up went that tarp. over general mcpherson and his horse. they called it their tent of dreams. >> they're scared of us basically. >> reporter: it was more of a spectacle than a showdown with media from all over the country there to memorialize it. we found this man. he was wearing his tent. >> you can't sleep in this tent can you? >> yes i can. i've done it. >> can you eat in this tent? >> yes, i can. >> what happens when the cops come? >> i jump up. >> reporter: the occupiers have been in our town now since october but now, now the rules have changed. no camping. no bedding, no cooking, no sleeping. the tents can stay but only as symbols. it is not going over well. >> i'm going to stay as long as possible. >> you're going to sleep here? >> yeah. >> but you can't use a sleeping bag.

>> well i've got a sleeping bag in a friend of mine's car. i'll pull it out when i need to. >> reporter: the new rules supposed to go into effect at noon today. but in what turned out to be a journalistic scrum surrounded by reporters and some protesters sergeant david schlosser tried to explain the strategy. do you plan to arrest anyone who doesn't comply with your order? >> as far as arrests and compliance with the regulations, it's going to be on a case by case basis. it's a measured in incremental enforcement action. i don't believe we've made any arrests as of now. >> reporter: i did find some people packing up on their own. >> we're backing up to comply with park regulations. i think the sleep deprivation tactics are being used to evict us. >> reporter: most of the occupy people said they plan to stay for the duration whatever that is. you plan on staying? >> i do.

>> reporter: now the park police have asked the protesters to keep one tent flap up so they can peek in and see what's going on inside there. reporting live from mcpherson square i'm pat collins, news 4. >> all right. pat, thank you. well, it was much quieter at the other occupy site at freedom plaza. this is a live pitch from your there. just about all of the protesters there have moved out now. the majority of tents are now empty. but one occupier tells us, well, the people are gone and the tents will stay. >> i don't think they have any intentions of taking down the tents. they are symbolic. they are just, you know, a symbol of an occupation. they just want to make sure no one is in there living. >> people have been here all winter whom i think are courageous because it's been cold out here and any time you make it through the whole winter they're dedicated to what they're trying to stand up for. >> reporter: many occupiers at

freedom plaza said they don't expect to have any clashes with police there. >> we're following breaking news now out of hagerstown where one person has been killed in a crash involving a tractor trailer. you're looking at live pictures now from the crash scene. police tell us that a truck collided head on with a car around 3:00 this afternoon along interstate 81. police say that truck crossed the median, hit the car and then went over an embankment as you see here. the driver of the car was killed. the truck driver and the passenger both taken to a nearby hospital. that crash has interstate 81 shut down right now in both directions. a tractor-trailer and a train collided earlier today in carroll county, maryland around 11:00 a.m. at the hahn road railroad crossing in westminster. witnesses say the tractor-trailer crossed the tracks and into the path of an oncoming train. the train slammed into the back of the truck. the driver of the truck was charged with negligent driving and failing to stop at a railroad crossing. this mess closed hahn road for several hours today.

nobody got hurt though. >> tonight police have revealed new information about the man found dead at the bottom of a well in prince george's county. lenny harris, a community activist from alexandria had been missing for months. today we've learned how he died. news 4's darcy spencer joins us live from alexandria at the last place harris was seen alive. >> reporter: lenny harris was last seen right here at this rec center in old town alexandria four months ago. his body was found over the weekend about ten miles away in fort washington. he had been shot. for the first time today we got an up close look at the well where his body was found. it was here deep inside a well that's now been covered over that police found the body of missing alexandria activist lenny harris. >> it was a total shock to me because i never thought that anyone could be so cruel and mean and evil. >> reporter: the well is in a remote area of fort washington next to an abandoned home

surrounded by woods. it was covered by a large, concrete cap. prince george's county investigators say they received an anonymous tip saying if they came to the property and looked inside that well, they would find a body. after an excavation effort that took 52 hours, police recovered harris's remains 20 feet down. police say an autopsy revealed sunday that harris had been shot and dumped in the well shortly after he disappeared four months ago. >> the cause of death was a gun shot and the extent of time in the well is an extended period of time. >> reporter: harris was last seen leaving the charles houston rec center in old town 9:00 p.m. september 22nd. his car was later found in prince george's county, his cell phone on the wilson bridge, and police say this man used his credit card at an atm on king street the night of his disappearance. >> a lot of sadness and grief that a person who works so hard to help others then became a victim of a crime themself.

