good morning. welcome come to "news4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. traffic alert in the district. crews cut power to traffic signals at dupont circle and traffic control officers are directing drivers at this time. this could make for a messy day at had a busy intersection. news4's megan mcgrath joins us live from dupont circle. has more. how is it looking out will now? >> reporter: barbara, right now it is looking pretty good. it did get a little messy, though, at the tail end of rush hour when they first turned off the traffic signals but if you take a look now, you can see that traffic is running smoothly

here. traffic control folks with vdot at the intersections. they are instructing people where to go and when they can go through the darkened signals and doing a very good job. we have seen the congestion in the area ease up. we are expecting things to heat up once again during the lunch hour. that's when all of the pedestrians will come out to get a bite to eat. so people are going to have to watch out for that. this will take, unfortunately, several hours to do. dupont circle, it is a busy place with a complex traffic pattern. congestion on a good day. turn off the traffic signals and things can get pretty dicey. >> ridiculous. >> reporter: vdot is upgrading the traffic signals, adding a backup power system, so they will work even when the electricity goes out. but to make the change crews had to take all the traffic lights offline. the work began around 10:00 a.m. traffic control officers guided cars through the busy circle. it didn't take long for a backup to form on massachusetts avenue.

>> i mean, it is terrible. but there's nothing i can do about it. >> reporter: how long have you been sitting here? >> probably 10, 15 minutes. >> reporter: late? >> yes. very. >> i mean, bad time for me. i'm sure people are already at work don't think it is so bad. not good. >> reporter: take a look at that cross walk sign. completely dark. pedestrians, you also are going to have to aattention to the traffic control foeksz. they will have to tell you when it is safe to go across the street here. we are expecting things to get messy again right around lunch hour. so many people that work in the area will be going out for a bite to eat. we are going to have a lot of folks standing on the corners waiting to cross. again, we believe that this project is going the take anywhere between three and four hours to complete. folks will have to be patient and pay very close attention to the folks directing you through the intersections. reporting live from dupont circle, megan mcgrath, news4. >> what mess it is at dupont circle even when they are not doing any work. >> reporter: i know.

they are doing a good job, though. traffic control people, we did have some backups in the very beginning. got a little ugly there at the tail end of rush but right now it is not bad. >> this will be the time to go then. thanks, megan. let's check out other midday traffic problems. danella sealock, anything happening out there anywhere else that we should know about? >> traveling i-9 in virginia, actually looks really good. as you make your way from dale city connecting to the beltway. no issues to report. now, if you are continuing the commute on to 395, we will fly over it together. really good northbound at duke. 55 miles per hour. seminary road you are at 60 miles per hour. no issues as you make your way to the 14th street bridge. live look at the 14th street bridge, nice and smooth as you make your way into the city. but avoid dupont circle. barbara, back to you. >> thanks, danella. turning to the weather now and more seasonable temperatures you on there today. storm 4 meteorologist tom kierein joins us with the first forecast of midday. good morning. >> it is a beauttle day. gorgeous blue sky.

bright sunshine. not as warm as yesterday. we have had that northwesterly breeze. bringing in cooler weather. right now 48 at reagan national. now in fairfax county it is in the mid 40s. and it is in the mid and upper 40s in arlington county. much of prince george's county now mid 40s. so is montgomery county. southern maryland, chesapeake bay, northern neck, lower eastern shore, hit the mid and upper 40s. near 50 across parts of north central virginia from fredericksburg into fauquier county. and culpeper and towards charlottesville. farther north and west we are in the low to mid 40s. shenandoah valley and out into the mountains and we have a beautiful clear sky here right now. just a very few thin high clouds coming into the ohio valley. those may begin to move our way by sunset. beautiful sunset. rest of the day sunny and cool. those light breezes out of the northwest around 5 to 1 miles an hour. and temperatures climbing into the mid and upper 50s by mid afternoon. beautiful day coming up. enjoy. big changes on the way.

