welcome to news4 this week. >> hello, everyone. today we'll take a look at some of the more interesting local stories making news this week. among them, cinema sickness. why a trend that has become really popular on the big screen could trigger health problems in some people. and did he get a makeover? we'll explore what's behind one mayoral candidate's new look. plus, the ultimate field trip. how some local kids scored a trip to south africa. first the illegal immigration debate is heating up again in virginia. you know, the policy that's are

causing so much controversy in arizona, virginia officials say police in the common wealth already have the authority to carry out one of those policies. news4's tracy wilkins has more on what both sides are saying. >> reporter: the question of how to enforce immigration in virginia is normally pushed by local municipalities. this time, it appears the governor is the one leading this charge. and some activists. politicians are saying he's going too far. >> it is infuriating. it is a wake-up call. >> reporter: it is so important that they are saying it in spanish and english. >> police do not have the authority to make stops and arrests based on civil immigration violations. >> reporter: the argument over where police stand in immigration enforcement is again heating up in virginia after the attorney general ken cuccinelli said the virginia law authorizes police to ask anyone they stop about their immigration status. these civil rights activists

gathered to challenge that opinion. >> this is not the law. this is only an opinion. >> reporter: but the governor said he agrees with the opinion. he said he's been trying to get the federal government to train and deputyize state trooperers to act as immigration and custom agents for months. he wants them to make legal stal us checks. the state delegate declared the governor and the small group of politicians with an anti-immigrant agenda are trying to divide the commonwealth, starting with police. >> we cannot abide an effort by a small group of anti-immigrant public officials to circumvent the general assembly and create police powers that do not currently exist in virginia law. >> it is very important the community understands. is it just because a police officer is asking you a question, it doesn't mean you have to answer. >> reporter: the police chiefs throughout northern virginia have already responded to his

opinion. and why some say they do ask about immigration status in some cases, in most instances, they don't. and they don't plan on changing that. in alexandria, i'm tracee wilkins, news4. a civil rights attorney working the activists said if police decide to enforce cuccinelli's opinion, his office will sue individual officers. in the district now, the race for mayor is front and center on the political stage. and lately, you may have noticed something different about candidate and d.c. council chair vincent gray. tom sherwood certainly noticed and he has the inside scoop on gray's new look. >> what did you just sign? >> reporter: last march, vince gray's hair was its usual tangle when he failed for mayor. the hectic campaign was just beginning. his rumpled image has changed. you're looking neater. it is not that rat's nest thing you had going on before. and you're wearing more toned down suits. no more of the light suits. i'm wondering --

>> and the glasses too. >> new glasses. >> i got new glasses. >> reporter: the shacher hair cut was on display after a weekend make 84. >> it is very hard during the campaigns to be able to go get your haicut and what not on a regular basis. i decided i would take a few hours this weekend. and my son insisted that i change my glasses. so i finally acquiesced. >> reporter: gone are the light suits. >> it is prominent in political campaigns for people to maybe freshen up their appearance, and i did notice he had a new hair cut. i didn't notice the new glasses but i did notice the blue suits, too. i can see the other colors in the past. he is looking pretty sharp. >> not so wild and crazy. got nice suits on. is at this time campaign? >> i don't know what you're trying to say, mr. sherwood. i think he always looks neater and cleaner. that's why he is my candidate.

>> reporter: to show we weren't being mean, we showed gray a picture of ourselves from years ago. we've changed, too. that's me right there. >> oh, my god. [ laughter ] >> reporter: i didn't know it was that bad. >> it's not that bad. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: and of course, gray is running against mayor adrian fenty who doesn't have to worry about hair. you're running against a guy with no hair and he commented on that? >> absolutely not. >> reporter: tom sherwood, news4, washington. >> he's a good sport. a friend once said you dress for the job you want, not the job you have. fashion is usually of the utmost importance for brides to be and low priced fashion was the goal for hundreds of women who recently rushed the filene's basement in northwest d.c. we're talking of course about, the annual running of the brides. and megan mcgrath was in the middle of the madness. >> reporter: there is no concern for comfort. a decent night's rest? >> we haven't slept. >> reporter: this is combat

shopping. the mission, to snag the perfect dress at deep discounts. >> i've heard about the $10,000 dresses you can get an awesome deal for like $250. i'm looking for those deals. >> reporter: it is an annual ritual. the running of the brides at filene's basement. an event that gets hundreds of women to camp out in front of the store. wedding gowns originally priced between $900 and $9,000, on sale for as low as $249. as the clock ticks down, the excitement increased. brides and their teams reviewed their strategies. >> our strategy is to run toward the front of the store by the register, and circle an area. grab asle dresses as we can and give to it a point person and sit on top of them and keep pulling dresses off until there are no more dresses. >> reporter: then at 8:00 a.m., the doors opened and the chaos