>> reporter: harris's wife told news 4 in september she was hoping he would be found alive. >> no matter what just come home because we love you. >> reporter: harris was known at the rec center and all around the city for working with troubled young people and fund raising for the poor. many hoping now the family can find some sense of peace. the search is over. >> this is sad to hear but may god rest his soul now. at least we found him. >> reporter: police are saying they're hoping that anonymous tipster will give them a call back because they need additional information. no arrests have been made in the case and they're offering a $38,000 reward for information leading to arrests and convictions. reporting live from alexandria, darcy spencer, news 4. all right, darcy. thank you. d.c. police have identified two men killed in a crash yid. it happened after a man flagged down police on georgia avenue northwest to report that someone in a burgundy van was shooting at them. police say they later saw that van speeding nearby and started to chase. they say the driver lost control

on taylor street northeast, hit a tree, then slammed into a police car. two officers were slightly injured. 19-year-old thaddaeus howard and 18-year-old william adams were killed. a third juvenile is hospitalized in critical condition. fairfax police tell us the suspect in a standoff this weekend near the courthouse was armed with a loaded gun. it all began saturday afternoon here. a distraught 54-year-old man barricaded himself inside a vehicle in the parking garage at the fairfax county courthouse. he said he was armed. authorities say he threatened to kill himself or hurt anyone who came near him. police were able to get him to surrender after a six-hour standoff. no one was injured. when police moved in they found he did in fact have a loaded shotgun with him. hundreds of worried d.c. cab drivers packed a crowded hearing room today as the city considers a crackdown on how the cabs operate, collect fares, and report driver income. the city's hotel industry complains the cab system gives the city a bad rap.

tom sherwood joins us now with the story. aaron, everyone agrees, even the cab drivers, that things should be better but they're worried about being put out of business. there are thousands of cabs in the district but no one really knows how many are working any given day, where they go or don't go. hundreds of cab drivers showed up monday at a hearing on a bill that would bring a lot more order to the d.c. cab industry. from a minor thing like maybe painting all cabs the same color to requiring new fare boxes that with the gps system would record not only the fare but when and where a cab goes. how long it takes, would accept credit cards, and record how much money cab drivers actually make. the general manager of the sprawling washington hilton hotel complained too many cabs don't even turn on the heat or air conditioning to save gas. >> we really shouldn't need to do this but in the summer time all of our doormen ask every taxi driver if their air conditioning is working and to turn the windows up in the car

and put the air conditioning on. >> reporter: council members say the cab industry needs to be better regulated but cab drivers who were forced to install meters in recent years worry that all the changes will force independent drivers out of business and allow big companies to take over. >> big money behind it. it is a lot of money behind this. a lot of money behind this. >> reporter: are you concerned the independent driver is going to be pushed out of business by all of the changes? >> no question about that. the effect of this bill would put the majority of drivers out of business. >> d.c. taxi commission chairman ron lizman told the council he hopes to have many reforms in place within a year. back to you. >> tom sherwood, thank you. there was good economic news in the district today. the annual audit showed that the city finished last year with a $240 million surplus. the largest since the economic downturn started. about 50 million came from under spending. the rest indicates an overall improving economic picture for

the city. district officials say the city has one of the best balanced sheets in the nation. >> i think many know i campaigned on restoring fiscal stability to the district finances and rebuilding our reserves. and today i can say we've done just that. >> reporter: top city officials going to new york on thursday for meetings on wall street to discuss the city's bond rating. we'll turn now to the weather. getting a surplus of sunshine out there. >> you never get too much. >> never get too much. the mercury is about to start moving in the right direction, huh, doug? >> big time during the day tomorrow. out there today. temperatures still a little bit above the average high. right now currently sitting at 47 degrees as that sun is beginning to make its way down right now and winds are out of the west at 7 miles per hour. been a little gusty during the afternoon today but no current gusts right now as the winds are really starting to die down. that's good news. 43 right now in gaithersburg. 45 leesburg. down to the south already 52 in culpepper and 50 in

