here at maryland. there was a guy in montana and another person in baltimore and police used those tips to track down the suspect. it took a little more than 12 hours. the target? the grassy mall. a popular student hangout. the center piece of the university of maryland campus. under police guard today. just in case. the threat? posted on the internet. i'll be on a shooting rampage tomorrow on campus. stay away from the mall tomorrow at 1:30. hopefully i kill enough people to make the national news. the suspect? 19-year-old alexander song. a sophomore arrested by university police sunday morning on campus, a day before that threatened attack. police say he was unarmed and crying at the time they picked

him up. >> he was very emotionally distraught to the point of shaking and crying. clearly in need of psychiatric assistance which we in turn made sure he received. >> reporter: that threat, front page news here. students here on edge. >> i'm just terrified. what if other kids are thinking the same thing? so i just like to put myself in my room unless i go to class. >> reporter: that scared? >> yeah. very scary. >> it is a little scary. it's close to home. >> reporter: suspect song lived on campus on the third floor of the oakland dormitory. police say they searched his room and found no weapons there. students who know him say the threat is way out of character. >> i think it's just a joke that went wrong. it was a pretty bad joke but i don't think he actually meant it. >> reporter: and you heard about it? >> i was really surprised. i didn't believe it at first

because i knew who he was. >> reporter: tonight song is in the hospital. he is under psychiatric care. he's been suspended from the university. he's been charged with interfering with orderly activities of a campus. that's a misdemeanor. live in college park, pat collins. news 4. >> frightening scene. thank you. scary moments today aboard a plane. it had to make an emergency landing at dulles international. shortly after taking off from reagan national airport a mechanical warning light came on in the cockpit and the pilot declared an emergency. the us airways express flight was headed to philadelphia at 1:50 this afternoon and it landed safely 30 minutes later at dulles. fire officials inspected the plane on the runway and said it was okay. but airline officials say they put the crew of three and 29 passengers on other flights. >> well they've dropped charges against a montgomery county middle school teacher accused of having sex with a former student. charges were dropped today

against 47-year-old scott speier because of a technicality. according to maryland law if a student is above the age of consent charges can only be pressed if the teacher is a full-time employee at the school where the student attends. in this case the girl was 16 and speier was just a part-time track coach. his attorney tells news 4 they will meet with the school board tomorrow to try to get both of his jobs back. a 5-year-old is dead after a violent crash involving her packed school bus. it was just before 8:00 this morning in indianapolis investigators say the driver of the bus lost control and hit a railroad bridge. he was also killed. police say there were a total of 50 kids on that bus. ten were taken to the hospital and two have critical injuries including one who was pulled from underneath the front wheel of the bus. leaders around the world are condemning the deaths of more than a dozen afghan villagers tonight. apparently at the hands of an american soldier. that soldier is in u.s. custody

this evening. we're learning more about his background. barbara harrison is in the newsroom working this story. >> reporter: jim, nato and the state department are promising a rapid and thorough investigation into the shootings and president obama called afghan president hamid karzai today to express condolences. still, there is growing anger here and abroad. 16 afghan citizens, most women and children, were killed early sunday. that's when a u.s. soldier apparently left his base in the kandahar province in the middle of the night, went into the villagers' homes and shot them while sleeping. some execution style. today afghan troops stepped up patrols. many fear there could be violent retaliation as word of the incident spreads. >> it was a senseless tragedy. the larger problem will be, this is a spark, landing on this tinder box of afghanistan. >> the soldier's name has not been released but we have

learned he is a 38-year-old staff sergeant from the military base in washington state. he served three tours in iraq and was deployed to afghanistan for the first time on december 3rd, assigned to a village stability operation. he was married and the father of two. back to you, jim. barbara, thanks. a bill before the d.c. council would broaden the criteria for reporting child sexual abuse. the public had a chance to weigh in today on the child sexual abuse reporting act of 2012. d.c. council member phil middleson introduced the bill in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal at penn state. the current law in the district makes it mandatory for professionals such as counselors and teachers to report sexual abuse that involves a child. this bill would require everyone to tell police if they believe a child is being abused. failure to do so could result in a $300 fine or 90 days in jail. >> requiring reporting begins to put some protection in place for the child who cannot protect

