mall. police have been trying to keep order. the reason? the release of a brand new sneaker that very few were able to get their hands on. good afternoon. i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly. you needed rain boots out there today and that's where we begin today, severe weather this afternoon. thunderstorms, gusty winds, and another dramatic change is still to come. >> meteorologist veronica johnson gets us started with our first forecast from the storm center. >> that's right, guys. we've had lightning, heavy rain come through the area, high winds as well. the winds will be even greater though as we go through the overnight and even the day tomorrow. in terms of severe weather we continue to see this box for the possibility of tornadoes getting shaved back. now it covers areas of charles county through the northern neck as well as eastward salisbury and around cambridge until 8:00 p.m. i doubt it is going to last until 8:00 p.m. this fast moving line of thunderstorms we've been tracking all throughout the afternoon. meteorologist doug kammerer and myself. you can see where the strongest

cells are sitting. over maryland's eastern shore and down south around calvert beach and around leonard town. annapolis is still wet. so are areas around lakeshore with some areas of moderate rain around i-30 down toward calvert beach, leonard town, st. george island and montrose getting not only heavy rain but some lightning there and that little spin that you see that's possible spin in the atmosphere off to the east moving over toward maryland's eastern shore making its way out over the open water. a possibility of funnel cloud but we never had any tornado warnings. we did have a handful of severe thunderstorm warnings down toward the south and east. the other thing the winds increasing. we have 30-mile-per-hour winds, even 43 up around cumberland, maryland. so in terms of advisories a high wind advisory. all those counties shaded in pink. now we've got to deal with the wind. that means the possibility of some power outages throughout the area. your temperatures sit in the 50s. when i return i'll tell you about the dramatic change coming

our way during the overnight period. jim? >> all right. veronica, thank you. check out these pictures. hundreds of people camping out overnight waiting in enormous lines around the mall at prince george's all hoping to get their hands and feet on a pair of sneakers. there were similar scenes at malls all over the country. this is orlando, florida. police wore riot gear as they broke up a rowdy crowd there. the sneaker craze was over the nike air galaxy. they glow in the dark and cost 220 bucks a pop. on ebay some are going for $2,000. >> reporter: some of the sneaker lovers got in line as early as yesterday morning at the mall in prince george's hoping to leave walking on air. air galaxy foam posits by nike that is. >> people are going crazy with these sneakers. ah!

i didn't shave. >> reporter: the highly anticipated galaxy foam posits glow in the dark so people were very excited. but as the hours wore on, the rumors started. is it true that this foot locker will not be opening early and releasing the highly sought after shoe today? >> i'm waiting for the foam posit. i'm just hoping to see this and make sure for myself. >> reporter: it became such a hot topic that pg plaza was trending nationally on twitter. police and emergency services stood by in case the crowd decided to turn but there were no incidents. after several official announcements that no shoes would be sold, some gave up and walked away while others still hoped that when the mall opened for regular business they could somehow get a pair. meanwhile on minnesota avenue in d.c. another crowd formed outside the dtlr where folks from as far as philadelphia were

waiting for foam posits. >> i got here at like 10:00 last night. what time is it now? seven something? >> reporter: when the announcement was made here no foam posits today some people left. others stuck around since the kevin durant and lebron james sneakers were going to be released. the lebrons also glow in the dark. that was just as good for some customers, like this guy. >> i'm kind of disappointed but i had planned to get more than one shoe anyway so it gives me a better chance to strategize. >> reporter: what are you going to do with your foam posits when you get them? >> sit them on a shelf and look at them and watch them gain value. >> reporter: here at the dtlr on minnesota avenue the managers tell us they'll release their foam posits tomorrow morning and it will be lottery style. folks will have to line up for tickets. >> when you walk around they go cha ching cha ching. every step. we'll have more on the sneaker rush right here at news 4 at

