celebrated an opening day that nearly wasn't. their field and the whole u.s. government came within hours of being shut down. >> the motion is adopted. >> reporter: but lady liberty was still welcoming the masses, and washington's cherry blossom parade kicked off as scheduled, all thanks to an 11th hour budget compromise on capitol hill. at the linco memorial, one federal employees seemed particularly pleased the government shutdown was averted. >> congress was able to settle its differences. that's why this place is open today, and everyone is able to enjoy their visit. >> reporter: hours earlier, the president signed off on a deal that had both sides claiming victory. >> it is time for officials in washington to stop acting like politicians and to start acting like leaders. >> reporter: many government workers are just plain relieved. >> we were even worrying about if we were going to be coming to work. >> reporter: this military wife and daughter resents being a

pawn in a political showdown. >> we're basically going to be told, here's my boot instead of my hand. it makes me mad. it makes me very sad. >> reporter: the shutdown that wasn't. a warning shot in the budget battle still to come. this fight ends with $38.5 billion in budget cuts. both sides are calling them the biggest single cut in history. brian mooar, nbc news, washington. lawmakers in d.c. have been some of the most critical opponents of the last minute deal. though the budget allowed the cherry blossom festival to go on as planned, it also contained a provision that prohibits the district from using locally generated revenue on abortion services. and added funding for a school voucher system for d.c. that has some local lawmakers arguing that congress overstepped its bounds by adding the controversial riders to the bill without debate. >> somebody wanted the district of columbia.

it was the republicans, and the democrats gave us up. it's like a burcnch of bullies, and they say who doesn't have the tools to fight back because they don't have two senators, and they don't have a house vote to even cast one vote against the package. that's the district of columbia. so take the district of columbia, and that's what they did. >> the bill also puts d.c.'s needle exchange program to help prevent aids in limbo. the moderator of "meet the press" joined us earlier during the 6:00 hour to discuss the near shutdown of the government. he says he believes this recent budget battle is truly over but others loom ahead. >> i think the deal is done. i think there will be some complaining about it still, but ultimately they literally have to write the bill, put in the numbers, and get agreement for it this coming week. so i think this is a settled matter for now. but the real battle line will be drawn on next year's budget. i think that is what republicans and conservatives feel was the

major promise and the major mandate coming out of the election. >> you can catch david on "meet the press" at 10:30 this morning on nbc 4. he'll be joined by senior white house adviser david plouffe and republican budget committee chairman paul ryan of wisconsin. >> a great discussion. >> it will be. ryan was the one who unveiled his so-called plan for pr prosperity for 2012. and david plouffe, very instrumental in president obama's campaign. >> if this is how hard they have to fight over $30 billion, how hard do they have to fight to get 200 or $300 billion straightened out? >> i'll be interested to see if they give even a millimeter on the show today. >> it will be a contact sport before all this is done. and for us, what's it going to cost to fix the weather? let's worry about that. >> it will be fixed tomorrow. >> and we can fix it for nothing. no cost to you, the viewer. outside this morning, you wouldn't pay me a nickel for this. thick cloud cover and even some fog outside this morning. that fog tells me that the

warmer air is trying its best to get in here. and that is good news. it will scour out some of the chilliness and the ugliness that we've been dealing with all weekend. temperatures in the upper 40s to hovering right around 50 degrees right now. even though we have all those clouds, no rain drops on the radar. it will be a dry day today. all this low level moisture out here, these clouds are not tall rain making clouds. these clouds start pretty much at about the ground and only go up 3,000 or 4,000 feet, and then it's clear skies over there. all we need to do is scour out this layer of low level clouds, and we'll be in business. that's going to be a tough order for today. we'll call it a mostly cloudy day. i do think the overcast will thin out as the afternoon wears along and allow temperatures to recover in the mid to upper 60s. if you get one break of sunshine, you're going to jump over 70 degrees for sure. get over rappahannock county and the blue ridge, those spots may get a lot more sunshine. around town, it's going to be a very tough go. >> thank you, chuck. >> all right. if maryland lawmakers follow suit, the state's alcohol tax