himself or herself. opponents testified that the bill does not take attorney-client privilege or spousal privilege into account and it doesn't allow for the fact that most people don't have expertise in recognizing child sexual abuse. the bill goes to the committee on human services for a further review. the latest now on the republican bid for the white house. mitt romney and rick santorum facing another test. there are primaries in two big southern states, alabama and mississippi tomorrow. for santorum, victories in alabama and mississippi would strengthen his argument that he is the conservative alternative to romney. if romney can pull off a win in one of them it will suggest the conservative voters are beginning to accept him. and today he won a big endorsement, the southern comedian jeff fochtworthy appearing with him around alabama. >> i was able to avoid politics for 53 years. somebody said why in the world would you get into it now? and the answer is it's too

important. >> the issue is vision. the issue is that governor romney having out spent me 10 to 1 is still not able to close the deal. >> tell you how sick the system is. >> poll numbers have been climbing for newt gingrich. a pair of wins tomorrow would keep his campaign alive. but losses in both southern states could be a lethal blow to his presidential hopes. well, how are you liking the weather? it is magnificent. >> two thumbs up. guess who's out there? doug kammerer is out in it. you are a popular guy, doug. >> you know, it's one of those things where everybody has come up to you and said, nice job, man. hey, we'll say it tomorrow morning when it's raining on the way to work. great day today. it is really simply spectacular. temperatures into the 70s. not a cloud in the sky earlier today. a frontal boundary will try to give us a chance of shower activity overnight tonight. 71 degrees the current temperature right now with winds out of the south-southwest at 17 miles per hour. winds gusting over 20 across

much of the region. but really not all that bad. it's fantastic. 68 in gaithersburg. 68 in leesburg. 72 in manassas. right now fredericksburg with a temperature of 75 degrees. a spectacular afternoon. here is the rain i'm talking about in through portions of west virginia right now starting to fall apart. most of this will stay to our north and west as it makes its way in here. i do expect to see some shower activity move in around 11:00 tonight and maybe right on through 5:00 tomorrow morning there could be early showers tomorrow. you may need to take the umbrella with you as you step out. one thing you notice, 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning we're talking about a temperature of 54 degrees. 54 degrees. that is the actual average high for this time of year and where we're going to start tomorrow. it gets even warmer tomorrow and this is a streak. we'll talk about that streak coming up in a couple minutes. >> nice. all right. well, this is described as an expensive family heirloom in annapolis where a lot of families don't have this i'll bet you. it is a 24 carat gold

championship boxing belt and it disappeared last thursday. the homeowner is in the 100 block of winchester road in annapolis and they say they noticed it and other items were gone when they got home. this belt is from the british empire lawnsdale. investigators say an old faded red vehicle was in the area that day and disappeared. if you might have seen something call police. >> it is worth more than the car something tells me. >> you think? coming up we have a lot more. the end to a tough case inside a northern virginia courtroom. >> reporter: i'm julie carey in prince william county where the mother of a toddler who died after he was left behind in her hot vehicle pleads guilty to reduced charges. i'll tell you about the plea deal for dr. karen murphy. lap tops on the fritz? if your computer is fried, it could be your fault. the simple steps to keep it running smoothly. plus, outrage from parents tonight when a department store markets shirts for kids with some questionable slogans.

we're talking lap tops tonight. if you think your lap top is to use in your lap think again. >> no, no. when it's running slowly, freezing up, it could be all your fault and the fault of your lap. not the computer. liz crenshaw is here to tell you

how to avoid messing the thing up. >> hi there. you think lap top you think portable computer, convenience. experts say they're not meant to be moved around or used on your lap. geek support at best buy says half of all lap top troubles are caused by human error. how you handle it and where you use your lap top affects your computer's life span. >> they say on average the lap top should last you about three years. >> reporter: that's only if you care for your lap top properly. >> by not treating them properly we can actually damage parts prematurely and shorten the life span considerably. >> reporter: rob is with the geek squad at best buy and warns many lap top users unknowingly make every day mistakes even though lap tops often lead us away from our desks, portable computers made for convenience, but they're not meant to be used on your lap. he says let your lap top breathe. >> don't block that and don't block this on the bottom.

