good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 midday." i'm barbara harrison. thursday, march 1, 2012. we are on top of breaking news right now. out of charles county, that's where two schools are on lockdown after an armed man barricaded himself inside of his home. north point high school and davis middle school in waldorf are locked down now. police have the suspect holed up in his home nearby on lexington park drive. we will keep you posted on the situation as more information comes available to us. right now, we are learning when the cherry blossoms will be

in bloom. mark your calendars for between march 24 and march 31. chief horticulturist at the park service believes that's when the trees will be in full bloom. the cherry blossom festival. marks the 100th anniversary japan gave the trees to washington, d.c. much more on the cherry blossoms later in this program. and this morning, residents in seven states are cleaning up from a string of deadly tornadoes that struck the midwest and south. the death toll rose overnight. officials say three people were killed in the powerful storms there. six people died in illinois and three in missouri. bringing the total number of deaths to 12. eun yang sat the news4 super screen with a closer look at the damage. >> at least 20 tornadoes spawned in seven states during the deadly storm that swept through the midwest between tuesday and wednesday morning. the first touched down in kansas.

in harveyville. mall town of just 300 people, local sheriff says between 40% to 60% of the town is gone. although as of now, no deaths have been reported there. plim glare reports show winds may have reached 130 miles per hour. at least four tornadoes spawned in missouri. most near the resort town of branson. several theaters that bring millions of tourists each year were damaged. same tornado also hit the nearby town of buffalo where at least 12 were injured. we are now seeing new video of the damage done in western tennessee. dozens of holmes were destroyed east of nashville. but forecasters have yet to confirm a tornado is to blame. the hardest hit area was harrisburg, illinois. ef-4 tornado hit the town of about 9,000 just before dawn. winds upwards of 180 miles per hour left a path of december truck a mile long and 200 yards wide. more than 100 residents there were injured by the storm. residents across the path of the storm say the damage left behind

is hard to fathom. >> windows went out, just like a bug shotgun went off. >> opened up the door and the whole neighborhood was gone. >> overturned semis and cars, apartment buildings shredded to bits. >> we lost children and lost loved ones. we have lost, you know, part of our family here in this community. >> ultimately the threat isn't over yet for much of the region. another severe storm system could hit the midwest tomorrow. more tornado are a real possibility for an area just beginning to recover. >> thank you. turning to our weather, as you can see, we have blue skies out there. some -- clouds perhaps let's find out from tom what we've got. i'm trying to picture what we have. >> bright sunshine, feeling like spring. looking like spring with all the flowers that are coming up now. and march 1 is the first day of meteorological spring. look at our temperatures now. just past 11:00.

reagan national, 66 degrees. frederic fredericksburg, 68. by contrast it is chilly off in western maryland, cumberland at 52. and in washington county, hagerstown now 56. right now near 60 in montgomery county but already hitting the mid 60s in fairfax, arlington and prince george's counties. right near the bay any wind off the water it is chillier there. and as we look at the temperatures the current wind gusts right now, we had winds that have been gusting to 25 to 30 miles an hour. look at cumberland. wind gust at 35 miles an hour. and these winds going to pick up a little bit as we get into the afternoon. fredericksburg had a gust of 31 miles an hour. the view from space showing the rain we had yesterday really cleaned out the air. now we have lots of sunshine here just a few clouds along the pennsylvania border and in western maryland. and for the afternoon, afternoon high temperatures should be reaching near 70 degrees. right around the metro area. even a bit warmer to our south and it will be cooler farther north and west. lots of sunshine throughout the day. look at big changes on the way for the weekend. maybe more rain, too, coming our

way. all the latest coming up. >> definitely feels like spring today, tom. thanks a lot. we are going to head to the roads and see if folks are heading out to the parks and places to enjoy the weather. here is danella. >> i hope so. just avoid i-66. it is that time of morning. road work. if you are traveling 66 eastbound to the beltway you are really slow at nutley because once you get to gallows road, road work continues. it takes away the left lane here. as you con your come out. no accidents but slow as you continue to the beltway. now traveling 395 no issues here. really nice ride as you make your way into the city. no major delays at all. you are at 56 miles per hour. only taking 12 minutes to get from the beltway and crossing the 14th street bridge. barbara, over to you. >> okay, danella. thank you. warning if you are driving in d.c. if you are going to park at one of those meet wers a red top you bet variety license plate or placard for person was disabilities. the new meters take effect today. news4's tracee wilkins has more