will soon go up. after hours of debate, a house committee passed a bill late last night that supports a hike from 6% to 9%. the money would go to school improvements and the developmentally disabled. some republicans argue the rate hike will hurt small businesses. maryland senate has already passed the bill. it's now up for a full house vote, but it must pass before the session ends tomorrow night. we have one of those traffic alerts for drivers in the district that really make you worry what your commute's going to look like. a long term road project will begin this week that will affect your commute if you work downtown. starting tuesday, crews will begin a makeover of constitution avenue between 23rd and 15th streets. to start, two westbound lanes will be closed on constitution avenue between 23rd and 20th streets. the closures will begin at 5:00 a.m. and last until 3:30 p.m. from tuesday until friday, the 15th. the closure will also be in

effect next saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. the entire project won't wrap up until early 2012. it's a good thing there's no construction today because hundreds of tourists and locals will be flooding to the mall for the last day of the cherry blossom festival. not only is it the last day to catch the beautiful blossoms but also a chance to take part in one of the most popular events. news 4's derrick ward joins us live from the mall where kites will soon take flight. derrick, enough wind to put up a kite today? >> i don't think it takes a whole lot. we've seen one or two up in the air. the folks that come down here, they know a thing or two about kits. if someone tells you today to go fly a kite, consider it sound advice. at about 10:00, this kite festival will get under way on the grounds of the washington monument, it runs until 4:00 p.m. this is the first year that is officially part of the cherry blossom festival, hence the title this year, the blossom

kite festival, has been known as the smithsonian kite festival. this is more than a pleasurable pasttime. there are clubs and kite craftsmen from all over the world. they'll be doing tricks and maneuvers. and one of the most popular attractions is kite battling. >> this afternoon we're going to do a kite battle, like japanese fighting kits. it's like wrestlemania in the sky. kites try to knock each other down, and whoever's in the sky wins. >> they have kite festivals in japan, where whole villages will fight against each other, and they've had to bring in the army to break it up sometimes. >> reporter: now, this was actually scheduled to take place a couple of weeks ago. remember when we had that snowy morning. it was kind of weird they had snow on the cherry blossoms. they cancelled that festival, at least postponed it until today. you get an extra day of activity. once this gets started, there will be five fields of activity down here.

competitions and prizes. you can bring your own kite or purchase an official kite of the festival for $10.95. it's definitely a family oriented event. and, again, this marks the end of the cherry blossom festival, but what an end it will be. we're live on the grounds of the washington monument. back to you. >> it's nice to see you without your gloves and hat and coat today. obviously balmy enough for a kite flying day. hollywood is mourning the loss of a beloved director. sidney lumet died yesterday after a battle with lymphoma. he made more than 50 movies the last 50 years. he mainly worked out of new york. his films include the classic "12 angry men" which earned lumet an oscar nomination. mayor michael bloomberg called lumet one of the great chroniclers of our city. martin scorsese said it marks the death of an era.

it's 9:08 right now. patriotic puppies. someday, one of these adorable little guys could save you from a terrorist attack. we'll tell you mou. and is it too good to be true? the so-called miracle noodles. some people swear they are the oh wow, look at that. [ shrek ] calm down donkey. it's vacation time! ohhhhh, who says ogres can't surf? nice moves fiona! ha, ha, ha, i love 3d. wooo hooooo! [ shrek ] gingy! [ laughs ] hey do the roar. roooooar! yeah! marty, what's shrek doing on a cruise ship?