5:00 tonight. derrick ward talked to a father whose son was robbed for another pair of limited edition. it's been a day since the maryland state senate passed a bill legalizing gay marriage. today governor o'malley debated the issue with virginia's governor who doesn't support same sex unions. they talked about the issue during the state solutions conference at the museum today. o'malley says it's about human equality but mcdonald says virginians voted to ban same sex marriage with a constitutional amendment in 2006. >> we think that's the right policy. it's certainly in line with several hundred years of anglo american legal thought and also the typical traditions of the churches and it reflects the collective conscience. >> we concluded it was not right and not just that children of gay parents should have homes that are protected in a lesser way under the law than other children. >> same sex marriage opponents

in maryland have vowed to bring the issue to a vote or referendum. governor mcdonald says he doesn't believe the commonwealth will follow maryland's lead in legalizing gay marriage. >> old dominion university is giving gay and lesbian students a new option for living quarters. school officials there tell us they'll offer dedicated on campus housing in the fall for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students and their supporters. the accommodations will be located in an existing residence hall and will be called lavendar house. 18 students have already signed up. george mason university and the university of richmond also offer dedicated housing for gay and lesbian students. there are four days to go before the michigan primary and the race is taking on huge significance. michigan should have been a reliable win for mitt romney but for his campaign some of his latest polls are showing the race is too close for comfort. steve handelsman has the very

latest. >> reporter: desperate to win in his home state, mitt romney came to detroit promising to cut income taxes. >> 20% down across the board. >> reporter: romney reminded michiganeders he opposed the auto bailout. >> we should get the government out of general motors so the future of that company is determined by the demands of the market place not the preferences of bureaucrats in washington. >> reporter: ford stadium looked almost empty, a setup candidates usually avoid and claiming hometown loyalty romney just sounded rich. >> as i drop a mustang and a chevy pickup truck. ann drives a couple cadillacs actually. >> reporter: mrs. romney's '07 and 2010 cadillac srxs together would cost about $57,000 at car max. auto workers protested romney saying let detroit go bankrupt. anger that rick santorum hopes

to rip up among republicans with his new ad. >> who's on the side of michigan workers? not romney. he supported the wall street bailouts while turning his back on michigan workers. but rick santorum's made in the usa plan changes everything. >> reporter: santorum's surge changed romney's plan, forced him to attack, and changed romney's image. no longer the inevitable nominee, even though he fought back to even in the latest polls. >> i think michigan is a tossup tuesday night but if mitt romney loses michigan, i think it's going to have major repercussions across the nation in this race. >> reporter: no one knows it more than the native son. even if romney wins michigan analysts say the struggle might make him look weaker. i'm steve handelsman, news 4. >> and steve is headed for michigan this weekend and will be reporting on the presidential race from michigan next week. vermont's senator patrick leahy says the maryland man held

in a cuban prison won't be released any time soon. he met with the cuban president yesterday and they discussed the alan gross case the american subcontractor arrested in 2009 for bringing satellite equipment on to the island. he is serving a 15-year prison sentence. leahy said while castro agreed that gross was no spy, there is a long way to go to win his release. it's the next chapter in the ongoing penn state sex abuse investigation. federal prosecutors have subpoenaed documents and computer hard drives from the school. authorities are reportedly looking for information about jerry sandusky and three former school administrators linked to the scandal. sandusky, a former penn state assistant football coach, is accused of molesting boys over a 15-year period. he denies the charges. the state trial is scheduled to begin in mid may. >> we're just getting started here on news 4 at 4:00. justin bieber calls his attorneys. why the teen pop star is so

upset about an iphone game. chris brown is accused of robbing one of his fans. the police report reveals what may have set him off. and the owner of the orioles brings a lawsuit against facebook. we'll be b people! look at you! texting...blogging... all this technology, but you're still banking like pilgrims! get high yield free checking at capital one bank. why earn bupkis, when your checking could earn five times the national average!! and free atms anywhere. five times the national average!!! that's new school banking. sign up for high yield free checking at a capital one bank. what's in your wallet?

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michael jackson's doctor won't be allowed out of jail while he appeals his conviction for involuntary manslaughter in the pop star's death. a los angeles judge has refused dr. conrad murray's bid for bail during a court hearing that took place today. murray was not in the courtroom himself. the superior court judge says murray is a flight risk and would be a danger to society if he tried to practice medicine again. jackson died of a drug overdose back in 2009 while under dr. murray's care. singer chris brown is accused of stealing a fan's cell phone down in miami. police say the incident happened outside a south beach night club. a woman saw brown sitting in the car, took a photo of him with her iphone. she claims brown then grabbed the phone and said, quote, you're not going to put that on a website. she says he then drove off with the iphone. no charges have been filed but