on that. >> reporter: if you haven't noticed the district's new red top meters, well, here they are. here on the side is the sign in the front as well. reminding drivers that these spaces are reserved for handicap parkers only. if you decide to ignore that warning and go ahead and park anyway, here's what you will end up with. don't pay and you will pay. it will be a lot more than a couple of dollars. starting today, everyone has to pay a parking meters in the district of columbia. handicapped parking or not, reserved space or not. it is a message. d.c. is sending straight to your wallet. >> you could get $250 fine. i think that exactly what the fine is isn't as important as having people follow what the rules are. >> reporter: used to be that blue top meters were accessible and no matter where you parked you didn't have to pay if you had handicapped license plate or placard. not anymore. d.c. officials say that too many people took advantage.

>> there are some places you can go where you will see car after car with disability placards. we don't know that -- you know, whether those are valid or not. but you know, we have our suspicions. >> reporter: drivers with disabilities who use red-top meters can have extended time at the meter. if you park on a two-hour block you can park for four hours but you have to pay for four hours. >> this whole thing is designed to provide more parking for persons with disabilities, make it's easier for people who have legitimate tags or placards to find parking. >> reporter: this driver received a $25 ticket because even though they have handicapped placard in the windshield, they did not pay at the red-top meters. remember, even with handicapped plates and placard you still need to pay at the red-top meters. if you decide to park here and you don't have a handicapped plate or placard, you are looking at a $250 fine and

possibly even having your vehicle towed. southwest, i'm tracee wilkins, news4. >> today maryland governor martin o'malley plans to sign into law a bill that legalizes same-sex marriage in his state. maryland's general assembly passed the legislation last week. it makes maryland the eighth state in the country to legalize same-sex marriages. the unions are also legal in the district and the maryland law, though, would not take effect until next january. meanwhile, opponents to same-sex marriage in maryland are one step closer to getting in on that on the -- november ballot. the state board of elections approved the language the opponents will use when collecting signatures for petition to bring the law to referendum. they must collect nearly 56,000 signatures to put the issue on the ballot in november. just a few minutes ago a judge ruled the man believed to be the east coast rapist is mentally competent to stand trial. aaron thomas is accused of rapes and attacks on at least 17 women up and down the east coast

including virginia and maryland. thomas was arrested in eldon, connecticut. prince william county prosecutors hope to have him face charges of attacking three women, three girls, back in 2009. if convicted he faces life in prison. prosecutors are expected to file charges today against the 17-year-old suspect in the deadly ohio high school shootings. on monday, t.j. lane allegedly opened fire inside chardon high school. five students were shot there. three were killed. one of the two survivors is still recovering in the hospital this morning. prosecutors are expected to ask that lane be tried as an adult. students and parents will return to school to meet with grief counselors today. classes will resume tomorrow. our time now is 11:09. presidential candidate mitt romney is backing off a statement opponent owesing republican backed bill. we will tell what you he said. plus, time now to try for tickets to the annual easter egg roll at the white house.

one man killed, two american soldiers at a nato base in southern kandahar. southern afghanistan. it happened today. at least one of the gunmen was believed to be an afghan soldier. the shootings are the latest in a series of attacks by afghan

security forces are militants wearing afghan uniforms. the attacks have become more frequent since the koran was burned at a u.s. military base last week. earlier today the u.n. special representative to afghanistan put the blame squarely on the u.s. military and said disciplinary action must be taken to punish those responsible. president obama is on his way to new hampshire. the president is heading up to the granite state to push his energy and economic plans. this is the second time president obama has visited new hampshire in the past few months. it is setting up to be a crucial swing state in the general election. right now 46% of the states' residents approve of his handling of the economy and up to 37% -- up 37% from october. and back here in washington, the senate is expected to vote at any time now on legislation the challenges president obama's mandate that health insurers cover the cost of contraceptives. they are debating the issue right now.