fredericksburg. much warmer down to the south but raleigh durham coming in over 60 and that's some of the warmer temperatures making their way our way. storm 4 radar right now nothing to show you as far as rain is concerned. we will be dry through the next couple of days and we are going to see temperatures return back not just above normal but how about average of 15 to 20 degrees above average as we make our way in through tuesday and wednesday. tomorrow morning, waking up on the chilly side but not too cold. temperature about 7:00 a.m. about 35 degrees. my complete forecast coming up. i'll show you just how warm we get and what our next storm system will bring. >> we'll see you in a few minutes. thanks. a whole lot more to come. a bizarre death investigation. local authorities arrest a man in the death of his wife. he's admitting that he killed her after a bizarre set of circumstances. plus a second cracked metro rail in as many weeks causes some delays. julie carey has a live report after the break. coming up in sports from lovely downtown indianapolis we'll hear from the patriots who arrived yesterday and the giants

who have officially checked into their hotel today. a rematch of the super bowl just five years ago and this city is already bustling. we'll hear from tom brady talking about being back in the super bowl trying to beat the giants unlike the last time. a lot more ground to cover. news 4 at 5:00 is just getting started. [ male announcer ] this was how my day began.

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metro service is back to normal this evening after workers found more cracks on the rails. today's problems centered on the roslyn station in arlington. similar to the cracks found last week at the tenleytown station in the district. news 4's julie carey joins us live in roslyn with more on this growing problem for the transit system. julie? >> reporter: metro says it is a problem that's growing in frequency and is due to part to this winter weather but is also a clear consequence of this aging rail system. >> all train services on the lower level. >> reporter: the cracked rail in the tunnel just outside the roslyn station led metro to single track trains on a short stretch of the orange and blue lines from foggy bottom to boston and foggy bottom to arlington cemetery. riders found at least 15 minutes added to their trips.

it is the fifth rail crack this month and though this time it didn't hit rush hour it still frustrated midday commuters. >> i got a new job recently and had to take the metro in. basically for the last tlae months all i've seen is like weekly there is a delay, the train breaks down, something. >> normal service. >> reporter: this time, however, the fix was quick, the repair made in under two hours. the latest crack comes in the wake of a rush hour rail crack on the red line just last thursday that caused significant delays. a metro spokesman explains the cracks are a natural feature of winter's cold to warmer weather swings. but dan stesel says the problem is even more pronounced here because of the aging rail system. >> while cracked rails will always happen and every railroad deals with them in some number the frequency we're seeing them here is a clear indication the infrastructure needs work. we're well aware of that fact as is anyone who rides metro and that is why you see so much track work happening on a continual basis.

>> reporter: stesel says the roslyn track section affected today was already scheduled for maintenance next weekend. in spite of the recent spate of rail crack delays some riders still say metro works fine for them. >> i would say the metro system is reliable and so i haven't had many problems. >> reporter: coming up at 6:00 something that might surprise the riders grumbling about today's delay. metro does have some improvement to report. reporting live from roslyn, virginia, i'm julie carey. back to you. >> we're ready for good news. thank you. talk about going from cold to warmer. we're about to go warmer. we haven't been that cold. >> we really haven't. only a couple really cold outbreaks. one lasted for two days, one for one day and that's about it. >> yes. >> this one is a little cooldown we've seen over the past day or so and is all going to be out of here in about the next 24 hours or so. not just that. we'll go way warm during the day tomorrow. take a look right now. first off we'll show you how things are shaping up as the sun

is beginning to make its way down. sunset tonight 5:27. so almost at 5:30 now as we continue to see our sunset later and later as we move closer and closer to spring. but still just under 2 months away from spring. 47 degrees the current temperature right now with winds out of the west at 7 miles per hour. your current temperature 41 in hagerstown. 43 winchester. 50 in culpepper and down toward fredericksburg. right now patuxent river at 45 degrees. not showing any rain across the area. not going to see any rain any time soon. what we are going to see is the warmer numbers. look at omaha, nebraska 71 degrees right now. 62 in wichita. 66 in st. louis. so what do you think is coming up this way? much warmer air is going to start to invade our region by this time tomorrow and you'll really notice the difference. here is the cooldown. that's what we saw during the day today with the little bit of snow showers last night. maybe you saw one of those quick little snow squalls come through your area.