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in the crisis in libya this morning, the libyan government says it shut down two u.s. made chinook helicopters that rebel forces had been using. it apparently happened this morning over the oil city of brega. libyan officials condemned the u.n. for not enforcing the no-fly zone to opposition groups. rebel leaders could not confirm those reports. meanwhile, nato says it's taken out a number of libyan tanks during intense fighting on the ground. there's apparently some truth to the old saying you can't teach an old dog new trick. just ask the tsa. it begins training its bomb sniffing dogs when they're just puppies. nbc's tom costello reports these patriotic pooches are also honoring the victims of 9/11 in this training. >> reporter: hard to imagine these four-legged balls of fur so curious, playful, and into absolutely everything will one day be using those noses for the tsa, sniffing for explosives.

scott thomas runs the breeding program. what makes a puppy, what makes a dog really good? hi, sweetie. really good at doing his job. >> the thing is a dog that's environmentally bold, a dog that can go to any new environment and act like it's been there his whole life. and secondly is their desire to find their favorite toy. >> reporter: it looks like puppy play, but here in san antonio, the tsa has set up a boot camp for dogs. there's something else that makes this special. >> this here is dolan. he was number 500. >> reporter: every dog is named after one of the 3,000 people who died on 9/11. dolan's name is tattooed right inside his ear. >> this is such an honor. i can't even tell you what an honor this is for me. >> reporter: at the pentagon's 9/11 memorial, 194 benches stand as tribute to those who died here today. one of them is named after lisa dol dolan's husband, navy captain

bob dolan. >> i have a very special connection with dogs. it really filled my heart. i teared up. >> reporter: for the next year little dolan will live with a foster family in san antonio. then return to the tsa for intense training in sniffing out tiny traces of explosives in airport lounges, cargo holds, train stations, and passenger planes. then alert his handler. >> some dogs increase their pace, some dogs slow their pace. they increase in sniffing behavior. >> reporter: it takes more than a year for a dog and handler to learn to work as a team. and there's constant turnover because dogs generally retire when they're 8 years old, the tsa has to train 300 dogs each year to both maintain and grow the program. and it turns out dolan represents something very special to the dolans. captain dolan started his navy career in bomb detection. on the "today" show, little dolan met lisa and becca dolan. >> hello, baby. oh, you got my nose.

it just seems like this puppy dolan has kind of completed a circle for my family. >> reporter: tom costello, nbc news, san antonio. >> okay. this is one of those moments i can't talk. >> puppies are the cure for whatever makes you sad, no doubt. what a great program. a tear jerker of a story. just so sweet. >> someone was saying they don't think they've ever seen nbc's tom costello have so much fun on a story. >> oh, my gosh. >> with the powerful subject too. >> and he's surrounded by puppies. >> he's surrounded by puppies. >> like i said, puppies are the cure for anything that ails you. for us, we need puppies to drag those clouds away or something. it's been gloomy around here for much of the weekend. there is improvement on the way, though. i'm a curious seeker.

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9:18. 53 degrees outside. at least it's warmer than yesterday's high. >> you're going to notice the change as you get outside. temperatures about ten degrees warmer now than the same time yesterday. with the overcast thinning and thinning and thinning. i do tnk the sunshine is going to at least get us warmed up into the 60s. it will make us a much more pleasant day than yesterday. yesterday we got stuck in the 50s. we made only 51 degrees for a high temperature yesterday afternoon. today we could do at least 10, probably 15 degrees or more warmer than that. so that's already a step in the right direction. and the overcast is already starting to thin out just a little bit. we have some fog hanging over

downtown d.c., and fog usually means that warmer air is trying to sneak into the area. so i do think that we're going to see an improvement as we go through the rest of the day. for now it's awfully gloomy looking outside. our temperatures already made it up to 50 degrees. so far here in the month of april, we're 1.5 degrees colder than average. 6 out of the first 9 days of april cooler than average. today we'll go down as 7 out of 10. 70% cooler days than warmer around april so far this month. again, things are trending upwards as far as the temperatures are concerned. 52 now in culpepper. 53 fredericksburg. you folks down here across the virginia piedmont, you're probably going to break out in decent amounts of sunshine. and culpepper down towards speryville might be in mid-70s whereas this deck of clouds might hold on just long enough we may be stuck in the 50s. no rain coming out of these clouds. you don't need to worry about that. the cool air is wedged right on