>> reporter: lap tops have intake vents on the bottom of the computer and are meant to be used on a hard surface. blocking vents or fans can cause the computer to over heat. >> it is causing wear to the lap top for no reason at all. >> just when you thought your lap top was portable, passing it off for walking around with it while running can cause damage. lap tops have a hard drive like this one and it has moving parts. think of your hard drive like a record player where it has a needle that reads these platters are inside of it. while the lap top is on the platters are spinning and it is trying to read that. when you hand it to somebody you can actually have the needle damage the platter or the needle gets damaged itself. >> reporter: a common complaint from users lap tops running slow or freezing up. he says it's often caused by users who installed more than one anti-virus program. >> you may think more secure, great. fantastic. not actually a good thing. >> that's right. a single anti-virus installation is better than having more than

one. the programs do the same thing and end up fighting each other and canceling each other out. another tip to remember, let your lap top rest. leaving your lap top running all the time diminishes the battery life. next make sure you debunk the dust. >> dust is one of the big contributors to over heating and that can actually cause the computer to shut down and damage the internal parts. so a simple cleaning that you can do at home to take your compressed air and squirt it into the intake. >> avoid ammonia based cleaners when wiping down the screen. >> it will be specific for an lcd monday tore so you aren't damaging the screen with those additional chemicals. >> reporter: simple ways to save your lap top from unnecessary troubles. >> me personally i always treat my electronics as if it was a newborn so i'm really gentle with them. >> like a newborn baby. if you've healed on to your lap top say three years or so now it's a toddler and needs a fix,

you might want to consider buying a new one. lap top prices have come down over the past few years and it might make more money sense than trying to get it fixed. don't use it on your lap and don't pass it around when it's running. >> that explains why it gets so hot. >> not on the pillow either. >> there you go. turning to doug we didn't think we'd get you back indoors. it is so nice. >> it is fantastic. you know, i was looking at the pattern and it looks like this whole week we're going 70 or above. i think we may extend it into next week too. we may have a two-week period of very, very warm temperatures. >> nice. >> that's what we're dealing with right now. take a look down toward the tidal basin. a little earlier these are the cherry blossom trees. just starting to see those buds and chuck bell says that is his running route every day and there are a couple trees that do have the flowers out right there. he also says that he believes, this is from meteorologist chuck bell, that they will bloom a little earlier than forecast. the official forecast is march 24th through the 31st of this year. we'll have to wait and see if

chuck's prediction is okay. 71 degrees the temperature right now under mostly cloudy skies. we have had the clouds come in over the last hour or two. winds out of the south-southwest right now at 17 miles per hour with winds gusting to 23 miles an hour. we are seeing a little bit in the way of those winds gusting but once again out of the south-southwest it is a very warm wind and we're warming up nicely. 75 in fredericksburg right now. 68 in leesburg. 71 in the district. right now annapolis at 63 degrees. a little bit of a component off the water. now pollen, problem today. it's definitely in the moderate level. it will be tomorrow but could be in the high variety level on thursday and friday of this week. if you're a pollen sufferer and i know a lot of you are, getting a lot of reports on facebook and twitter pages about the pollen. it does look like it is going to be fairly high for the rest of the week. maybe a little lower tomorrow as a result of some rain showers. back to the west right now. trying to make their way our way. you can see here this is a more organized area of rain. a couple different frontal boundarys trying to make their way on through here but the main front is still way back to the

west around chicago. they're seeing some very strong storms over that way. for us, though, it's just going to be showers. don't expect any severe thunderstorms. we may see a rumble of thunder or two tomorrow afternoon as we still see the warm air. it's popping in. here come the showers early tomorrow morning. and then here's 5:00 in the afternoon with this front. we could see a couple thunderstorms developing along that front and then move on through the region once again. not expecting anything strong or severe. it would just be a rumble of thunder and a quick shower and they'd move right out of here. warm air once again on wednesday with plenty of sunshine. not bad. a great evening with more clouds making their way in here. we'll see the late showers coming in. they'll wait until after the 9:00 hour i believe. temperatures will be on the mild side overnight tonight. and right on through the day tomorrow. starting off mostly cloudy. could be a few showers tomorrow morning on your way in to work. you may want to take the umbrella with you. temperatures 49 to 55 degrees. tomorrow afternoon partly sunny with afternoon showers. maybe a rumble of thunder. but only about a 40% chance of