each day different beginning tomorrow. all the way into the weekend. i will have all the details coming up. >> tom, thanks. we look forward for to you come in here in a few minutes. police in a small town in ohio are still trying to figure out why a teenager walked into a high school and shot a number of students. this morning one of the injured students was pronounced brain dead. another student died yesterday and three others were hospitalized. police say 17-year-old t.j. lane opened fire on a table full of students at the chardon high school cafeteria. lane lives with hips grandparents and is a students at a nearby buy vocational school for at-risk students. a stun in the cafeteria at the time of the shooting spoke on the "today" show this morning. >> i was actually at the table that -- the shooting occurred at. t.j. was just a table behind us. i saw him pull out the gun and i yelled "duck." i was the only one who ducked

under my table. and my friends stood around there and i remember him firing off all of his shots and then standing up and seeing my friends just laying o the ground. >> lane has not been charged yet but is scheduled to appear in you don't have nile court this afternoon. meanwhile, lane's family released a statement late last night. it reads in part they want to give their, quote, most heartfelt and sincere condolences to the family of the young man who passed." it goes on to say, quote, this is something that could never have been predicted. right now the school district is holding a news conference. we will have more on that at 11:30. students in dematha high school are remembering a student that suddenly died. webb accepted a scholarship. he complained he was not feeling well and died shortly after

arriving at the hospital. >> he was a great player for us, you know. 6'7". started in the bakery secn of the safeway along new hampshire avenue. no one was hurt. the cause is still under investigation. safeway officials tell us the store should open sometime this evening. a house fire in northwest washington kept fire crews busy. this is along 17th street in the mt. pleasant neighborhood. we are told no one was hurt. the cause of this fire is also

un under investigation. it is -- 11:07 right now. coming up, it is a big day for the republican candidates for ppr president in arizona and i michigan. plus, what d.c.'s lottery and gaming board are saying about a billion dollar casino being proposed in prince george's county. a world leader, waiter and tray full of beer. the outcome is worth seeing. the word is swapportunity. can i have the definition? swapportunity: the opportunity to swap a higher calorie snack

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israeli officials say they will not warn the u.s. if they decide to launch a preemptive strike against iran's nuclear facilities. that according to intelligence officials. the announcement came in a series of private conversations during a recent visit to israel by state department and intelligence officials. israel says keeping america in the dark would decrease the likelihood that the u.s. would be held responsible for failing to stop the strike. the two countries are expected to meet in the coming days to discuss how to handle iran's nuclear ambitions. right now, the united nations arab league is holding emergency meetings on the violence in syria. the u.n.'s human rights council could vote on the resolution that calls for an end to attack civilians. a syrian human rights group

facing britain says heavy gunfire today has killed 12 people and wounded dozens more. u.n. political chief pascoe says well over 7500 people altogether have died in the syrian violence. a maryland soldier was one of two service members shot and killed in the retaliation. the burning of the korans at a u.s. base in afghanistan. arm major robert marchanti and another officer were shot in the back of the head as had sat in a heavily guarded building. taliban claims responsibility. he's from baltimore and leaves behind a wife of 24 years and four children. the major taught elementary school students in baltimore county. relatives say he was scheduled to return from afghanistan in september. in less than 30 minutes, president barack obama will speak at a united autoworkers conference in washington. the president is expected to remind automakers one of the reasons they made a comeback is because of the government

bailout. mr. obama is expected to remind the workers that gop critics which and some white house challenges oppose the bailout. that's what he said to people when he was visiting an auto show just last month. this is a big day in decision 2012. michigan and arizona are both holding primaries at steady stream of voters lined up to cast their ballots when polls opened in detroit this morning. earlier surveys showed mitt romney leading rick is an tore number arizona. but in a tight race in his home state of michigan. nbc's tracie potts has more. >> reporter: voting under way this morning in suburban kroyt and further north and troy. with 30 delegates at stake in michigan today it is like 14 different prime air niece one state. >> one story in western michigan you have a lot of conversation christian voters. you view lot of suburnite.

