going to make sure that even within these millions of dollars we're finding inefficiencies and rooting it out. >> the mayor's cuts include eliminating 385 government jobs, freezing pay increases for city workers and consolidating government agencies to stream line operations. his plan also calls for several fee increases including a 1%

increase in inpatient and out patient hospital services, and increasing residential parking passes. the mayor wants to sell ads on parking meters and hike the fee on 911 calls to 39 cents per phone line. >> pepco customers be on the lookout for a scam. the utility company said some customers received fake letters saying all rate increases have been cancelled and a phony website telling customers to contact pepco call center to get renewable adjustments. pepco says statements stipulation that customers should contact pepco for renewable energy adjustments are false. rate increases are not being cancelled. time now is 5:38. 52 degrees in washington partnership head a group of pirates gets a little more than they bargained for. >> what happened when they took on a u.s. war ships. >> tears at last night's capital's game. not a dry eye in the place when

a soldier surprises his family. the major change in airli

good friday mornin morning,everybod i'm meteorologist chuck bell. it will be one of those great weather days across the area, s make your outdoor plans without fear or hesitation. temperature 54 degrees downtown. 49 in prince george's county, 47 right now in triangle and dale

city. 48 in quantico. sunshine today toasty warm away from the bay. low 80s coming up for tomorrow. check of the four day coming up. >> upper montgomery county, serious crash, authorities just arriving on the scene. this is at route 108 and 650 up in ashton and, again, expect major disruptions for traffic flow. sandy springs ashton area, new hampshire of a, route 108. back to you. 5:42 is your time. 52 degrees. attorney again taking on the epa. >> screening switch the major changes to u.s. airline security. >> heart warming story, a father and son reunited at last night's caps game. you don't want to miss this one. >> and beautiful blossoms and beautiful weather. a terrific time to come down the

tidal basin and check out those cherry blossoms. i'm megan mcgrath.

5:45 is your time now. 52 degrees. live at the tidal basin where the cherry blossoms are at their peak bloom. gorgeous views and beautiful weather. don't expect the peace and quiet fool you. it will get very busy down there. the annual cherry blossom has run big crowds. it will be crowded once again this weekend. megan mcgrath joins us live from the tidal basin with more. the best time to see the cherry blossoms is now. >> reporter: it is. people who are veterans out, there they got the drill down. early morning and later on in the evening. those are the two best times to go because first of all, it's beautiful. when the sun comes up and you see these absolutely gorgeous trees. it's perfect. also it's not as crowded, we're

not seeing the crowds. actually a very good time to come. now, we're technically past the peak but look at these trees. who would know. who cares? they are gorgeous. teific weekend to come down and look at the trees and blooms. we'll have absolutely beautiful weather and the trees are just beautiful. absolutely gorgeous down here. terrific time. terrific way to spend your weekend. bring the family down. the thing here, though, is it is going to be incredibly crowded. you'll have to plan accordingly. we got all the kids off for spring break. tourists who are out here in full force. still a work day. a lot of folks will be out here trying to get to work. it will be crowded. don't let that scare you off. there are ways to do this. the biggest thing you want to do is take metro. leave the car at home. and we've been talking to folks who came down here and they say that's basically it. that's key. >> we took the metro in, so we

hoofed it every where else. we've been walking. we got in late last night so we had no problems with traffic. >> luckily we've been using the metro and not on the road with the cars. it looks bad. i'm glad i'm not driving. >> reporter: and traffic was extremely bad yesterday. connecticut avenue, for example, was just a parking lot all through town, not just around the tidal basin area or closer to the national mall, it was a parking lot pretty much all the way solid through the district yesterday. so, you're definitely want to leave that car at home. something else you can do is ride your bike down here. they have bike corrals where you can put your bike in there, lock it up, keep their eye on it. it's free. that's another way to do it as well. absolutely beautiful. i love coming down here and technically we're past peak but you just wouldn't know it. so many blossoms out here it's gorgeous. >> i'm sure it will be like that

all weekend. definitely lovely. thank you. if you do brave the crowds and head to the cherry blossom festival we want to see your pictures. send them to isee@nbcwashington.com. prince george's county won't be cracking down on fast food after all. maryland's lawmakers have reject ad bill that would limit the number of fast food restaurants built in the county. that's the word from "the washington post" this morning. it said the house committee voted 22-1 against the measure. now the bill's sponsor has withdrawn the legislation. the bill was designed to fight the obesity epidemic in the county. the pentagon is stepping up its security in response to last month's shooting. it said visitors will now have to go through more rigorous screening. defense department employees will also be subject to more random searches and there's plans to add sensors to detect weapons. pentagon officers will receive more training for situations like that shooting which happened on march 4th.