rain so don't think tomorrow is going to be a washout because it will not be. 72 on wednesday. 73 on thursday. 71 on friday with another chance of rain and you can just continue to see that great weather right on into the weekend too. >> yeah. we can. >> awesome. >> i love it. >> yeah. >> thank you, doug. still to come, disciplinary actions taken against a local priest who denied communion to a woman at her mother's funeral. >> and the woman who found herself in a sticky situation upside down in a trash chute. an unusual discovery by customs officials at dulles.

march madness and bringing it. >> bracket busters and georgetown is hoping they don't fall victim to one of those coming up on friday. georgetown gets a number three seed, they're headed to columbus, ohio for the first-round matchup with tiny belmont out of nashville. the hoyas and bruins all ears during the selection show last night which always gets the players jacked up for march madness. >> ninth team out of the northeast the hoyas of georgetown who get the bruins of belmont who won the tournament championship for the second straight season.

>> we all grow up with basketball a main component of our lives for so long and we get excited watching march madness every year and to be a part of it is the best thing in the world. >> to have the opportunity to participate is something i have never taken for granted and the people here in georgetown never have. you know, there are so many teams, good teams whose season is over right now. and so to have the opportunity once again to compete for the national championship is a good thing. >> time to dance now. you know, no turning back. it's time to get it going. you go through all the hoopla, cameras, talking to you guys, you know, that comes with it. you got to get back to the drum and then the nitty gritty. >> that is because belmont is a scoring machine. they ranked fourth in the nation averaging 81.4 points per game. the atlantic sun conference champs are also riding a 14-game

winning streak. >> obviously momentum is big in the game of basketball but i don't think georgetown really cares. they're going to look at our schedule and say atlantic sun opponents and not respect this as far as the win streak because they are in the big east. i think the biggest thing is we know they're not going to get any extra points because they're in the big east. they won't get any extra because they're higher seed. we have to go out and play a complete 40 minutes. >> georgetown met belmont in 2007 on the way to the final four where they eventually lost to ohio state in the semifinals. since then, march madness has been cut short for the hoyas. in '08 they lost their second game to a hot shooting stefan curry in davidson. in 2010, ohio knocked them out of the first round and last year georgetown was the first victim in bcu's run to the final four. it's a trend the hoyas feel pressure to change. >> yeah. definitely. anybody who says it doesn't is, you know, i think lying. you know, we know that in the past couple seasons it's been a disappointment in terms of fans

and even for our team especially. >> having those experiences you don't want that feeling. you know you got to come to school and people don't look at you the same. you got that feeling inside like we should still be playing. we don't want that feeling. i felt that last year. i don't think any of us want that feeling especially not the freshmen. this is their first merry-go-round. we want to send our seniors off an and say look.nd ichbt duece we're a championship basketball team. >> markel stark sounding like a wylie veteran and esonly a a lot of people actually picking belmont to upset georgetown in this game. i think primarily because of their history we talked about in that piece because they've lost in the first round the last couple years. i think that's a good thing. might be a wakeup call before the actual wakeup call. >> we need the trend to continue. >> it'll be fun to be rooting

for the hoyas. >> it would be. >> all right, guys. coming up next on news 4 at 5:00, tragic accident or criminally negligent? a mother whose son died in a hot car learns her fate. i'm darcy spencer in anne arundel county. two seriously wounded pit bulls have been found here just within the last month and authorities believe that they were bait dogs in dog fighting operations. i'll have the story ahead. you're never too old to go to school. a special member of a d.c. school community gets a surprise on her 103rd birthday. hi. welcome to carmax. hi. i was on carmax dot com and i think i found the one. great car. and i think, it's right over there... (sighes)... finding your perfect car is easy at carmax because