>> reporter: back and forth between rick santorum and mitt romney. >> senator is an tore sum a nice guy. but never had a job in the private sector. >> remarkably well for being outspent as we are. >> reporter: some voters say they are tired of the attack. >> it is luke it is a feud. talking about what needs to be done for the country. >> got your cameras and you got -- got to put me up on facebook tonight. >> reporter: "wall street journal" op-ed monday said he called the tax plan obama-style class warfare. he is sponsoring computer robo calls all over michigan asking democrats to vote against romney. romney called it a dirty trick. republican governments are worried a prolonged fight could hurt the party's chances in november. >> people think you should turn it down. >> little late for that advice. >> before the polls close today, rick is an tore sum headed to ohio. he's focusing on super tuesday

where mitt romney is already outer loop spending him almost 3-1. tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >> ron paul will be in virginia today as he focuses his campaign on next week's super tuesday. paul will speak at a rally at the waterford, springfield this evening at 6:00. paul and mitt romney will be only major kaj studded candidates on virginia's republican primary ballot. newt gingrich and rick santorum both failed to qualify. republican lawmakers pushing a bill that would require virginians to show identification before voting. the legislation barely passed the virginia senate. it would make voters who don't show i.d. at the polls have to use a provisional ballot. the ballot is only counted if the voter returns to the registrar and after election day with required i.d. democrats say the legislation resembled jim crowe era efforts to suppress mine or votes. the republicans say the bill mirrors requirements to prevent

identity fraud. more threatening letters containing a suspicious powder was sent to capitol hill -- sergeant and arms guy for and says the mail facility intercepted the letters yesterday morning. initial testing indicate powder was not hazardous. no word on which law makers were targeted. similar letters in oregon were sent to senate and lawmakers. all of them had a harmless powdery substance inside. stood the supreme court takes another look at the rights of corporations. citizens united decision two years ago justices ruled corporations are considered persons when it comes to free speech and human rights. now the court will decide whether corporations can be sued in civil court as individuals. today it involves a class action lawsuit by the oregonian people of southern 23450i jeer yeah against the oil company shell. the complaint allegations shell

conspired with the nigerian government to commit human rights violations. we are enjoying another sunny day out there. but with little bit chillier temperatures than we had yesterday. the trend now? >> i like it. it is invigorating. >> it is. >> good day to take your toddler to the park and they need a knit hat and mittens. other than that, gorgeous blue sky. bright sunshine. turn your face to the sun and soak up vitamin d. there's the washington monument and the jefferson memorial. bridges crossing the blue waters of the potomac and reflecting that gorgeous blue sky. right now bright sun at reagan national. it is 48. there is a lighter northerly breeze now. we had gusts around 15 miles an hour. now nose winds have decrease ad bit and temperatures are climbing now to near 50 degrees throughout much of northern virginia and southern maryland, though, they -- they are still in the mid to upper 40s, charles, calvert, anne arundel counties. and in montgomery county,

fairfax, arlington, prince george's counties, most locations in the mid 40s now farther west and north. we have near freezing temperatures along the pennsylvania border earlier this morning. now it is near 50 there. much of panhandle of west virginia, shenandoah valley, beautiful day there. with blue skies, blue ridge. gorgeous day there. it is in the mid 40s. and the newton space showing the clear sky. we have a few clouds beginning to come our way. this will announce a change that will be approaching here by tomorrow. front coming in bringing perhaps rain. going forward over the next 48 hours, clouds begin to close in tonight and then by midnight and after midnight we will have rain begin to move into the mountains and by 10:00 tomorrow morning, we will have rain moving in from the west looks like, area of green light rain and yellows and orange and -- colors in yellow. those are areas where they could have some moderate rain. that includes areas north and west of washington. this is by mid morning to late morning. then during the afternoon that moves off to the east.