the gunman in that incident, john patrick bedell was killed. airports are changing security measures. beginning this month travellers from 14 countries that were home to terrorists won't face extra security screening before flying to the u.s. instead the screenings will be based on specific information about potential threats. these new procedures replace those that went into effect after the attempted bombing of a plane on christmas day. millions of celebrate good friday. >> several prominent catholic leaders defend the church against sex abuse allegations. elaine reyes joins us live in our newsroo with more on this story. >> reporter: good morning. despite the controversy, the church and its rituals have continued during its most holy week. vatican leaders remain on the offensive in defending the pope. on holy thursday pope benedict

conducted a feet washing ceremony on 12 priests at the vatican. he celebrated mass without mentioning the growing sex abuse scandal in his homily. there's speculation he may do so today when he participates in the way of the cross ceremonies in rome. the pope came under scrutiny for his handling of two cases while as a cardinal in the roman catholic church. several clergymen have come to his defense calling the reports unfair. >> he's a witness of clarity in the sea of transparency in the problem of the sexual abuses. >> the church knew about this and did nothing about it. >> reporter: on the vatican website an american cardinal accused the "new york times" ever unfairness in its reporting about the popend also the head of the u.s. catholic church has come to his defense praising the pontiff for introducing measures

to keep predators out of the priesthood. back to you. thank you. the u.s. navy proved to be too much for a group of somalia pirates. the uss nicholas came under attack off the east coast of africa yesterday. the norfolk virginia based ship fired back at the pirates and sunk their skiff. a mother ship and five pirates were taken into custody. the u.s. military believed they attacked hoping it would lead to millions of dollars in ransom money. 5:51 is your time. that means weather and traffic together on the ones. we're waiting for some gorgeous weather. >> indeed we are. chuck bell is in the storm center. how goodwill it get? >> it will be so good you won't want to comto work on monday. >> but we do have to go to work. >> yeah. after a couple of really nice days outside maybe you'll be ready to come back into the air conditioned paradise known as

the corporate world. this is a picture of the lincoln memorial and thomas jefferson's memorial down alongside of the tidal basin where those cherry trees are coming into their own. 54 degrees is the current temperature. looks like it will be the warmest easter weekend in more than ten years across the area with temperatures hovering in the 70s to near 80 each and every day. temperatures on your friday morning are in the upper 40s. 50 in leesburg. 45 in manassas and culpeper. 45 in front royal. look at how far back to our west the warm air goes. current temperatures near 70 degrees for current temperatures out across the middle of the country. that's extremely unusual. temperatures running 25 to 30 degrees above average as you get into place like iowa and northern illinois, parts of southern wisconsin. that warm air will be moving

eastbound courtesy of a ridge of high pressure. might see a passing sprinkle or two on sunday. most of those sprinkle chances will be west of the washington area. here's a look at our future cast model. by the time we get into saturday, ribbon of moisture, west of the appalachian mountains a week weather front coming our way. most of that will dry up. so today's high 79. tomorrow 81. even on easter sunday into the mid-70s. so great weather for anything you want to do today or tomorrow. jerry, the next couple of days across here good whether for everything. monday it's play ball time. the phillies and the nationals for the national as home opener. it will feel like summer. next real chance of any organized rain showers done show up until thursday, friday time frame of next week. over to you. >> chuck, police wrapping up the accident we showed you a couple of minutes ago. still see the flash lights at the intersection of 108 and new

hampshire avenue up in ashton, maryland. fluid in the roadway. traffic is going to be passable for the time being. let's head over and see how we're doing on 395. no worries. to and across 14th street bring. metro rail, vre and marc no early delays. pat, back to you. thank you, jerry. the environmental protection agency issued new fuel efficiency rules and almost immediately the attorney general said he's going to court to block them. the new standards call for a 35 per mill gallon average in cars within six years. that's up nearly 10 miles. ken cuccinelli's office said he'll challenge that greenhouse gases are dangerous to people. might be a long year for drivers in virginia. vdot is working on some ambitious projects and until they are finished add 20 minutes

to your commute. a lane widening on i-95 between springfield and occoquan, extension of the fax parkway, addition of hot lanes on 495 and a rail line to dulles, vdot is asking for your patience and businesses for their cooperation. >> we want to encourage telecommuting. we want to encourage different work times. >> drivers could start noticing an easier commute by the end of this year. 18,000 fansing packed the verizon center to watch the caps last night the mt mechl morable moment happened off the ice. >> an air force colonel surprised his son with the help of the home team. >> reporter: it's been an emotional day for this family.

for the past six months, rick has been stationed in baghdad, iraq flying f-16s for the air national guard. when his wife found out her husband of coming home early with the help of the washington capitals they planned this elaborate surprise. >> anticipation is the worst part of it. 20 hours on the flight. trying to make sure the flight got here on time. beat traffic. >> reporter: after making it just before game time shocking their daughter was just the beginning. >> now com the biggest surprise of the night. right now his 10-year-old son henry is on the ice participating in the pre-game flag ceremony. but as soon as he steps out of this tunnel he'll be greeted by his father. >> as a father, emotional, no doubt about it. it feels great to have my son come up to me.