the republicans want to allow insurers and employers to opt out of any provision of the president's health care law and that they object to because of moral or religious beliefs. that's a live picture there the senate. that includes covering the cost of contraception, democrats say the legislation is just an attempt to limit access to birth control. mitt romney is backing away from a comment he made opposing a republican backed bill. the former massachusetts government and current white house hopeful says he misunderstood a question asked about the legislation during an interview. this was the answer i he gave initially. >> i'm not for the bill but look, the idea of presidential candidates getting into questions about contraception within a relationship between a man and a woman, hups wand and wife, i'm not going there. >> romney later said that he misunderstood the question and does support the bill. he says he thought the interviewer was asking about a state law that prevented people

from getting contraception. conservatives, though, are already criticizing romney over his initial comment. they say it is a leer indication he's more liberal than he claims to be. we are following breaking news. conservative blogger rebart died at the age of 43 reportedly of natural cases. big journalism.com announced he died at a los angeles hospital this morning. breitbart focused on exposing government corruption and media bias and was instrumental in the resignation of former new york representative anthony weiner linking pictures of the congressman. he leaves behind a wife and four children. new from overnight. passengers who were aboard the once stranded italian cruise liner without power say they are ready to -- they were red write to abandon ship in the indian ocean. right now more than a thousand passengers, including eight americans, are back on solid

land. the "costa allegra" arrived at the main port at the seychelles island overnight the passengers walked off hot and tired. there were no showers, toilets, lights or air conditioning for three days. some passengers even moved their bedding on to the deck to escape the heat inside of the ship. a french fishing vessel towed the ship following a generator fire that happened monday. storm 4 meteorologist attorney tom kierein joins us to talk about this beautiful day we have out there right now. sunshine, blue skies. and i don't think we see any chouds out there right now. >> just a few coming through. only downside is fallen. it is beginning to show up early. >> i can feel it. >> we can feel it. lot of it is elm tree pollen. we are beginning to certainly get some of the blossoming pollens in the air now. and it is coming in early, too, thank to the mild winter we had. few clouds over the potomac now. otherwise we have sunshine breaking up. reagan national now 66 degrees.

we have a wind coming in out of the north. a little blustery there. winds gusting over 20 miles an hour to 30 miles an hour here over the last hour or so. lit stay blustery as we get into the afternoon. look at the temperatures. it is already now 69 in frederic fredericksburg. culpeper, 68. closer to washington, much of fairfax county, mid 60s as is washington. and prince george's county, montgomery county, northern montgomery county, though, near 60. it is a bit cooler up towards the pennsylvania border. frederick and washington. allegheny counties now generally in the 50s. all of those locations. as is much of the northern neck of virginia. northern shenandoah valley. but nice warmup in southern maryland now. upper 60s there. even eastern shore. here are the latest wind gusts. we had gusts to around 25, 30 miles per hour. frederick had a gust of 29. cumberland, 35. that's been the highest gust. southern maryland, around the bay, white caps on the bay now. those gusts are around 30 miles an hour. over the last 12 hours, last of those storms from last night

exiting quickly and now we have a mostly clear sky here. just a few clouds coming lou. we have some wave clouds here cruising along the mason/dixon line. farther west into the mountains as well. much of the shenandoah valley, blue ridge, just a gorgeous day. starting off this first day of march. it is the first month of meteorological spring. right now as we -- see our temperatures generally in 60s to our south theeshgs are the highs, i think, we may be seeing later this afternoon. commonly around 70 to low 70ss across much of northern virginia. right in downtown washington. and even right near the bay waters because it is going to be a west-northwesterly wind. it is -- really not going to be much cooler even right by the bay. we will have temperatures out in western maryland and much of the northern shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia, maybe only making it into the low 60s by later this afternoon. now as we go forward over the next 48 hours, we will have a clear sky throughout much of the day today and overnight tonight. on friday, increasing clouds and by friday evening, all this area in green, this is a zone of