then overnight on wednesday evening, lingering showers, southern maryland, eastern shore and then we will dry out on wednesday night and then mid thursday morning, sun back, sunny day on thursday. and into thursday night we will have a mostly clear sky. so for the rest of this tuesday, enjoy that beautiful sunshine. we will have cool breezes coming in out of the north and west and temperatures climbing into the 50s. we will have it in the mid 50s around washington, upper 50s, though, throughout much of virginia, much of maryland will be in the low to mid 50s. later this afternoon. then those clouds will be on the increase this evening. sunset right before 6:00. few clouds around. still be able to see bright convenient us and jupiter in the western sky along with a crescent moon above jupiter. and then cloud up after that and by midnight down to near 40 degrees and then by dawn tomorrow, down to the thurts but probably no rain starting off tomorrow morning and in the early morning hours morning commute. it does look like the rain will

move in later in the morning on wednesday. tomorrow midday and afternoon maybe a few passing moderate showers. rumble of thunder, don't anticipate any severe weather. too chilly. it will be up around 50 degrees tomorrow afternoon. then on thursday morning down into the mid fourth with sunshine, gorgeous day on thursday, afternoon highs, climbing to you a round 70 degrees. as we say hello march. and then on friday, clouds return. each day is different here. afternoon highs near 60. and then on saturday could get rain for part of your weekend. highs near 60. sun back on sunday. turning chillier. highs near 50. chilly damon. highs only in the mid 40s. >> we are going to have a 70-day this week. >> one more yeah. coming up on thursday. >> all right. thanks, tom. we will check on the traffic and see if there are any problems you should know about. here is danella. >> good morning. well, barbara, traveling on i-66 east as you approach the

beltway, you have road work slowing you down and taking away the left lane. as you make your way to nutley, that's where you will see a lot of traffic. you are bumper to bumper and slow to the beltway. stick to the right and you will be okay. crossing over the american legion bridge, no issues there. in fact, outer loop as well as the inner loop taking the inner loop and you are clear. beltway in montgomery county, you are clear there as well. inner loop, not seeing any issues to report at this time. barbara, back over to you. >> thanks, danella. 11:21. still ahead on "news4 midday," fabulous facial for men and women. you can mix it up at home to brighten your skin. what's on tv news? anchor bit by a dog. remember that? did you see that story? you will want to see what happened to her. we have a look at her coming up. we have a look at her coming up. here is a look man: we need a good night's sleep. woman: which means a little heat

to keep us warm. and a good dose of support for my back. some over-the-top comfort couldn't hurt. and our perfect dream factory's been built. you're feeling sleepy already? nighty-night. [giggling] and enjoying it less and less? stop paying for second best. upgrade to verizon fios and get tv, internet and phone for an incredible price: just $89.99 a month for two years with a two-year agreement. it's an amazing deal, but it's for a limited time only. so don't wait. want to save even more? call right now and we'll add a special bonus: $300 back. unlike cable, fios delivers a 100% fiber-optic network to your home. get america's fastest, most consistent, most reliable internet, plus the best tv picture quality, and more hd. why keep paying so much for cable? switch to fios for just $89.99 a month for two years with a two-year agreement. save $600 in your first two years. and don't forget your special bonus: $300 back.

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charity run by white house party crasher salahi settled with the state of virginia after a multiyear investigation. the journey for the cure foundation will pay $32,500 in penalties and salahi must personally pay $2,500. the investigation found the charity made false statements and solicited donations without being registered with the state. they are also accused of misleading donors about how donations would be spent. german chancellor angela merkel got a cold surprise when she sat down for an ever last might. take a look at this. a waiter serving merkel says he was bumped from behind and causing him to lose his balance and spill five glasses of beer down the back of the german leader. after the initial hock passed she smiled and flicked her hair. she eventually raised a toast and still soaking wet and went

on to deliver her speech as scheduled. this morning, the denver news anchor bitten by a dog on live television sharing her recovery for the first time with a national audience. kyle dire is the morning anchor at the affiliate anchor at denver. she was interviewing a diver that saved a dog. the dog bit her upper lip and part of her nose at the end of the interview. tomorrow it will be three weeks since the incident. this morning on the "today" show she talked with ann curry about her reconstructive surgery. >> everyone is saying that -- you know, some day there may not be a little blip there at all. it is fascinating what they did. they took my upper lip, this area was gone. and so they put my -- my doctor took a part of my lower lipp and flipped it up, sowed my mouth together. the cells regenerated and it worked. >> wow. doctors performed two surgeries

