this morning we're starting to get a sense of what happened in all the devastation that those twisters left behind. >> here's what we can tell you at this point. the death toll stands at 31, but that number could climb today as rescuers sift through rubble. dozens of twisters were reported from the gulf coast to the great lakes. and the national weather service issued more than 260 tornado warnings yesterday alone. it issued 189 in all of february. and henryville indiana was one of the communities that was hardest hit yesterday. much of the town was decimated in just a matter of minutes. we'll have a live report there coming up in just a couple of seconds. but the video and all of the images we've seen this morning are absolutely -- i mean, impressive, breathtaking. things you really only see in movies. >> the clear picture of absolute devastation. we've been following lester holt all morning long. nbc news has had crews there on the scene. you can see high schools

completely leveled. school buses completely turned over on their side. just a tragic, tragic situation out there. >> let's go to a live report now. nbc news's kyra kinear. >> reporter: forecasters had been predicting a severe storm to come through. what actually happened last night could have never been guessed. as we take a look at the images here, you can see behind me, this used to be henryville high school, what is left of it. the adjacent building is the middle school. the roof completely blown off. to the north, to the south, to the east, to the west, complete devastation here. and the citizens of henryville, indiana, now left to pick up the pieces. >> it's hard. it's just hard on everybody. everything is gone. you know, everything is just gone. >> reporter: the forecast for southern indiana called for severe weather. but what followed early friday evening could not have been predicted.

>> didn't really think it was going to happen because tornado warnings come out all the time and never hits us. >> reporter: tornadoes ripped through a four-county radius leveling small farming communities. there were as many tornados in the last 24 hours than in the average month of march. the people here are shocked at how quickly the devastation happened. >> things were falling. things were coming off the walls. noise, crashes. glass flying everywhere. it was like a dream. >> mother nature unleashed her fury on us but we're going to get through this. >> reporter: here in henryville, a town of about 3,000 just north of the kentucky border, the destruction as far as the eye can see. the high school roof ripped off. parts of it leveled to the ground. >> i mean it was huge. throwing debris everywhere and it was ugly. >> reporter: street after street, house after house -- >> that is a standard. i could tell by the way of the clouds. i said, it's heading right this way. >> family after family affected.

>> i got to go find my mom. >> you're looking for your mom? >> my mom, my sister, my brother, my nephew, my dad. >> devastated by this storm that left little in its wake. and for those who found shelter, the calm after the storm brings meaning. >> we're alive. that's what counts. tvs, cars, all insured. being replaced. no need to get upset. and my rocking chair was fine. >> reporter: now we've been speaking to authorities all morning. and they say there are a few things you can do to help. one is stay away from the areas that are highly affected and damaged because police are conducting search and rescue missions. they are still clearing the roads. and secondly if you want to make a donation, you can make a monetary donation or drop off supplies at your local salvation army or the red cross. kyra kneer in henryville, indiana. back to you. >> thank you for that live report. and hearts can't help but break

for those people. >> such a scary event for them. as a forecaster, i worked in oklahoma city many years ago. and the may 3rd, 1999, tornado outbreak came right through the heart of the city. one of the things you don't realize that follows the complete destruction on something like that is all the little stuff that gets impacted. you know, the ability to get life back to normal is just so very hard. a lot of people going into the areas to try and help forget when you splinter houses and everything, there's all kinds of debris. flat tires were one of the biggest problems in oklahoma following our tornado outbreak in 1999 because so many nails and pieces of debris fell out of the sky. >> really gives us another perspective. >> just tough stuff for them out there. it's going to take a long time to recover. luckily for us, it's lost almost all of its punch. and we are not going to complain about that at all. a cloudy sky. still awaits you outside first thing this morning. but 95% of the rain is done. temperatures are in the upper 40s to near 50 around the metro

area. 423 49 in reston. 46 in manassas. 50 in baltimore. 51 in annapolis. toward the mouchbs west virginia, temperatures in the upper 40s to near 50 degrees. there's a wind advisory posted west of the city into far western maryland. that wind advisory is until 5:00. we'll not have a bunch of wind here in the washington area. here's the last of the raindrops on storm 4 radar. the last little raindrops will be through here in the next few hours. we'll see an increase in our westerly breeze. upstream from us, nothing but some snowflakes across lower michigan. we don't need to worry about those at all. here's your saturday planner. becoming a bit breezy. most of the rain will be gone before noon today. might see a peek or two of sunshine. the further west, the better chances for seeing a little sun today. relatively mild with temperatures in the upper 50s to near 60s today. with the breeze out there, might feel a little cooler than that. the colder air starts to come in behind the front later tonight. you'll notice the change

tomorrow. partly to mostly cloudy. a cooldown, but it will be a rain-free day. after well lunchtime today, the rest of your weekend is looking raindrop free. we'll talk about snowflake chances monday coming up. >> from sun to snow to rain. we've got it all. >> it's march. it's a transition month. >> thanks, chuck. right now it appears the nasty weather is causing problems for people in maryland. crews are repairing a water main break in ft. washington. in the 100 block of swan creek road off of ft. washington road. that's where melissa mollet is live with the latest. >> reporter: good morning. you can take a look behind me. you can see the crews here hard at work. they've been out here for about nine hours at this point. this water main break happened around 1:00 this morning. we understand from wssc it's a 12-inch main that broke around 1:00 a.m.