breezy conditions ushered in the cooler air. tomorrow the warm front will move through and bring in the warm air with the southwesterly wind. winds will be fairly gusty tomorrow upwards of 20 maybe 30 miles an hour. but it's going to be a very warm wind. that air coming all the way up from the gulf of mexico will continue to provide very warm air during the day on wednesday, too. before another cold front comes through. this one not a lot of cold air in behind that one. it's going to give us a slight chance of a shower but a better chance of rain during the day on thursday. this evening clear skies. cool with a light breeze. sunset tonight as i mentioned 5:27. temperatures 38 to 44 degrees. so we'll be a little on the chilly side but not too bad. tomorrow morning you'll step out the door and call it cool but not cold. especially for this time of year. 28 in the coldest suburbs to 35 in the city. a little bit on the chilly side but i think you'll be able to take that jacket off. tomorrow is one of those days where the kids will run outside for recess with jackets on and come back in with the jackets off because we are going to see much warmer weather tomorrow, rather breezy. 57 to 63 degrees yet another day

where i think we get above the 60-degree mark and we stay there on wednesday, a high near 65 on wednesday. 57 on thursday with a pretty good chance of some shower activity and then we'll cool off a little bit as we head toward the weekend with temperatures on friday about 52 degrees. i'll have the weekend forecast for you coming up a little later on. >> break out the short shorts on wednesday. >> not me. somebody. >> i was going to say, thank you. yeah. >> thank you. coming up on news 4 at 5:00, a virginia community searches for answers after the death of a father and twin 3-year-olds. plus keeping kids safe while car pooling. the precaution parents often ignore. and a friendly wager tonight. the super bowl

the latest now on the race for the white house. in florida there is an all out battle in the republican presidential contest. mitt romney has taken the gloves off and he is pounding newt gingrich with a barrage of commercials, attack ads ahead of tomorrow's primary. this morning romney made no apologies. >> there is no question that politics ain't bean bags and we have made sure that our message is out loud and clear. >> we have closed the gap despite all of the ads and all of the falsehoods. we're within five points.

>> reporter: the latest polls suggest romney remains in the lead but gingrich is starting to close the gap. florida has 50 delegates and the winner of the primary takes them all so the outcome of tomorrow's race could be a pivotal moment in the presidential race. a victory for opponents of virginia's kings dominion law that requires schools to start after labor day. the virginia house education committee overwhelmingly passed a bill that would let school districts decide if they want to start the school year before labor day. that vote was 16-4. today's vote comes a week after the senate killed a similar bill. it will now head to the full house of delegates. if the bill passes it could set the stage for a big showdown with the senate. d.c. councilman michael brown and jim graham say tonight they've uncovered evidence of corruption by the district's housing agency. they believe housing agency employees are making deals concerning the sale and renovation of city properties that favored certain contractors. the councilmen specifically cite

$4 million given to peace-a-holics an anti-gang group with little housing experience. graham and brown want the d.c. inspector general and attorney general to launch probes. >> today we are releasing the draft report of the committee on human services on how a very good project, you know, supportive housing for at risk youth, became just simply a way for people to make a buck. and a lot of bucks off the d.c. government. >> councilman graham says there is about $2 million that can't be accounted for. still to come today, a silver spring man arrested for the murder of his wife. coming up what police say he did after her death. >> and pepco customers sounding off as officials discuss a possible rate hike. i'm liz crenshaw. we've warned you about cashing bogus checks you get in the mail but what if the check is legit? how to determine a

a fast forward through the headlines now. a no camping law in effect at the two occupy d.c. camps at freedom plaza and mcpherson square. under that law the tents can stay as a symbol of the movement but protesters cannot live or sleep in them. if they do, they can be arrested. when that law went into effect at noon today protesters draped a large blue tarp over the statue at mcpherson square. authorities investigating the murder of an alexandria

community activist say he was shot to death. the body of 53-year-old lenny harris was found last week dumped in a well in a remote area of prince george's county. he'd been missing for four months. an anonymous tip led police to the body. hundreds of cab drivers pack a hearing room as the city considers a crackdown on how cabs operate. officials from the city hotel industry were there also. they complained that the current system gives the city a bad reputation. the head of the d.c. taxi cab commission says new regulations should be in place before the end of the year. now let's fast forward to the weather. take a look at a sunset out there right now. this is a live shot over frederick look oing off toward e west. gorgeous across the area tonight with the sun going down at 5:27. just two minutes ago. man, that dusk sure does look nice out there. temperatures will be going up during the day tomorrow. look at the current temperatures. 47 in washington. 57 in roanoke. 57 in charleston, west virginia.