if they are, it could mean more legal troubles for brown, who is still on probation for beating his then girlfriend rihanna back in 2009. more trouble in hollywood. tmz is reporting actor girard butler has just been released from the betty ford center after spending three weeks being treated for substance abuse. his problems are believed to have been triggered by the physical demands of shooting the movie "300" back in 2006 when his struggle with pain apparently began. sources tell tmz butler began relying heavily on prescription meds back then. justin bieber has sent a cease and desist letter to a company that made a game called joustin bieber. it stars an animal with bieber's popular hair cut. players try to get the beaver to sign as many of the so-called otter-graphs as possible. bieber's lawyers say the game uses his likeness without

permission and are demanding it be pulled from i-tunes and other app stores and want the company to reveal just how much money it's made from the game so far. big headliners will take over the stage for this year's wmzq fest at jiffy lube live. the big show takes place june 3rd. >> we now know the names. >> miranda lambert, chris young who is pretty much there. he's becoming the big-time act in country music. but what makes wmzq fest so special is there is a side stage. in a few years you'll be like i remember when i saw that person on the side stage. now they're on the main stage. >> the up and comers. >> yes, sir. >> tickets go on sale next friday, march 2nd, at 10:00 a.m. it's going to be a huge show. well, with weather like today, it is easy to think about summer. and for many parents, that means summer camp for the kids.

>> already. parents also know if they don't act soon they won't get a spot in the camps their kids want. washington parent magazine has some help for us. joining us is assistant editor jeannette berogin. it's already that time. february is the time to pick a camp isn't it? >> it's hard to believe camp registration is already open. they're filling up fast. parents need to act now in order to get their kids registered for camps. that's why washington parent is here to help. we have a camp guide with over 250 camp listings that can help parents decide on a camp and summer fun expo, there this we >> which ones are trending or more popular? >> a lot more camps are going toward shorter sessions. whereas you used to send your kids to sleep away camp for the entire summer now kids opt for one or two weeks. that's both because parents are trying to save a little money but also because they want to squeeze in that vacation, soccer

camp, acting camp, as many different experiences as they possibly can. we're also seeing a lot more pop culture camps, something we've been noticing a lot more of. glee camps, harry potter camps, reality tv taking ahold at summer camps this season. >> that makes sense. >> yeah. >> so now there is so much to choose from. where do you go to get like a whole list to find out about all of this? >> like i said washington parent is a terrific resource for camps. our website has tips on camps, stories on camps, the latest trends, links to registration, so everything that you need and like i said, dulles town center this weekend is going toave an amazing summer fun expo with not just camps but river riders is going to be there. we'll have performances, giveaw giveaways, everything is free. a really fabulous resource. >> hey, you mentioned the economy. talk a little bit more about that. rising gas prices, travel prices, too. are you seeing that camps are

more expensive? are parents cutting back as you mentioned to shorter week or two long sessions? >> i don't know about the prices of camps going up but parents in this region definitely want their kids to have that opportunity so they're willing to pay the money. at the same time shorter camps or camps close tower home are definitely available for parents looking to save some money this season. >> all right. well, it's that time. it's a fun time. and, you know, a lot of parents have more than one child so it really takes a lot of coordinating. >> yeah. >> and logistical planning to try to make the whole summer work. >> yeah. so this weekend is really just a one-stop shop for all different ages and interest groups. >> great way to do it. and bring the kids with you too. >> we'll have some great mascots, performances, tons of stuff for kids. baking demonstrations. >> they'll have fun choosing a way to have fun for the summer. >> all right. jeannet jeannette, thank you so much

from washington parent magazine. >> thank you so much for having me. nice to meet you. coming up on news 4 at 4:00 a disturbing trend. tweens are posting videos on youtube asking people to tell them if they're ugly or not. >> oh, no. plus we'll head back to veronica in the storm center tracking some severe weather this afternoon. >> for all your news be sure to follow us online. news 4 just search nbc washington on facebook and we're on twitter, too. i have copd. if you have it, you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms... by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate.