potential rain. some light rain may be coming in friday evening and then on saturday morning, perhaps right around dawn, we could have a line of showers with thunder and lightning coming through and then into midday on saturday it will settle down. and by saturday afternoon begin to clear out and then on sunday, turning much chillier. for the rest of the afternoon, we will have quite a bit of sunshine, milding breezes gusting to 25, 30 miles an hour. and yes, upper 60s and low 70s commonly throughout much of the region and then overnight tonight clear sky, sunset is past 6:00. we will have a clear sky and the wind will diminish but will get chilly dropping to the mid 40s by midnight and then by dawn tomorrow, the 30s so a -- cold start to friday morning, afternoon highs increasing clouds near 60 tomorrow. could get rain friday night. and saturday morning through midday saturday is when we could get showers and thunder. and highs in the mid 60s. then much colder weather moves in for sunday, monday, tuesday and it is -- going to be quite chilly in the air, too. blossoms will say not quite yet.

not ready to go yet. >> they are not going back in. right? >> doesn't look like it. >> thanks a lot, tom. check on the midday traffic. danella, how is it looking out there? >> if you are taking the rails you will see delays. this is on the blue line and green line. right now metro single tracking on both lines due to schedule track work. so if you are taking these rails expect delays in both direction. if you are traveling along i-270, really nice view. fly over it together. clarksburg, 63 miles per hour. as you head southbound, gaithersbu gaithersburg, 65 miles per hour. no issues as you travel from rockville and connect all the way to the spur and beltway. you are looking nice and clear. barbara, back to you. >> all right, thanks, danella. 11:20 is the time. still ahead, is snooki starting a family? the reports are flooding in this morning. plus, a class that helps you stay forever fit. [ female announcer ] with xfinity,

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we all know fitness is important for people of all ages. the class forever fit helps make that possible. steve hayes reese emily checked out the class and joins us this morning with a look at what you can expect in fitness forever.

forever fit. >> forever fit. >> welcome. brought along your instructor. >> yes. debbie hughes. like i said, no excuses. everyone can take this class. >> i ask you, is this a class foreseen wrors? you said what's a senior? >> that's right. >> you have to be 100. >> exactly. exactly. >> tell us about the class. did you like it? >> yes, barbara. it was so intense. more than that everyone could do it. plus her instructions were great. because one that -- one of the classes, the lady right beside me, she is a cancer survivor, myra. on the right-hand side of me. cancer survivor. >> so now this class work with people of all fitness levels? >> i like to say yes because we modify it and give everybody options to take a turn to do something a little different or less than what they are capable of doing or more of what they are capable of doing. >> you look like you are moving fast there. >> it is not too bad. they like to get in there and like to move. >> i think that people of all

ages like to feel like they are challenging themselves. >> without a doubt. >> tell us -- you also use -- you brought a fitness ball with you good we use a little bit of everything. low impact aerobics, ball work, balance work. weight work. we kind of -- here is a segment with us on the ball. >> i see. >> we just kind of mix it up so that within that hour, you cover just about everything. >> i'm hearing from a lot of doctors these days one of the most important things for maintaining good health is core work. >> core. >> is that right? >> true. >> is that what that ball is all about? >> this is definitely assisting in the core work. >> what i was doing it, barbara, bringing the knees up, allowed me to work right in the core. i mean, when you bring the knees up, kicking right into the core. >> what does that do for you? >> it helps maintain balance and as we age, balance is one of those things that quickly detooror eightdetoor deteriorates. it is a lot of every day stuff. >> a gynecologist was telling me the other day that -- core work

really helps women and men, too -- she doesn't see men in her practice, to keep you from getting the big pot belly. it keeps you -- >> yes. >> tucked in. >> keeps your back strong. mainly to be strong here and you have a strong back. >> show us a little bit of what you do on the ball. >> all right. what we did in class, we didn't see in class a little bit, add wae heavyweights as we weights as well. you need strong leg muscles to keep from you falling down, lateral work, arms to the side, single side to side because that challenges your balance. >> one thing about the class, too, barbara, one foot stayed on the floor the whole time which allows you to be able to maintain balance. that's one thing i like about her instructions. excellent instructions. everybody was enjoying it. i got a good workout. >> sounds like it. this is -- fitness first. >> in rockville. >> multiple locations throughout montgomery are frederick, northern virginia. >> you use light weights. >> anything you are capable of