our temperatures foremtomorrow be 15 degrees warmer than today. that means most of us will get into the low 60s across the area. your complete forecast coming up once again in a few minutes. >> thank you, doug. a disturbing crime inside a silver spring apartment complex over the weekend. police tell us henry gordon hutchins called 911 on saturday to report that his wife was dead but as investigators comb the crime scene they say the evidence pointed to murder and that hutchins is the suspected killer. erika gonzalez has our report. >> reporter: 68-year-old henry gordon hutchins is charged with murdering his 62-year-old wife carol carter. at the district county court in maryland today he was denied bond. police say hutchins called his daughter to their home, apartment number 402, inside the yorkshire complex saturday afternoon before 1:00. according to police, he asked her to take care of his dog. she left with the animal and then got another call from

hutchins. this time hours later, saying carter had died. according to this police report hutchins told authorities that he found his wife lying on the bed with a plastic bag over her head and when he found her still breathing, he then took a knife and stabbed her in the chest. authorities say the knife was found on the floor next to the bed along with something else inside the apartment. investigators believe he may have been packing a bag to leave instead of reporting it to the police. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> reporter: gloria says she has known hutchins since she started working at the apartments 14 years ago and says he is a nice man. she says every christmas hutchins would give her and each of the other maintenance workers a card with $20. why hutchins allegedly murdered his wife is still unknown. his preliminary hearing is

scheduled for february 24th. in rockville, erika gonzalez, news 4. now police tell us when hutchins made the initial 911 call he would not tell the dispatcher anything other than that his wife was dead. police near richmond, virginia are ruling the death of a father and his 3-year-old twin daughters a murder-suicide tonight. caroline and madison king and their father robert were found dead in their home in mechanicsville late saturday. police say the girls' necks had been cut and that a minivan was backed up to the door of the house with a tube running from the exhaust to the inside. neighbors say the girls' parents were going through a divorce and that the father had just lost his job. pepco met with utility regulators in the district today to defend their call for a rate hike. some angry pepco customers protested outside the hearing this morning. they want pepco executives to take pay cuts instead of asking customers to pay more. news 4's tracee wilkins has the

story. >> reporter: pepco customers packed the hearing room in protest and interrupted with demonstration. as pepco executives prepared to defend their requests for a rate increase to the d.c. public service commission. pepco's evidence was stacked in boxes and organized in notebooks piled high on table tops. pepco's d.c. customers adamantly protested the utility both inside and outside of the hearings. pepco was the only d.c. headquarter company featured in a report put out by the u.s. public interest group and citizens for tax justice. it claims pepco is 1 of 30 fortune 500 companies paying more for lobbyists than it does in federal taxes. in the past three years pepco holdings, pepco's parent company, received 817 million in tax refunds and earned 882 million in profits. members of the activist group our d.c. alleged that this was all happening as pepco cut its work force. they say these are just some of the reasons for the commission

to deny pepco's request for a higher rate. pepco officials say it was a result of the u.s. government changing the tax code in an effort to stimulate economic growth. in a statement released to news 4 they explained that pepco is significantly upgrading its infrastructure in the district of columbia to improve reliability and is installing advanced technology that will allow customers to better manage their energy usage and allow pepco to better manage outages. the company is also improving customer service. the rate adjustment will help pay for the costs of these upgrades. >> reporter: a pepco spokesperson tells us that whale they do receive some of the money that their parent company has earned it's still not enough for them to make all of the upgrades they would like to make and improve the system the way they need to. that's why they say they need a rate increase. in northwest, i'm tracee wilkins, news 4. now a live look at the national mall where things bankrupt to get a bit brighter

and a bit more energy efficient. in just a couple moments interior secretary ken salazar is going to flip a switch to turn on brand new l.e.d. lights along the mall. those new lights will run from 3rd to 15th streets and they're expected to reduce energy use by 65%. they're also expected to provide better lighting and security. >> waiting for that sun to go down. starting today there is an expanded metro bus service to the marc center in alexandria. metro bus route 28 x leesburg limited is adding more eastbound and westbound trips. buses are running every 25 to 30 minutes between tysons corner and the marc center. the route includes stops at the west falls church metro station and seven corner shopping center. but it will no longer stop at columbia pike and carlin springs road. riders who take the vre now have a new kiss and ride lot option in prince william county. the lot opened this morning on route 1 in woodbridge. it has separated car and bus access from the northbound lanes