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want to say hello to all of our friends at st. ambrose school in cheverly, maryland. i was there to speak this morning for their black history month program and i was so impressed. these kids are the best you could ever want. each grade performed a skit. they talked about history. they did music and art. i was so impressed. and the room was full of parents. the auditorium was full of parents which helps make a great school. they have great teachers and great principals. >> and lots of goodies. >> their school mascot is the

bee so they gave us t-shirts with st. ambrose school bees. >> is that why you worth color today? >> of course. in honor of our kids. yes i have it turned around. i'm giving you the water jug and you the pencil. >> thank you. >> one more thing i want to show you the picture that the kindergarten class painted for me and i just thought it was so nice they took the time to do something so special. >> very nice. >> st. ambrose. great school in cheverly, maryland. >> i'm going to wheel this over to you. >> you could have filled this up easily today. >> that's what the folks down through southern maryland are saying today. because they probably got the worst with the higher amounts of water coming from the sky. but, now, the storms are over. what's next for us? >> the wind. >> the wind is going to be the main story during the overnight and even tomorrow. so is the big drop in temperatures. let's head outside. we do have some fog developing. you say why the fog?

because the wind really hasn't been cranking up yet. let's talk about the temperatures throughout the area, too. all right. in terms of rainfall 6800ths of an inch of rain in quantico at the airforce base. 0.35 in fred ricks, and 0.59 in annapolis, maryland. right there. there was that pocket here down through the south pushing off to the east where there was a lot of rain coming with those thunderstorms. you can see where the line is now through delaware down through maryland's eastern shore coming into salisbury. that tornado watch, the county shaded in yellow is really shaved back since earlier today. still includes calvert areas of st. mary's county as well as the northern neck down to the south but again likely to be shaded back even more and probably discontinuing way before 8:00. a couple warnings, too, for severe thunderstorms around georgetown, cambridge, and salisbury as the line continues moving east. as i said, winds are going to pick up. all these counties shaded in

pink, frederick county down toward loudoun, forecaausier co. the highest winds will come during the late evening and early part of the night as the front moves through. you can see our wind now is calm. the temperature 54 degrees. 54 and dropping during the overnight period. by tomorrow morning, 40 to 39 degrees. areas in the outlying suburbs will be starting out much lower. probably between about 34 and 39 degrees right in the beltway. so windy conditions behind that front. all of this that you see in the high spots of pennsylvania and down through western maryland and west virginia that cold air, the lingering moisture, that snow they could see between 3 and 5 inches of snow in the high spots of west virginia, northern west virginia as well as western maryland. by sunday we get the sunshine, less wind, and i think slightly higher temperatures. so still sunday i think might be the best day out of the weekend. for your evening showers, thunderstorms increasing. winds again up to 50 miles per

hour. 48 to 60 degrees. might be even some isolated spots in the higher elevations that get up to 60-mile-per-hour winds. 34 to 39 degrees. wind chills by tomorrow morning some locations in the 20s so a cold and windy start after having a couple days that have been so mild. 45 to 48 degrees for tomorrow afternoon. there's a look at your four-day forecast for sunday. the high 50. for monday 60. someone just asked us in the weather center. when is spring going to come back since it's -- the temperature has dropped outside and all that wind and the chill for the weekend. it comes back the early part of next week. >> okay. >> real quick behind us on the white house secret servicemen in short sleeves standing on top of the white house, end of february. won't be like that tomorrow though. >> no. they're going to have their coats on tomorrow. they won't be standing -- i guess they have to stand up there but they'll definitely have their coats on. >> thanks, veronica. >> you bet. still to come, what's old becomes new at the oscars.

what this year's favorite has in common with the very first best picture winner. it was an accident that made national headlines. now a news anchor finally talks about a serious dog bite that happened on live tv. a driver makes a wrong turn and the car winds up right in the path of a freig [ dog growls, barks ] bring your dog to work day... not our best idea. [ barking ]

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welcome back to news 4 at 4:00. i'm pat lawson muse. >> i'm jim handly. we've got a good weekend to take in a movie before the big night. oscar's big night is almost here, three days away. >> the 84th annual awards will take place on sunday and there could be an echo from oscar's very first year. >> reporter: the silent film "wings" won the equivalent of best picture at the very first academies back in 1929. for the first time since then, silence could again be golden. >> everybody has fallen in love with "the artist." >> eight other films are best picture contendors including the civil rights tale "the help" and the family drama "the descendants" and the story book fantasy "hugo" but it's "the artist" the black and white homage to the dawn of the talkies that is expected to

charge academy voters. >> it is a story about old hollywood, a story about the ups and downs of a career in the movie industry, and also a great romance. >> reporter: the star frenchman jean judarjin is up for best actor. >> i have to say, i love the -- either way i'm happy. >> reporter: best actress is seen as another dual between "the help's viola davis and meryl streep a two-time oscar winner. >> it does seem weird to say meryl streep winning would be an upset fwu has been almost 30 years since she won. >> reporter: christopher plummer has never won oscar but is expected to for his performance in "beginners." "the help's" octavia spencer is up for best supporting actress. >> the two of them deserve all the awards they've gotten including the oscar they will surely win this weekend. >> reporter: it could be a night where oscar's present recalls