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fast forward through the headlines. a u.s. staff sergeant is in u.s. custody in kandahar accused of going door to door and gunning down 16 afghan civilians early sunday. his name has not yet been released but there is word he was deployed from a military base in washington state in early december. today secretary of state hillary clinton said those responsible will be held accountable. >> a university of maryland honor student is being psychologically evaluated after his arrest on campus this weekend. police say 19-year-old alexander song made internet threats to carry out a shooting rampage. he was arrested yesterday morning. he was not armed. police say they did not find any weapons in his dorm room. a plane leaving reagan national this afternoon had to make an emergency landing 30 minutes later at dulles. the us airways express flight

was headed to philadelphia shortly after takeoff a mechanical warning light came on in the cockpit and the pilot declared an emergency. officials on the ground determined the plane to be okay. doug, how is the weather? he's out again. >> oh, yeah. i got to. if i could spend the entire day out here, wendy, i would. i feel like i should be strolling along the potomac right now. we are here in northwest washington right now looking at a beautiful afternoon. take a look at the numbers. 71 degrees currently with winds upwards of 17 to 23 miles an hour. no wind here though. it's almost calm right now. take a look at the numbers around the metro area. college park right now at 72. 72 manassas. the warm spot right now 75 down toward warranton. we have the warm air coming in. yes, maybe a few showers. i'll show you the forecast coming up in a couple minutes. >> all righty. there will not be any jail time for a prince william county mother originally charged with murder for leaving her toddler

in a hot van last summer where he died. as julie carey tells us the commonwealth attorney agreed to a plea that will allow this defendant to do community service. >> dr. karen murphy sobbed in the courthouse embraced by family and friends after a brief but emotional hearing. after initially filing murder charges that outraged some in the community the commonwealth attorney agreed to a plea bargain reasoning her pain over the loss of her son was punishment enough. relatives shielded a distraught karen murphy as she left the courthouse after her tearful guilty plea to two counts of misdemeanor child neglect. >> i'm convinced knowing what i know about the case that she punished herself more than the law could ever do. >> reporter: but commonwealth attorney paul ebert originally charged the veterinarian with felony murder after her 2-year-old son ryan was found dead in the family van last june. prosecutors say murphy had driven to work at an animal hospital with the toddler strapped into his car seat and didn't discover ryan until she came home later that afternoon.

he died in the hot van. it was the second time murphy had forgotten to drop her son off at daycare. the child was discovered unharmed after a similar incident in january. as part of the plea bargain murphy received a suspended two-year prison term. instead she'll be free to do 400 hours of community service at the local animal shelter. >> i don't think justice will be served by making her go to penitentiary. secondly, if she is convicted of a felony she'll lose her ability to practice veterinary medicine. through an online facebook page dozens in the community rallied around dr. murphy during the eight months since her son died, many outraged by the initial murder charge. >> they knew that dr. murphy was a good person and a great mother who had just made a terrible mistake with her child and that she wasn't a murderer in that the community came out, people that actually knew her the best came out and supported her. that was very helpful to her. >> reporter: observing murphy's hearing? kevin kelly, the manassas father

of 13 who was the subject of similar headlines in 2002 when he left his youngest daughter behind in the family van where she prerished. unlike murphy who pleaded guilty kelly fought the charges and was sentenced to one day in jail a year for seven years. kelly told news 4 he came to court to support and pray for dr. murphy. now, karen murphy declined to make a statement in court or to the media outside but her attorney says she will be active with the national group called kids in cars.org. i'll have more on their efforts and safety tips at 6:00. the catholic priest who denied communion to a lesbian at her mother's funeral has now been suspended. the archdiocese of washington placed father marcelle on leave last friday for intimidating behavior toward parish staff and others. he serves at st. john newman catholic church in gaithers burg. the archdiocese tells us the suspension is not related to the communion incident last month.