began. kimberly fell down. she limped off to the side but kept going. >> i'm going. still going. >> reporter: teams grabbed as many gowns as they could get and guarded them until the brides could try them on. >> that lady! >> take that one there! >> okay. >> reporter: it's not a sale for the faint of heart. but for those willing to go to the extreme, comes the payoff. >> i'm purchasing it. >> i found it. the first one. >> reporter: more than 1700 dresses were featured in this year's sale. within two minutes, the racks were stripped completely bare. from filene's basement, news4. >> wow! well, there is much more ahead on news4 this week including a new form of therapy that is helping both patients and shelter animals. a look at an epic work of art that once stretched 25 miles. and do you know how to keep websites from tracking you

online? liz crenshaw

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chase what matters. it's a list university presidents hate. this year a local college has made princeton review's top party schools. georgia ranked number one based on nationwide interviews with students about alcohol and drug use, hours of study and the popularity of fraternities and sororities. ohio university was second and penn state came in third. the university of maryland is ranked number 19. most of us spend a lot of time on the internet. do you know your consumer rights when it come to privacy online? liz crenshaw has a quiz that challenges what you may or may not know about sharing your information in cyberspace. >> reporter: which federal organization most actively enforces privacy laws that protect consumers online? would it be the department of

justice, the federal trade commission, the federal communications commission, or the fbi? which one is it? >> online privacy? >> i would say fcc. >> reporter: actually the ftc. the federal trade commission. it consistently defends consumer privacy rights and work to enforce important privacy laws such as the fair credit reporting act and the children's online privacy protection act. here's your next question. if a company has a privacy policy on its website, it cannot share your personal information with advertisers. true or false? >> false. >> reporter: she's right. a privacy policy outlines a company's uses of your personal information which may or may not include sharing your personal informing with third parties such as advertisers. it is up to you to read a company's privacy policy and make informed decisions. now the next question. if i select clear cookies or

empty cache in may browsers, advertisers cannot track me. true, false, or it depends? >> i'm going to say it depends. >> reporter: it does again. while clearing cook 40s your brows her generally clear html cookies, there is a second type of cookie call flash cookies. websites use them to track you because they know most people don't know about them. sites can track you even after you clear your privacy settings. here's the next question. true or false. the personal information of adults and children receive identical protections on the internet. true or false? >> false. probably children receive more protection. >> reporter: you're absolutely right. the personal information of children younger than 13 is subject to more stringent privacy protections under the children's online privacy protection act. it requires websites to get verifiable parental consent before they collect the personal information of minors younger

than 13. now the last question. true or false. company are required by law to display their privacy policy on their website. extra or false? >> i would hope true. >> reporter: yes, it's true. and we can thank a california law for that. because the internet is borderless and websites can come from any of the 50 states, all commercial websites need to comply with a california code which requires commercial websites to have a privacy policy displayed. it is the law. do you ever read the privacy policies of websites you go to? >> no. i just click the box and hope they're being honest. >> reporter: liz crenshaw, news4. >> if you didn't know, now you know. still ahead on news4 this week, why that blockbuster movie everybody is talking about could be harmful to some people's health. and a mission to teach local kids takes them on an unforgettable journey to south

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news for your health. 3d movies have been around a long time. with blockbuster hits like "avatar" and others, there are sure to be more in the future. but 3d isn't for everybody. in fact, for some watching one of these movies could make you six. doreen gentzler explains. >> reporter: joshua brown is a film major at arizona state university, a self-proclaimed movie buff. but when it come to a certain type of film, he can't bear to look. >> it will get strenuous and start to hurt. >> reporter: he has a relatively common problem where the eyes have trouble focusing on 3d images. >> your eyes are moving like really crookedly. like they're focusing and refocusing, constantly trying to adjust themselves. you can feel them working too hard. >> when being a 3d movie, there are two images to see. one out of each eye.