>> what's it like having your dad. >> exciting. i didn't know he was supposed to be home. >> reporter: as capital security and personnel looked on it was hard not to get choked up. but these were tears of joy. >>it's hard because you have to be both the mom and the dad. it's just really incredible when they come home. you just feel like you're a whole person again. >> reporter: what's the first thing the family will do. >> watch his games on video. get the family together. sit down have a quiet meal. go out and do something and just relax. >> reporter: at the verizon center, john trippen, news 4. >> hard not to get choked up. what a reunion. >> excellent. i loved that story. it's bean rough week for republican national committee why the group is now involved in a phone sex scandal. also ahead the ipad goes on sale tomorrow. find out if apple's new innovation is right for you.

if i had to sit on a bench during the middle of a game due to diabetes it would frustrate me. in a basketball game a couple minutes could mean a big momentum shift. my bayer meter is very important. (announcer) only bayer's contour meter has programmable personal high low settings. it allows me to be able to look at my highs and lows to make sure that my diabetes is being controlled as tightly as possible. with my bayer meter i don't miss valuable game time. i'm alana burns and staying in the game is my simple win. (announcer) the contour meter, only from bayer.

sure. cake or pie? pie. apple or cherry? cherry. oil or cream? oil or cream? cream! (announcer) some use hydrogenated oil. reddi wip uses real dairy cream. nothing's more real than reddi wip. [clucking] look for delicious cadbury's, reese's and hershey's products in the easter candy aisle. 'cause no bunny knows easter better than hershey's.

the blame game. tensions are running high in the district this morning. we'll tell you who is pointing fingers at who for this week's mass shooting in d.c. thank you for joining us for "news4 today." i'm eun yang. >> i'm muse mpat lawson muse in joe krebs on this friday, april 2, 2010. this is a friday to remember or a weekend to remember. >> 6:00 in the morning. 52 degrees. a live look at the tidal basin where the cherry blossoms are in fuel bloom. gorgeous views. let's check in meteorologist chuck bell on this forecast.

good morning. this actually would have been the 100th anniversary of the cherry trees had the original batch not shown up with bugs and disease. yes, they had to burn the first load of cherry trees that arrived in 1910. they regruesome in japan and gave us the new gift in 1912. so we have to wait two more years. outside on this beautiful friday morning, still plenty dark outside. sunrise 15 minutes away. beautiful day. temperatures upper 40s to mid-50s right now. temperatures are going to say 15 to 20 degrees above average. winds coming more to the south and southwest as we go through the weekend. today sunny and toasty warm and through the holiday weekend, the weather promises to cooperate. i got stuck in that connecticut avenue traffic jam yesterday and it was so nice outside even i didn't mind it at least not for ten minutes. >> hopefully things go smoothly

this morning. had an accident along i-270 southbound near i 370. left side of the roadway was tied up. they may have moved that to the shoulder. look for the flashing lights. might be a little bit of a distraction. let's see how we're doing elsewhere. 395 looking good to and across the 14th street bridge. no major hangups to report here. that's how we're doing. back to you. thanks. new details emerge about the days leading up to that mass shooting in southeast tuesday, we now know multiple city agencies tried unsuccessful to get two brothers off the street before the two deadly crimes they are charged in. tracee wilkins joins us from the newsroom with more. good morning. >> reporter: two brothers charged in this week's shooting and a shooting that happened last week were in custody. could have been taken off the

streets before they had a chance to kill but weren't. orndo carter is charged with the murder in the drive by shooting that left four people dead and several more people injured tuesday night. carter would not have been on the street the the u.s. attorney's office signed off on a warrant for his arrest the week before. police wanted to charge carter in the murder of 20-year-old jordan howe. orlando carter's brother is also accused in the murder of jordan howe. the office of probation and parole tried to keep sanquan carter off the street but the judge put him in a i had inteensity supervision program. he was to attend an orientation for that program on march 23rd. phil mendelson saidole didn't drop the ball. >> they were on top of the retaliation before it happened.

they were trying to prevent it. that's what we want from our police officers. >> u.s. attorney's office dropped the ball? >> i think so. >> reporter: this statement was released saying in all violent matters we aggressively pursue the case with law enforcement while ad here's to our ethical obligations of makeeing sure there's enough evidence presented in order to justify detaining a suspect. it's a difficult balancing act but that is the process we follow in all of our criminal cases and that is what was done in this case. we talked with one expert who suggested the mayor get a panel together to investigate the relationship between the courts, police and u.s. attorney's office. tracee wilkins live in the newsroom. back to you. thank you. two more people were shot in dulles south overnight. this time in the 1300 block of congress street in southeast. police say two men were shot just before 11:30 last night. they were both in serious but stable condition. at this point police do not believe there is a connection with the jordan howe murder.

if you're leaving your house early in the morning, dulles south police are searching for a pack of thieves responsible for ten robberies in three hours. they took place between 3:30 and 6 kplo 7b. they happened in northwest washingt in an area spanning from the howard university to water reed. the suspects wore black ski masks. in some cases the robbers beat their victims other times they threatened to shoot. they are looking for a black four door vehicle with tinted windows. federal prosecutors added new charges to a former washington, d.c. official. last september ted loza was accused of taking money and gifts for trying to take money and gifts for taxicab legislation. a grand jury indicted loza on four new charges yesterday including conspiracy and

extortion. loza has pled not guilty in that case. metro filled its top safety job. the agency has appointed james daugherty. he'll start at metro on april 19th. as you may recall metro has had a string of safety lapses including a deadly crash last june. get ready for a beautiful weekend here in the district. the weather will be warm and cherry blossoms are in full bloom. if you plan on heading down to the cherry blossom festival at the tidal festival plan ahead. the crowds and traffic backups are expected to be big. megan mcgrath joins us now from the tidal basin with more. you're down there. is it worth it? >> reporter: it is absolutely worth it. i came down earlier in the week and i came down, over course this morning and just look at these trees. they are absolutely beautiful. we're a little bit beyond peak bloom but i tell you it doesn't