on her. she also received 90 pitch stitches. her mouth was sewn shut for a while. she doesn't know yet when she will be able to return to work. the dog has been released from a ten-day quarantine. he is back with his owner today. 11:27 is the time. coming up, new information coming out right now from a news conference by school officials in ohio where two students were killed at school. plus, for the first time this year, people in prince george's county will have a chance to ask questions about a proposed casino in the county. a rainy mid week forecast. tom kierein has an update on when that rain will arrive and how much we ca

right now on "news4 midday," drivers are having hard time getting around dupont circle. power crews are out there. they cut the electricity this morning for the traffic lights to install an upgraded system. traffic control officers are directing drivers through that busy intersection right now. right now president barack obama is at the united autoworkers conference here in washington. about 1600 people are at the annual national community action program. the president is expected to speak at any minute. let's listen in. >> ray lahoud is in the house. give ray a big round of applause. it is always an honor to spend time with folks who represent

the working men and women of america. it is unions like yours that fought for jobs and opportunity for generations of american workers. it is unions like yours that that help build the arsenal of democracy, defeat of fascism and won world war ii. unions like yours that forged the american middle class. the great engine of prosperity the greatest the world has ever known. guys helped to right the american story. >> president barack obama peg at the autoworkers conference in washington. about 1600 people are at that annual national community action program legislative conferences called. the president is expected to speak about -- remind workers that automakers made their comeback because of the government bailout of the industry. he hasn't said that yet.

he is expected to say that this morning. meanwhile, police and school leaders in ohio just wrapped up a news conference talking about the deadly school shooting near cleveland. two students have now died and three others remain hospitalized. and the motive for the shooting at chardon high school is unclear at this hour. as a suspect is getting ready to make a court appearance this afternoon. melissa mollet is live in the newsroom and has news on the latest developments. >> that second death was announce ad few hours ago. we know one of the injured teens is still listed in critical condition. school and law enforce many official just wrapped up that news conference a few minutes ago. the sheriff said they continue to look at the why and what in the case as the community looks to heal. 17-year-old t.j. lane is now in custody. he will be in court at 3:30 this afternoon and doesn't attend chardon high but a nearby high school for at-risk students. witnesses say that he came into the cafeteria monday morning and started shooting. teachers chased lane who was

arrested a few blocks away. monday night hundreds of people gathered at several vigils across the tight-knit town to 00 or those that were injured. >> my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, especially the two families whose -- they lost their children to this ordeal. we certainly keep our thoughts and prayers to the three other people and hopefully have a speedy recovery. >> chardon, northeast ohio, is rallying like nothing we have ever seen before. >> now there has been a lot of talk about the shootings on face book and twitter this morning. some students say lane had recently sent a text or tweet and was planning to bring a gun to school. nbc has not been able to confirm that at this point investigators had executed several search warrants looking for a motive. counselors will be available for students tomorrow as well as thursday. school, we understand from the

press conference, will be back in session friday morning. another conference just like that one scheduled for 4:30 this after. hoping to get more information out of that one. >> we will con to follow this story. the man known as the rapist has pleaded guilty to three cold case rapes. tim busby is already serving three consecutive life sentences for a string of rapes in 1983. in 2009 a practical grant held montgomery county investigators to test three cases from the 1970s for dna. they discovered he was also responsible for those crimes. he is scheduled to be sentenced thursday and faces a maximum of two more life sentences. prosecutors want leslie johnson to pay a fine before she heads to prison next month. they saw she should have to pay a $15,000 fine before she begins her one year and one day sentence 37 johnson admitted last year to trying to flush