artist barbara johnson says the priest denied her communion because she lived with another woman. the archdiocese apologized for what happened. if you park in the district pay close attention to the street sweeper parking signs. starting today the department of public works will ticket people who violate no parking zones when street sweepers are working. during street sweeping season, which runs through the end of october, those, there will be restricted parking on some residential streets. dpw says some blocks have new sweeping times this year and crews could sweep more than once a day. by the way, the ticket is $30. >> say street sweep 30 times fast. >> don't do it. gas prices as you know keep getting up there. the national average for regular jumped 12 cents the last two weeks. right now the average is 3.80. a lot of folks say if the price keeps going up they'll have to make changes. news 4's tracee wilkins reports. >> reporter: here in beltsville outside the beltway live serious

commuters. while they're just about five miles from the city. during lunch that commute can last for more than an hour, mostly idling and burning gas. >> i'm filling up my car at least three times a week. >> reporter: these drivers have been paying close attention to the rise of prices at the pump. >> close to $50? >> $49.83. >> reporter: what do you make of it? >> time for a smaller car i guess. i don't know. >> reporter: some say they've had to change their lifestyles to manage the cost. >> i drive from here to d.c. every day. i have three kids i have to take to school, bring back. so it's really, you know, have to really cut down on a lot of expenses because i have to put a lot of money in the tank. >> reporter: d.c. drivers are paying about $3.99 for a gallon of regular. maryland's average is $3.79. virginia's is $3.69 and in west virginia they're paying about $3.86 a gallon. while we have yet to reach the record high of $4.11 set

back in july of 2008 some analysts say that's a record we may eventually beat in just a few months. >> i just think it's speculators driving the price and we're victimized by it and there is nothing the little guy can do. >> reporter: analysts predict once we hit spring and get into summer we'll be experiencing some of the highest gas prices in the country right here in the east coast. it looks like that is the trend that's happening here. so where is the cheap gas? well, triple-a says it's in wyoming. right now they're paying $3.30. in beltsville, i'm tracee wilkins, news 4. and the reason that gas is going to get expensive in the summer is because when you switch to the summer blend it costs more than the winter grade fuel. are you ready? the field is set as you know for college basketball's big tournament. tomorrow the first of 68 teams will take their first step

enroute to the final four. for many that means another day to mull over our picks that we'll be making in the office pool bracket. some things to consider as you make your pick, while you look forward to making some cash the players won't see a dime unless you count their future earnings potential and that can be quite hefty. 70% of people say they have won more than 200 bucks in a tournament pool and vegas rakes in about $90 million in bets. that is basically the same as what comes in during the super bowl. by the way, the men's game isn't the only one in town. the 64 teams and the 2012 women's ncaa tournament is going to be chosen tonight. virginia, maryland, and georgetown are expected to be part of that field. still ahead living large in northern virginia. new report lays out the wealthiest counties in the country. plus a lady with a predicament. >> i can't believe i was in that thing. i just can't believe how they would get me out. >> okay. coming up how she says she wound up in a trash chute in the first place.

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no wonder more people choose xfinity over any other provider. ♪ love can be so mystical ♪ the virginia state fair could return to its old turf. richmond international raceway offered to host the state fair. just last week the owner of the event filed for bankruptcy, fired the staff, canceled the

fair. the raceway hosted the fair just outside richmond for 63 years before it moved to a park near kings dominion in 2009. northern virginia is home to the highest incomes in the country. the 2010 u.s. census puts loudoun county as the richest county in the country. the county's median household income is about $120,000. fairfax coming in at number two at about $103,000. arlington county was number five with about $95,000 in annual income. the washington business journal put this list together. another new list puts a value on a college education. the pew research center reports that a four-year college degree is worth about $550,000. according to this study a typical college graduate earns more than $500,000 more than the average high school graduate during a career spanning 40 years. researchers balance the costs of college against expected earnings and analyze census

numbers and other data to reach the $550,000 figure. two dogs nearly mauled to death. police believe they were part of a dog fighting ring in our area. and a sudden dust storm causes a big mess on the roads. take a look when drivers find themselves unable to see the road right in front of them. doug? the spring-like temperatures could actually mean spring time thunderstorms. we've got two chances for that. we've g[ male announcer ] that. for the dreamers...

