right now, police are searching for the person who fired shots on the bw parkway overnight. one person was hit. no end in sight. oil is still gushing into the gulf of mexico and bp says wednesday will be the earliest it can try to stop the leak. and costly meals, restaurant workers in our area accused of stealing from customers. news 4 midday begins right now. you're watching nbc 4, washington's news leader. now live in hd, this is news 4 midday. good morning, everyone. welcome to news 4 midday, i'm barbara harrison. it's monday, may 24th, 2010. we begin with breaking news from stafford county, virginia. that's where the search for a suspicious man near north stafford high school has ended with that man in custody. north stafford high and nearby park ridge elementary school

were both on lockdown as officers searched for the man. they say he had gotten into some kind of altercation early in the morning in the parking lot of the high school. he then managed to take off. there's no word yet right now on who the man is but they say he was not armed. both schools are no longer on lockdown. and police are investigating a shooting that shut down the baltimore-washington parkway for several hours. officers received a call earlier this morning about a person inside a car who had been shot. it happened near route 198 in laurel. news 4's megth mcgrath has more. >> reporter: was the shooting a result of the dispute between people who knew each other or was it a random act of violence? police are still trying to answer that question. what they do know is that at 11:30 last night, someone opened fire on a car on the b-w parkway. the 911 call came in just before 11:30 last night, the report of gunfire on the baltimore-washington parkway.

responding officers found a car stopped on the shoulder of the road just south of route 198, inside were two men, one had been shot in the arm and shoulder. according to police, the shooting happened a few miles away on a different stretch of the parkway. that's where investigators found several shell casings. >> we were looking for a crime scene, because we didn't find anything at the scene of that car that would indicate where the shooting took place. one of our canine handlers walked about two miles and it indicate evidence. about a mile and a half from the scene. >> the southbound lanes of the baltimore-washington parkway were shut down for several hours but re-opened in time for the morning rush hour. investigators are still trying to figure out if the gunman knew the victim or if this was a random act of violence or road rage. motorists who use the bp parkway find it disturbing. >> it could have escalated. it could have been hurt. it could have been an escalated

multicar pileup because of it. people are not thinking of the consequences of their selfish acts. >> it does worry me. something that's concerning happening in your area where you live at is kind of scary. >> it's scary. it's just a shock, an absolute shock. >> reporter: police have not released the name of the victim or his age. also no word on possible suspects or another car that might have been involved. in laurel, megan mcgrath, news 4. well, it hasn't been the smooth commute people were hoping for on the chain bridge today, only one lane is open in each direction. crews were hoping to have all lanes re-opened since the first time since construction started last year. this weekend's rain prevented them from finishing the project. ddot hopes to have all lanes re-opened by the middle of the week. no rain falling at last right here in the city of washington. tom, expecting any rain today? >> we could get a few more

sprinkles. the weekend rain not only stopped the bridge construction project but it stopped a lot of your reck vacation plans. we had a few passing heavy downpours over the weekend. those have dissipated. there's the live view from our high definition sky watcher camera mounted on our tower in upper northwest washington. you can see those sculpted gray clouds passing over us at this hour. on;hradar, you see the blips o blue. we are getting a few sprinkles right now to the north of winchester, the northern shenandoah valley into the panhandle of west virginia, a few sprinchs there in morgan, jefferson, berkeley counties as well and it looks like washington county getting a few sprinkles there. temperatures in the 60s to near 70. right now in washington it's at 69 degrees. mid-60s in prince george's county. it's a bit cooler around the bay and if montgomery, arlington and fairfax counties, now the upper 60s. upper 60s as well in the