at this point this morning, 40 homes are affected here in this neighborhood in ft. washington. they are without water. and the one home just to the left of what you are looking at. that probably the most affected. they actually have water flooding into the basement at this point. just spoke with wssc. they sent a cleanup crew out here earlier but it was too soon. the water was still coming into the house. they plan to come back with that crew. they are expecting to wrap things up near about the next two hours and get everybody's water back on. now the cause here, they believe age. closer the homes tor d.c., the old are those homes are. neighbors telling us they are frustrated because they've spoken with bssc about the age of these pipes before. live in ft. washington, melissa mollet, news 4. back to you. >> new this morning, bp and the 100,000 plaintiffs involved in the legal battle over the gulf of mexico oil spill have reached an agreement. bp estimated that it would have to pay about $7.8 billion in the

disaster settlement. a civil trial on the issue was scheduled to take place in louisiana federal court on monday. however, the trial has been postponed indefinitely. the largest oil spill in u.s. history was triggered after an explosion aboard the deepwater horizon oil rig on april 20th, 2010. 11 people were killed in that blast. the georgetown law student who unexpectedly found herself in the middle of the birth control debate tells news 4 that she has a new ally on her side. sandra fluke says president obama gave her a call yesterday lending his support. this comes after conservative radio host rush limbaugh criticized fluke for testifying before congress on the contraception debate. limbaugh also called her multiple degrading names. despite the criticism from him and other conservatives, fluke stands by her beliefs. >> it requires insurance to provide it and that protects the women who go to school there and who work there and, really, you

should have access to health care no matter where you study, no matter where you work. >> it's a catholic school, and i feel that the church does not agree with that at all. so why would a catholic school agree to it. it's just not right. >> as for limbaugh, he has not apologized for the disparaging remarks he made about fluke. meanwhile, the two front-runners for the republican presidential nomination commented on his comments. mitt romney told reporters, quote, it's not the language that i would have used. rick santorum took it even further saying limbaugh was simply an entertainer and his comments were, quote/unquote, absurd. meanwhile, at least three companies have pulled their advertisements from limbaugh's show. quicken loans, sleep number beds and sleep train have all pulled their ads and released statements distancing themselves from the conservative radio host. sleep number spokesperson said that limbaugh's comments do not align with the company's values. other companies have said while

they disagree with his attacks on fluke, they respect his right to free speech and will continue their ads during his show. in anne arundle, a county executive is speaking out about the misconduct charges against him. john leopold isccused of using his security detail to arrange sexual encounters. >> the state prosecutor has had his opportunity to present his side of the story. and i look forward to our side being heard by the people of the county. >> reporter: anne arundel county executive john leopold responds to the grand jury indictment that accuses him of misconduct in office. includes allegations that first surfaced at the westfield annapolis mall parking lot in 2009. leopold who makes $130,000 a year is accused of having county police officers drive him to parking lots and wait while he got into another car and had sex with a county employee, often two or three times a week. >> in a trial, the evidence and

argument can be heard by both sides. and i'm very confident that once all the saliant facts are known and heard by the citizens that we will prevail in this case. >> susan wickman of common cause notes the indictment is wide ranging. >> the part that concerns us the most are the allegations about keeping dossiers on political opponents and for using county resources to be involved in campaign activity. >> as for leopold's constituents -- >> people that you put your trust in aren't trustworthy. >> reporter: the charges against mr. leopold are allegations and do not prevent him from continuing to serve as anne arundel county executive. a conviction would be another matter. reporting from annapolis, jackie bensen, news four. a prince george's county council member caught speeding last week will no longer be driving her government-issued car. yesterday, the county took away karen toles' car. last week, an officer clocked her at going more than 100 miles

per hour on the beltway. but she only received a warning. toles has apologized and said she plans to enroll in a driver improvement class. the police department will conduct an executive review to determine why the officer only gave her a warning for speeding. metro's general manager is speaking out about a controversial ad targeting president obama posted at a metro station in arlington. the ad in question is posted at the end of the platform at the clarendon metro station. promotes a film called "sick & sicker" created by a libertarian group that opposes president obama's health care law. the ad includes a profane way to tell the president where to go. yesterday the general manager sent an e-mail out to metro employees saying he's deeply offended by the ad, however, the ad will stay up. sarles says there are very few limits placed on freedom of speech and unfortunately the language used in the ad would not be included under those few

exceptions. morning, everyone. the time right now is 9:13. thanks for joining us. young children accidentally given breast cancer medicine instead of the medicine they were prescribed. we'll tell you how the medical mix-up happened when we return. >> also ahead, the check isn't in the mail just yet. why thousands of americans may have to wait longer than usual for their tax refund. and gm has anointed it the car of the future. right now, production on the chevy volt has stopped. what led gm to pull the plug on what led gm to pull the plug on the electric car, coming up.

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you're watching "news 4 today." this morning, police at philadelphia international airport are trying to find a way to make the airport more secure after a suspected drunk driver went speeding up and down the runways. that chase forced a usairways flight to abort landing and quickly pull up. the driver gained access by driving his jeep through the perimeter fencing. investigators say there is no evidence of any terror-related intent. the 24-year-old driver is charged with dui, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest. it is an important weekend ahead for the republican presidential candidates. 424 delegates are at stake on super tuesday. it's about one-third needed to win the gop nomination.

rick santorum began a string of campaign events in ohio where no candidate has an advantage. he'll stop in cincinnati, lima and bowling green. it's an uphill battle for the former pennsylvania senator because even if he wins ohio, he's not going to be able to claim all of its delegates. and that's because three of the state's 16 congressional districts, his campaign failed to meet the eligibility requirements. washington state's presidential caucuses are today. mitt romney is hoping to build momentum on washington's nonbinding caucuses. romney regained front-runner status after winning in michigan, arizona and wyoming this week. romney is also campaigning for votes in ohio. a cvs in new jersey is apologizing after accidentally giving children breast cancer pills. the pharmacy reportedly gave around 50 children a drug tamoxifen instead of fluoride

pills they were stribed. the company says they contacted every family notifying them of the mix-up. so far, there have been no reports any of type of medical issues from the mistake. the irs says a software glitch may have delayed some tax refunds. officials with the internal revenue service received complaints from millions of americans who filed their tax returns the first week they were legally allowed saying the refunds were late. that's because a glitch in software designed to help prevent tax refund fraud. the irs says the problem is fixed. production of the chevy volt is shutting down for a few weeks because not enough people are buying them. because of the production stoppage, around 1,300 general motors employees in michigan will be furloughed. the shutdown is expected to begin later this month and last around five weeks. chevy already has one excited customer. president obama said when he leaves the white house, he's buying a volt. mormon leaders are warning

its church members against performing any unauthorized proxy baptisms. last week, there were claims churches baptized murdered "wall street journal" reporter daniel pearl and holocaust victim anne frank. mormon leaders sent a letter to churches around the world saying they would discipline any church who performed the proxy baptisms to people who were unrelated to church members. the anti-defamation league applauded the move saying they were glad the church was educating its members about the practice. we turn to chuck and say rain, rain, go away. >> i can deliver on that. no problem at all. what else do you have? >> maybe a sliver of sunshine. you like to say that. >> i've got it all covered for you. no doubt about that. we'll talk about how long the improving weather will last. [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable

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you're watching news 4 today. ♪ ♪ i'm dancing with myself >> can't help but bob your head to that one. if you were watching "the voice" last monday you saw rory and tristan, brothers from virginia. they are known as the shields brothers. they wowed the judges and were picked up by cee lo on his team. they'll be joining us live in studio this monday on "news 4 at 4:00." and remember to set the alarm to remind you on your phone to join me and big tigger on our website, nbcwashington.com during monday night's episode of "the voice." i will be web chatting live throughout the show and the shields brothers, these guys right here, they offered to jump in the chat as well and take your questions. >> that could have been my theme song in high school. dancing by myself. >> oh, chuck.

>> such is life. >> i don't believe that one bit because you are absolutely loveable. i would have danced with you. >> and a dancing machine is what i feel. >> more loveable now than i have been ever. no doubt. >> i'm liking you because the rain is moving out. >> yes, exactly right. we needed a little rain. we've been behind in rainfall for the year. we don't need the rain on the weekend necessarily. we've been able to get most of the rain showers out of here now just in time for the second half of your saturday leading into sunday as well. as you make your plans to get outside and enjoy the day, still a little bit of lingering dampness. first thing this saturday morning. but generally speaking, the most of the rain will be out of here by about lunchtime today. and after that, the rest of the weekend is looking rain-free. not a lot of sunshine. but not much in the way of rain chances after about noontime today. outside as you can see from our city camera view, that's a lot of cloud cover out there this morning. it's going to be a slow climb to get a little break or two of sunshine out with that cloud deck out there. nonetheless, i think we'll see a little sun later on today.

52 right now with the clouds in washington. the air has gone calm. not a breeze blowing out there. the front is sitting right on top of us. as the front gets further to our south and east, the westerly and northwesterly winds will start to increase. temperatures are pretty uniform in the upper 40s and low 50s. and a little warming to go for today. one or two breaks of sunshine will put temperatures up near 60 degrees for a brief time late this afternoon before temperatures trend back down again towards this evening. look at all the reported tornadoes yesterday from southern and central parts of illinois and ohio all the way down into north florida yesterday. 95 tornadoes reported yesterday. the storm prediction center, they'll have to clean up the data a little bit. may not be 95 tornadoes but the all-time march record is 74 tornadoes, march 12th, 2006. yesterday, likely going to be turn out to be the largest tornado outbreak in the month of march in u.s. history. there's all the severe weather

today down across parts of southern georgia and heavy rain this morning along the outer banks of north carolina. we're just left with the last lingering drops now. the northwestern edge of the rain has pulled through the winchester area. fredricks burg to waldorf, toward huntingtown, maryland. this will be out of here in the next couple of hours and we'll see improvement in our weather later on this morning and into the afternoon. there goes the front. behind the front, the west and northwesterly winds increase a bit today. there's a wind advisory across the high spots west of the blue ridge where winds could gust over 40, to 50 miles an hour. in and around town, 20 to 30-mile-per-hour wind gusts expect bud not all that common. chilly tonight and tomorrow. and a little alberta clipper racing down to our south may bring smus snow dus some snowfl. a couple of showers fade away. a little afternoon clearing turning breezy and mild. highs near 60. tomorrow, plenty of clouds around. not much in the way of sunshine.

cooler. and breezy at times as well. a bit for tomorrow. today, near 60. tomorrow only near 50. monday holding in the low to mid-40s. with that little area of low pressure skirting to our south we'll have the possibility of seeing some snow around here. doesn't look like much in the way of an accumulation threat. the ground is very, very warm. and the system doesn't really have a lot of moisture to work with. nonetheless in the winter without winter, happy to talk about snowflakes at any chance. >> take as little as you can get. >> right. >> thank you, chuck. 9:27. still ahead this hour -- he's accused of wrecking this cruise ship in italy back in january. but this might not have been the first time the captain of the "costa concordia" steered a ship into troubled waters. a look at his surprising past when we return. i'm making this video because i don't know what else to do. >> and a desperate plea from a man literally ee lly eating him death.

and now from washington's leading news station, this is "news 4 today." welcome to "news 4 today," everyone. i'm erika gonzalez. >> i'm angie goff. the deadly storms in the midwest are topping our news this morning. the death toll stands at 31

right now. and that number could climb throughout the day. dozens of tornadoes were reported from the gulf coast to the great lakes. indiana was hit particularly hard. the state's governor is expected to tour the devastation there later today. sandra fluke, the georgetown law student in the middle of the birth control debate now has a very powerful ally. she told news 4 that president obama called her yesterday to show his support. fluke became a key figure in the contraception debate testifying to congress and then being attacked by conservative radio host rush limbaugh. anne arundel county executive john leopold was indicted by a grand jury for misconduct in office. he's accused of having security detail help arrange sexual encounters. leopold says he looks forward to explaining his side of the story saying that once the facts all come out, he'll avoid any charges. the captain accused in a cruise ship wreck off the coast of italy will be at the center of a court hearing today.

francesco schettino is charged with multiple counts of manslaughter and abandoning ship. prosecutors say he steered the "costa concordia" too close to the rocks killing 25 people. schettino is accused of damaging another cruise ship, sailing too fast into a german port in june of 2010. so many lawyers want to take part in today's hearing that it will be moved from a courtroom to a theater. the captain will not be there because of concerns for his safety. the mother of murdered teen stacey seaton is speaking out after her alleged killer was acquitted earlier this week. gale seaton was devastated when jarvis tyler was found not guilty of murdering her 17-year-old daughter back in 2005. she released a statement saying, quote, i feel like she died all over again. prosecutors turned down a plea deal that would have put him in prison for 15 years. last night, he walked out a free man.

