hill as congresswoman gabrielle giffords turns in her resignation. good afternoon, everyone, i'm barbara harrison in for jim handly. >> i'm pat lawson muse. giffords handed in the resignation today. she is leaving the public life to put her energies into recovering from that assassination attempt last year. as chris clackum reports, giffords doesn't plan to be gone from politics for good. >> reporter: proving she needs more recovery time, a shaky gabrielle giffords turned in her resignation letter to house speaker john brother-in-law after having colleague debbie wasserman schultz read it out loud. >> every day i am working hard. i will recover and i will return and we will work together again. >> reporter: before that, tributes flowed for the arizona democrat, who was more than one of 14 survivors in a shooting in tucson a year ago that left six others dead. >> though gaby may be leaving washington today, i know this

won't be the last we see of her or mark. >> reporter: husband mark kelly and her mother were among those who gave giffords nearly as many ovations as the president received during the state of the union but in her case, everyone stood. >> gaby, america thanks you. it thanks you for the example that you have given, of overcoming adversity. >> reporter: although she didn't speak publicly wednesday, hearse was the only voice in a video posted sunday on youtube. >> thank you for your prayers. i have more work to do on my recovery. >> reporter: and it was wasserman schultz who put an emotional voice to one of the most emotional days in house history. >> there is nothing more important than family and friendship. >> reporter: for her friendship, the house bid her a fond farewell, unanimously passing a bill she sponsored to help arizonans against drug

smugglers. not one single vote in opposition. chris clackum, nbc news. and we have breaking news right now in prince georges county. the lockdown is over for students at foote elementary school in washington. >> a man walked into the school on oxen hill road and tried to rob one of the school employees, we are not sure if the suspect was carrying a weapon but did he get away. police are searching the area and the school at this hour. students were dismissed on time at 3:25. authorities overseeing the recovery effort on that wrecked cruise ship in italy say it would take a miracle now to find any more passengers alive. search teams returned to the water to search another level of the ship today. after nearly two weeks, the confirmed deaths stand at 16. another 17 are unaccounted for. on saturday, crews will start to pump the half-million gallons of oil from the ship to prevent a possible fuel leak into the

tuscan sea. jessica buchanan of virginia was one of two hostages freed last night during a raid, a daring raid in somalia. now, she is headed home and as jay gray reports, today, we are learning more about the mission to save them. >> reporter: the high-risk mission was carried out overnight along the african coast, a team of navy seams parachuting in and taking over an outdoor camp in mogadishu where american jessica buchanan and a danish citizen had been held captive since last october. >> the president authorized yesterday because the special operations forces said this was the time. jessica's health was beginning to decline. she's young woman in her 30s so we wanted to act. and they did. >> reporter: the unit that carried out the rescue was s.e.a.l. team 6, the same special operations group that killed osama bin laden. as they moved in, a firefight erupted. at least nine of the kidnappers were killed. there is no reports of any american casualties.

buchanan in africa as international aid workers were rushed by chopper to an undies closed safe location and now are traveling to be reunited with their families. >> basically, they were out of touch with her this whole time, other than just little signals now and then indirectly that they would get. >> reporter: newst was a welcome reed leave to friends at valley form christian college where during her senior year, buchanan served as student teacher in nairobi. >> it is like you go from this on hold to absolute excitement and gratitude that she is safe. >> reporter: gratitude shared by president obama, who thanked defense secretary leon panetta before his state of the union address last night. >> good job tonight. good job tonight. >> reporter: then later shared details with the nation, releasing a brief statement that said, in part, thanks to the extraordinary courage and capabilities of our special operations forces, yesterday, jessica buchanan was rescued and she is on her way home. a much safer trip, no doubt, than the mission to set her free.