$100,000 check down the toilet and stuffing $80,000 in her bra. the prosecutors made a similar request before her husband reported to prison. that request was denied. the public will have a chance to voice hair opinion about a proposal to bring on hue-end casino to the national harbor. they are hearing from the district's gaming and lottery business about the billion dollar plan. tracee wilkins reports now from oxon hill. >> reporter: the prince george's county executive announced wanting to build a $1 billion casino here on national harbor property, there has been a lot of debate. now d.c.'s getting involved. since the national harbor development first broke ground on prince george's county, very little has been built without some controversy so, of course the same is expected of a proposal for a casino. but this time it is not just the people of prince george's who are concerned but neighboring communities as well. >> i think there's no doubt that revenues that would be going into the district would leave

the district and go to the national harbor area. >> reporter: buddy rugal says that if a casino is approved it will most definitely take money out of the district of columbia. >> from the standpoint of self i shall standpoint of the d.c. lottery in terms of that, in -- of what we want to see happen for the district, i think that it would have a negative impact. >> reporter: the people that live at the national harbor are watching their community take shape. >> best thing about it, i will tell you is that the minute we moved into n the value of our started going up. >> reporter: and are now considering what a casino down the street would mean for them. >> my reaction was no, no, no. i moved here. national children's museum. hi four of my children and this is perfect for my grandchildren. casino completely contrary to that -- to my idea of living here. >> we only an -- don't anticipate any traffic issues or anything like that. and the -- the peterson group is -- has done an outstanding

job of keeping the harbor very high quality. so we think it actually is going to increase our real estate values. we are pretty happy about it. >> reporter: folks that live in district nine have the opportunity to ask the county executive whatever this want to about this casino at a public meeting tonight. it is happening at k3w7 7:00 p.. tracee wilkins, news4. tom is telling us we can expect changes in the weather. let's go to him now to find out atright now there's a gorgeous blue sky. live view from our high definition skyest washington an now with that sunshine and a northwest breeze, we have warmed up into the 40s just about the entire region from the mountains all the way to the atlantic beaches. 48 now at reagan national. we are in the mid 40s in fairfax, arlington, montgomery, prince george's counties. hit the low 50s farther south from stafford and spotsylvania and to fauquier and culpeper. and view from space showing clear sky, plenty of sunshine the rest of the afternoon.

high pressure moves over and then we will have a front approaching bringing in clouds later tonight and then by dawn tomorrow down into the 30s and reach the mid and upper 50s later this afternoon. then climbing back only to near 50 tomorrow afternoon with rain likely moving in late morning and off and on during the afternoon. may get up to an inch of rain by time it ends on wednesday evening. and then we will have the sky claerg out late wednesday night. on thursday, we will have the shine back with a high near 70 and then clouds return again on friday. and cooler. could get rain saturday and the but it has to overcome some heavy criticism frm the public first. last night a crowd of frustrated metro riders told the transit agency they don't want to pay higher fares. metro proposing a price hike to help pay for safety improvements and involves a minimumhelpoot t bull. >> we need the jurisdictionses

to step up and give metro funding it needs to give us the service we deserve. >> the next forum is tomorrow night. let's check in on the midday traffic again and see what danella sealock is -- has to tell us. anything happens out there now? >> i still have my eye on i-66. this is your commute, we will take it together. westbound on 66, no issues there. eastbound really good out of haymarket. 64 miles per hour. now as y y ntreville, still gd. 60 miles per hour. as you get to nutley, you are going to slow down and you are at 35 miles per hour. and at nutley. and that's because once you get to gallows, still have road work blocking the left lane and slowing down just a bit. inside the beltway i i-66 eastbound good. 60 miles per hour. barba, back over to you? >> thank you very much, danella. cruise ship drifting powerless at sea is being towed to safety. a french fishing boat is towing it to a nearby island. the boat should arrive thursday.

more than 1,000 passengers and crew members are onboard the cruise ship. generator fire set the cruise . the passengers were guests on the cruise ship. carnival says it will reimburse the passengers for their losses and help them replace documents taken. earlier this month the u.s. state department issued a warning about traveling to mexico because of the rising violence. 11:is the time. still ahead on "news4 midday" we will show you how to mix up a fabulous facial at home. plus, the new report that says sleeping pills can do more harm sleeping pills can do more harm than good.