mountains of west virginia. it's in the upper 60s to near 70 on the eastern shore. big heat beginning to develop in the midwest. that will be approaching us by tomorrow and in through much of the rest of the week. it's going to be feeling summer-like. at this hour we have all these clouds and an easterly flow giving us a cooler afternoon with highs in the low to mid-70s. details coming up for the rest of the week in a few minutes. >> thank you, tom. let's see if things are improving on the roadways. how about the chain bridge project, that slowed things down? >> yes, it did. if the weather cooperates over the next few days, it will be in the history books. let me tell you about 270. southbound there had been an accident near old georgetown road. that has been cleared. the good news is, headed down around the bend, you're in good shape. northbound, lanes are open there. now he says confidently we'll go to northern virginia for the

road work. as you make the trip on through the interchanges. keep an eye out for the construction there. >> police in fairfax county are continuing their search for two killers this morning, they're stopping cars in the centreville area in the search for the people who killed jose rosales a week ago. tracee wilkins has the latest from centreville. >> reporter: fair fox county police say they received calls fromitnesses saying they saw the white pickup truck they're searching for out here on compton road the day of the homicide. today, investigators were back out here looking for additional witnesses. they're back out in centreville hoping for help. >> we're looking for people who may have been traveling this road last monday at this time, just to see if they saw anything or have any information. >> reporter: police say these drivers may have information to

help find two gunmen who are still on the loose after a home invasion turned murder last week. >> people may not have paid attention to the news reports or the police information that we put out thus far. and to know that there's an older model white toyota that's linked to this crime. >> reporter: it happened last monday in the 14,000 block of compton road around 10:45 a.m. the entire family was home at the time. a family employee and friend, jose rosales is credited with stopping the gunman but he lost his life in the process. police say the two escaped in an older white, small pickup truck like this one. it had tinted front windows and a dark-colored tarp was also observed in the bed of the truck. police say this truck is a vital clue. >> some witnesses describe seeing someone get in the back of the pickup truck and covering themselves up with a tarp. certainly that's not a normal behavior to see something like that. >> reporter: residents we talked to say they're happy to see police saying a pro-active

approach to solving this case. >> i live in this area. to me it's very very important. if i know information i can give today, i would be happy to. >> reporter: fairfax county police say here on the scene they found some people to afr some additional information. others they took their phone numbers and will follow up with them later because they were rushing off to work. they're saying they hope by the end of the day they'll have new information that will help lead them to suspects in this case. 234 fairfax county, i'm tracee wilkins, news 4. >> today's the first day back to school at fairfax high school since one of their own was killed. an suv crashed into him as he was riding his bike. the driver was also killed in the crash on lehighway. chadly was a senior, set to

graduate next month and attend george mason university next school year. chadley was laid to rest on saturday. police are still trying to determine what caused the accident. and police are trying to figure out how a 6-month-old baby boy died. they say they found the boy dead in a home on edge rockway in laurel over the weekend. police say an autopsy will be performed and investigators are conducting interviews, police have not ruled out foul play. no arrests have been made. the conspiracy trial surrounding the murder of robert wone is now in its second week. federal prosecutors will be questioning police detectives and crime scene technicians. they want to know what they saw and heard the night wone was stabbed to death inside a dupont circle row home. the three men who lived in that home are all accused of misleading police in this case. and servers at a cheese cake factory are accused of stealing

credit card numbers that resulted in more than $100,000 in fraudulent charges. the secret service says the servers were working for a larger fraud çring, from june 2008 to may 2009. former server nicole ward was arrested last week on bank fraud charges. court papers say ward recruited two other servers to use skimming devices to capture the card numbers from their customers. authorities began their investigation last year after a citibank investigator chased several fraud complaints back to that cheesecake factory location. our time right now is 11:10. bp executives say they're doing everything possible to stop and clean up the oil disaster in the gulf. coming up, the latest plan by the company to use heavy mud and cement to the stop the gushing oil. plus, state of emergency in jamaica's capital. what is causing an outbreak of violence there. and the husband of brittany

murphy was found dead last night, five months after the hollywood actress died herself. we'll have the latest on the

rescuers are scrambling to clean and save animals from the oil disaster in the gulf. this is a look at workers from the international bird research center cleaning a pelican.