>> and i just -- because i knew the jury -- i knew the jury had come back with a not guilty, and i just didn't want to listen to it and be in the same room with the defendant's family. that was really tough for me to swallow. >> another man, abraham mcdonald, is accused of paying tyler with drugs and money to kill seaton. he already pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is scheduled to be sentenced on monday. today, friends and family will say their final good-byes to one of the students killed in the shooti in chardon, ohio. 16-year-old daniel parmertor's funeral will be held today. he and two others were killed when t.j. lane reportedly opened fire in chardon high school's cafeteria on monday. the mother of one of the victims, dimitrius hewlin said she's already forgiven lane. >> to hold the memory of your child in there, you got that hatred in your heart. and this is for my son. >> t.j. lane was charged with three juvenile counts of

aggravated murder. he could still be charged as an adult. the star witness in the private invasion case surrounding the death of a rutgers university freshman testified he saw a web camera. the 30-year-old man testified when he was in 18-year-old tyler clementi's dorm room he saw a web camera pointed directly at the bed. clementi's roommate, 20-year-old dharun ravi is facing charges for allegedly using a webcam to spy on clementi's sexual encounters. in september of 2010, clementi committed suicide by jumping off the george washington bridge. ravi is not charged in clementi's death. a morbidly obese california man is take to youtube to get help losing weight. >> i'm making this video because i don't know what else to do. >> robert gibbs weighs more than 600 pounds. he posted this video pleading for help to lose weight. he says he's desperate and will

do anything to slim down. he says he wants to be able to see his niece and nephew grow up. >> for me to be able to get healthy and see my niece and my nephew grow up. for me to have my own family one day. >> gibbs said he hoped the video would go viral, and he's getting his wish. the video was posted on thursday and already has more than 300,000 views. well, it could be a frustrating weekend if you are planning on taking metro. there could be long delays on the red and orange lines because of weekend track work. we check in with danella sealock for the latest. >> well if you are thinking about taking metro over the weekend, looks like scheduled track work is going to slow you down. let's start with the red line. red line from shady grove to white flint. buses are going to replace trains there while metro is working. also seeing track work on both the orange and blue line. and you're going to see single

tracking between eastern market and stadium armory. also on the orange line, single track in between east falls church and west falls church. expect delays. it looks like all this track work should be finished just in time for your morning commute on monday morning. but just to be sure, wake up with us starting at 4:30 a.m. >> see you then bright and early. it is 9:36. technology helping take the sting out of divorce. the computer program that's helping estranged couples keep the peace. with gas prices on the rise, how do you know you are getting what you pay for? what's being done to make sure you aren't short changed.

you're watching "news 4 today." >> now technology is everywhere these days. >> now it's helping to keep the peace between divorced parents as more and more judges are

sending couples online to keep them out of the courtroom. for working mom kelly, life after divorce was no walk in the park. >> it was really chaotic and it sort of started during the separation and, unfortunately, we were highly conflicted. and that just made things a lot more challenging. >> reporter: like many divorcees, she found co-parenting complicated. which could be why more courts are turning to the internet to help. ordering them to use online software to keep the peace after the split. the e-mails going back and forth were starting to get nasty. it was a he said/she said thing. this seemed to quell and calm that down. >> reporter: maryland circuit court judge mandates the use of online technology in his divorce cases. >> that takes all the mystery out of when they used to come to court and said, he said this, or she said this and the other party would deny it. now it's right there in black and white. >> reporter: the judge is one of

many in southern maryland using these online tools. divorce mediator katie early says it's a growing trend that's keeping families out of the courtroom. >> the couples i work with are of a much younger demographic. they like the technology. >> reporter: early says at least 44 states and the district of columbia have courts forcing co-parenting online. one of these programs, childsharing.com says it has seen a 30% increase in demand for services in the last six months. in her d.c. home, she found success with another program called our family wizard. from calendars to vaccinations to money matters, the software records everything. and there's even an iphone app. the software averages about $100 per parent per year so it is affordable for those forced to use it by a judge. thanks a lot, angie. today music legend smokey robinson will hold a benefit

concert theatkennedy center. but you can't get any more tickets. sold out thp memoney will go to the duke ellington school for the arts. yesterday the motown artist visited the students. the kids put on a show full of robinson's greatest hits. ♪ all right. robinson told the students they are starting out as he did with a love for doing something creative. tonight's concert is sold out. school officials hope to raise about $500,000. this is the fifth installment of the series of legends concert. so far concerts have raised more than $2 million for the school to assist with staffing and, of course, all their resources in the arts department. >> so cool to see him bring his star power here. >> he's an icon. >> doesn't get better than that. >> as much as you try to stay reserved in front of people like that. oh, i've done this a million

times, you lose it. you go -- >> it's those eyes. those eyes that just suck you in. >> you go geek and you take out the phone like, i've got to take a picture. >> then it's all blurry because you are shaking. >> i'm not a stalker. anyway, we'll be able to take at least a little picture of some fleeting sunshine later on this afternoon. i'll give you a complete check of your saturday and your sunday forecast coming up.