its past. billy crystal is hosting the academy awards this year for the ninth time. baltimore orioles owner peter angelos and another baltimore attorney have filed a lawsuit against facebook. they accuse facebook of spying on the internet activities of members after they've logged off the social network. facebook officials have said in the past that the technology in question does not compromise privacy and that it's used to protect the social network from spammers. but this lawsuit notes that facebook filed a patent for software that tracks social network users while they are on another domain. a facebook spokesperson says the company plans to fight the lawsuit. >> tumbler is taking a stand now against its self-harm blogs by implementing new policies. starting next week tumblr is placing strict limits on blogs that promote eating disorders, self-mutilation, and suicide.

there is a rapid growing teenage community that promotes and glorifies anorexia and bulimia. tumblr will also give blogs that share this type of content a brief grace period to edit posts or remove them from the site. the feedback has been mixed. some applaud the decision while others are concerned it infringes on free speech. we think of adolescence as a time when kids are filled with insecurities so the latest online trend for teens and tweens may shock you. >> do you guys think i'm pretty? >> i think i'm prettier. >> am i pretty? am i ugly? >> when many kids this age might be mortified by a peer criticizing the way they act or look some are asking complete strangers to rate them. they're posting videos of themselves on the internet and asking for comments. >> there's a couple people at school that constantly every day call me ugly. i thought that asking other

people could make me feel better about myself. >> this focus on determining what your peers think of you is not something new. the technology has provided a new avenue for doing this and they're taking advantage of it in ways that sometimes might be positive but certainly has risks. >> experts say parents should make absolutely sure that their children know their value has nothing to do with their looks. >> that's disturbing. >> it is. >> wow. coming up on news 4 at 4:00 our app of the day is sure to make you the star of your own oscar party. plus -- >> i'm liz crenshaw. will the cherry blossoms bloom earlier this year since the weather has been so warm? that is the question. the answer is

it's oscar weekend and today's app of the day is devoted to all things oscar. >> i'm suddenly craving popcorn. here's wendy rieger with details. this is called the race. it is the race for oscar. it's on your ipad and iphone. it is really fun. it's got everything you could possibly want on it starting off with the news, just filled with all kinds of information. and things that have been posted, james cromwell who's up for "the artist." and he goes into detail about the progression of the academy

awards and what he would do to change the voting process. oscar dominated demian bashir acknowledges his favorite part is getting to meet new friends and get to know the actors. you have the blogs. billy kristol's best tweets. costume designers, all of these blogs, what people are saying, and then the nominees. there are a lot of categories. this is why the night is so long. if you're looking for the ever important sound editing, who is up for sound editing, you know, hang on. there you go. drive, the girl with the dragon tatoo, hugo, transformers, and war horse. who knew? this would be good if you're having a trivia game. also just the event. it tells you it is two days, four hours, and 21 minutes away. there you go. the race. the oscars. so you will be the know it all at your little party.

>> we missed the last part. the sounded editors clipped your mike. >> short film live action. who is up for that? >> that's why the night is so long. >> it is a very long night. >> everything. >> also don't forget you can download our nbc 4 iphone app for free so you can stay up to date on the latest news and weather on the go. we will be putting oscar stuff on our stuff tuesday night, i mean sunday night. just search nbc washington on i-tunes. >> all right. thank you. when news 4 at 4:00 continues veronica will be back with another check on the changes coming in our weather. the top part of my lip right here was gone. >> we're now hearing from the news anchor who was bitten by a

we're following breaking news now on the beltway. the hov lanes on i-395 are completely shut down at this hour. that's because of an accident at washington boulevard in arlington. this is a live picture of the highway at this point. again, the hov lanes on 395 completely shut down. this is happening at washington boulevard in arlington, virginia. going to be a rough, rough ride home for a whole lot of folks. let's take a look now at the weather which of course is increasing the difficulty this

rush hour. veronica? >> that's right. a rough ride but at least those storms are gone. the storms now over maryland's eastern shore and just north of salisbury, maryland, a report of a tornado warning. in terms of signs what we do each and every day sometimes we get the opportunity to go out and visit and do those school visits that we love so much. this was mine last night. piney branch elementary school in takoma park, maryland. where we spoke not only about black history month, celebrating, being good citizens and leaders in their communities and schools but also talking about science, what it is that doug kammerer and myself do each and every day. these were just one sharp, smart group of young men and young women. so i had a ball being out there. let's head over to the storm 4 radar and i'll show you that warning now just north of salisbury, maryland. a tornado warning. still some spin there. still some high winds. but our storms are gone. we're left with just a few lingering showers now.