jay gray, nbc news. >> there were reports that buchanan was suffering from a serious infection, however that report has not been confirmed. vida has a new website to help you track snow remove across northern virginia. once it snows at least two inches, residents in fairfax, louden and prince william counties can go to this site, enter their address and track whether crews are plowing the neighborhood. the state has traffic cameras integrated so people can check out major road conditions, street by street progress is not shown. you can take a test drive of the site to see how it works. go to our website, nbcwashington.com, and search plowing. well, there is no snow but there is rain in our forecast. >> let's check on our weather right now with veronica johnson. >> hey there, guys. before the rain, let's enjoy more of this, that nice sky we have had out there today, nice mild air too, yesterday's high,

46 degrees, no mid-50s, low 60s around the area today. hey, right around 50. that really suspect bad this time of year. 15 of the last 25 days now have been above average. we have got a light southerly wind at 7 miles per hour right now. bethesda, montgomery county, 48 degrees, arlington, 46, a little bit cooler. culpepper, 54 degrees, also 54 degrees right now in stafford and fredericksburg, virginia. so, what a very nice day this has been. some sunshine early on today but now clouds have gotten to us. we are partly sunny across the air yaw and going to see that cloud cover thicken up for the evening and for the overnight with that rain not far behind. look at your mid-atlantic radar now, showers through west virginia and big storms in kentucky and even bigger storms down south, with severe weather with a soaking rain flooding down in texas, louisiana, we will talk more about that.

all part of the same system that is headed this way. your good night forecast, 43 degrees, by 7:00, 42, 9:00. notice the clouds again lowering and thickening, 41 by 11 p.m. so, not going to be a cold evening at all or start to the day tomorrow. but get the umbrella ready and we are going to talk more wacky temperatures in our 4-day forecast. barbara? >> all right, thanks, veronica. president obama is taking his state of the union speech on the road today. he kicked off a five-state tour to sell his legislative agenda and his re-election campaign. meanwhile, his speech gave republicans on the campaign trail in florida some new material. brian mooar has that story. >> reporter: president obama hit the road with his state of the union message, a blue print for what he calls an economy built to last. >> it is an economy built on american manufacturing with more good jobs and more products made right here in the united states of america. >> reporter: iowa was stop one

in a five-state, three-day tour, stressing jobs, energy, education and changing a tax system that gives breaks to billionaires. >> if you make more than $1 million a year, you should pay a tax rate of at least 30%. >> reporter: he is giving the gop presidential hopefuls a whole new set of talking points. >> the president last night proposed doubling the tax on capital gains, which is the engine which drives job creation in the united states. >> reporter: with the florida primary just six days away you newt gingrich and the mitt romney are polling neck in neck. >> this is a president who talks about deregulation even as he regulates, who talks about lowering taxes even as he raises them. >> reporter: each of the candidates now eager to take on a president they believe has lost his working class credentials. >> he knows his policies are destroying and making difficult for those folks to get employment. >> reporter: the president and his republican rivals fighting for votes in the battleground

states. the president is gearing up for the fall campaign but right now, he is facing some serious fights with congress. on capitol hill, brian mooar, news4. stocks rallied today on news that apple had its best quarter ever and after the federal reserve's announcement that interest rates won't be climbing for the next three years. the dow closed up 83 points today. the nasdaq was up 31. the s & p 500 closed up by 11. jc penney is trying to bank on new low-cost pricing strategies. the department store will no longer have sales, but instead, will mark down merchandise by at least 40%. this move is part of a three-tiered strategy that offers every day low pricing. monthly value discounts will also be offered. best price deals will be available the first and third fridays of each month, targeting the time when many shoppers get paid. it is going to be -- >> ladies and gentlemen, welcome back --