you're watching "news 4 today." >> all right, chuck. what's the deal? >> the deal is that we had a lot of rain late last night. now as we get our weekend under way, most of the rain is starting to pull out of the area. that's welcome news. still a couple of raindrops left on your saturday morning. most of this isn't going to last more than another couple of hours. as you make your plans to enjoy your weekend, kind of a wet, soggy start first thing on your saturday morning. but a drying trend is coming our way for this afternoon tonight and into tomorrow. before, yes, indeed, the mention of a snowflake returns on the seven-day forecast. it is early march, after all. outside on your saturday morning, it is a mild start indeed. temperatures are in the upper 40s to near 50 degrees already. our average high this time of the year is only 51. so every tick above 51 we get is bonus territory. we're already at 52 now at national airport. and with just a little bit of sun trying to sneak through there, i do think we have an opportunity to go up another five or eight degrees in high

temperature before we reach our high temperature for the day. so 52 now. probably top out upper 50s. if you get a bonus break or two of sunshine you might reach 60 degrees. 52 in town. 46 in manassas. 50 in waldorf. down towards sai s st. mary. a little cooler in hagerstown. a little thinning now the the clouds will allow for some sunshine to come through mid to late afternoon. don't expect a lot of it. every bit of sunshine will be bonus material. but as a result, we'll get up near 60. nothing like the severe weather outbreak yesterday. 95 tornadoes reported yesterday. some of these may be double reported so the total number of tornadoes may be slightly lower than that but it's probably going to set the record for the most tornadic day in march history in the united states. the old record, 74 tornadoes, march 12th of 2006. the severe weather continues

today down across southern georgia and northern florida. folks there getting hit hard with severe weather. for us, the last of the raindrops are headed into portions of southern maryland, waldorf and pla plata, chesapeake beach. drying trends already starting to show up out to the west. you are done with the raindrops now west of interstate 81. it's all dry west of there. so this is it for our moisture chances for the weekend. a little bit of a breeze. as the front goes through today it will turn our winds back to the west and northwest. i think winds 15 to 20 or 25 miles per hour around town. higher up you go in elevation towards the blue ridge, wind could gust over 40 miles per hour. chilly weather. the northwest wind brings the cooler air in. chillier tomorrow morning. temperatures in the 30s. and then highs tomorrow only in the upper 40s to near 50. there's the little alberta clipper diving to the south. it's going to turn the bend somewhere along the carolina/virginia border. we'll see how close it gets to us. it will bring a chance for

snowflakes here on monday. we'll be watching it close. today, morning showers giving way to a little bit of clearing. turning breezy but staying mild. highs today upper 50s to near 60. and then for your sunday, mostly cloudy. noticeably cooler tomorrow. about a 10 to 12-degree cooldown tomorrow afternoon compared to today. you'll notice that for sure. and then on monday, even cooler still as that little disturbance goes zipping down just to our south. it's going to be close enough. it's going to be almost cold enough. so as a result, rain drops and snowflakes sort of in the forecast. kids, if you are thinking, do i need to do my homework this weekend? yes. this is not a school canceling event. >> thank you, chuck. meanwhile, with gas prices soaring, every penny counts. but how do you know you are getting what you pay for? the news 4 i-team is on the job to answer that question. tisha thompson finds out who is watching out for you. >> reporter: think you are watching every penny at the pump

these days? >> many, many. probably thousands. >> reporter: you've got nothing on elizabeth conkey. every day she's on the road inspecting gas stations in maryland. >> all inspections are unannounced. >> reporter: for the state's department of agriculture. and, boy, can she stop the meter on a dime, or in this case, a penny. >> my greatest job skill is being able to stop exactly at five gallons and ten gallons. >> to make sure customers aren't getting short changed, she uses these specially calibrated containers. they look a lot like milk jugs. first, she makes sure each pump stays and starts on zero for 30 seconds. >> i pump until this says 5 gallons and then read how much was actually dispensed. >> reporter: there is a tolerance. if the pump dispenses too little or too much, she can shut it down. >> i do find errors. >> reporter: meters that keep rolling after you stop filling up can also put a pump out of commission. >> we'd like to check them once

every year, but due to so many pumps versus so many inspectors, it's once every two years. >> we're here now because i just had another child and gas prices are going up. >> reporter: kevin jones called the news 4 i-team after seeing inconsistencies at the pump with his new car. >> you are getting, you know, 23 in the 20-gallon tank. you have to wonder. >> he's had the same issue with his motorcycle. a ten-gallon tank that seems to hold 12 gallons of gas? >> with it being a machine, it could be that it's not calibrated or it's just off. >> to find out how often a pump is cited, the news 4 i-team dug through hundreds of maryland's most recent inspections. in just montgomery and prince george's counties alone, 57% of stations had to be reinspected for different kinds of violations. most were for small technical issues. but 12% were cited for shortchanging customers. one of the worst, a rockville station, shorted drivers by

almost two gallons. but it's not always bad for the driver. 16% were cited for giving more gas away than the pump showed. >> that's acceptable. that's approved. >> reporter: back in montgomery, no problems with these pumps. they each get the orange sticker of approval which customers should always look for when filling up. >> now i am going to give the station their gas back. >> unlike you and me. when she's done filling up, the gas goes back because now more than ever, every drop is worth a bundle. we went through hundreds of pages of gas station inspection reports. this is just fairfax county. we took everything in here and we created this map. each of these little dots, they are a gas station. when you click on it, you can get all the details about whether the gas station passed inspection. and if you want to look for a very specific station, type in

the address right up here. we've put this along with lots of other information like who you should call if you think a pump isn't working right on our website, nbcwashington.com. facebook, living social, rent the runway. have you ever looked at one of these sites and thought, why didn't i think of that? tech guru evan burrfield is here with us with ways to start your own business and welcome to begin with, evan. glad to have you here as a tech insider in our studios. we know that the economy is on the mend. so is now a good time to get your start-up off the ground? >> angie, now is a perfect time to get your start-up off the ground because you have this convergence of things coming together. on the one hand, our region has benefited tremendously from a lot of countercyclical government spending. the recession hasn't been as bad here as in the rest of the country because the federal government has spent so much money. we all know the federal government has to start tampering down their spending over time and that's going to have an impact on our regional economy.