matter. we're still seeing all kinds of blossoms and just gorgeous down here. as we've been hearing we'll get terrific weather over the next couple of days. a great time to come down here. early in the morning but just starting to see the first visitors coming down here. many are photographers. they are coming with their gear and tripods and waiting for the sun to come up so they can start snapping some photos. take a look at this video we shot yesterday as well. just absolutely gorgeous. you can see, though, from this video there are a lot of people down here. we got everyone on spring break. the kids on spring break. we have all kind of tourists who descended upon washington to see the cherry blossoms. then we do have the poor folks like us who are working today. we got a lot of people who will be in their cars just trying to get to work. traffic is going to be an issue today. it was definitely an issue yesterday. connecticut avenue was an solute mess yesterday in the

middle of the afternoon and well beyond rush hour with all of the people who were trying to get various place, you got the tourists down at the tidal basin, going to the zoo and other folks getting to and from work and home and go about their business. take metro. that's probably your best bet or hoof it, walk, get some great exercise. i think it's important we not lose sight of coming down here and seeing the blossoms because you're worried about the traffic or the inconvenience of it all because it is definitely worth the trip. absolutely beautiful down here. >> i agree with you. just don't try to park. i agree with you. find another way. >> forget about the parking, that will ruin your day. >> megan mcgrath at the tidal basin. thank you. >> another major blunder for the republican national committee. wh the group is now involved in a phone sex scandal. the major security changes homeland security will announce for planes flying into the u.s. first chuck bell's

all-important holiday weekend forecast.

it's definitely expensive having a growing family. and it's something that you think about. we try to be conscious of that and plan out our meals so that we can feed everyone on a budget. at giantwe know saving money is important. every time you shop with your card, you can enjoy thousands of real deal sings and weekly specials. like super g spiral sliced ham, $1.28 a pound, and beef rib roast, $4.99 a pound. this weekend only.

it makes me feel good because we're saving money. and that works for me. only with your giant card. good morning. i'm meteorologist chuck bell. it's now 6:11 on what promises to be a very pleasant day for outdoor activities ofny kind or stress level. fairfax, virginia, wake up to 50 degrees this morning. solomon, maryland, 51.

andrews air force base reporting 48 degrees. our forecast for the next couple of days no complaints are going to be accepted in the weather department. jerry edwards sunrise on easter sunday about 6:45 in the morning. good weather for that and great weather for baseball on monday. >> let's take to the air. chopper 4 checking things out for us. over on the capital beltway things very quiet inner loop and outer loop between i-270 and interchange at i-95 moving along very nicely. unfortunately we do have a mess up on 270 now with the accident irly still in the roadway, 270 southbound between montgomery village and interstate 370. police remain on the scene. those delays continue to grow almost back to route 118 now. heads up if you're headed in that direction. couple of extra minutes travel time will be required this morning. one more stop. look at that pretty picture along the gw parkway, northbound and southbound, between the potomac bridges and old town

alexandria. 6:12 is your time. as we move closer to easter the catholic church's sex abuse scandal is growing. swine flu could be making a come back. new cases are popping up. >> the ipad goes on sale tomorrow. what tech experts are saying

homeland security secretary janet napolitano will visit the areas damaged by flooding in the northeast today. in new jersey homes are under water and in some places you need a boat to get around. in massachusetts, state officials say nearly 3,500 residents have applied for federal emergency flood assistance. the president made a surprise visit to an emergency management center there yesterday. he talked to rhode island's governor about the devastating flooding in his state. >> there are new rules this morning for screening for travellers coming into tuesday. starting this month travellers from 14 different countries that have been home to terrorists will no longer automatically face extra screening before flying to the u.s. instead the screenings will be based on specific information about potential threats. these new procedures replace

those that went into effect after the attempt eed bombing o creamed. a federal judge will decide whether nine members of a militia style cult will stay in jail i'll their trial. the group called hutaree planned to kill a police officer and kill more police officers. it was an attempt to start an uprising against the government. the members were arrested earlier this week in michigan, ohio and indiana. some were lured to a phony memorial service so they would be unarmed. today millions are celebrating good friday the day when christians remember the crucifixion of jesus christ. as the pope gears up for easter sun several prominent catholic leaders defend the pope against sex abuse allegations. >> reporter: services are getting under way around the world and despite the controversy, the church and

interests rituals have continued during its most holy week. on holy thursday pope benedict conduct ad feet washing ceremony on 12 priests at the vatican. he celebrated mass without mentioning the growing sex abuse scandal in his homily. these speculation he may do so today. the pope recently came under scrutiny for his handling of two cases as a cardinal. several vatican clergymen have come to his defense calling the reports unfair. >> he's a witness of clarity and of transparency in the problem of the sexual abuses. >> the church knew about this and did nothing about it. >> reporter: tomorrow pope benedict will hold an easter vigil in st. peter square the same place where we ill celebrate easter sunday pap lot of people waiting to see what

happens. back to you. >> elaine reyes. thank u. it's been a bad week for the republican national committee. first it was slammed for spending nearly $2,000 at a sex themed hollywood club now it's in in hot water for sending out a letter that listed a sex line phone number. instead of lisng the 202 area code it was listed as an 800 number. the rnc said "the politico" said the printing vendor won't be used. >> sales for u.s. automakers surged by 30% last month. jump in sales was fueled by huge incentives by toyota. that spurred a price war with general motors and sales shot up. ford also saw big business but credits increased demand for its fusion and taurus cars. not all american automakers fared so well.