the front of the mountain. it's stuck there for now. as this area of high pressure moves further off the eastern sea board, that allows more and more of a southerly wind component to come in. that will bring the much warmer air in place later on today and especially overnight tonight. you'll really notice the change tomorrow with that warm front lifting way up into portions of new england. we'll have a southwest wind up here tomorrow at 15 to 30 miles an hour. that will push temperatures well into the 80s tomorrow afternoon. so as gloomy and chilly as it's been much of the weekend, the complete opposite is coming your way tomorrow. the cold front comes late monday night into early tuesday. could have a round of early morning thunderstorms this tuesday as we did last tuesday. for today, mostly cloudy for now. thinning overcasts later in the day. warmer for sure, especially north and west of town. mid-70s for the sun breaks out. then tomorrow a lot fiser day. mostly sunny. way warmer tomorrow with temperatures back into the 80s.

30% chance of thunderstorms tomorrow. most of that coming late in the day. most of that will happen monday night into the early hours of tuesday morning. then we push the clouds late in the day on tuesday. wednesday and thursday look very, very nice indeed before more april showers roll in at the end of the week. so we will get a little improvement for today. at least it won't be so chilly as it was yesterday. we get that little southwest breeze going, and that kite festival might be more of a success later in the afternoon. >> it looked to be a bit of a breeze behind derrick. >> you just have to run faster. you've heard of a miracle pill or miracle dye to help you shed unwanted pounds. how about a miracle noodle? the japanese miracle noodle has been a hot item online, and the n nutritionists say these noodles can do wonder for your waistline. they're actually an asian vegetable that date back

hundreds of years. the tuber is high in soluble fiber. >> it's good for us for not just digestive health, but also to lower blood sugar, lower cholesterol, and helps to make you feel full. >> the miracle noodle is soy and gluten free, and it's pretty much tasteless, meaning it takes on whatever flavor you cook with t just don't slather it in butter and salt, or you defeat the whole purpose. you can get a valuable history lesson in today's kids post. here's ann yang with a preview. >> this week on kids post on tv, a battle ground, a book that is profound, and some easter eggs that must be found. joining us is tracy of washington kids post. always nice so see you. first of all is the start of the anniversary, the civil war. >> in today's kids post, we explain how it all started, how it all began at fort sumter in

south carolina. this was an amazing battle because the south so clearly and decisively won the first battle of the civil war, which kids may not really understand. >> right. >> there were only 80 soldiers at fort sumter, and 40 of them were members of a military band. >> interesting. >> so during the course of the 34-hour battle, the south really won decisively although nobody was killed at the fort. and we have all sorts of interesting ground-laying history in today's kids post. >> very important part of our history. you also have an interview with a popular author this week. >> that's right. this is a terrific book. i just can't recommend it highly enough. "the great wall of lucy wu." it's by wendy zhang. she's a local author. it's her first book for kids. and lucy is 12 and is ready for the perfect year when she hears that she's going to have to share her bedroom with her

grandmother's sister from china. >> uh-oh. >> and she builds a physical wall to divide the room and how family, the importance of family comes to -- lucy comes to understand that is the story here. very highly recommended. >> love it. all right. and you also have a big event at the home of the bowie sox. and we're not talking baseball here. >> this is a really fun event. kids can hunt for eggs in a baseball stadium. how cool is that? >> that's so fun. >> the hunt starts at 12:15 followed by a baseball game. lovely, if you've never been out to bay sox stadium, lovely family friendly event. >> it's one of the hidden secrets for a great family event for kids. not as expensive as other sporting events. >> not expensive. very family friendly. get really close to the players. they sign everything for kids. >> with the easter egg hunt, that's a bonus.