using. i used this because it is upper body work. people like to use lighter heavyweights. >> in general you think it is beer to do more repetition and lighter heavyweights? >> depends on what your goal is. >> thank you so much for come. >> thank you. >> quick fitness tip. >> weird holidays. today is national peanut butter month. so you know, peanut butter has protein and vitamin b-3. that breaks down food, energy. >> thanks for coming. all right. it is now 11:27. coming up in the next- hour on "news4 midday," today is big announcement. famed cherry trees will be in full bloom. plus the advertisement at a local metro station becoming the subject of a free speech fight. after rainy wednesday, the sun is out. have you noticed it? warming things up out there quickly. tom kierein lets us know if the mild conditions are

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right now on "news4 midday," two schools in charles county are no longer on lockdown. north point high school and davis middle school in waldorf were both locked down because of police activity in the area. thousands of people in seven states are beginning the cleanup process after a string of at least 20 deadly tornadoes. hardest hit illinois. where at least six people are dead. three also died in missouri and lee in tennessee for a total of 12. another severe storm and possible blue more tornadoes could hit the region tomorrow. arlington woman says two men posing as police officers robbed her and her family at gunpoint at their home. police say the two men knocked on the door in the 300 block of south phil more street last week and say the men had a fake search warrant. we talked to a woman who was inside the home at the time. we are not showing her face to protect her identity. >> opened the door and, you know, come -- gone in and other -- other had knife.

he's -- you know, getting mask, gloves, upstairs, other one, you know, don't move. you know. >> police say that the incident appears to be isolated. they also say someone live something the home is awaiting trial on bank robbery charges. university of maryland police believe this they caught the man trying to sneak into dorm rooms and robbing students. police arrested 28-year-old charles and charged him with seven different charges, including first-degreeburgry and second-degree assault. authorities say that sunday morning charles snuck into a girl's dorm room in cumberland hall to try to steal her laptop. the girl says she woke up to the man touching her thigh. he said he walked in by mistake and left. police say students saw two suspicious people walking around the dorm and checking doorknobs that same morning. a fire that injured seven prince george's county firefighters was apparently intentionally set. that's what investigators have determined. winds fuelled the fire on 57th

avenue at river dahl friday night. investigators also think the same arsonist who set that fire set a fire at the house next door just a few weeks ago. one fire fighter, 22-year-old kevin o'toole, remains in the hospital with critical injuries he suffered in the fire. right now small balloons can be seen on the district's famed cherry trees. the 2012 cherry blossom festival is less than three weeks away and we now know when the beautiful trees will be in full bloom. chief horticulturist for the park service believes the trees will bloom between march 24 and march 31. news4's megan mcbrath is live in front of the newseum now where the announce many was made. megan, have you seen some of those blooms out there already? >> no. they are close tightly. we are seeing the buds on the trees. lot of people were very, very worried. all the warm weather we have had. whether or not the trees would bloom and the blossoms would vanish before the festival even

began. well, robert, the famed keeper of the trees, has given his prediction and fortunately looks like we are going to be okay. the warm weather didn't put too big of a monkey wrench into things. it is going to come early this year. what he saying is that the peak bloom period will start after the festival begins. bruce and his dog pilot took a walk around the tidal basin this morning. looking at the small buds already on the trees, he thinks the mrs. onlies may come early this year. >> it is going to be real early, real early. yeah. got a good chance of it. >> reporter: is he right? that remains to be seen. what happens over the next few weeks is critical. his preliminary bloom prediction, chief horticulturist said -- >> my forecast this year for when we are going to reach peak bloom, 70% of the blossoms are open, sometime between march 24 and march 31. >> reporter: if that prediction holds, it means plenty of

blossoms for the first part of the festival. depending on the weather, they can last between 10 and 18 day. >> the peak is 70%. you come two days later, 100%, does it really -- it is the period of bloom. that's important for people coming into town. that's why i hate to give one day. >> reporter: cherry blossom festival is always a big deal in washington. but this year is particularly important. it is the 100th anniversary of the gift of the trees from the city of tokyo. to mark the occasion the festival has been extended from two weeks to more than five. robert and a lot of cherry tree fans will be keeping a close eye on the weather. things change a little bit defending whether the weather warms up or cools down. there could be tweaks in this forecast. but he does not expect anything radical in terms of change. expecting the peak to happen sometime between march 24 and march 31. that's a couple of days after