starting tomorrow you can pick up the apple ipad. we have a sneak peek. >> reporter: a treve jobs gave e world a look at the ipad in january. saturday the world gets its hands on it. >> the ipad is a game changer. >> reporter: the ipad packages familiar functions into a clipboard size object that has options. $500 gets you a base model. $800 high end version. >> it's a matter of whether people who already have a smartphone and/or a notebook executer decide i need this too. >> reporter: adding to the appeal the apple's launch of electronic books. that makes the ipad a direct competitor to amazon's kindergartenle. it does things that

kindergartenkindergarte the doesn't do. >> reporter: the gaming industry is also zeroing in, the ipad's potential. >> with the graphics on it it will be a killer game device. >> reporr: analysts ex3 to 6 million ipads to be sold. it will have some kind of an influence. >> reporter: consumers will provide that answer in the months ahead. >> now apple's competeors have products similar to the ipad in the pipeline. they are ready to capitalize on what could turn into a whole new breed of computer devices. >> people have been lined up since tuesday trying to get their hands on one of these things. >> they are a little expensive. >> if you're a gadget freak you'll pay anything. >> chuck, your a gadget geek >> not that much of a gadget

person. i got my little mac laptop but i don't want a smartphone. i don't need a phone that's smarter than i am. i just want a phone that dials the number. most people use their iphone for their weather april. beautiful weather outside. temperatures are in the mid to high 40s. 43 in manassas. 49 in fairfax. 46 in baltimore. as you get ready to send the kids out to the bus stops, good bus stop weather, quite mild. kids can get away with shorts and baseball caps. don't forget your sunscreen if you'll be outside. today's forecast looks beautiful from start to finish, highs today in the mid to high 70s. outside this evening 30 minutes after the sun goes down look up in our western sky you'll see not only the bright planet of venus but almost as bright planet mercury. and as you know, jerry edwards,

mr. r mercury is only 67 million miles from here. >> let's head on out, chopper 4 will be out. 270 southbound, montgomery village crawling. accidents ties up the left side of the roadway southbound 270 between 124 and 370. along i-270, the chopper has moved on me a little bit. they are at the accident scene in gaithersburg. all right. so the left side of the roadway remains tied up southbound as you head on down to 370 again, so expect some delays. after the accident you're good to go headed on down the spur. let's go to northern virginia. along 95, 395 and 66 nothing to fear so far this morning. eun? >> why pepco is being flooded from calls from some very confusedcustomers. the return of the swine flu

where the h1n1 virus is making a come back. "news4 today" has a new start time. we start at 4:30 so get up with [ sneezes ] ♪ music plays ♪ [ sneezing ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] what are you gonna miss when you have an allergy attack? benadryl® is more effective than claritin® at relieving your worst symptoms -- runny nose, sneezing, and watery eyes -- and works when you need it most. benadryl®. you can't pause life.

doctors have continued to see a steedy number of h1n1 patients. cdc officials confirm there's a recent spike in veer cases in the southeast. experts are not sure if this is the start of another wave or not but hundreds of thousands of doses are still available and some are nearing their expiration date. doctors say nearly all of the

patients hospitalized all did not get the shot. if you were vaccinated in the fall you are still protected. a warning for pepco customers to be on the lookout for a scam. some customers have gotten fake letters saying that all rate increases have been cancelled. and there's a phony website telling people to contact pepco's call center to get renewable energy adjustments. pepco has issued a statement stipulation that customers should contact the pepco call center for renewable energy adjustments are also false. rate increases are not being cancelled and currently there are no rate adjustments. 6:26 is your time now. hundreds of layoffs and an increase in fees, a major budget cut that could soon be coming to d.c. and an air force colonel teams up with the challenges for a surprise homecoming that has security guards wiping their eyes. year going to have a great

weekend in the washington area. but we got a warning for your this morning if you plan to head

. what a weekend. the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. the weather is gorgeous. not everything is picture per february. why you'll have a tough time get ago round this presidents' day. good morning. welcome back to "news4 today."

i'm eun yang. >> i'm pat lawson muse. joe krebs is off on this friday, april 2, 2010. the temperature right now 52 degrees at 6:29 in the nation's capital on a picture perfect friday. it doesn't just feel good it's feeling good o there this morning. >> meteorologist chuck bell is in the storm center with all the great news. give it to us, chuck? >> i'll tell you you'll have no complaints with the weather except that it might be a little too warm for the cherry blossoms to hang on. not too warm for you, eun, you're one of those people that would move to the equator if you could. very pleasant weather this weekend. 53 degrees downtown. it is 49 degrees in sterling, virginia. 43 in new market, maryland. 51 in annapolis. great day coming up, mostly sunny, toasty warm. at least away from the bay. up alongside the potomac or chesapeake bay, a little bit cool are today thanks to a bit

of a breeze off the water. tomorrow more sunshine. a little touch of summer time out there. highs in the low 80s, pretty much area wide for tomorrow and great weather for easter sunday and for the first pitch of the home opener at national's ballpark on monday. er to you for a check of the roads. i wish i had great news on 270. it is jammed because of the accident southbound 270 right at interstate 370, left halff the roadway was tied up. delays are growing very rapidly now as you head south from at least montgomery viage, reaching to middle brook road and 118. been out there for a while. progress is being made. but a little wle yet before everything is completely cleared. oh, man that backup continues to grow. that's wt it looks like from the ground. to the west, pop on over and use great seneca highway as an alternate. 355 is another alternate.