thanks so much, tracy, as always. for fun family activitieactivitt nbcwashington.com or washingtonpost.com. the caps wrapped up the regular season. nats look to make it two in a row in new york. here's hakim dermish with your "sports minute." >> good morning, everyone. your "sports minute" begins with hockey. capitals against the panthers in the regular season finale. bill thomas scored the only goal of the game. capitals lose 1-0. washington will meet the new york rangers in the first round of the playoffs. schedule has yet to be announced, but one thing is for sure. game one will be in d.c. next week. talking baseball now. the nationals taking on the mets last night. the nationals had the lead until the six llinth inning. tom gorzelanny facing slugger ike davis. davis drives one to right center. two runs score. davis in with a triple. nationals lose 8-4. they can still win the series this afternoon.

in baltimore, os playing a day-night double header against the rangers. in game one, orioles rookie pitcher zach britton was phenomenal. didn't allow a run in 7 2/3 innings. the os shut out the rangers 5-0 but lose the night game 13-1. wizards versus hawks. the wizards crush the hawks snapping a 12-game losing streak against la at that. d.c. united taking on the l.a. galaxy. charlie davies working in the box draws a penalty kick and doesn't miss from there. davies tries to drive away in a volkswagen. it's locked. the game ends in a 1-1 tie. united, however, still earns a point in the standings. that's your "sports minute." i'm hakim dermish. have a great day. still to come, a large fire at a prominent local high school. we'll tell you why investigators call this one suspicious. also ahead, a store owner murdered in his own shot.

why this is a double tragedy for his family. and if you were at the cherry blossom festival yesterday, you got to see more than just the parade and the trees. a look at the performance that's sure to become an internet hit.

a store owner who came to

this country to pursue the american dream loses his life in an apparent robbery. this morning his killer is still on the loose, and the community he serves comes together to mourn the loss. good morning. i'm kimberly suiters. aaron gilchrist is off this morning. you'll see him this evening. it's sunday, april 10th. much more on the terrible murder and fire in just a moment. first we want to get a quick check on our forecast. meteorologist chuck bell is standing by here in the studio. feels spring-like today, an improvement over yesterday. it will be considerably warmer than yesterday. yesterday we really struggled. that northeast wind was just blowing out there yesterday, and we only made 51 degrees tore a high temperature. >> did you nap through all of it? >> i did take a pretty substantial nap yesterday. >> 2 1/2 hour nap. >> people who don't understand the value of a nap on the weekend. man, oh, man. you know how hard those can be to come by. today things are looking up. the clouds hanging tough. the temperatures already showing signs of improvement out there. 50 degrees with that low gray

sky hanging overhead right now. these clouds will thin out a little bit by later on this afternoon. it's not going to become bright and sunny probably till tomorrow. nonetheless, as the clouds thin out, temperatures will respond. april sun is just strong enough to burn away some of the cloud cover. no rain coming from these clouds. these are just inhibitors to sunshine. that's all we have to worry about. no rain anywhere near us at all. these clouds will hang tough. temperatures should climb at least to the 60s this afternoon. every sliver of sunshine you get will put the temperature closer to or in the 70s, especially south and west of town. tomorrow, if you really need another little preview what it's going to be like in summertime here without the humidity, that's tomorrow. sunny, warm, and windy tomorrow, temperatures back in the 80s. and thunderstorms just like last week, late monday night into tuesday morning rush. >> prince george's county police are trying to find the person who killed a corner store owner

in bladensburg and set his business on fire. those who knew the victim say he was known for helping others in need. news 4's darcy spencer has more on how this case is affecting the community. >> it's a tragedy something like this has to happen. >> reporter: a candle and flowers at the doorstep of the "n" market in bladensburg. it's where owner richard nam was found dead friday night. police say the 69-year-old was apparently robbed and killed. the business set on fire. >> the victim was found to have trauma on him inconsistent with injuries that would have been sustained in a fire. >> reporter: firefighters were called to the corner market on annapolis road around 10:30 after passers-by saw smoke and flames. inside, they found nam suffering from trauma. he was taken to the hospital where he later died. this man did construction work for nam. >> over mere dollars to take somebody's life. it's so senseless. >> reporter: the worker says nam