the temperature 54. that's when the wind picks up. well, it's going to be a little foggy. patchy fog out there. but the winds will be picking up this evening overnight and throughout the day tomorrow there will be plenty gusty. we're at 50 degrees in gaithersburg. 54, but there are already some locations west of the region that have dropped down into the 30s where we'll be early tomorrow morning. about 34 and 39 degrees with wind, folks, you'll need your coat if you're going to be heading out early tomorrow morning. the clouds will be leaving the area. they'll still be mixing through our area throughout the day tomorrow. that snow west of cumberland and the high spots around petersburg just west of there probably 3 to 5 inches could accumulate overnight and throughout the day tomorrow. cold and windy for your saturday, sunday, much improved. 48 degrees right in d.c. tomorrow. 51 fredericksburg. 50 degrees in pax river again with some clouds it'll still be rotating throughout the area. with the high winds we could see some downed trees and power

lines and possibly then some power outages throughout the area for the evening and possibly even early part of the day tomorrow. nice weather returns early next week. 60 degrees on monday. guys, and into the mid and upper 50s generally most of next week. so this dip is just for the weekend. have a good weekend. will cherry blossoms bloom earlier this year since the weather has been so warm? can you recycle a damaged car seat in we have a question about u.p.s. shipping charges. it is friday, folks. liz crenshaw is here now to answer it all. >> nice to see you. >> great to see you too. >> thank you. >> our first one comes from lee in silver spring. lee says with the warmer than usual weather we've been having so far this year will cherry blossoms at the tidal basin bloom earlier than usual? >> we did contact the national cherry blossom festival for the answer. it says that it takes prolonged

extreme cold or warm weather to impact the peak bloom period for the cherry blossoms so at this point it isn't concerned about a change in cherry blossom bloom dates. the peak bloom date typically occurs between late march and early april. get this, folks. on march first the national park service will announce its prediction for this year's peak bloom period. don't ask them until march first. they're not telling. >> we can start the drum roll now. >> march 1. >> our next one comes through e-mail from michelle. she has an expired car seat. she wants to know if there is any way to recycle it. >> well, we contacted the montgomery county division of solid waste services for the answer to this question. it says that if a car seat is damaged or has been in an accident or is past its expiration date it should be discarded even if you don't see anything visibly wrong with it you're supposed to toss it because expired car seats are not guaranteed to have the same safety standards as newer models. the same goes for damage in accident involved seats. unfortunately, due to the

variety of the types of materials in a child's car seat, there is no guarantee that any part of the car seat can be recycled. that one unfortunately we're talking trash. >> there are so many brands and designs. >> and bits and pieces, whether metal, plastic, foam, etcetera. the answer is there is no way to recycle them. our last question comes from joann in green belt, maryland. she recently sent a package through u.p.s. and was charged for sending a two-pound package when it really only weighed about a pound and a half. she wants to know why she was charged for more than the actual weight. >> joann is precise. she knows how much her stuff weighs. u.p.s. did provide this answer for us. it says that when calculating shipping weights for packages it rounds up simply to the nearest pound. so 1.6-pound package is going to round up to 2 pounds. it also does something called dimensional weight calculation to account for the size of package. that's because planes and trains that ship packages typically run

out of space before they reach a weight capacity so the shape of the package matters as well. if you've got a question you'd like us to consider for ask liz send it to ask liz at nbc washington.com. connect with me on twitter. just search liz crenshaw. on facebook by searching liz crenshaw's consumer watch. coming up at 5:00 tonight what are the rules for taxes on those restaurant to go bags in montgomery county? do you pay that five cent tax? where does that whole leap year thing come from? what is the best way to wash your blue jeans? we have the answers at 5:00. >> 30 rock had a whole episode about it. >> leap year, leap year. >> thank you, liz. pat, back over to you. >> thank you both. coming up on news 4, a car hit by a freight train and it's all caught on tape. if you suffer from arachno phobia you're probably seeing bigger spiders than everyone else. coming up at 5:00 a