so there's a lot of tech talent that's been locked up in government contractors and solving some of these government prbss for the last ten years that's going to be freed up. and so that combines with the fact the commercial economy is really picking up and there's a lot of vibrancy. in particular, the start-up economy is booming. so we really see what we're doing from a start-up standpoint is critical to creating the kind of jobs that's going to counterbalance what the government is doing. >> we want to go through ways that someone thinking about this, some tips they should consider. and you say you should start with building your ecosystem. >> absolutely. i get asked this all the time by various people in terms of, what do i do if i want to start a company. i have an idea and i'm very passionate about it. >> build a team. but a team nowadays is not, you know, the four people that are going to be working full-time for you so much as it is your advisers, your mentors, the family members that are going to need to support you. and there's all these great programs out there like fosterly, founderscorp. where you can go and you can network and go to dctech meetup

and start to build those people that can advise you and be your team members, potentially invest down the road and help you to be the -- treat the community that's going to help make your start-up happen. >> we'll have links to all of those websites. knowing your market is also a big part and keeping your design simple. >> so one of the biggest challenges that people often have is they get an idea and the product is too complicated and the market is not big enough. then they don't understand why it never really goes anywhere. the biggest advice i have is you've really got to do the research. really look at it and make sure that if you actually solve the problem you set out to solve, there's enough people out there that actually want to buy what you want to buy. and then the second spart si simplify that product down so that it's so simple that you can explain it to anybody and anybody can pick tup and use it. >> in 140 characters or less, right? >> absolutely. >> there's great networking opportunities. what's happening march 6th? >> we have entrepalooza.

i'm chairman of start-up d.c., part of the start-up america program. we want to get the word out. there's so uch vibrancy in the d.c. start-up scene. a lot of people don't know about it yet. entreprellooz, anybody who wants to come out, wants to find out what's going on, wants to engage with some of these programs like endeavor or fortify, these accelerator programs to help you build start-ups. so we'll have a community lounge. we're going to have a date auction for, you know -- >> you are auctioning off geeks. >> we are auctioning off some of the hottest geeks in the region. >> single ladies, are you listening? >> absolutely. so we're going to auction off geeks. we have all the proceeds are going to benefit nifty which helped disadvantaged youth. >> that's happening on march 6th. at 18th and l street. we'll have all that information for you available on. evan, thank you for joining us. >> thank you.

time right now is 9:56. and there's much more to come this morning. get a load of this. we just got this video in from west liberty, kentucky, showing some of the devastation caused by yesterday's deadly tornadoes. we'll have this and much more coming up, including a live report from the midwest. officially under way. and the nationals are one of the most talked about teams in the majors this spring. the nats' chief operating officer will join us live with a preview of what's sure to be a memorable season when we return. [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable

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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. 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.

and now from washington's leading news station, this is "news 4 today." >> good morning, everyone. i'm angie goff. >> i'm erika gonzalez. welcome to "news 4 today" on saturday, march the 3rd. the deadly storms in the midwest are topping our news this morning. the death toll stands at 31. >> and that number could climb throughout the day. dozens of tornadoes were reported from the gulf coast to the great lakes. indiana was hit particularly hard as well. that state's governor is expected to tour the devastation later today. sandra fluke, the georgetown law student in the middle of the birth control debate now has a powerful ally. she told news 4 that president obama called her yesterday to show his support. fluke became a key figure in the

contraception debate testifying to congress and then by being attacked by conservative radio host rush limbaugh. and anne arundel county executive john leopold was indicted by a grand jury for misconduct in office. he's accused of having his security detail help arrange sexual encounters. leopold says he looks forward to explaining his side of the story saying that once the facts come out, he'll avoid any charges. we could have a breezy saturday upon us. >> yeah. some winds starting to pick up just a little bit out to the west as the cold front which sparked all the severe weather yesterday and our rains overnight last night. that cold front is now going down through the area. as it pulls away issue winds will come back around from the west and the northwest later on this afternoon. a little bit on the breezy side later on today. certainly not all as windy as it was last weekend around here. that was a tough weekend for sure. this one won't be quite as gusty. outside, cloudy skies. 52 at national airport. 48 in rockville and gaithers

burg. 51 in bethesda and silver spring and chevy chase this morning. temperatures across fairfax. there is a wind advisory for the high spots out west of the blue ridge. that goes until 5:00 this afternoon out there in the high terrain. winds could just 40 to mist miles an hour. in and around town, winds probably hold in the 20 to 30-mile-per-hour range. breezy at times. mild, though. temperatures climbing into the upper 50s. lucky spots might make it to 60 today. enjoy the mild weather today. it starts getting colder. this was a cold front, after all. cooler air will start to spill in late this afternoon. you'll notice the change tonight and tomorrow. talk about our monday snowflake chances coming up. thanks, chuck. meanwhile, we've got a developing story for you. this out of arizona. 13 people were hurt in a shooting outside a suburban phoenix nightclub. police say two men opened fire in the parking lot and then took off. this morning, two people are in the hospital listed in serious

condition so far though no arrests have been made. we'll continue to monitor that situation. right now, crews are working on a water main break in maryland. a resident called news 4 to let us know of a water main break in the 100 block of swan creek road in ft. washington. that is where we find news 4's melace mollet. she is live. >> some good news to report at this 10:00 hour. the water here was just turned back on for about 40 homes that have been without it since 1:00 this morning. take a look behind me as well. you can see it looks like work has stopped there, almost wrapped up here. they do still have a 25 by 15-foot hole that needs to be filled with asphalt. a 12-inch main that broke around 1:00 this morning. 40 homes were without water for that time. take a look inside the house across from the break. look at this. six inches of water that flooded into the basement. lots of damage as you can see. now the cause, they believe age.