came to the united states from korea in 1977 and built a family business that also includes the parkway plaza shopping center and the champagne liquor store. those businesses were closed as police search for nam's killers. >> whoever you are, please have a conscience. come forward. do the right thing. >> reporter: police say nam's niece was murdered here during a robbery attempt a decade ago. still he carried on. he was known as a kind businessman who would lend cash to those in need. he owned several buildings near the market, including the one housing bean's barber shop. >> i seen people go into the store a number of times and borrow money from him. he was an upstanding guy. >> for somebody to go in and rob him, he probably would have gave you the money. just a very unfortunate incident. >> reporter: there were surveillance cameras inside that business. police were checking to see whether any of the video can be salvaged from the fire debris. so far, there have been no arrests in the murder. in palmer park, darcy spencer,

news 4 today. arson might be the cause of a fire at walt whitman high school in bethesda. flames coming from the back of a classroom when firefighters arrived friday night. investigators say flammable liquid had helped fuel that fire and did about $50,000 in damage. right now firefighters are calling that fire suspicious. and in d.c. a special team is looking into what caused a roof collapse during a fire that left five firefighters injured. it happened at a house on 48th place in northeast early friday morning. investigators say the four firefighters still in the hospital are showing signs of improvement. one includes the volunteer chief of the riverdale volunteer department, who was helping d.c. firefighters at that scene. he's now in critical but stable condition. investigators have not said what may have sparked that fire. authorities are looking for a transient in southern california who may be linked to an explosion outside a synagogue and a jewish school.

santa monica police initially thought thursday's blast was an accident. investigators now believe the transient who spends time at synagogues looking for charity created a 300-pound homemade pipe bomb. the powerful explosion damaged the roof of a neighboring home. no one was hurt. the u.s. military is helping search for victims from the disaster in japan. japanese authorities believe 25,000 people died in last month's earthquake and tsunami. only 13,000 bodies have been found. authorities believe many victims likely washed out to sea. meanwhile, crews in atlanta loaded a huge concrete pump onto a jumbo jet bound for japan. that machine will pump water onto the damaged nuclear reactors at the fukushima nuclear plant. after a week of high drama on capitol hill, the government is back to business come monday. the president signed off on the 11th hour measure saturday, meaning thousands of federal workers, millions actually, will return to the office tomorrow.

the deal also allowed landmarks like the statue of liberty to open to tourists and ball fields like national park to open for little league's national opening day. president obama even made a surprise trip to the lincoln memorial to praise the deal. >> congress was able to settle its differences. that's why this place is open today, and everybody's able to enjoy their visit. >> but this morning, as both sides continue to angle for the credit, some federal workers and military families say they feel as though they were used as pawns in a game of politics. some local groups were happy to hear of the deal. however, organizers and participants in the cherry blossom festival parade were able to pull off the annual procession without a hitch. the parade was in jeopardy of cancellation because the national park service issues the permit for the parade and handles logistics of closing streets. d.c. police had offered to step

in in event of a shutdown. if you missed the parade, there's still plenty of events to catch before the cherry blossom festival wraps up later today. head over to the washington monument grounds this morning to see the blossom kite festival. there will be demonstrations, competitions, from 10:00 this morning till 4:00 this afternoon. at 11:00 this morning, the family bike rally and ride will take place at yards park in southeast. you can enjoy safely lessons, bike decorating, and an organized bike ride until 3:00. finally, various live performances from noon until 5:00 this evening at the silvan theatre on the national mall. still ahead, a wednesday's child whose dream is to help children himself. we'll introduce you to dylan, a soccer star whose got even loftier goals off the pitch.