the center says 32 birds have been brought into the center but they expect many more. meanwhile, louisiana governor bobby jindal says the state is not waiting for federal approval to start building sand barriers to protect the coastline. this as bp has pushed back its attempt to plug the leak. kristen dahlgren has more from venice, louisiana. >> reporter: louisiana's coastline, a once rich and fertile wetland now almost too much to bear. >> as you can see out here, this beautiful god given -- god given -- >> reporter: crude goes past oil-logged booms, onto pelican breeding grounds. >> it's inconceivable that something like this could happen and nothing happens about it. >> reporter: like the oil, the outrage is spreading.

>> all i've heard for the last week is excuses why the coastal plain can't be done. a list of them. >> reporter: one by one, louisiana's parish presidents called out bp and the president. why hundreds of trained captains are sitting idol when they could be laying boom. >> we have trained about 200 fishermen who are not working in this parish. >> reporter: there are frustrations with the top kill, bp's latest plan to stop the leak has been pushed back to at least wednesday. >> deadline after deadline has been missed. >> reporter: drawing ire from the administration who insists it's still in charge. >> if we find they're not doing what they're supposed to be doing, we'll push them out of the way. >> reporter: back in the bayou, it is the oil that is now taking over. kristen dahlgren, nbc news, venice,ç louisiana.

government officials continue to insist that bp has taken the lead because it has the know-how and the equipment. interior secretary salazar and homeland security secretary janet napolitano will lead a senate delegation there later today. a state of emergency today in jamaica after violence broke out in the capital city of kingston. masked gunmen attacked four employi police stations to protect a powerful drug lord to extradition to the u.s. they turned the drug lord's neighborhood and other areas into a fortress with trashed cars and barbed wire. at least two security officers were hurt. the accused king pin faces charges on drug and arms trafficking. space shuttle "atlantis" is a step closer to returning home. astronauts continued inspecting the heat shield this morning. "atlantis" undocked from the international space station

yesterday. it delivered batteries and a lab as part of its last mission. the shuttle will be retired when it returns to earth until the white house grants a reprieve. tom kierein joins us now. we've had a string of kind of nasty days. it is humid out there. >> it canceled a lot of plans and events over the weekended. we had the scattered, heavy downpours yesterday afternoon. as we look outside, we have the low, gray clouds coming in from the east, passing over washington, live view from our sky watcher camera. right now 69 at reagan national where the rainfall since march 1st all the way to today is about 2 1/3 inches below average. even though we've had rain in the last few days, it really has not helped us catch up with our deficit. right now on the radar, we are seeing a few sprinkles showing up where we see the batches of blue, panhandle of west virginia

and southern washington county. elsewhere, just generally cloudy sky. a few shots of sunlight breaking through here and there. overall it continues to be mostly cloudy. the temperatures in the upper 60s to around 70. uniformly from the blueridge to the bay and the eastern shore, we've got this cloud cover keeping things really on the cooler than average side here for late may. out in the mountains as well. there's big heat building in the midwest. temperatures surging into the 80s there. some of the heat will ab riffing here, beginning tomorrow. now over the last 12 hours we've seen this circulation off the coast giving us this flow, coming in and out of the east and the wider view is showing this, all coming from a developing area of low pressure. it's not a tropical system yet but it could become one in the next couple of days which would certainly be early to have a tropical system this early in the system. there is moisture coming in off the atlantic and coming inland. that's aided by circulation around high pressure over new