>> a big night for former university of maryland coach gary williams. tonight about 20 minutes before maryland plays duke, the university will honor him with the unveiling of the gary williams court at the comcast center. williams led the maryland basketball program for 20 years, winning more than 460 games and the national championship. he retired a year ago. the new court will feature williams' signature in black. the terps will wear special shoes with williams' signature on those tonight as well. the reported fire hazard is gm's chevy volt resulted in a fiery hearing on capitol hill today. last year, a battery fire in a volt test vehicle went publicly undies closed for several months. today, members of congress blasted general motors and government safety regulators for "keeping a secret." some suggested a conflict of interest since the government still holds a stake in the company. >> you wait that long, you testified once before congress and didn't tell us but once the

reporter breaks the story, then you let everyone know? >> when the agency was prepared to make a decision as to what the steps were and the protocols and whether we were going to make a decision as to the risk of the volt, we would have clearly disclosed it. >> last week, the government investigation concluded that chevy volt vehicles are as safe as gasoline-powered cars. when news4 at 4:00 continues, the breakup was just too tough on her. today, new details about demi moore's trip to rehab. the first lady dished out new standards for school meals that will have your kids eating much heavier. and patients are rushing to doctors' offices this winter because of hives. dr. jackie is here and she will tell us why we have seen such a rash of people in the office

actress demi moore checked into rehab, seeking treatment for exhaustion. tmz is reporting that moore was rushed to a los angeles hospital monday night. her reps say she is seeking professional help to cope with stress and improve her overall health. moore filed for divorce from her husband of six years, ashton kutcher, back in november. well, in fewer than three hours yesterday, a jury in oklahoma ruled in favor of garth brooks in a lawsuit against a hospital. the country singer claimed he made a half-million dollar donation to integris health if

the facility named a wing after his late mother. but the hospital said that never happened and the hospital claims the deal was never finalized. >> one day mom's name is going to go on the women's center right there where the hospital is, but that hospital won't be owned by integris when it happens, i can tell you that. >> we felt strongly this was a disagreement from the gauged it has been surprise and disheartening. >> the jury awarded brooks $1 million, which includes his donation, plus another $500,000 for punitive damages. psychedelic mushrooms may help alleviate depression. the magic mushrooms contain sill sign ben linked to depression. patients' emotional well being was boosted for two weeks after being given this sill sigh ben. scientists at the imperial science college of london conducted the study. pat?

if you are suffering from itching, the hives of winter could be upon you. dr. jackie from gaithersburg is here to tell us why so many of us are itching and what to do about this. so, i understand this is the result of hives that are common in winter. >> more common in winter. the reason for that really is allergic and nonallergic causes but let's first clear up what hives really are which is a reaction in the skin to an immune problem, sour having this leaking of blood vessels that cause a rash. the rash should come and go, meaning if you have the same bumps in the same area for days, that's not hives. hives should come and go over a series of hours. and they itch like crazy. >> so, it looks like this? >> looks like that. >> okay. and why do we see more of it again in the winter? specific reasons? there.

are two types of hives, basically, the allergic and nonallergic. the allergic are here no matter what, any time of year t is the nonallergic. the number one cause of nonallergic hives is really infection there is more infection in the wintertime, again, because it is an immune response, your immune system gets all hot and bother and sometimes your allergy system wants to come along, you will break out from hives from an infection alone. >> why is infection more common in winter? >> more rampant in winter, our immune systems are a bit primed to handle them in winter and the bugs actually grow better in the cold air. the cold air also makes you have hives as well. any sort of cold trigger and some people will experience this when they lug around a bag of ice, they will break out in hives as a result. >> and exercise. >> exercise can certainly cause hives. you need to be really careful about this one. it's again due to that change in temperature. when you really heat up when you exercise and you cool down too fast, you can break now the hives, some people get an even

more severe reaction, they end up having a life-threatening reaction. be careful about that. >> okay. and hot showers? >> hot showers. again, the change in temperature, when you come out of that hot shower and then you cool down and the other thing that can happen with hot showers is if you put the massage too high on the shower head. >> that feels so good. >> feels good. but there's something called a pressure hive. that will also trigger a reaction, an immune response. >> so, we have got hives. when do we worry? >> we worry basically on severity. first, i want to be clear that we are talking about just hives, not those other reactions of a life-threatening allergic reaction no shortness of breath no vomiting, you have shortness of breath, no vomiting, you have more than hives and you should worry. second is really timing we don't get worried until we have hives for more than six weeks, that's where it becomes really what's considered chronic. lastly would be family history. is if there is a history of somebody in your family has really been swelling, not so much itching but swelling, go