the festival begins. reporting live from the newseum, megan mcgrath, news4. >> thank you, megan. let's take a look at our weather right now. we have warm temperatures out there. i guess warmer than it would be normally at this time of year. is that right, tom? >> it sure is. there is a live partly cloudy tour from our city camera showing the tidal basin. and it is going to be a scene of beauty by the end of march there. and we will have that first 70% coming up around march 24. the earliest ever it did that was march 17 in the year 2000. let's take a look at this beautiful shot from our sky watcher high-definition camera. sunny sky and camera bouncing around and bluster yind gusting to 30 miles an hour. temperatures are warming up now. look at culpeper. they are at 70 degrees by contrast cumberland 54. closer to washington, in montgomery county, it is in the low 60s now. mid 60s in prince george's

county. fairfax and arlington county. as well as the district and even right near the bay, too. later today, we will likely make it into the low 70s. few clouds to our north along the pennsylvania border. and then after we reach near 70 this afternoon we will get chilly tonight, down into the mid 30s by dawn friday, increasing clouds tomorrow. might get a few sprinkles friday night. and a greater chance of maybe showers and thunder saturday morning through midday. then drying out after that. getting chilly for sunday, monday, tuesday, highs in the 40s. morning lows 20s. on monday and tuesday. bit warmer mid week next week. >> thanks, tom. it appears a controversial ad targeting president obama will remain posted at a metro station in arlington. the ad in question is posted at the end of the platform at the clarendon metro station. it promotes a film called sick and sicker created by a libertarian group that opposes president obama's health care law. it includes a profane way to tell the president where to go. virginia congressman jim moran wrote a letter to metro asking

for the ad to be taken down because it is offensive. news4 spoke by phone to the man behind the ad. >> i am going to fight socialized medicine with everything i've got in my movie "sick and sicker" does that and shows us where we are going in this country. >> this is an inappropriate ad. if this gets allowed, it is going to be a signal to others to put even more inappropriate ads on public property. >> a metro spokesman said political advertising in the system is protected by prespeech and agency cannot turn down political ads based on content. metro transit police say there is fewer crime on buses and trains now. a five-year report by police shows a drop in robberies and aggravated assault in 2011 compared to 2010. number of serious crimes dropped by 16% while robberies were down

14%. police also mid fewer arrests in 2011. down 5%. authorities say more plainclo e plainclothesed officers helped lower the crime rate. prince george's county council member under fire for her driving habits. late last month karen tolls was pulled over going 105 miles an hour on the beltway. the officer who stopped her issued her a ticket for an unsafe lane change but only a warning for speeding. a prince george's county police spokesman says the officer didn't have a chance to get an official radar reading. county executive baker weighed in on the case saying there will be a full investigation. >> i don't want to get in front of the executive review that will have its day. assistant chief davis statement spoke to it. not this particular incident but looking at the policy overall. they will do that and i will wait for the recommendation. >> councilwoman tolls released a

statement telling news4 in addition to paying the appropriate fine i will not be driving a county owned vehicle until voluntary -- voluntarily completing a driver improvement course to ensure my safety and the safety of others. a check now on the traffic out there right now. here is danella sealock. good morning again. >> good morning, barbara. still taking i-66, it is looking a lot better. you still have road work blocking the left lane as you make your way eastbound at gallows and approach the beltway and we did see heavier traffic here but luckily it is lighter while they continue working. inside the beltway oyp 66, hardly any volume at all as you make your way east or westbound at glebe. you are clear. eastbound travel speeds look good. 54 miles per hour. only taking 11 minutes to get from the beltway to gw parkway. >> okay. thanks a lot, danella. some say a proposed settlement between the alcoholic malt drink four loko and government does not go far enough.