england. both of these systems working together to give us this easterly flow and keeping it cool. there's quite a bit of sun in the mountains, throughout the midwest, big heat is developing. for us, the rest of the afternoon it will stay mostly cloudy. perhaps a little sun breaking out. there's a chance of a passing shower. i don't anticipate the heavy downpours like we've had over the weekend. the winds continue out of the east and northeast at 5 to 10. sunset is at 8:21. it will be partly to mostly cloudy at times overnight tonight. by dawn tomorrow we should have our temperatures still generally in the 60s. it's going to be a rather mild evening and rather muggy as well. then during the day on tuesday, we will have a little sunshine breaking out and we ought to be warming up to around 80 degrees. then on wednesday, really going to begin to see big heat building, moving into the 80s both wednesday and thursday, morning lows in the have. partly cloudy and rather humid as well. friday it looks like the heat

will continue. we'll have temperatures into the 80s again. but over the weekend perhaps a bit cooler as the cooler air moves in. there's a slight chance of a sprinkle on saturday and sunday. both days may make it into the low 70s with morning lows in the 50s to near 60 degrees. it's a springtime roller coaster once again temperature-size as we get into the weekend. check out the weather channel on cable. that's the way it looks on this monday morning. turn off the humidity. it's been a bad hair day. >> it's going to continue, i'm afraid. >> thank you very much, tom. let's head to jerry. >> bad hair days he never has. >> you're too kind. let's see the road work in place at this hour. northbound and southbound on kettleworth avenue, construction, the barrels in the roadway. the maryland district line may be slow here during the midday. they should yank it oust the

roadway in time for the afternoon commute. northern virginia, check out the road work, 95 northbound and southbound. the right lane taken away each direction. not too much in the way of delays. very good news if you're headed there. barbara, back to you. >> 11:21 is our time. the duchess of new york, sarah ferguson was caught in an undercover sting. and rocker bret michael has been hired by donald trump. he's also out of the hospital. and slim down for summer. we'll help you plan meals that will not pack on the pounds.

can i eat heart healthy without giving up taste? a man can only try... and try. i heard eating whole grain oats can help lower my cholesterol. it's gonna be tough...so tough. my wife and i want to lower our cholesterol, but finding healthy food that tastes good is torturous. your father is suffering. [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. [ female announcer ] try new chocolate cheerios with a touch of delicious chocolate taste in every bite.

you're watching news 4 midday. the husband of the late actress brittany murphy was found dead in his los angeles home. officials believe 39-year-old simon may be the victim of a heart attack and they're still investigating. officers responded to a call for help from his home last night but they do not know who called. murphy died of cardiac arrest in the same house just five months ago. he was the director and screenwriter. rocker and reality tv star bret michaels is the newest winner of "the celebrity apprentice." he beat out all the odds to get there. >> you're hired. >> whoo! >> donald trump delivered the good news to michael live on the

show's finale last night. he wins $250,000 for his charity of choice which happens to be american diabetes association. michael's appearance on the final show had been in question after he suffered a brain hemorrhage in april and was hospitalized again last week after suffering a stroke. michael spoke about his win and his recent hardships this morning on the "today" show. >> and to be here, to be able to do "celebrity apprentice" when i had the hemorrhage, i thought it was over. it was three days until i sort of came out of the semicoma, whatever condition i was in. and then after -- it was a week later to be up and moving and walking and i have to tell you, i'm so happy to have been there. i set my goal on it are. >> actress holly robinson peete came in second place. in the end she also won $250,000 for her charity. 11:25 is our time right now. coming up in the next half hour, lawmakers are in virginia

hearing from people who lost loved ones in the nation's coal mining disaster in 40 years. what they think went wrong. emotions run high at the commercement ceremonies at uva.

here's a look at what's happening right now on news 4 midday. police are investigating an early morning shooting that shut down the baltimore-washington parkway for several hours. it happened in laurel. someone in a car was shot in the shoulder, police say. that person is expected to be okay. investigators are not sure if the shooting was random or if the victim was targeted. traffic is still moving slowly on the chain bridge. one lane is open in each direction. crews were hoping to have the construction project wrapped up but rain prevented that from happening. vdot hopes to have all lanes re-opened by the middle of this week. the latest effort to cap the leaking oil in the gulf coast has been pushed back to at least wednesday. some local governments in louisiana have started talking about creating a barrier to keep the oil from spreading. a mile-long tube is bringing up the oil at a slower rate.