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customs officials at dulles international busted a passenger they say tried to bring in more than 18,000 cigarettes. the passenger traveled from vietnam through japan. investigators say he declared having fish and two or three cartons of cigarettes but through x-ray examination officers discovered more than 900 cartons. authorities believe he was trying to resell them and seized them because he didn't have a license to import. the passenger was later released. two dogs are found mauled with serious injuries. in anne arundel county they were likely used as what they call bait dogs for dog fights. tonight the dogs are making a remarkable recovery but investigators are searching for an underground dog fighting ring and the people behind it. darcy spencer joins us. she is in our newsroom with more. >> wendy, both dogs could have died from their injuries. they were apparently dumped on the side of the road after being involved in the vicious fights but a local animal hospital is providing for their care free of

charge. >> hello. this is princess. >> reporter: her name is princess and she is recovering at the animal hospital in anne arundel county from life threatening bite wounds. >> she is a love bug. she will give you kisses. she's a little nervous at first but she'll start warming up and give you kisses and just loves to sit on your lap and cuddle. >> reporter: authorities believe the pit bull was a bait dog in a dog fighting operation. it's sad that someone would use these poor dogs as, you know, fighting dogs because they are so sweet and so trusting. >> reporter: princess was found wandering in a parking lot on richie highway in brooklyn park nine days ago. one of her wounds was so severe it left a gaping hole under her arm that got infected. >> she would have died from it had she not received this care. >> oh, yes. very much so. >> and probably in a matter of days. >> yes. >> this is rocky road also being treated at the chapel. he is believed to be a bait dog and was found within a few miles of where princess was found a month ago. he has bite marks on his face

and here on his leg is what doctors believe was a knife wound. >> i just hope that they find whoever did this to them and that they'll be tortured as much as these guys were. >> reporter: county animal control officers say princess and rocky road were likely used for training other more aggressive dogs. they're asking the community to help find those involved. >> watching for lots of dominant breed animals in one area, lots of people traffic in and out, or any other injured dog. >> reporter: waugh chapel owner dr. scott anderson is taking care of rocky road and now princess on his own dime. >> my biggest problem is the fact that we're supposed to be living in a civilized country and in our own back yard neighborhoods we have this brutal dog fighting that's been going on. >> reporter: rocky road and princess are going to be placed with a rescue group who will then find them permanent homes. if you have information on the dog fighting cases or if you want to help provide for their care, you can call animal

control at 410-222-8900. coming up at 6:00 you'll hear from the man who found princess and he is being credited with saving the dog's life. back to you. a sudden dust storm wreaked havoc on a washington state highway. it happened sunday afternoon on highway 97. take a look. this storm reduced visibility to zero. transportation officials closed the road but not in time to prevent a massive pileup. most injuries were minor but state troopers say one person was taken to the hospital. the highway reopened about five hours later. wow. let's get an update on our gorgeous forecast from doug. you're going to stick around for a while? >> we'll stick around. temperatures like this you kind of got to. 71 degrees. a beautiful afternoon today. those winds still out of the south-southwest about 17 miles per hour right

overnight this dies out but then reforms early tomorrow morning around 4:00. and you notice right along the i-95 corridor that's where we see the rain. it'll make its way down to the south through about 6:00 or 7:00 in through portions of southern maryland. o so the best chance to see rain early tomorrow morning is going to be from i-95 south and east. it could affect your rush hour %t could affect your rush hour commute early in the morning. by lunch time 12:30 we're high

and dry seeing plenty of sunshine and the temperatures %unshine and the temperatures are skyrocketing and that will lead to the chance for some thunderstorm activity right around 6:00 or 6:30 tomorrow afternoon in the same location. once again watch out from washington down to the south and east. you folks have the best chance of seeing some thunder. nothing severe or too strong. just a couple run of the mill spring time thunderstorms. to tomorrow morning 49 in leesburg. 49 manassas. p down to 52 in fredericksburg. pi in the district a temperature of % 54. 54. h% that's actually the average high for this time of year. we will see a couple showers likely. tomorrow afternoon, take a look at these numbers. 75 in gaithers burg. 77 in culpepper. why not go 80 in fredericksburg. about a 30 to 40% chance of rain tomorrow and maybe a thunderstorm so you may want to take the umbrella though most of us should not need them as far as the next couple days go how %s the next couple days go how about 72 on wednesday? 73 on thursday. another chance for a thunderstorm or two on friday with a high once again in the low 70s. >> thank you, doug. sears is coming under fire