look into that. there's something called hereditary angio edema and a new medicine that can actually help with that this can be a very significant and severe disease. >> what is the best way to treat the hives, other than not to take hot showers? >> the best way to treat it, this is an immune response to histamine, you taken a antihistamine there are two types of antihistamines tlourkt the one the common one, if you end up finding the common anti-hist means, you need to take them as directed. says take every four to six house, you got to take it every four to six hours, compared to ones that you take just once a day. there are also some ulcer medications, some stomach medications that also have antihistamines in it and sometimes you will see doctors do that. be careful about using steroids, that's another one that can be used in hives. and the reason you need to be careful for that is sometimes it can make it a lot worse and sometimes it can cover up a problem of why you have the hives. >> so hour does a person know whether they should treat themselves or get to your office? >> so when you should really

think about coming to us is if you've had severe reactions and particularly if you're concerned. one of the things we are concerned about with hives is it's a signal going on from the inside telling you call the doctor, it could be cancer it could be an autoimmune disease. also, don't put yourself on just some crazy kind of diet where you end up on lamb and lentils. come to us, we can help you figure out exactly of the foods you are allergic to, if that's what's causing the hives. >> love lamb, love lentils. dr. jackie, thanks so much. barbara? >> thank you. up next on news4, the designer behind that dress last night the first lady was wearing for the state of the union. look at that also ahead, f

♪

♪ [ male announcer ] combine a pnc cashbuilder visa credit card with a pnc performance select checking account and get up to 1.75% cash back for just about every purchase. learn more and apply today at pnc.com/cashbuilder. pnc bank. for the achiever in you. the first lady has the fashion world buzzing once again. michelle obama wore this dazzling sapphire blue dress at the state of the union last night. deet signer, barbara tefank, is based out of los angeles and was a former costume design. her clothing line and jewel-colored designs can be found at barney's new york. the first lady was also wearing one of tefang's floral patterned

dresses during her visit to buckingham palace where she met prince william and kate middleton. >> love the color. >> beautiful dress. pretty nice weather today, huh? >> yes, we have had very nice weather today, but we have some rain headed east and northeast, show what you that system down south has been doing, nothing like what it is going to do armed here but it has been producing severe weather, a lot of wind and a whole lot of rain. just look at those vehicles. left a lot of the area in eastern texas without power, area drenched with over four inches of rain the last 24 hours, a lot of vehicles submerged, road signs, roadways closed, hallment that city.

more moisture rolling into the area overnight. 52 in hagerstown. a chilly evening for us, so it is not going to be cold there is our sunshine. here comes the clouds. we have got a little bit of a break here. most part, clouds on the increase overnight. 41 by 11 p.m., not bad. 40 by tomorrow morning, so, not going to drop in a big way overnight, 35 to 40 degrees your range for overnight temperatures and early tomorrow morning and just light showers to start the day tomorrow. so our radar here is quiet, with he have got a bulk of rain streaming northeastward, cincinnati, charleston, west virginia, and a little around paducah. big storm i'm talking about look at the squall line, extends east of shreveport, louisiana, east of port arthur, texas, it has been producing a a lot of rain, areas of eastern texas already have had, as i said but four to five inches of rain.

that area of low pressure onto the northeast, so for us tonight, just cloudy. the showers come tomorrow, light showers, then more late in the day but the heaviest rain probably overnight thursday into friday morning. out of this system about a third to a half-inch of rain, so if it were cold enough, we would be talking about five inches of snow or so the other side of the storm, we get sunshine and windy for friday afternoon. your forecast, mostly cloudy, cool but nice, 43 to 47, southerly wind, five to ten, tomorrow morning, mostly cloudy, mild and start, yes, a couple of showers, light showers, hitting your windshield, 35 to 40 to start. by the afternoon tomorrow, high of 50 to 56. so it is going to be mild with that rain coming into the area. rising temperatures for thursday night and i think falling temperatures for friday. so friday, 56, probably falling into the mid-40s by about midday or so. >> oh, wow.