66 approaching the beltway no worries. moving along pretty well all in all. very quiet out on the rails. metro, vre and marc all reporting no delays. pat and eun, back to you. thanks, jerry. traffic problems on the forecast for the weekend with the warm weather and cherry blossoms in full bloom a lot of people are heading down to the tidal basin taking a live look now at that area right now. you can see the gorgeous trees and gorgeous weather to match. megan mcgrath joins us now live from the tidal basin with more. how's it looking? >> reporter: absolutely beautiful. a lot of folks say the best time to come is in the morning just as the sun is coming up. there are a lot of photographers here this morning. take a look at this shot with the jefferson memorial off in the distance. we got a branch with all of the blossoms in the foreground and this is a shot that's very popular with photographers, both professionals and amateurs. it's early in the morning but we got a lot much folks here, some are walking their dogs. the early birds were the

photographers. we've seen a lot of them out here this morning. they brought all kind of equipment. some have lighting gear, tripods and the like and snapping these photos here just as the light starts to change. they say that's the perfect time to capture the blossoms. we talked to a photographer a little while ago and he's got a plan. >> it's incredible. just remarkably beautiful. this is my second year here and it's first time i've been out this time of the day. i'm looking forward to getting some nice shots. >> reporter: what's your plan? >> my plan is to move around to the other side of the basin to get th washington monument as the sun comes up and get the cherry blossoms in the foreground and take it home and see what i got. >> reporter: and a lot of folks have that same plan here this morning to get some good photos pap lot of folks came out especially early because they just wanted to avoid the crowds. we're expecting huge crowds later today and through the weekend. of course the weather will be

absolutely fantastic. while the blossoms are past technically the peak bloom day, they are still phenomenal. we're really talking about a peak period, a bloom period. even if we're beyond that peak day it doesn't make a big difference. we have a tremendous number of blooms on these trees and it's absolutely beautiful. traffic will be an issue. we have a ton of people who have come in to town in order to see the cherry blossoms and, of course, it's friday so there aren't a lot of people going to work. traffic will be an issue. connecticut avenue yesterday was an absolute mess. keep that in mind if you're making your way around the city this morning. build in some extra time into your commute or travel plans. if you're coming here to the tidal basin take metro. save yourself some headaches. don't even think about finding a parking spot. or bring your bike. there are bike corrals. you can drop your bike off for free. they will watch it and you can pick it up when you're done.

>> enjoy it in a peaceful way. >> reporter: without ripping your hair out. >> megan mcgrath at the tidal basin. thank you. d.c. mayor adrian fenty unveiled his new 2011 budget plan and there's a lot of red ink in it. he said big budget cuts and fee hikes are necessary to make up for 3% drop in revenue. proposed cuts include eliminating 385 government positions. freezing pay increases for city workers. and consolidating government agencies. the mayor's plan also calls for several fee increase including a 1% increase on hospital services. increasing residential parking passes. the fees for those from $15 to $25 a year. the mayor wants to sell ads on parking meters and increase the fee on 911 calls to 39 cents. today president obama is headed to charlotte to discuss the economy and we will learn the new unemployment numbers in today's job report. economists expect as many as

190,000 jobs were created in march. that might not be enough to move the unemployment rate but economists say that's the start of a hiring trend. the number of people needing jobless aid is down. factory activity hit its peak in five years last month. >> we think this is the grinning of strength of private industry jobs as it's being packed from government sector to private industry. that's what y nd to sustain this economic recovery. >> markets are closed today for good friday giving investors the weekend to digest what looks like the most promising job reports in three years. give it time. that's president obama's message for people who are still skeptical about health care reform. yesterday he took his pitch to portland, maine. >> every single day since i signed the reform law there's been another poll or headline that said nation sll divided on health care reform.

polls haven't changed yet. well, yeah, it just happened last week. >> the health care plan has a nearly $1 trillion price tags. it extends coverage to 32 million americans who are uninsured. prince george's county won't crack down on burger and fries after all. maryland lawmakers rejeb ad bill that would have limited the number of fast food restaurants that could be built in that county. it says the house committee voted 22-1 against the measure and the bill's sponsor has withdrawn the lenation, the bill was design to fight the obesity epidemic in the community. "the today show" is coming up next at the top. hour. let's go live now to matt lauer in new york to see what they are working on. what's going on up there this morning, matt? >> a lot, pat. we got a very busy friday morning. good morning. nice to see you. coming up the government is announcing new airline security measures this morning. of course that's in the wake of

the christmas day attempted bombing. we'll have the details on that plan. also ahead the latest on the search for a 12-year-old colorado girl who vanished without a trace five days ago on a way to a birthday party. this morning we'll talk to a woman who risked getting herwn moert into big trouble by exposing a multimillion dollar ponzi scheme. we have that and much more ahead on a friday morning, good friday here on "the today show." back to you. if you get a minute come on down to d.c. and check out the blossoms at the basin. >> i was actually there on monday. >> were you? >> it is stunning down there. i was there -- i was doing an interview with president obama and we flew in and looked around and said man, this is the time the year to get here. >> good for you. you got it. you caught them. have a good weekend. >> take care. >> you too. coming up, we'll tell you who is pointing fingers at who for this week's mass shooting in southeast washington. >> the weather is getting nice

and that means construction. why many of you will need to add extra 20 minutes to your commute. find out if meteorologist chuck bell is still calling for a picture per february weekend. plus we'll have some breaking news, traffic news, your weather and traffic together coming up on the 1s next.