with improved pedestrian access, the whole thing took about three months to complete. prtc and greyhound riders can also use the lot. a lot of people happy there. >> i wondered, used to wonder if the kiss would get you a ride. >> doesn't work that way. >> kiss then go. all right. got it figured out now. still ahead on news 4 we have an unsettling turn in the search for a missing toddler from maine. police say they found traces of her blood. also ahead when we come back, keeping kids safe in the car. the safety precaution that researchers say parents often ignore when they're transporting ignore when they're transporting more than one . welcome to carm. hi. i was on carmax dot com and i think i found the one. great car. and i think, it's right over there... (sighes)... finding your perfect car is easy at carmax because we carry only the highest quality used vehicles. and at carmax dot com, you can choose from nearly 30 thousand cars with most available for transfer to the store nearest you. so come find the one for you today... at carmax.

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most parents understand the importance of booster seats to keep the little ones safe. sometimes parents look the other way. a new study from the university of michigan found 30% of parents don't always require booster seats when their children are with another driver. experts say that is significant when you consider 70% of parents car pool. most states do require that children use a booster seat until they are 8 years old or reach 57 inches tall. half of the parents surveyed said they didn't know about those laws. pizza lovers could win big with just a toss of a coin on super bowl sunday. papa john's the official pizza sponsor of the game will give away free pizza if americans call the coin toss correctly.

first you have to enroll in the company's online loyalty program and then vote heads or tails. on thursday papa john's will announce the results of america's vote if it's correct loyalty club members will win a free large one-topping pizza and two-liter bottle of pepsi max. to sign up go to the company website. papa john's.com. look for the program called papa rewards. >> so pizza not enough for you? the mayors of bean town and the big apple are getting into the super bowl spirit too with a little friendly wager. if the giants win a family from new york will get an all expenses paid trip up to boston courtesy of boston mayor thomas menino. the trip will include two nights at the ritz-carlton, tickets to a bruins or celtics game, and meals at top notch restaurants and a famous boston ride the buckstour. oh, boy. if the pats win a family from boston will get wined and dined in new york city courtesy of

mayor bloomberg including tickets to a broadway show, tickets to a knicks or rangers game and tickets to ellis island and the statue of liberty and dinner for four at the russian tea room. both cities are freezing cold this time of the year. wait for summer or spring. >> i'd take the free package. either one of those is a good deal. >> beats papa john's. coming up, so you get a check in the mail that you're not expecting. is it okay to cash it? or could it be part of a scam? liz crenshaw reports on how to tell the difference between good checks and bad checks. coming up in sports the giants land in indianapolis and dan hellie is there live for super

consumers have been warned against cashing fraudulent checks received in the mail but what if the check turns out to be legitimate? money that is rightfully yours? >> liz crenshaw is here with some ways that consumers can protect themselves. hey, liz. >> good check or bad check? bogus checks often look very real and the mysterious check that looks fake can actually be legit. and there are millions of legitimate checks in the mail right now. is one on its way to you? >> if you look at it, i mean, it's, you know, comes in a very -- it wasn't even in an envelope. it was taped shut just one way. >> jennifer lindsay of northwest washington received this mysterious check in the mail. the amount? $18.04. it came in the form of something that looks like a post card. the check reads "foreign currency fee litigation settlement claim payment." >> what? >> i was kind of curious, you

know, is this a legitimate check or is this one of those things where if i take it to the bank and i cash it, am i signed up for some kind of time share somewhere? you know, some kind of scam? >> reporter: what was your gut? what did you want to do with it? >> shred it. >> reporter: instead, lindsay did some research. >> i did a couple google searches and found a couple news route le outlets that made it seem legit. >> reporter: the check is real and about 10 million people will receive one just like it. anyone who traveled abroad during a specific period of time. it stems from a class action lawsuit filed in 2006 against major credit card companies for the way they charged exchange rate fees when consumers made purchases overseas. did you travel overseas? >> i did. >> when? >> my honeymoon back in 2002. and i haven't traveled internationally since. >> reporter: lindy among millions of other consumers got a peefs the settlemeiece of the