mild winter so far. >> thanks, veronica. still too come on news4 at 4:00, thousands waited hours in the cold to be the last to pay their final respects to a coaching legend. plus, there are a half dozen new dog breeds allowed that the year's top dog competition. here's a friendly reminder. it's your last chance to get verizon's reliable high speed internet and phone for small business for only $84.99 a month. call 1.866.solutions now or visit verizon.com/solutions. only $84.99 for high-speed internet and phone. plus your choice of either no annual contract or a two year price guarantee. call 1.866.solutions or visit verizon.com/solutions today. hurry -- this offer won't last long. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006

welcome back to news4 at four, i'm barbara harrison in for jim handly. >> i'm pat lawson muse. here's what's happen agent this hour. freed american hostage jessica buchanan is traveling now to be reunited with her family a navy s.e.a.l. team parachuted into somalia in the middle of the night and rescued buchanan and her danish colleague from an outdoor camp where they were being held by a group of somali kidnappers. buchanan is from bedford, virginia. the two were taken hostage in october. arizona congresswoman gabrielle give fords handed in her resignation today. fellow lawmakers, democrats and republican, gave her a standing ovation on the house floor. giffords is leaving public life to put her energy into recovering from an assassination attempt that happened last year. president obama hit the road this morning to try to sell his state of the union proposals to the american people. he will visit five battleground states in the next three days. meanwhile you can the republican

presidential candidates criticized the president's speech. they say his actions don't match his words. and stocks got a big boost after the federal reserve said interest rates won't go up any time soon. and an outstanding quarterly report from apple, too helped the dow gain 83 points to close at 12,758. the nasdaq shot up 31 points and the s & p closed the day 11 points higher. there was an emotional farewell today for legendary football coach, joe paterno. family members, friends and former players all gathered on penn state's campus to take part in a private funeral services for the coaching icon. >> before that thousands also paid their respects at public viewing. michelle franzen reports. >> reporter: at the public viewing, thousands waited in line at the campus spiritual center to say good-bye to the legendary coach. inside, his casket flanked by one former and one current football player at all times.

>> been here probably about an hour, just to pay our respects to the great man. >> say my good-byes, say my respects. i mean, avenues big part of our family. >> reporter: that penn state pride on display all throughout happy valley. at the old mainframe shop, customers filtered in to buy paterno memorabilia. >> he is probably the icon of what an outstanding coach s. >> reporter: 85-year-old lost his battle with lung cancer sunday and was fired last fall, criticized for not doing enough to address sex abuse allegations a decade ago involving former assistant coach jerry sandusky. but that hasn't affected the outpouring of support for paterno. >> the game of life, he was grooming us to be men and productive citizens and good father and good family members and bigger than football players. >> reporter: meanwhile, last-minute preparations are under way for tomorrow's public memorial here at the bryce jordan center. organizers say the 10,000 free

tickets made available online were gone within a matter of minutes. in university park, pennsylvania, michelle franzen, nbc news. a texas woman turned to candy to survive a car crash. police say the woman crashed her car into a pond in idaho last week. the 61-year-old was afraid to leave the vehicle so she sat there for five days, eating nothing but peanut butter and m & m's, she also drank bottled water. the woman finally decided to walk to a farmhouse for help when the bond started to fill. she was treated for dehydration and she was released. six dogs will make history next month as the first of their breeds to compete at the westminster dog show. >> can't wait for the announcer to try to say these names. the six new breeds are -- total