federal trade commission reached a deal with fusion projects makers loko and under the deal the makester must show on the label the super-sized can contains as much alcohol as four to five cans of beer. the drink has been very popular on college campuses. some say it caused death because people don't know how much they have been drinking. the ftc asked for and received several comments from the public fp. now most of those letters have been against the deal. final decision is expected in the next couple of months. this morning's "today" show matt lauer sat down with lindsay lohan. talking about her upcoming hosting gig on "saturday night live" and her role where she will play elizabeth taylor. she says she's grateful for her new opportunities and won't waste them. >> i'm honored and will not let anyone do, especially myself. >> funny you felt the need to say that. i will not let anyone down. >> people, you know, i could see

where -- it could be scary for people to invest in me. i don't want people to have that reason to be scared anymore. being able to have this opportunity with "snl and the film i'm going to do what i'm supposed to do and enjoy do it and do it the best i can. >> you can catch lindsay lohan on "saturday night live" this weekend. right here on news4. several reports today that reality tv star snooki is pregnant. according to "the new york post," nicole is about three months pregnant. the 24-year-old is currently filming a spin-off of her show "the jersey shore." when asked about the pregnancy report that was by "people" magazine, snooki's rep said no comment. from college football to jeremy lin. president obama sounding off on sports now. the president spoke to espn columnist phil simmons about some of the big stories in

sports. most surprising the president says that he was one of the first people on the jeremy lin bandwagon long before he burst on to the national scene. he says that education secretary arne duncan tipped him off to lin while lin was still playing at harvard. he has been following him ever since. full interview posted online. today you can enter for the chance to attend one of the white house's traditional holiday events. the lottery opened for this year's white house easter egg roll at 10:00 this morning. go to recreation.gov between today and monday to enter. this year's roll will be monday, april 9 with the theme let's go, let's play, let's move. more than 35,000 people are expected to attend. it is now 11:43. keys to becoming a tourist right here in your own city. plus, what happens today that some are calling privacy doomsd

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google is making major changes to its privacy policies today. the internet giant wants to provide more personalized search results and advertisements to its users. those that use gmail, google plus, youtube will now receive more specific results. some complain it is an invasion of privacy and allowing the company to sell off your information to advertisers. weekly unemployment benefit applications are down slightly to four-year low. we understand. we are going check in with courtney reagan and joins us life with more on that and has the rest of the business headlines as well. >> hi, good afternoon. stocks are higher across the board. dow, nasdaq and s&p all higher. but below some of those key level. we are looking for nasdaq 3,000 ask just touched it briefly yesterday for the first time in a decade. we are about 14 points away from that and a couple of shy of dow 13,000. the stock market is digestinging a considerable amount of economic information today. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke testifying on capitol hill again today. second day of the semi annual

testimony. we did get very positive labor market news. jobless claims fell to a four-year low. as fewer people filed for those benefits. applications have fallen steadily since october. signaling hiring could be strong enough to lower the unemployment rate. freddie mac says interest rates on 30-year mortgages fell to 3.9%, 3.95%. we are still slightly hovering above record lows. construction spending fell in january and manufacturing activity fell in february. but the commerce department says personal income and spending increased in january. that means that perhaps we are spending more on automobiles and apparel because gm, ford, chrysler announced increased sales. 6.4% for february same-store sales thanks to mild weather, boost from valentine's day and presidents' day. target and tjmaxx faring the

best. air tran airways is adopting southwest policy concerning overweight passengers. southwest bought air tran last year so starting today those passengers southwest calls, quote, customers of size, will have to buy a second seat if they are flying an air tran's coach section. air tran will apply the policy to anyone that can't sit in a single seat with the arm rest lowered. air tran has a hub at bw airport. back to you. >> okay. thanks so much. >> thank you. it is not surprising that we get more calls for younger wednesday's children than we do for the teenagers. but their social workers want us to remind you teens are children, too. with these kids with every birthday it gets harder and harder to find the home they told us they want very much. >> all my life i never had a family to care for me. i always wanted to be adopted. >> i still need somebody. >> like many teens in the foster care system, they have been waiting a long time for a