19-year-old working for papa john's pizza gunned down on the job. police say it's what the gunman did to him that has them surprised. hundreds of people waited in long lines for the midnight release of the popular sneaker but there were plenty of people

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hurry, offer ends march 3rd. call 1.877.827.fios. call the verizon center for customers with disabilities that's 1.877.827.3467. at 800-974-6006 tty/v. fios. a network ahead. brazilian transportation officials are investigating why this helicopter seen here literally tore itself apart. the incident happened in the city of para.

the video shows the chopper shaking violently then crumbling. investigators believe something called ground resonance caused the accident. the condition can occur when the aircraft's rote ar operates while the chopper is on the ground. four people were inside the cabin at the time. no one was seriously injured. two delaware women are lucky to be alive after their car was hit by a freight train. the incident seen on this video happened yesterday morning in newark. police say the driver ended up on the tracks after making a wrong turn. good samaritans tried to push the car to safety but their efforts ended when they heard the locomotive coming. there were no reports of injuries. the car, though, was crushed and pushed several hundred feet. wow. pretty scary. well the more afraid you are of spiders, the bigger they appear to be. >> our creepy story of the day according to a new study by research aerts ohio state university. they put people suffering from

arachno phobia in a room, had them walk up to a tank with a tarantula inside and move it around with a probe. once the spider was out of sight volunteers were asked to draw a line representing its size. ooh look at the fur on that thing. those were the greatest fear -- with the greatest fears tended to over estimate how large the spiders really were. >> that's a large spider. >> that's a big one. it's filling up the screen. people exaggerate though. it's that big! >> that's creepy. >> a little creepy. when we come back on news 4 at 4:00 that television news anchor talks about her serious anchor talks about her serious injuries while being bitten

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a tv anchor woman is able to speak again after a live segment landed her in the er. kusa's kyle dire was bitten by a dog two weeks ago. two operations and 70 stitches later and she can finally talk about the devastating morning. her nbc co-anchor gary shapiro has the story. >> reporter: an interview about a dog saved by a firefighter after falling through the ice. then she leaned down and gt too close to the dog, max, and got bit. >> i put my hand like this and i realized all the blood and the

top part of my lip right here was gone. >> reporter: after four hours of surgery at denver health, 70 stitches, and a skin graft, she officially started her recovery. >> i'm so lucky. it could have been worse. it was bad but just think, my cheek, nose, eye, throat. i'm fortunate. i'm going to be fine. oh, well look. >> reporter: since the accident kyle has gotten hundreds of cards, letters, e-mails, social media well wishes. she says she's overwhelmed. >> all these children decorated these cards for me. >> reporter: students and classes, her friends, people she's met, people she doesn't even know. >> look from the magic that can come out of your down time. >> reporter: all sending happy thoughts. >> to write me these notes, so personal, to, look, i am starting to cry. to write such words of encouragement. they just know me from tv. they're just so wonderful, gary.

i mean, people are just so kind, loving, there to pick you up when you're down. and i will be forever, ever grateful. >> reporter: but not all the messages were positive and kyle knows a lot of people were upset that animal control kept max for ten days before releasing him back to his owner. >> i'm glad the dog is back home with his family. i never wanted anything but. it was an accident. and it just kind of all snowballed and perfect stormed into the bite and then all of this that followed. i'm doing better. the dog is with his family. it's time to move on. >> that was gary shapiro reporting. kyle says she believes the story has had, will have a happy ending and again emphasizes she is very grateful that everything is going well. good for her. that's news 4 at 4:00. news 4 at 5:00 starts right now.

it was just tragic what happened. >> a papa john's employee gunned down on the job. tonight as police search for the gunman his family wants to know why. we're going to have the story for you in just a minute. good evening. i'm wendy rieger. >> i'm jim handly. we start off with the wild weather and begin with the severe storms that have rumbled through our region this afternoon. >> reporter: and the winds are starting to pick up. storm 4 meteorologist doug kammerer has the latest for you. doug? >> yeah, guys. it really was never about the thunderstorms. we did see a tornado watch a little bit earlier. that's been dropped now. we did see the strong to severe storms down into southern maryland where we had some reports of hail around waldorf, also around pax river and many other locations through southern maryland and the eastern shore. all of those showers are now out of here. there is one more down just to the east of fredericksburg in through king george county. i do expect that to move across the river in toward st. mary's county so watch out for that storm. not a whole