today a congressional panel is holding a hearing about the mine explosion that left 29 mine workers dead. they are meeting in bekkali, west virginia. good morning, kimberly. >> reporter: six family members and friends testified, all but one are miners, all confess ever since this disaster, they are under a doctor's care. even though coal mining has been their only way of life, they can't bring themselves to go underground ever again. >> i lost my brother, rex. in the mine explosion. >> reporter: everyone knew there would be emotion as six family members and friend gave voice to those who died in the upper big mine explosion and those who are

too distraught to speak out. >> she cries the entire time. she's having an extremely difficult time with the loss of her husband. >> reporter: this father talked about conversations with his son, weeks before he was killed. >> i said, do you think it's unsafe and you want to be put in a safer area and see what they tell you. the boss pulled him to the side and said if you're going to be that scared of your job, you need to rethink your career. >> reporter: each of the miners testified to unsafe conditions the the mine, so much so they took notes and left them for their notes and left them for their spouses in case they didn't come home. >> i told my wife mindy, if anything happens to me for her to get a lawyer and sue them. i told her, i said this place is a ticking time bomb. >> reporter: these survivors pleaded with the congressional panel to give more power to the

mine safety health administration. >> if they see something wrong, we're going to shut this down right now and shut it down until you get it fixed. >> reporter: they begged lawmakers to make changes so that the lost lives of their loved ones would not be in vain. >> there's 29 families that suffered. i don't want to see two years down the road or four years down the road another 10, 20 or 30 family families wearing shirts like this. thank you. >> reporter: he said wearing shirts like this. they felt safer in union organized mines where they said they could exercise the right to ask for a different position if ever they felt the situation was too dangerous. a criminal investigation into the mine explosion is still ongoing. barbara, now back to you. >> thank you, kimberly.

new graduates at the university of virginia took a moment to remember yeardley love and three other students who lost their lives this year. >> please join me in a moment of silence to honor these students and their families.ç >> love was supposed to graduate this weekend with a degree in government. but three weeks ago she was found beaten to death inside her apartment. her ex-boyfriend, george huguely was also supposed to graduate and has been charged with her murder. at yesterday's commencement, many people wore white ribbons to symbolize domestic violence awareness. love was awarded her degree posthumously. the lacrosse team is advancing. the team will play duke in the final four on may 29th in baltimore. president clinton managed to get into a fender bender on his way to speak at yale university.

during the speech at his alma mater, he asked graduates to work to make the world a more stable place. he managed to get into a car accident before he got there. it wasn't exactly his thought, though. his secret service suv was hit from behind while it was sitting in traffic. however, mr. clinton was not injured and went on to speak at yale. >> looks like they had a nice day in new haven, connecticut. >> high pressure with sunshine. but here we have this persistent easterly flow. live view from our sky watcher camera. the sun is trying to make its way through a few breaks in the cloud cover. right now on the radar, no precipitation around the metro area. however, we see the specs of blue, north of win chest near the panhandle of west virginia. they're getting a few light showers there. temperatures in the 60s to near 70 degrees as we approach the noon hour. it's not going to warm up much as we get into the afternoon. we see it climbing into the low 70s. upper 60s, out of the mountains

near 70. a lot of heat is building in the midwest. we are going to see the flow continuing out of the east and we'll have these clouds with us from time to time throughout the rest of the afternoon. and we will have temperatures just reaching the low 70s. and then overnight tonight it should be partly to mostly cloudy at times, the 60s by dawn tomorrow. during the day on tuesday, it appears we'll have highs near 80 and breaks in the cloud. during the day on wednesday, morning lows, mid-60s. afternoon highs into the mid-80s. upper 80s perhaps on thursday. now as we get into friday and the weekend, looks like we'll have the heat around on friday but cooler for the weekend with clouds in and out. now, jerry, how's the traffic? >> time to take a look at this hour along 395 northbound. looks pretty good. the gw parkway, traveling under 395 not bad at this hour, despite the road work north of the 395 interchange. i'll update you on the accident