forever family. >> the older they get, the harder it gets to place the children. >> i would like to have a family that's sweet and nice, you know. >> i would like to be adopted. >> sadly, the chances for teens finding adoptive families are slim. >> most people, as you already know, want the infants and the -- little itty-bitty kids and toddler which is is good and sweet. our teens are still children as well. >> some of our teenaged wednesday's children were featured when they were still very young. and they had great dreams then about the families they would like to adopt them. >> they should want to have fun, plan having laughs. >> and how is keshawn doing now? >> she is looking for that person to provide her with some type of love and stability. >> james, too, still waits while his brother we featured along with him was adopted. >> so we are -- we are doing the best we can to try to find a home for him. >> and michelle continues to

wait. her twin was adopted but she wasn't. >> she is just aching because, you know, to see your twin out there in a stable home and not you, that -- that hurts. >> they all just want a forever home. if you have room in your home and your heart for one of our teenagers waiting and hoping for a forever home please call our special adoption hotline. 1-88-to-adopt me or log on to nbcwashington.com for more fw s information about these kids. visiting the city's biggest attractions. stay with news4 all afternoon. at 3:00 el sent celebrating

one chance to hunt down the right insurance at the right price. the "name your price" tool, only from progressive. ready, aim, save! grrr! ooh, i forgot my phone! the "name your price" tool. now available on your phone. get a free quote today. 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 rigl add a speci: $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. 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.

imagine living two lives and one your wife died in a car crash and your son survived. in the other your son was killed in the car crash but your wife is still alive. the detective that lives these two lives in "awake." >> i'm awake with my wife and i -- i close my eyes and i open them and i'm awake with my son. >> i can assure you, detective,

that this is not a dream. what? >> that's exactly what the other shrink said. >> that's jason isaac. being a police officer britain uses his duel dueling realities to solve his cases while two therapists work to help him navigate his new existence. "awake" premieres tonight at 10:00 here on news4. ever thought about becoming a tourist in your own hometown? you don't need to wait for visitors to come to town to check out in of the most visited sites around here. good g to see you. number one tourist attraction, i guess, in our town, i might not have guessed this but you say it is the white house. it is not the air and space museum? >> that's right. the white house. this is a place that so many of us pass every day and want to advice and it we live here oftentimes we are not going because it is hard to get into.

and that's why we did this over the weekend. all about how to get into some of these places. what you have to do to get in the white house is contact your representative. you need to have congressional approval to walk in the doors of the white house and take a self-guided tour. >> we have to -- to do that, too. >> that's right. >> folks from iowa and california do. we have to -- our representatives. i guess those of us that live in the district have to call eleanor holmes norton. >> absolutely. the great thing is you have up to six months to book that tour. and you can do it within 21 days of your visit. now is a great time to go because tour season does not start for a few more weeks. relatively quite set those of us in maryland, virginia drishgts, probably don't have a lot of competition to get in because you don't think of going to those places. let's move to the supreme court. they have tours, too? >> they do. you can take a self-guided tour of the supreme court any day of the week. but what you want to do is try to get in and hear a case. totally possible for folks to come in and hear a case. all you have to do is get there

mondays through wednesdays, hearing oral arguments for major cases. start around 10:00 a.m. if you get in line 8:00 or earlier you have a good shot of getting in to hear an oral argument lincoln's cottage. where is that? another place you think would be a good place to visit. >> where lincoln lived during the civil war and wrote the emancipation proclamation here. this opened in 2008. it was a $15 million renovation done on it. a lot of russ is not seen it as a result. this is an easier one to see. go online to lincolnkotdage.g l. >> great. thank you. for more ideas logon to nbcwashington.com or the going out guide on washingtonpost.com. let's take a look at the stories we are to be following this afternoon. tad on "news4 at 4:00," they call her the black madam. we will tell you about a woman accused of providing illegal injects to enhance's women's

rear ends. plus, we will have more on google's privacy changes and tell you the setting you need to check to help make sure your information is present tekted. protected. that is "news4 midday." it seems like it went awfully fast today. tune in for news at 4:00, 5:00, 6:00, 11:00. i will be back tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. for "news4 midday." hope you plan to join us for that. until then have a terrific day. enjoy this beautiful weather. we will see you in the morning. got great things coming up tomorrow including -- we'll

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