neighbors say they are frustrated because they've complained about the age of the pipes to wssc before after other flooding. the woman who lives in this house said she called wssc wednesday because she saw water leaking out of cracks in the road in front of her home. she was told there wasn't a problem but that same crew was back on her porch this morning. >> it's been mind boggling, frustrating. not to mention just a drain on our pockets because wssc, of course, never replaces anything. any time there is a drop of rain, i mean, we tense because we never know what's going to happen with the drains. then when you constantly call about situations that are ongoing and nothing is ever rectified, i mean, there's a problem. >> can you make these people whole? >> it is our greatest effort to do so in any incident where we have water damage sustained from

a break. >> now the homeowner tells us that home has been flooded because of failing pipes before. wssc has helped them out, but not made them completely whole. that is her concern in this situation. though this is the worst it has been. wssc did send a cleanup crew out here a little while ago. it was just a little bit too soon for them to begin sucking that water out and repairing things in that family's basement. so that crew is expected back here shortly. melissa mollet, news 4. i think you can just about smell the hot dogs, the cracker jacks, all that good stuff because baseball season is just right around the corner. and the washington nationals are looking to make some noise this season. many experts are picking the nats to be one of the surprise teams. and they'll take the field with a new nattidude. here to explain is the chief operating officer and the nationals -- for the nationals, andrew feffer.

you got a nattitude? >> we're ready in 2012. >> what is a nattitude? >> it was inspired by the players themselves. it's something real from the dugout and on the field. they have this edge, this personality, this self-assured ness. we said let's own that and call it something. we call it nattitude. >> you can take a look at what a nattitude is and see if you have one yourself. >> some people say you are either born with it or you're not. i've had people tell me i'm not big enough, not fast enough. not strong enough. no pressure is on me. the pressure is on the pitcher. if he throws it where i want it, then i'm going to do some damage. i don't care if you are the best. i'm going to get you. i always look in the dugout. i want to make sure they're watching.

>> ignite your nattitude. so this season is expected to be a big one. and not just because, you know, we've got nattitude but some amazing players. let's talk about zimmerman. we've got a big deal here with him. >> ryan just signed for another six years extension. really big. he's the face of the franchise. the first pick of the nationals. he wanted to be here in washington for the rest of his career. what was interesting, talking nattitude. 16 of his colleague players showed up at the press conference an however after practice and stood right by him. these guys are together and ready to go. >> i love that. we are kicking off spring training and so forth. but we want to mick sure we take back the park with our own fans because we've got some type of a rivalry going on. >> everyone has been talking about the buzz with the phillies coming to town. they've called us out saying they're going to fill occuur ballpark up.

we are giving them the first opportunity, local fans to buy tickets. i urge all the company in washington, fans to come out to see a great team and what's going to be a great rivalry. get it by go to nationals.com/ourhouse. >> nationals.com/ourhouse. and get your tickets there. and, really, it's an opportunity for the fans to go out and show them what this team is about this season. it's going to be very different, right? >> it's going to be an exciting season. guys like michael morris who had a breakout season and gio gonzalez. maybe four of the best starting pitchers in baseball with strasbourg who is healthy. gonzalez. and edwin jackson. it's shaping up to be one of the best pitching staffs in all of baseball. >> andrew with the washington nationals, thanks so much. >> we'll see you at the park. >> we'll see you at the park. time now 10:08. it's s.a.t. season for high school seniors. up next, an app for your iphone and ipad that will help those students ace their crucial test.

and overnight, this powerful storm that's killed more than 30 people nationwide. bear down own charlotte. this is video of the damage from this morning. this [ male announcer ] this was how my day began. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪

she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ okay... is this where we're at now, we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and the hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition.

fiber one. hey, i love your cereal there-- it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way. lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one. welcome back. today's app of the day is for -- it is perfect for teens getting ready for the s.a.t. it's called s.a.t.vocab.

here's how it works and can help expand your vocabulary and help kids prepare for the s.a.t.s. download it and then you'll notice here that there is a men uvedifferent things you can do. first off we have 25 levels of vocabulary words. now these are the most common words that you are going to find on those tests. what i love about them is that it really simplifies it. we have the word. we have what it means. the antonym and notice the picture there. check out ludicrous. there's grandma's face. how can you forget something like that? and then there are a variety, at least half a dozen mini games. and while this is an app that has a lot of words involved, it's also very visual for those visual learners. i got it wrong. my fishy did not survive. okay. we want to go back and i want to show you another little element of this. if you go to your profile, this is really a way to keep track of your progress. you gain points the better you

do and you can tell by my weekly activity, i need some work. i am currently comatose. so really a lot of great opportunities here. not only to expand your vocabulary but also to prepare yourself for the s.a.t.s. download the app. the best part of all, this is absolutely free. we also want to remind you not to forget to download our free nbc4 iphone app. stay up to date with all the latest news and weather. search nbc washington on itunes. speaking of itunes and apple, apple is celebrating a huge landmark this morning. the app store hit the 25 billion download mark if you can believe that. as per official rules of the promotion, the person who downloaded the 25th billionth app will receive an app store gift card of $10,000. it's redeemable at any itunes, app or ibook store available in the country. the identity of the winner has

not been released yet. i'm sure they don't want anybody calling them being like, hey, can you download me some songs. can i get some software? hook somebody up. >> does it count for songs, too, or just -- do they count a song as an app? they have downloaded something 25 billion times. >> $10,000. i'll take it, whatever it is. >> just tell me where to go and i'll download it. we'll talk about your weekend forecast and your prospects for sunshine next.