westbound i-70 in howard county remains closed near mariettesville road. the detour is still in place, even at this hour. and in southeast washington, had some police activity, stanton road and suiten parkway. barbara, back to you. >> the duchess of york, sarah ferguson, caught on tape trying to sell access to her ex-husband prince andrew. this reporter has made a career out of entrapping celebrities and royals. it's an old trick but it seems there's always someone who will fall victim and stephanie gosk has the story. >> reporter: sarah ferguson fell right in. the hand shake seals the deal. fergie sells access to her ex-husband, prince andrew, the

british business envoy and queen elizabeth's second son for nearly $750,000. not knowing that the man posing as a businessman is actually a reporter for the british tabloid "news of the world." >> she's essentially happening that her ex-husband can be bought and sold by whoever wants to meet him and she's going to pocket the cash. it couldn't be more damaging for her. >> reporter: the duchess who famously lives beyond her means is reportedly drowning in debt. she only receives $20,000 a year from her divorce. as the sting unfolds, ferguson asks for money up front in cash. >> yes. >> reporter: sitting in front of a pile of cash, the stress of the moment seems to take its toll. scandal is nothing new to the duchess of york. while married, a lavish tryst

was splashed across the tabloids as were other similarly indelicate moments. this time, the fallout directly implicates prince andrew and indirectly the queen, the grandmother of fergie's two daughters. >> reporter: the palace categorically denies prince andrew had any idea that his ex-wife was involved in the illicit deal. it is true that my financial situation is under stress, however, that is no excuse for a serious lapse in judgment. and i am very sorbyx4 u$e duke or involved in any of the discussions. the duchess flew to los angeles

sunday into it to receive an award for charity work. she also received some support. >> be fair to her. she's a trooper. she didn't have to be here tonight. she's passionate about this kids' charity work she does. >> reporter: upon accepting her award, fergie made no reference to the exploding scandal other than to say i've had a heavy day. >> that was stephanie gosk reporting. prince andrew and fergie have described themselves as the happiest divorced couple in the world. many believe that could come to an abrupt end. the increased use of cell phones and ipods are having an increase in their hearing. joining us is dr. trent to talk about that. welcome and tell us about that. it kicks off for tomorrow, right? >> yes, it does. it's a pleasure to be here with you today.

we are launching the buzz in the school promotion this week. what we're doing is encouraging children and parents to turn down the volume on those personal audio devices that children are wearing in their ears. we are finding that the kids between the ages of 8 and 16 are wearing 76% more -- using the ipods 76% more than they used to and they're wearing them on an average of over seven hours a day. that is too much. >> let me ask you, is it how long they're wearing them or how loud they're playing them? >> both. it is how loud and how long. the loudness is dangerous to the ear as well as the length of time that they are wearing the ipods. we want them to take some breaks. >> i think many parents don't realize that the damage that is done to a child's ear with this is permanent. it can't be fixed. >> absolutely. it cannot be fixed. hearing is such an important

sense. i tell everyone i've been an audiologist for over 25 years. i'm a member of the speech language and hearing association. we try to be pro-active encouraging people to take care of their ears. hearing you have for a lifetime. we want to make sure that cross the life span you can really enjoy all the sounds of speech and language and music that you should. >> but most kids don't believe that it's permanent. how do you get that message to them? >> that's what we're trying to do with this campaign, we're trying to tell them, music is good, it's fine to wear the ear buds but we want you to turn down the music. it doesn't have to be that loud for you to hear it. the important thing is for them to turn it down and then take breaks. to have any ear personal device in their ear for seven hours a day is just entirely too long. >> they do that at school, too, i guess. is that right? you're taking this project program to the schools. it's called listen to your buds. it's a campaign that will show up in schools all around the