of 185 breeds will compete in the annual contest on february 13th and 14th at madison square garden. facebook users, listen up, if you haven't transitioned to the new timeline format, soon you won't have a choice. in the next few weeks, all 800 million users will have the profile page. the new timeline should make pictures and links easier to find. once you're switched, you will have seven days to preview it and make changes. after that the new profile goes live to all your friends. you can find more information at facebook's introducing timeline page or just wait for the announcement at the top of your own page. there is a lot more to come on news4 at 4:00 this afternoon. the first lady teams up with the usda to mandate schools serve healthier lunches. plus, the moxley family reacts to kennedy cousin michael

reacts to kennedy cousin michael skakel wanting a never in my lifetime did i think i could walk 60 miles in 3 days. 60 miles in 3 days is-- is huge. if my mom can fight and beat breast cancer, i can walk 60 miles. you just put one foot in front of the other, and you know that you're walking for such a great cause that you just keep going. (man) that you have all these people coming together for one common goal. (woman) the goal is to bring an end to breast cancer. (woman) the fund-raising was the easiest part. people were very giving. complete strangers wanting to help. if i can do this, you definitely can do this. (woman) i'll never stop walking, not till we find a cure. (woman) and it has to end, but it starts with us. i knew someday i was gonna do this walk. it is the most rewarding experience i have ever had in my entire life. we can do this. you can do this. we can all do this together. (man) register today for the... and receive $25 off your registration fee. because everyone deserves a lifetime.

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its ease a time for our app of the day. >> wendy rearing joins us with interview buzz. hi, wendy. >> i have a lot of friends looking for a job and they go on interview after interview after interview. if you're new -- if you're new out on the job search and you haven't interviewed in a while or you need to kind of tweak your skills a little bit interview buzz is a free app that is -- would be really good for you and it's got a lot on t for starters, one of the feature, q & a, questions and answers. your qualifications, your motivation, your gomes, your job performance, team player, cooperation, how you handle stress, your writing skills and wildcard questions what books have you read what qualities you think a leader should v and i love it 'cause it not only gives you the questions that might be thrown at you, but gives you the answer and there's a lot of them here. really, really interesting. and very well thought out and developed. dos and don'ts, what i like, dos, how you organize your background, how you prepare, how you respond to questions, how

you present a positive attitude. the don'ts, you know, don't bring up salary. ha ha ha. i walk in with a number on top of my head. they say don't do that. it's just really interesting. a lot of how to deal with politics or religion on an interview. the tips i like because they tell you what, you know, for a woman, what you should be wearing, coordinated blouse, tan or light hose rib, manicured nails, moderate or no jewelry. they even interview a -- they even -- kind of interesting, dining etiquette, what you should order, apparently don't push your chair back and cross your legs when you are done eating, whether you should a cocktail or glass of wine even though your interviewer does, never point out errors, it is just really interesting. they even show you how -- wait a minute, here to is, how to tie a tie. how to tie a half-windsor. you know, they will tell you how to do that, which is kind of

interesting. there you go gives you sort of the history on how to do -- how to do it all, which is kind of great. anyway, this is called interview buzz. it is just an interesting free app, even if you are not looking for a job, it is just kind of fun reading, just to see what you have to remember, what we might have all forgotten to do, you know, since we were last unemployed and unemployment, you know is pretty high these days. so, check it out. back to you. >> looks like a good one. >> yeah. >> thanks, wendy. >> thanks, wendy. when news4 at four continues, we will have a brand-new hd nasa image to show you from nasa. veronica will explain what we are looking at. rachael ray joins the first lady in northern virginia in a push to get kids to eat healthier at school. also, join us on nbc washington nonstop at 9:00 it is foodies, wendy rieger explores the food of all raw cuisine. stay tuned for nonstop scene d.c. going to head to a local favorite among celebrity