good friday morning. once again, meteorologist chuck bell off to a wonderful start here on your friday. pictures outside show the cherry trees at peak bloom. herndon, virginia, you're waking up to 48 degrees in your backyard. germantown, maryland 46 degrees. leesburg, 45. chantilly, virginia, 45 degrees. jessup, maryland, also 45 degrees. a lot of spots in the mid-40s. high pressure is in charge so it's going to be a beauty of a day. temperatures up near 80 degrees. complete check of the seven day forecast coming up in ten minutes from now. let's take a live look, chopper 4 over breaking news at this hour. up in montgomery county, randolph road and veers mill road, pedestrian accident. earlier reports from police indicate a male was hit by the vehicle. the vehicle that struck the

person has stayed on the scene right now. police have the intersection completely closed. so what that means for your commute, randolph road and veers mill will all be closed all the way around. you see the vehicle off in the woods. again, randolph wood and veers mill road, pedestrian accident just now getting under investigation. authorities are on the scene. chopper 4 with those live pictures. 270 southbound crawling as you head south from germantown. the accident at last report still along the left side of the roadway as you make your trip to interstate 370. back to you. while you were sleeping a group of thieves goes on a crime spree and commits ten robberies in a matter of hours. we'll tell you where. the major security changes homeland security will announce. surprise homecoming for an air force colonel and his family that melted hearts and ice at the verizon center.

i cook twice a week at the fire station. i'd pick up a lot of the work around the house, the chores, the kids, the shopping, the cooking. i have two teenagers, and i'll be putting them through college someday soon. i'm very aware of what things cost, and, you know, i have to use all the money-saving tricks that i can come up with. with compare & save at giant, we search local competitors' prices and show you the difference right on the shelf. using the compare & save, i know that i'm getting a good price, and that works for me. more savings, every time you shop, only at giant. as new details emerge about the days leading up to that shooting spree in southeast on

tuesday we now know several city agencies tried to get two brothers off the streets before two deadly crimes that they are now charged in. news 4 tracee wilkins is in our newsroom with the latest on the story. >> reporter: good morning. for many people that live in that community this is one of the most frustrating aspects of tuesday's deadly shooting. it appears two brothers one charged in this week's shooting and another charged in a shooting last week that associated with this case were in custody and could have been taken off the streets before they had a chance to kill but weren't. orlando carter is chaed with the murder in the drive by shooting that left four people dead and several more injured in southeast tuesday night. carter would not have been on the streets if the u.s. attorney's office signed off on a warrant for his arrest. orlando carter's brother sanquan carter was also accused and has been charged in the murder of

jordan howe. however the office of probation and parolead tried to keep sanquan carter off the streets at a hearing just three days before howe's killing. but instead a judge put him in a high intensity parole supervision program. he was to attend an orientation for that program on march 23rd on the day he was arrested in the howe murder. d.c. councilman phil mendelson said d.c. police western the ones who dropped the ball. >> they were on top. retaliation before it happened. they were trying to prevent it. that's what we want from our police officers. >> u.s. attorney's office dropped the ball? >> i think so. >> reporter: this statement was released. in all violent crime matters we aggressively pursue cases with law enforcement while ad hearing to our ethical obligations to making sure there is enough evidence presented in order to justify detaining a suspect. it is difficult balancing act. that's the process we follow in all of our criminal cases and that's what was done in this case.

we talked with one expert who suggested the mayor get a panel together to investigate the relationship between the courts, the police. two more people were shot in the district overnight. this time in the 1300 block of congress street in southeast. police say two men were shot just before 11:30 last night. they were in stable condition this morning. this is right around the corner from the place where jordan howe was murdered last week. however, at this point police do not think there's a connection. a warning as you walk out the door this morning. d.c. police are looking for pack p robbers who struck ten times in three hours. the crime spree running from howard university to walter reed hospital. the robberies were in northwest washington. police say the suspects were after phones and other electronic devices. in some cases the robbers beat their victims, other thims they

thre threatened their victims. federal prosecutors added new charges to a case against a former d.c. official accused in a bribery scandal. last september ted loza was accused of taking money and gifts in exchange for trying to influence taxicab legislation before the city council. he was then chief of staff for d.c. council member jim graham who until last october oversaw the taxi commission. a grand jury indicted loza on four new charges yesterday including conspiracy and extortion. loza has pleaded not guilty. the pentagon is making some security changes of a last month's shooting. visitors have to go through more rigorous screening. employees will be subject to more random searches. there's plans to detect weapons. officer will receive more training for situations like that shooting which happened on march 4th. the gunman in that want

incident, john patrick bedell was killed when officer returned fire. there are new security rules in place for international travellers this morning. starting this month travellers from 14 different countries that have been home to terrorists will no longer automatically face extra screening. instead the screening will be based on specific information on potential threats. 18,000 fans packed the verizon center to watch the washington challenges. john trippen has the story.