>> it is rare but dhee happen. settlements take place and consumers may receive a check they are completely unaware of. >> reporter: edward johnson president and ceo of the better business bureau warns consumers must be vigilant. not all checks that come in the mail are legit. many are scams trying to take your money or sign you up for something. so before cashing a mysterious check, do some research. go online and search to find out whether the company owes consumers money and before you endorse any check, turn it over and read the fine print. make sure you're not joining a club. and never write your account number on the back of the check. >> it could be a phishing attempt to get your bank numbers. >> reporter: in this rare case lindsay can pocket the $18.04 she is owed. >> ecstatic. that will buy me a bottle of wine. >> if you ever receive an unexpected check be careful. bogus checks look real but in the end don't clear the bank.

some consumers have ended up losing their own money when the check turned out to be fraudulent. bottom line if it's a big check from someone you don't know, don't count on the cash until your bank confirms the check is real. that usually takes more than ten days to be sure. if it's $18.04 and says it from is the settlement maybe you get to go buy a bottle of wine like lindsay. >> a nice surprise. >> a couple cups of coffee, right? >> exactly. >> back to you guys. let's go to doug and get an update on the forecast. out there right now looking very, very nice and then tomorrow, well, just another day above 60 degrees this winter. how about that? right now we're currently sitting at 47 degrees outside we are looking at mostly clear skies. a few clouds out there with the winds out of the west about 7 miles per hour. we are going to see temperatures go down a little bit tonight but then look at this. look at the precipitation here. that is snow in through central pennsylvania and you can see some rain in through ohio. that is a warm front. and that warm front is going to change things up for us big

time. as far as the temperatures are concerned. overnight tonight down to about 35 in washington. 29 in leesburg. 28 in frederick, maryland. down toward manassas about 28 degrees there, too. so cool when you wake up tomorrow morning but it's going to warm up very quickly. we'll see winds shift out of the southwest. those winds will be gusting upwards of 20 to 30 miles per hour tomorrow. bringing us some much warmer temperatures. temperatures tomorrow at least about 15 degrees above where they were today and that will put them about 15 to 20 degrees above average. 63 is what we're going for in washington. 65 potentially in fredericksburg. maybe around 63 toward pax river up toward martinsburg. my friends in west virginia, temperatures up there about 61 degrees. so if you like it warm this winter, you got a lot of it and you may have even more coming. my extended forecast including the weekend at 6:00. loving it. thank you, doug. well the hellie has landed. he is early and eager and indianapolis. six days out. what's the weather like? >> you know, it's not too

shabby. i mean, we don't have the weather that you guys have right now. probably wouldn't be comfortable to go out and spend 18 holes on a golf course but it's not bad. it's in the mid 40s here and, you know, indy one of those not normal super bowl host cities. there's only been a couple cold weather cities that have hosted a super bowl. of course you have minneapolis where the redskins won 20 years ago. detroit hosted as well. indianapolis also one of the smaller cities, guys, that's hosted a super bowl so we wanted to give you a little perspective of one of the smaller towns to host a big game so we strapped a camera on the top of our photographer's car and took a little drive. the nine-hour ride from d.c., very pleasant according to mr. kerwin. you can take a look at lucas oil stadium, the colts' beautiful facility is the reason the super bowl is here and downtown already bustling. the j.w. marriott the media headquarters right next to the giants team hotel. indianapolis the city with less than a million people and they

are of course hosting their first super bowl. all right. the patriots were the first team to arrive here in indianapolis. they got here early yesterday evening and normally are not received very well here because of course they have the big rivalry with peyton manning and the colts. this is a different story. they don't have to worry about playing the colts this time around so the hoosier hospitality is a little different than normal. and ironically, the patriots are the ones who are practicing in the colts' facility this time around. >> as far as the hospitality, i never had too much hospitality here until i went for it on 4th and 2. since then, you know, i've been greeted a lot more friendly than i was in the past. regardless of where you play, super bowl is an incredible experience for all of us. i have been very fortunate in my career to be at my fifth time. you try to communicate to the younger players how special it is to be here because you never know when you'll come back.