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warn thing morning for those of you who have trouble sleeping. if you looked to popular sleep aids to get rest, you could be raising your risk of death. eun yang has more on a new study from the news4 super screen. >> barbara, thanks. between 50 million and 70 million americans suffer from insomnia. the sleep disorder comes with considerable health risks. heart disease, stroke and obesity. this new study shows that combatting a sleepless night can also be dangerous. the study which was publish order the online british medical

journal looked at more than 35,000 patients. about a third of whom took popular sleep aid like lunesta or ambien. they found in a period of 2 1/2 years about one in every 16 people taking a sleeping pill died. that's compared to just one death in every 80 patients not on a sleep aid. meaning the death rate was more than four times higher among those looking to control their insomnia. now something that the study didn't 2350i7bd was a cause for the higher death rate. sleeping pills are known to cause drowsiness, depression, alter your breathing patterns and increase the ricks of suicide. dr. nancy snyderman also pointed out that how and when you take the pull could be dangerous. >> a lot of people take them. just because they think they have to clock in seven, eight hours and take them unnecessarily. these are strong medicines and you use them when you need them and yausz th and use them sparingly. these things and alcohol don't mix. these things ask other anti-anxiety drugs don't mix.

that's where people get into trouble. >> some doctors also point out that insomnia can be a symptom of a problem like heart disease, diabetes or cancer which could be the cause of death rather than the medication itself. barbara? >> all right. thank you. warning for women that take birth control, the birth control pills affected go by the name norgestinate. pills placed in the wrong order. weekly levels of hormones are not correct and the pills may not work. last month pfizer recalled some of its generic birth control pills with a similar packaging problem. private research group says that consumer confidence in february rose dramatically. let's check in with hampton pearson and he joins us live with the rest of the headlines as well. good morning, hampton. >> yeah. looks like consumers may be waking up with consumer

confidence pushing stocks higher today. overshadowing drop in home prices. dow 30 points above the magic 13,000 mark. the nasdaq up 18. s&p up 4. americans are feeling better about the economy. conference board shows consumer confidence rose to its highest level in a year even though pump prices are higher, people are focusing instead on job growth. and the rising stock market. crude oil is down a quarter percent. hovering $108 barrel so far today. drop in demand in asia. offsetting for the moment ongoing concerns about a nuclear showdown with iran. home prices fell 4% in december. marks fourth straight decline in as many months. o the 20 major cities it tracks. the steepest declines were found in atlantic, chicago and detroit and the only increase was found in miami and phoenix. stocks on the move today, hole builder, jumping after reporting first quarter contracts climbing 27%. strong numbers this month as well.

double digit profits for the auto zone boosting its stocks so far today. ditto for domino's pizza. after a 28% profit spike in the fourth quarter, and if you are on the road a lot you can no longer blame that spare tire around your waist on travel. intercontinental hotels is launching a new hotel chain aimed at the health conscious. it is going to be called even. some of the amenities including free in-room exercise equipment and healthier food options. barbara, we don't know if they will make any changes, however, in those room service men use. >> we will see. all right. thank you. homemade facial masks can be an effective way to make your skin brighter we are hearing. if you want a glowing, beautiful skin there are things in your kitchen we are learning that can help. dr. burgess joins us with a skin brightening recipe. this is something different for us we have been talking for many weeks about what we can do from the products that we have in our

own kitchen. so this is an example of what we are going to do today. we are going to mix up a few recipes and show you what it is. >> show us how to do it. you brought your assistant with you. >> yes. i have katherine here. she has a few freckles on if face we want to bright wren her face. academy awards that was the big thing they look fresh. >> i know. i kept hearing that. you look so fresh. it has taken the place of beautiful or sex write. we want the look fresh and brighten our skin. >> not to change the color of the skin but look fresh. okay. >> what are we using? >> we have here -- we are using egg white. we have lemon and a little bit of honey. and it is mixed with some fresh lemon juice. just get a lemon, cut tonight half and squeeze it into the bowl. and then we also had honey that we put in there. honey is actually very good in

case you have acne or any kind of bacteria on the face. it actual sly used many, many years ago, honey/sugar paste for bed sores. we do know it has a therapeutic value for infection. we have already gotten it mixed up. we are going to apply some to her face. it is evenly applied. and the preparation is rubbed into the skin. and it is rubbed all over. it feels very good. you can also put it in the refrigerator and chill it to have something cool to put on the face, particularly when it gets warmer and hot outside. and it makes a great exfoliating mask. >> when you say brightening, you mean it really gives you just a glow? >> yes. have you ever put lemon juice on your hair in the summertime and it just kind of gives you a little highlights? >> yes. >> this is what you can do for the skin.