>> reporter: it's been an emotional day for this family. for the past six months, rick has been stationed in baghdad, iraq flying f-16s for the air national guard. when his wife found out her husband was coming home early, with the help of the washington capitals they planned this elaborate surprise. >> anticipation is the worst part of it. 20 hours on the flight. trying to make sure the flight got here on time. beat traffic. >> reporter: after making it just before game time shocking their dauger was just the beginning. >> now comes the biggest surprise of the night. right now his 10-year-old son, henry, is on the ice participating in the pre-game flag ceremony. but as soon as he steps out of this tunnel he'll be greeted by his father. >> as a father, emotional, no doubt about it. it feels great to have my son come up to me.

>> what's it like having your dad. >> exciting. i didn't know he was supposed to be home. >> reporter: as capital security and personnel looked on it was hard not to get choked up. but these were tears of joy. >> it's hard because you have to be both the mom and the dad. it's just really incredible when they come home. you just feel like you're a whole person again. >> reporter: what's the first thing the family will do? >> watch his games on video. get the family together. sit down have a quiet meal. go out and do something and just relax. >> reporter: at the verizon center, john trippen, news 4. >> what a homecoming. >> that just lifts spirits. i love how the security guards in the background are wiping their tears away. it's hard not to get choked up. >> good reason to celebrate as we head into the weekend.

>> everybody enjoying the great weather. hard to believe they are still playing hockey with temperatures up in the 70s. they keep it cooler in the verizon center. there's a live picture of the tidal basin. there it is, the washington monument standing tall. under a clear sky with beautiful cherry trees all over the place, current temperature a very pleasant 53 degrees, the wind is calm and sunrise on easter morning, happens at 6:48 a.m. make your plans accordingly. satellite review, plenty much sunshine for today. a warm weekend ahead as well. a weak weather disturbance may bring us a passing sprinkle in the mountains of west virginia as we get into sun afternoon. here's our future cast model. this is saturday night at 8:00 p.m. a line of very weak and dying showers coming out of the mountains. most if not all of it will dry up as it comes into washington. a sprinkle or two in the mountains on sunday. for your saturday, plenty ever

sunshine. sunday's high back in the mid-70s. plenty of sunshine all the from the bay to the mountains all the way through the weekend. jerry edwards to you for a check of the roads. good weather for everybody. >> we're following breaking news out of montgomery county. accident involving a pedestrian that occurred twin last 30 minutes or so closing down the intersection ever veers mill and randolph road. police are on the scene. one vehicle off the roadway there. authorities will be investigating this for a while so when a that mea is we have to find an alternate route to veers mill and randolph road near the intersection. one of the busiest intersections in montgomery county. we'll keep you updated throughout the morning. there's improving news. the accident along 270 southbound and interstate 370 has been moved out of the roadway or at least an additional travel lane has been made available. delays still reaching back to germantown but the closer you get to the accident scene pace will pick up. one delay on marc rail,

brunswick train 872 and that's seven minutes behind schedule. vre and metro doing fine. that's how we're doing. back to you. a heads up for people driving in virginia. vdot is working on some ambitious road projects. add 20 minutes to your commute. on the agenda a lane widening on i-95 between springfield and occoquan. extension of the fairfax parkway. hot lanes on 495 and rail lines at dulles. v got vdot is asking for people agencies cooperation. >> we want to encourage telecommuting and encourage different work times. >> drivers could begin noticing an easier commute by the end the year. if you haven't seen the cherry blossoms yet this could be the perfect weekend to do it. taking a live look now at the tidal basin the trees are in full bloom and gorgeous weather

out there. you can bet a lot of people will be enjoying the sights because of the great weather. megan mcgrath joins us from the tidal basin with more. now is really the best time to see them. i bet youave no crowds and beautiful sunrise. >> reporter: now is a great time to see them. a lot of people plan their trip to come early in the morning because they miss the crowds and you get the beautiful effect of the sunlight as the sun begins to come up here and you get the reflections off the water and the monuments are all lit up so you can get some angles where you get the lit monuments and cherry blossoms. you can see things are starting to pick up at the tidal basin. wouldn't call it a huge crowd. nothing like what we'll see later today. we'll see people mill about. lots of folks with cameras. lots of families coming down here to take a look at these beautiful blossoms. we're past the peak bloom day but i'll tell you you have to be an expert to figure that out. there are blooms galore down

here and people are enjoying them. >>it's breathtaking. if you haven't seen them before i encourage everyone to get down here and see this. it's a work of god. >> i think it's beautiful this morning. it's gorgeous. we enjoying it so much. came out early so we could be part of the crowds. >> if you're coming, take metro. eun, back to you. thank you. there's absolutely no parking down there. >> thanks for starting your day with us. >> hope you have a great day and great weekend. hope you join us monday morning. we start at 4:30 a.m. >> have a fabulous weekend. if i had to sit on a bench during the middle of a game

due to diabetes it would frustrate me. in a basketball game a couple minutes could mean a big momentum shift. my bayer meter is very important. (announcer) only bayer's contour meter has programmable personal high low settings. it alls me to be able to look at my highs and lows to make sure that my diabetes is being controlled as tightly as possible. with my bayer meter i don't miss valuable game time.