and that's what makes for a fun week even dealing with you guys for another week is fun for the players. >> reporter: yeah. fun for him dealing with us for another week. what about the giants? they took their first super bowl flight in four years. the last one of course out to phoenix, arizona, where they beat the patriots to squash their perfect season and much like the packers, the giants just squeaked into the super bowl. it's a reason many are picking them to win this game because they are peaking at the right time. singing this scene today when the giants touched down in indy isn't something anyone expected to see about a month ago. remember, the g men are the same team that lost twice to the redskins this season. eli manning a big reason the giants are here and even though eli and the veterans on this team have super bowl experience, head coach tom coughlin wants to make sure everybody including his young guys are ready. >> the buildup to the football game no matter how you want to present it is something that

these young guys have never gone through. just the day of the super bowl, you know, and then the time on the field. if you're not careful with your team, making them understand there is a lot of nervous energy that can be spent without actually accomplishing anything in a community where no matter where they go, whatever restaurant they're in, obviously everyone is going to know who they are and that could be a good thing. you just got to make sure that you understand the circumstances and that you become -- you go forth as a pro. we're seeing a lot more colts jerseys so far so it is still a couple days before the fans roll into town. coming up at 6:00, guys, we'll hear from eli manning. of course the giants quarterback who had a pretty nifty speech for his team according to tom coughlin, something that really hit home with the guys.

a lot more coming up right outside the big stadium, lucas oil in just a few minutes at 6:00. has vance and his hog arrived? >> yeah. vance took the harley a short time ago. he's going to be joining us a bit later but we need to let him get settled in. that is a long drive on a motorcycle. >> especially in the side car. must be wiped. >> yeah. he's -- he has a lot of recuperating to do. >> all right. we'll see you at 6:00. and here is a quick preview of what's coming up tonight on news 4 at 6:00. a war of words in the race for the white house. tonight the republican presidential hopefuls trade jabs one day before the florida primaries. and getting back to normal, students in louisa county, virginia will be able to do something this week that they haven't done in five months since that earthquake that damaged their school. and oh, baby. a woman gives birth to a nearly 14-pound baby. >> wow. >> and she didn't use any drugs.

and she is able to talk about it. you're going to hear her story coming up tonight at 6:00. >> that's a whopper. >> it sure is. when we come right back disturbing new developments tonight in the disappearance of a toddler from her father's home. coming up where police have coming up where police have discovered the lit

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now to the investigation into what happened with little ayla reynolds who disappeared from her father's house six weeks ago now. police up in maine now say blood found in the home where a missing toddler was last seen belonged to ayla. michelle franzen has our story. >> reporter: new clues in the case of missing toddler ayla reynolds. investigators confirmed some of the blood found in justin dipietro's basement matches the 21-month-old who vanished six weeks ago. >> there were hundreds of pieces of potential evidence taken. among them is blood that we found in the basement. the crime lab continues to work on that evidence. >> reporter: the blood investigators say was collected in the initial weeks after ayla's disappearance and they are waiting for the results of further testing. their focus in recent weeks has centered on those who last saw ayla on december 16th. her father, along with his girlfriend, and his sister. >> what we have been told is

obviously someone came into that home, grabbed ayla, and vanished in the middle of the night. but at this point we have not found one piece of evidence to back that up. >> reporter: we reached out to dipietro but he is not commenting about the blood found. earlier this month, he denied involvement in ayla's disappearance. >> i love my daughter. i'd never do anything to harm my daughter. she is the world to me. just want my daughter home. i'm doing anything possible i can to get my daughter home. >> reporter: this past weekend dipietro attended a vigil for his daughter and came face to face in public with ayla's mom trista reynolds for the first time since ayla went missing. the parents do not live together and reynolds has been critical of dipietro's actions. ayla was living with her father while reynolds attended drug and alcohol rehab. after learning about the blood, reynolds once again demanded answers. >> my reaction is i'm still trying to concept the fact that

blood was found of my daughter's. that's my reaction. >> reporter: reynolds' dad is also speaking out about his grand daughters' disappearance. >> this family again has gone through hell and i'm tired of it. >> reporter: anger with the pain of not knowing setting in. >> that was michelle franzen reporting. that does it for news 4 at 5:00. stay right there. news 4 at 6:00 starts right now. the final push is on for votes in florida. tonight the gloves come off as mitt romney spends millions on attack ads hoping to shore up his lead and secure the republican nomination. >> the eviction owners are out but some occupy protesters are vowing to stay put setting up a showdown with police. a body dumped in a well has been identified as police reveal new clues about how he was killed. good evening. i'm aaron