country. >> right now we'll be in six schools here in the d.c. area and be here tuesday, wednesday and thursday of this week, just promoting this in the different schools throughout the area. >> how will you get kids listen to this message? >> i think we have great entertainment that will get children excited about making sure they pay attention to their ears. >> you brought that entertainment with you today. we should have a listen to it. >> yes, we did. >> let's introduce our musicians who are right behind us, kathy, marsha and christian. welcome. we'd like to hear the message. you're message it they should turn the bud down? >> we have a musical program called banjo to beat box. we have built into that song a little message. it goes -- ♪

>> here's the chorus. ♪ listen to your buds ♪ turn it down ♪ listen to the buds ♪ hear the music go round ♪ listen to your buds turn it down ♪ ♪ listen to the buds hear the music go round ♪ ♪ listen to your buds listen to your buds ♪ ♪ listen to your buds turn it down can i eat heart healthy without giving up taste?

a man can only try...

and try. i heard eating whole grain oats can help lower my cholesterol. it's gonna be tough...so tough. my wife and i want to lower our cholesterol, but finding healthy food that tastes good is torturous. your father is suffering. [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. [ female announcer ] try new chocolate cheerios with a touch of delicious chocolate taste in every bite.

you're watching news 4 midday. wall street is coming off last week's declines of 4% to 5%. this morning, the dow started the day down. international stock markets are mixed today. investors remained jittery about the strain of investors' financial stability. home sales, they're hoping they pass expectations for april. gas prices are on the decline. the average price of a regular unleaded gas has dropped nearly 10 cents over the last two weeks according to aaa, the current national average is $2.79 a gallon. in the district, drivers are paying $2.93 a gallon. in maryland they're paying about $2.80 and in virginia, $2.71. there's a push on capitol hill to ban certain cribs.

new york senator kristen hillenbrand introduced legislation recently. in some cases the drop side can slide off, creating enough space to trap or suffocate a baby to death. the head of the consumer products safety commission has pledged to ban drop side cribs by the end of the year. it's week two of slim down for summer. today healthy meals that will not pack on the pounds is what we'll be talking about. nutritionist janet joins us again. >> how does this look? >> this salad took 15 minutes to make. i got wonderful beat beets whi cooked. i left them overnight in balsamic vinegar. i put in low-fat cheese. >> let's back up an remind

people of the three things they have to remember. there are three things. let's go through them again. we'll put them up on the tv. >> step one, the hardest one, because food is comfort. that's what we're trying to help you to break. avoid products over 4 grams of sugar. 4 grams of suinger is your basic tea spoon or one packet of sugar at a restaurant or coffee shop. >> number two? >> number two, don't eat double starches. have one starch a meal whether it's yummy acorn squash or two slices of bread or a serving of rice or pasta, keep it to one smaller rather than larger serving. >> number three? >> avoid fried foods. >> okay. we have the three things. now we can talk about your recipes. you brought acorn squash with you today. does that have less calories than a potato? >> less calories than a potato

but i'm not counting the calories. i'm giving people vitamin a, it's attractive. i squeeze for sweetness orange on top of it. i guarantee you, kids, parents, everyone will enjoy this. >> what are some of the things we should know about preparing in advance? planning in advance so if you're going to work or to school that you have the right things to eat there? i guess you could take that salad with you, couldn't you? >> you could take the salad and put the dressing in on the end and have it for probably two days and make this for a quick light lunch on a saturday and sunday. the only things that took more than 30 seconds, barbara, are the beets. >> what about calories with the beets? >> barbara, in 25 years of nutritional counseling, i've never seen one person from "a," eating too many beets, "b," eating too many bananas or carrots.