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i'm so glad to meet you. we've been looking forward to seeing you. i hear you're a real sports fans. is that right? >> uh-huh. >> do you like soccer? >> i used to play soccer. >> you did? well, i think you're going to enjoy this day. we're going to rfk to see the d.c. united. dylan is 15 years old and has spent a lot of his life in foster care. >> dylan first came into foster care in 2003. so he's been in foster care for quite a while. are you excited? >> yeah. >> today it's not basketball or football, but soccer that he's excited about as we got to meet d.c. united as far as dax mccarty and san tino coranta. dylan was a little shy at first. >> we're glad to have you here, buddy. >> excited to meet you. >> have you ever been to rfk before? >> no. >> the team was warping ming up

this chilly practice field. and now he's showing off his moves for the camera. he said he wants to play college sports, maybe football, which is what he plays now. >> i want to work with kids. >> his social worker says his background would make him very effective in working with children someday. >> dylan is a fun, fun boy. he loves to be outdoors. if he could go four-wheeling, fishing, that's what he would love to do. he's really sweet and fun and has matured a lot, and he's ready for his forever family. >> i want an active family, somebody who will go outside or go to my football games. >> we've got gifts for you, man. >> he got an official jersey and four tickets to an upcoming game. all he needs now is an active family to share in all the fun. barbara harrison, news 4 for wednesday's child. >> that shirt is going to look so good on dylan. if you have room in your heart and your home for him or another child who's waiting, please call our special adoption hot line.

that number is 1-88-to-adopt-me. or log on to our home page at nbcwashington.com. not much sunshine on our way. >> not just yet. it will be a decent day if you're headed down to the kite festival on the mall. you may have to have the kids run a little ways to get the kite off the ground.

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look at this tornado. that's a monster in iowa yesterday evening. it was one of two that touched down near the town of mapleton yesterday. this one damaged several homes and businesses, but no one was seriously hurt. early reports are that at some point it was a half mile wide. >> big one. i can tell you, as someone who's chased many a storm and seen many a tornado out the front of the windshield, they were too close. that video was way too close. they were not -- either they weren't paying attention or they just were being very foolish. if you're going to go out and do storm chasing, you don't like to be so close that you're in the debris field. >> and the adrenaline takes over, and you think you know which direction the tornado is going. it can change at any time. >> and who knows whether they were professionals or not? obviously, when i was chasing, we had the doppler behind us, which makes chasing a little bit easier and a whole lot safer to have the radar coming along with on the chase.

for us, we don't have to worry about severe weather around here today. we'll be lucky if we can get the sunshine out for a couple of hours before the day's done. the clouds are moving, but they're not moving too quickly. temperatures will respond today. yesterday we only made it to 51. today we'll easily make it into the 60s. how far into the 60s and perhaps into the 70s we go really depends on how much success we have at burning away this cloud deck. the clouds are not all that thick. 50 degrees right now at national airport. there's the key to everything. the south westerly breeze. the more we can get that southwest wind established, especially at all levels of the atmosphere, that will really help take these clouds away. more importantly, it will bring in much warmer air down to the south and west and allow temperatures to respond. these are not rain making clouds. the radar remains rain free at this point in time. the cool air is wedged up here

in the mid-atlantic. it's already much milder on the other side of the appalachian mountains. yesterday's storms, those put two-inch diameter hail just west of charlotte, north carolina, yesterday afternoon. we missed all the action yesterday thanks to the cool stable marine layer we have in place. today that marine layer starts to erode and gets pushed out tomorrow. it will be like a whole other country here. sunshine tomorrow with temperatures well up into the 80s once again, just like last monday. thunderstorms late monday night into early tuesday. brings more typical april weather back for the middle of the week. plenty of clouds this morning. a few breaks later today. warmer than yesterday for sure. especially south and west of town, a big range of highs today. mid-60s where the clouds hang tough. mid-70s where the sun breaks out. everyone's in the 80s tomorrow. showers late monday night into early tuesday. tuesday afternoon, kind of off and on showery weather but not too bad. wednesday and thursday are going