it is actually -- very good, half a lemon, rub on your elbows if you have darkening on the elbows from just leaning on the table. we do find that really, really helps with just kind of freshening and giving a glow to the skin. >> how long will she leave that on? >> she will leave this on for 15 minutes. and then she can take it off. if you are in a hurry, yes, you can take it off quicker than that, maybe about five minutes. but we also have a male patient over here. >> this is for guys, too, the same one. >> very good. we are going to different a different one, though. because men shave usually on a daily basis. we want to exfoliate. this is rich. and with daily shaving you want to get the beard area prepared for a great shave. exfoliation is great. we have coarse sea salt. we have a cleanser. this is basic cleanser you can get in the drugstore. and we have mixed that in with a

little bit of lemon. that gives also a brightening but exfoliation with the sea salt. so that it -- it helps prepare for a better shave. >> all right. let's see that. >> we mixed it up already. and this is the preparation. again, you can scrub with it for about five to ten minutes. prior to shaving. >> that's like -- a rough wash. >> very coarse. if you have ever seen sea salt it is very coarse. it dissolves. the more you rub it the more it dissolves in your hand. >> how does it feel, rich? >> really good. >> okay. so you put this on, wash it. wash it off and then shave? >> then you can wash it off and shave. yes. >> that's for brightening look as well. >> yes, exactly. >> all right. this is fantastic. things we can do at home. >> yes. >> i guess could women use that on their legs? >> we can. we can use it on the chest, back of the hands. and -- i don't know if we have time but we -- have one more

person that we can show that on. >> i think we are out of time. >> out of time. okay. >> she can come sit down while i say good-bye. thank you so much for coming. >> okay. >> we will look forward the hearing about anything. >> all of these things including greek yogurt is excellent. >> hi. thanks for coming. get your treatment but we will have to see you afterwards. thanks a lot for coming. it is going to be on her chest and back of the hands. thank you so much. 11:53 is the time. meteorologist tom kierein will be back with another check of the rain headed in our direction. stay with news4 all afternoon. at 3:00, ellen welcomes back her little princesses, sophie grace

we are going to take a look at the stories we are following on news4 this afternoon. pat lawson muse joins us in the newsroom with a preview of things to come. >> hi, barbara. coming up today on "news4 at 4:00," we will have the latest the school shooting in ohio that left two students dead. the suspect will appear in court this afternoon. we will have a live update. plus the college hopeful who wouldn't take no for an answer. ♪ ♪ you made me what i am

>> taking an unconventional approach to getting into an ivy league school. we will tell you how yale is reacting to her approach. also, 5:00 today, we will introduce you to the first ever elementary school band in prince william county. we will take a listen. >> all right. thank you, pat. we have time now for a check on our forecast one more time. here's tom kierein. >> warming up as we approach the noon hour. temperatures are approaching 50 degrees here in washington. and much of the region we are in the 40s to low and mid 50s. and later today, climbing into the mid and upper 50s, we will have lots of sunshine, high pressure over the region. and for the next several days, different weather each day. today nice and sunny with the temperatures in the 50s. then tomorrow rain likely. and cooler were a high near 50. rain moving late morning and during the afternoon and then ending by tomorrow night. then on thursday, sun back. near 70. then friday, clouds return near 60 during the afternoon. then over the weekend, maybe rain on saturday. high near 60 and sun back on

sunday and chilly and cold start to next week with sunshine. that's the way it looks. >> roller coaster continues. >> have a good afternoon. that's "news4 midday" for today. thank you for being with us and invited you to tus in for news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 11:00. we will be back tomorrow morning with "news4 midday." hope you plan to join us for that. have a terrific day and we will see new hey guys, breakfast!

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