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i like the fact that we could have gotten five inches of snow but we are not. >> but we didn't. veronica, you have some links to show us? what do you have to show us? >> yeah, talk about the weather

from here. it has been amazing couple of days, right, with our temperatures really spiking high. today, not quite as warm as yesterday, 48 degrees the temperature. so, what are we going to do later tonight? we are going to ease on down through the low 40s here during the overnight period. you're seeing some clouds right now and going to see more cloud cover over the next couple of hours but i do think you're going to stay dry. up around the pennsylvania/maryland border, you may see a few sprinkle buys 11 p.m., but it's light showers for 5 and for 7 a.m. with a temperature of 40 degrees. you can pretty much get by, right, with just a light jacket for the overnight period. but arm yourself with the umbrella heading out the door tomorrow. we are not going to see any heavy rain again early on tomorrow that is going to come much later on thursday. these are the temp daughters thisser are expecting to fall to during the overnight. mount airy, frederick, down to 34 degrees, 36 in gaithersburg, 40 down in d.c., 36 in la plata.

showers into oakland and petersburg in west virginia. some of the first showers, light showers coming into the area late tonight. and then tomorrow, we are mostly cloudy, going to see some breaks in that rain, there will be showers early in the day, light showers, going get a little bit of a break, then see more rain for the afternoon and definitely for the evening hours. highs in the low to middle 50s though not too bad for winter, right in the bulk of our rain comes thursday night, i said it earlier, the kind of rain we are talking about receiving out of this weather system, powerful storm down south, a third to a half an inch of rain. so, if it were cold enough, we would be getting maybe five inches, if not more of snowfall out of this. here is a look at your four-day forecast, 50% chance of rain for tomorrow, the high, 54 degrees, then it's early rain, a.m. rain on friday, i think most of it will be gone by 9 a.m., your high, 56 degrees, so, rain is likely early in the day on friday right now. for saturday, 51, for sunday, a little cooler, 46.

but both weekend days, not too bad. a few more clouds coming our way on sunday and then the early part of next week, we go from one cold day to bouncing back to the low 50s, but keep in mind that for thursday night into friday, we are talking about rising temperatures, falling temperatures, with a windy day on friday. barbara? pat? >> okay, thanks, veronica. today, first lady michelle obama enjoyed lunch with students at park lawn elementary school in alexandria, making a big announcement there. >> the first lady announced a major overhaul for school lunches nationwide, bringing millions of children who eat at school healthier options such as more veggies and grains. erika edwards has more on all the changes. >> what are you going to have? >> reporter: students can't help but make at least one healthy choose at this elementary school in charlotte, north carolina where workers hand out 100% whole wheat bunce and kids gobble them up. the rest of the country is about to get schooled in nutrition. first lady michelle obama and

u.s. department of agriculture announced higher nutrition standards for the nation's school lunches, the first major overhaul of the school lunch system in 15 years. >> when we send our kids to school, we have a right to expect that they won't be eating the kind of fatty, salty, sugary foods that we are trying to keep from them when they are at home. >> reporter: starting with next school year, lunch lines will provide more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. salt will be drastically limited, a process that will be phased in over the next decade to help kids' taste buds make the transition. many schools across the country are already doing extra credit, surpassing current nutrition guidelines. >> we are seeing more salad bars, we are seeing them trying to engage students in the process of changing the menus, asking them what healthy food these would like to see. >> what is your favorite thing to buy in the lunch line? >> cheese pizza. >> >> pizza will continue to be severed as tomato paste is considered a vegetable under the new rule bus agriculture

secretary tom vilsack said the kid favorite will transform into something healthy. it will be place old a whole wheat crust, you will have low-fat cheese and have lower sodium. >> reporter: a new lesson in nutrition, schools feed kids' bodies as well as their minds. erika edwards, nbc news. coming up on news4, an unusual way one county in california hopes to promote exercise and to fight obesity, too. plus, the founder of megaupload.com is heading to court. i'm wendy rearing, coming up at 5:00, a former inmate awarded 22 million after spending two years in solitary confinement because he was charged with dwi in the inhuman treatment he says he endured. the untold stories of monticello, a new exhibit opening this week following thomas jefferson's slaves. a chefselves u

there is an effort under way in los angeles to fight obesity by making it easier for cents bike and walk around town. l.a. county supervisors approved an ordinance today requiring all new development projects to provide wider sidewalks and bicycle parking. sidewalks will also need to have sufficient shadey spots.