>> those are the things we think are high calorieic. >> what's high in caloric, cookies, cereals, sweetened drinks and cereals. >> we have put up your wonderful salad dressing recipes. you say this is how you would make a salad.ç in a large bowl -- what are we going to do, add the salad directly to the mix. mix the salad dressing which is 1 tablespoon of olive oil, two tablespoons of high quality balsamic vinegar, one teaspoon of mustard and a teaspoon of low-fat mayo. let's see you make that. >> we have the olive oil, the vinegar, we have a tad of mustard. i took tarragon. it smells yummy. smell it. we mix it up right here and we

pour it over. before you know it, a delicious dressing. the other interesting thing about this, is that it's going to be adde sweetness from the beets. there's going to be a little crunch from the low-fat cheese and lots of protein from turkey. >> how much turkey can you have in that salad? does it matter how big the salad is? can i eat this all by myself, because i think i could. >> you could eat all that by yourself. >> it's all right? >> it's all right. the only thing that has high calories is your olive oil, good calories nevertheless. 75% low-fat cheese for that and 3 ounces of turkey? >> any kind of smoked turkey. >> greens are free, vegetables are free, olive oil, healthy but still 120 calories per tablespoon so you have to be careful with it. >> find this recipe at nbcwashington.com for that

fabulous salad dressing. it is delicious. if you have questions, e-mail s us. she'll answer your questions next monday. i'm ready for that salad. you're not taking that away, i hope. >> not today, barbara. >> thank you for coming in. >> thank you. our time is now 11:52. coming up, the latest on lindsay lohan who is in court right now. and meteorologist tom kierein will be back with another check on the forecast. stay with us.

when it comes to constipation relief... miralax is the one. it's the one. the one recommended by more doctors. only miralax is clinically proven to relieve constipation with no harsh side effects. miralax is the only one. restore your body's natural rhythm with miralax.

right now actress lindsay lohan is in a california courtroom. a judge could order her to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet and submit it a weekly drug test. she's currently on probation for arrests for driving under the influence that happened in 2007. she missed her initial court day last week because she said her passport was stolen while at the cannes film festival in france. she returned to the states this weekend. tonight is the end of an era on nbc 4. "law & order" sendiis ending itg run. it's been on the air for 0 years now. it's the second longest running dramatic sieries in tv history. the first half focused on a crime and the investigation followed.

the second half turned our attention to theç prosecutor's efforts to convict the suspected killers. simple formula, brilliant results. >> there's an order for "law & order" as a show. you sensed it and it made you feel good. >> you can catch the final episode of the original "law & order" at 10:00 right here on nbc 4. let's take a look at some of the stories we're following this afternoon. >> we are working on several new stories. if you spent time in a grocery store lately you'd probably noticed glouten-free is becoming all the rage these days. what does that mean and is going gluten-free something you should consider? at 5:00, save money on expensive dinners and trips this memorial day with a special home-made picnic. liz crenshaw will reveal her tricks of the trade. that's tonight at 5:00.

barbara, maybe some of the dishes you two whipped up might work. >> i think that salad was fabulous, wasn't it? >> i'd like the acorn squash with orange. >> we have other recipes on the website you'll have to look at. >> i'll try all of them. >> thank you, pat. >> see you. >> tom kierein joins us with the latest on the forecast. >> still low clouds hanging in. some people are seeing a few breaks in the clouds but not here in washington. we haven't had sun this morning. the latest temperatures in the scan of our radar showing it holding in the 60s, just a few sprinkles around the northern shenandoah valley. in the 60s to near 70 now. we'll have the temperatures out the mountains and the eastern shore hovering in the low 60s and 70s. all coming from circulation off the atlantic seaboard, giving us this easterly flow that will keep the clouds in for the rest of the day.

a few breaks and a chance of a passing shower and cool. we have to make it into the 80s. over the weekend some cooler weather returns and we'll return tomorrow morning. that's the way it looks. >> we will. thank you, tom. that's news 4 midday. thanks for joining us. tune in to the "daily connection" at 2:00 and we have news at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00 as well as 11:00. we'll see you tomorrow.