to be the picks of the litter before more shower chance as rife late in the week. we're working on the clouds. if you just point your fan northeast and try to help the southwest wind out a bit. >> blow them out of here. thanks, chuck. it is 9:48 right now. talk about planning ahead. a look at one convention that will help you plan an event you'll definitely get to attend you'[ coach ] in albuquerque,nd citi pre-approved my mortgage.

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so death panels may still be a source of controversy here, but death fairs are all the rage in france. a fair offers a range of products from biodegradable coffins. this is chuck's favorite because it has a propellor and a bottle of champagne. did you see that? >> two of my favorite things. >> they've got biodegradable coffins, holiday retreats with a shaman. seminars on the relationship between death and faith. organizers say the fair is meant to convey a message that death requires preparation and should be valued as an expression of oneself. i don't entirely disagree with that. the dreirector says a shift awa from religion has helped these death planners, similar to wedding planners, and necrome necrocommerce emerge in france. did you know that was an entire industry? the chris matthews show

follows us this morning and then "meet the press" with david gregory. >> good morning, washington. coming up at so10:00, "the chri mat u matthews show." who's in charge of the republican party? the presidential candidates are avoiding this fight like crazy. now they've put forward a budget for next year that would blow up medicare and medicaid and slash other spending programs. can they hope to defeat barack obama next year with this? >> plus the new polls have donald trump second only to mitt romney. sure he's admired for his business skill, but are the polls more about his birther talk? join me for a great round table, for a look at what's coming up on "meet the press," here's david gregory. an 11th hour deal prevents a government shutdown after a week of partisan attacks. what does the final deal look like, and who, if anyone, came

out ahead politically? with us, the president's senior adviser d former campaign manager david plouffe. then the fight isn't over. what does it mean for negotiations over next year's budget? republican house budget chairman, congressman paul ryan of wisconsin, joins me for an exclusive interview. plus our political round table. all coming up this morning on "meet the press." >> you still have time to join nbc 4 this morning for the walk four hope. the event raises money for research and treatment of cancers affecting women. the walk kicks off in five minutes. run now to the corner of pennsylvania avenue and 3rd street in northwest d.c. then stick around for a post-walk conference featuring the '80s cover band the spasmatics. one of hollywood's living legends will be in town tonight for a premiere of his new movie. robert redford will be at the ford theater for the premiere of "the conspirator." it's about seven men and one woman arrested in the wake of the lyndon assassination.

all the stars are expected to be there at tonight's event. the red carpet rolls out at 4:30. the screening at 6:00. where will they dine tonight? that's what everybody's going to want to know. some visitors to the cherry blossom festival got a bit of a surprise while enjoying the last weekend of the beautiful blossoms of ♪ this is a flash mob that broke out at the woodrow wilson plaza yesterday afternoon. they're doing the hustle. to lady gaga's just dance. organizers of the mob use social media sites like facebook and twitter to get people to show up and dance. we said this will definitely be a youtube hit as chuck said, we may have oversold it a bit. last year's flash mob dance around the cherry blossom festival currently has 127 views on youtube. >> and five of them are us logging in this morning to see how many hits they had. >> and the rest were the dancers want to go see how beautiful they were.

>> they were good dancers. made it sound like a random event. their postures were all perfect, and all the moves looked good. >> and the music was piped in. there was serious organization. >> had it been you and me. you know, that's me dancing. that's it. >> that's cute, chuck. >> that's cute. >> little arm wiggle. >> what can you do? >> that's all we can do here on the desk for you today. it's 9:57. that's "news 4 today." thanks for joining us, everyone. do wake up with us monday morning. "news 4 today" begins monday at 4:30 a.m. until then, have a great day.