the way his muscles are controlling his eyes, the muscles get tired very quickly and so they tend to have a problem maintaining that same viewing angle. >> reporter: the d.c. optometrist dr. steven glasser said as 3d movies become more popular and with the addition of 3d television, he is seeing an influx of people who actually get six from watching these. it is because they use two images to create the three dimensional effect. >> if one eye sees clearer than the other or there is a muscle imbalance where one eye will not work very well with the other, 3d becomes a really problem. >> reporter: that can lead to some uncomfortable symptoms. anything from headaches to dizziness to nausea. >> they usually take off the glasses, rub their eyes and to have wait for the eyes to calm down and unless yous to feel better. >> reporter: studies show about 3% of people who watch 3d movies experience vision problems, but as these movies and 3d television become more popular,

glasser says it will be more like 8% to 10% of people getting sick. >> i think they should figure out a way to accommodate everybody so my eyes don't hurt. >> reporter: doreen gentzler, news4. >> the doctor said an eye exam should help people figure out if they'll have problems with 3d. a simple prescription with glasses or contacts may alleviate any eye trouble. traditionally, wefth dogs as being therapy animals but a program in the district uses kittens to help rehabilitate people. and it is proving to be successful and it keeps expanding. shelter kittens from the washington humane society are living at futiles where cerebral palsy patients go for treatment. the animal help those with that disorder to improve motor and sense over skills. the program started last wince ever winter and has helped nearly 200 people so far. >> reporter: the thing about them, they're really good in terms of the sense of touch. and they'll crawl up in your lap and you can pat them.

it is a great sensory experience. cats are especially therapeutic. >> the washington humane society said therapy cats actually have a better chance of being adopted because they've become more a customed to being around people. there is a group of d.c. middle school here's are going to have a heck of a what did i this summer essay to write. they are the newest young missionaries. they took what they learned about hiv and aids here to south africa. here's the story. ♪ >> reporter: ahmed has had a summer he will never forget. >> going back to africa. it was the same. >> reporter: washington and eight other middle schoolers from d.c. recently returned from a ten-day adventure in south africa. >> the supreme court, the constitutional court and we met

kids. >> reporter: it was not just the ultimate field trip, the whole thing started when a group of local college and university athletes decided the best way to do something about d.c.'s hiv aids rate was to target the city's youngest. >> they came to my school. my mom was like, i want you to learn about this. i ended up liking it. >> reporter: they learned about ways to fight the spread of the disease in our community, and they also got pen pals in south africa. at some point, tyler spencer got an idea. >> a lot of the kids had 97 been outside the u.s. before. some had never been outside d.c. >> reporter: using about $50,000 in private donations, they decided to take the middle schoolers to africa. but they wanted more than a sightseeing trip. >> we went to the orphanage to

spend time with the kids. >> reporter: they talked to them about aids and hiv, sharing what they've learned here in the u.s. with kids in a south african village, many of whom have lost at least one loved one to the disease. >> it reminds me, they were orphans but -- >> reporter: after what became a personal mission for the 14-year-old is the highlight of the trip. d.c.'s new young ambassadors took in a world cup match. craig melvin, news4. >> and learned some great life lessons. next, we will check out an

the artists christo and jean claude surrounded the area with fabric and it not difficult to see one of their more dynamic

works in california. we go to the art museum for a look. >> reporter: it was magnificent. 18 feet high, almost 25 miles long. and draped in an undulating white nailon that captured the wind and transformed an already beautiful landscape. the artist christo is a force of nature. and the running fence he and his wife jean claude created in northern california in the mid 1970s is a monument to their combined genius. >> that is so absolutely irrational. completely unnecessary. with no reason to exist. >> the fence ran up hills and down hills and through the village and across highways and so on. and you saw it as a lane that

disappeared, reemerged, and that's what gave it the magic. >> reporter: the exhibit christo and jean claude remembering the running fence shows the full drama that unfolded all those decades ago as these artists fought a bureaucracy and had to convince the state, the feds, and 57 ranchers in northern sonoma county that this art was not going to destroy the land, but enhance their view of it. >> by their simple action to oppose, they became part of the work of art. >> reporter: every step of this process is played out at this exhibit, from the sketches to the completion. we even get to meet the ranchers. >> this is really a story about how the running fence was made. >> reporter: the running fence ran for two weeks. and then it disappeared. it left the land like it was never there. >> nobody can own it, nobody can charge tickets for this work of art.

they are there for this brief moment in life, two weeks, and after that, they are gone forever. >> reporter: but the fence still runs through the memory of all who witnessed it during its brief life. >> it also made them appreciate the land which they had around them. because they saw their land in a different way. >> reporter: we will never see the running fence. a 25-foot projector, hour, brings us images of its glory and it allows to us revel in a time when a fence opened our imagination and allowed it to escape. wendy rieger, news4. >> christo and jean claude remembering the running fence is at the smi smithsonian art museum through september. thank you for spending time with us. have a great weekend. [ school bell rings ]

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