[ male announcer ] are you paying more and more forable 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. 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.

you're watching "news 4 today." >> this morning, thousands of people in the midwest and south are assessing the damage left behind from a string of powerful storms, angie. >> one of the hardest hit areas, henryville, indiana. much of the town was decimated in a matter of minutes. that's where we find kara kneer there this morning with devastating pictures. >> the pictures are devastating to say the least. let me set the scene for you in henryvil henryville, indiana. as you can see, a bus through this restaurant behind me. henryville high school is actually across the street. this bus had 11 children in it. was taking them home when they heard about the bad weather that was coming through. the bus driver made a smart decision, brought the bus back. got the kids unloaded to safety. and then as the bus was parked, the bus then was moved by the

storm into this restaurant as you can see. everywhere you look here is total devastation. debris on the ground. they are slowly starting to clear the roads. and authorities are still conducting search and rescue missions. it has been a heartbreaking day here for the people here and in all of southeastern indiana. >> kara kneer, thank you for that report. >> you always wonder, in the trail of a disaster like that. what can i do to help? the two best things that you can do are donate either money to the red cross or the salvation army. those are the two groups that have boots on the ground and can do the most help. you are saying i don't have any money to give? you can always donate blood. blood donation is always super, super important after something like this and it's something that a lot of us could do a little more of. the red cross always happy to take your donations of blood out there. a lot of folks in indiana and ohio and kentucky and tennessee. a lot of hurt people out there today.

our heart goes out to them. out here in washington, a lot quieter than that. no doubt about it. the weather front has slipped to the south of washington as a result. our winds which were calm last hour now coming back to the southwest. eventually more of a west to northwesterly direction should be expected by later on today. wind speeds are going to increase as well. 52 and still cloudy here in washington. let me show you this visible satellite picture. you'll see how close the sunshine is. 48 hagerstown and smithburg. 53 in fredericksburg. cloudy skies. a few lingering rain drops across eastern maryland mostly. a little break or two of sunshine will put temperatures up near 60 today. there are all the reports of the severe weather yesterday. luckily for us, the storm lost a lot of its punch after the sun went down and after it went offer the mountains. the strong weather across the coastal carolinas and down into georgia and north florida. for us, the last of the raindrops now into southern

maryland. southern charles county, calvert county headed eastbound. and nothing more than a few drizzly drops left out to our west. we'll see a gradual improvement in our weather as we go through the remainder of the day. here's a look at the satellite picture. look how close the sunshine is to us. the sun is out. 100% now in western maryland. the cloud line is basically just west of i-81. it's going to inch down to our area later on today. but not serve going to break out in full sunshine. westerly breezes. going to be very breezy today at higher elevations. west of the blue ridge into the mountains. winds 30 to 40, maybe even 50 miles an hour. around town, probably more in the 15 to 25-mile-per-hour range for winds today. the colder air is coming in. behind that front, you'll feel it tonight. a chilly start tomorrow morning and a much colder day tomorrow. highs in the 40s. we're watching the alberta clipper for monday which brings us a possibility some of snowflakes. for today, a little bit of clearing coming our way. the further west you go, the more sunshine you are able to

see. tomorrow, mostly cloudy once again. cooler. west to northerly breezes tomorrow as the colder air comes in. it will be self-destructive sunshine for tomorrow. might have a little clear sky first thing in the morning. as the colder air comes in aloft with the sunshine in it, you'll have a cloud deck in no time. and another chance of rain or snow on monday. again, not going to be getting out of school for this one, kids but nonetheless, a snowflake is a snowflake and we're here to talk about it. >> thank you chuck. we'lling right back. the biggest event this week had to be the republican primaries in michigan and arizona. >> no question about it. and certainly mitt romney got himself a sweep out of arizona and michigan. hoping to give him some momentum going into super tuesday. >> it wasn't easy. the contest in michigan was incredibly close. mitt romney won by juft 3 percentage points in the state he grew up and where his state

once served as governor. >> this may have been a pivotal week for democrats in senate. the republicans close to taking back the senate but with senator olympia snowe in maine, a republican saying she won't run for re-election, that gives democrats a big, fat target. also senator bob kerrey, running in nebraska. and that moves that down on the list. next week, super tuesday. >> 11 contests. 424 delegates. it's going to be something to watch. so, this is delicious

okay... is this where we're at now, we just eat whatever tastes good? like these sweet honey clusters... actually there's a half a day's worth of fiber in every ... why stop at cereal? bring on the pork chops and e hot fudge. fantastic. are you done sweetie? yea [ male announcer ] fiber beyond recognition. fiber one. hey, i love your cereal there--

it's got that sweet honey taste. but no way it's 80 calories, right? no way. lady, i just drive the truck. right, there's no way right, right? have a nice day. [ male announcer ] 80 delicious calories. fiber one. you're watching "news 4 today." >> at&t users are upset with the company's plan to slow down its most active wireless users. the company announced it will begin slowing down someone's service when they use more than 3 gigabytes worth of data a month. 17 million customers have

unlimited data plans and are furious that their service plans will be nixed if they switch turnover a certain company. they say there's only a certain amount of bandwidth available and they must keep it open for all of its customers. now to an update on a story of a local college student inspiring people around the world. >> university of maryland's basketball team manager zach lederer has completed his first round of chemotherapy. we're happy to report that. he was in the hospital for treatment of a brain tumor when he struck this pose. check out the gun show, baby. it immediately went viral with everyone from other schools to police officers to pro athletes doing the zach or zach'ing as it's called. now the maryland governor martin o'malley tweeted this picture last night showing his support for lederer and other cancer patients. and tomorrow the terps will give away zach'ing t-shirts when they

play virginia. >> we heard from zach and he said that his first round of chemo went very well. he is feeling strong. he is feeling great. so good for him. >> he'll be working on the guns again in no time. >> his guns look great right now. not only is he the basketball manager of the team out there, but he's a broadcast -- broadcast major. has a great voice also. >> an empty seat on that end of the desk. >> that's going to wrap it up for "news 4 today." thank you for joining us, everyone. >> "it's academic" is up next. we'll be back here tomorrow morning at 6:00. until then have a great saturday, everybody. [ female announcer ] what would you call an ordinary breakfast pastry

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