proponents of this plan say obesity rate goes up when people have no choice but to get in their cars and drive around. the founder of file-sharing website megaupload.com will stay in jail for another month. the fbi went after german programminger kim.com for allegedly distributing 175 million dollars worth of illegal music and movies. he was arrested in his represented mansion in new zealand last weekend. today, a judge denied bail for dot com and deemed him a flight risk. he has several pass port and bank accounts in different names. he could be extradited to the u.s. next month to face piracy charges. still ahead on news4, kennedy cousin michael skakel who wants to get out of prison before his term is up. tell you what the family of his victim those say about that. follow news4 online, search nbc washington on facebook and twitter.

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kennedy cousin and convicted killer michael skakel making a new request for a reduced prison sentence. he is insisting he is innocent in the 1975 killing of a woman named martha moxly. nbc's craig melvin has the

story. >> reporter: a cuffed, shackled and bigger 51-year-old michael skakel still insists he's innocent. >> i didn't commit this crime. are.respect kennedy cousin stood in a connecticut courtroom tuesday and asked a three-judge panel to reduce his 20-year sentence for killing martha moxley. >> give me a polygraph. i've passed three sodium pentothal tests. >> reporter: a jury convicted michael skakel in 2002 for the brutal 1975 killing that shook their exclusive greenwich, connecticut, neighborhood. police say skakel, a troubled youth from a wealthy and connected family blun edged moxley to death with a golf club. both were 15 at the time. the case went unsolved for 25 years, then in 2000, police arrested skakel, a nephew of the f kennedy's widow, ethel. after the publicized trial, moxley's mother shared her relief on "today." >> everyone said don't get your hopes up, nothing will happen. but, you know, we proved all

these people have worked so long that if you stick with it, that you truly can find justice. >> reporter: lawyers who argued his trial was tainted by distorted media coverage and bad publicity did not argue innocence tuesday. instead, they said the trial should have happened in a juvenile courtroom where the maximum sentence would have been four years. >> looked at him having committed murder at that age and the jury verdict, he committed the murder when he was a child. >> i think about ms. moxley every single day. i actually pray to her daughter every day. >> reporter: martha moxley's family was not moved. >> look at the years he was free and running around while we were such a mess trying to find out what happened. why should he get out now? >> reporter: some legal experts say he probably won't.

>> highly unlikely that he will win that he will get out early. these issues have been litigated already. even if he was prosecuted when he was 15 years old, he still would have been prosecuted as an adult. >> that was craig melvin reporting. and that's unusual four at four. news4 at five starts right now. tonight at 5:00, an emotional good-bye, gabrielle giffords resigns, her last official act as congresswoman. navy s.e.a.l.s free two hostages from their cap norse somalia. details on the raid carried out by the same s.e.a.l.s that took out osama bin laden. a rash of brazen thefts in maryland what thieves are willing to pry off your house. and good afternoon, i'm wendy leerirearing. >> i'm pat lawson muse in for

jim handly today. the so-called silver line in loudon county, newly elected lawmakers are in a budget-cutting mood. that is causing concern in fairfax county. news4's chris gordon has the story. >> reporter: the dulles rail project sunder construction, all the way out to reston, but phase two of the silver line that would extend beyond dulles international airport to serve two metro stations in loudon county may now be in jeopardy. that's because seven of the nine members of the loudon county board of supervisors was new and wanted to review financial commitments made by the previous board as they looked for ways to cut their budget it will be about a month before the board will decide whether to cut the two loudon stations out of the proposed 23-mile silver line, according to county board chairman scott york. >> going through the election cycle, most of the members that are currently sitting had expressed their support, not all of them, but most of them