for some t-shirts on its website. >> yeah. the retail giant says the shirts were designed for kids but many critics say they were completely inappropriate. this is one of those shirts and it reads "don't make me kick you in the fallopian tubes" end quote. there were similar shirts designed for kids and toddlers. a sears spokesperson says the website ad says the products were sold by a third party and they'd remove them from sears.com. one of the stars of "the artist" will attend the white house correspondents' dinner, uggie the dog coming as a guest of the "washington times." he'll attend with his trainer. jimmy kimmel will host this year's event on april 28th. wow. that's a date. cause for celebration today at sharp school in the district. it was somebody's birthday. today is virginia's 103rd birthday. grandma virginia as she is known has volunteered at the school for more than 20 years.

the school principal says she is an absolute joy to have around. >> we are here to celebrate a wonderful, wonderful woman. she celebrates 103 years of life. she is a pleasure and joy full of life. she comes rain or shine, sunny, cloudy, she's out there. >> sharp health school is a school that caters to special needs students ages 3 to 22. what a smile she has. >> good for her. >> yeah. she's still got it. >> she does. what's coming up at 6:00? >> a lot. the latest on the campus sho shooting threat at the university of maryland. we'll tell you how police received tips from as far away as montana about that. also ahead the founder of the 2012 campaign released a new viral video to respond to critics and meet the fairfax county woman behind one of the largest construction companies in the area who is receiving a big honor. those stories and more. wendy will join me for news 4 at 6:00. see you then. >> a big night. >> indeed. all women.

>> thanks. >> almost all. after the break, get a load of this woman. she got stuck upside down in a trash chute. she had to be rescued and is blaming her shoes. >> she may join you at 6:00 too oh, that would be interesting. >> follow news 4 online. search nbc washington on facebook and twitter too.

a rare sight off the coast of australia today. a helicopter caught this video of a shark feeding frenzy about a half mile offshore. swimmers got out of the water and the beaches were closed down for a couple hours. experts say it is very unusual to see sharks this close to shore. they counted about 50. some were estimated to be more than eight feet long. it appears it was tuna that was drawing them in close to shore. a georgia woman's treasured phone goes out with the trash and she takes the ride of her life to get it back. jennifer leslie shows us how she got hung up trying to reach her phone. >> i can't believe i was in that thing. i just can't believe how they would get me out. >> reporter: 19-year-old amanda still wanted to see the garbage chute where she was trapped at least an hour early sunday.

>> i thank god i'm alive. >> reporter: she returned home to her apartment complex after a night out with friends and accidently threw her cell phone along with some trash into the chute. she then leaned inside and tried to fish it out. >> i saw the phone. it was right there. so i would have never fell in. i had flip-flops on so it slipped and i went all the way down. almost halfway down. i was upside down like this and then there was something right here on it like there was a trash bag on me. >> reporter: she was with a friend who called 911 after he couldn't get her out. police and firefighters responded. they found her stuck in the chute between the first and second floors. >> you can see the top of her feet from the -- where you throw the trash in. fortunately there was some compacted trash that stopped her from falling all the way into the compacter itself. >> reporter: rescue crews had to remove the trash compacter to pull her out. >> it scared me. i was shaking. >> reporter: she was taken to the hospital but suffered only cuts and bruises. paramedics told her it could have been much worse. >> i'm lucky to be alive.

>> clean that phone up real good. that was jennifer leslie reporting. that does it for news 4 at 5:00. stay with us. news 4 at 6:00 starts right now. a college student from our area behind bars accused of threatening a shooting rampage on campus. >> the mother charged with murder after leaving her 2-year-old son in a hot minivan learned her fate today. >> on the eve of two primaries in the south gop candidates making a last-minute push forenergize their campaigns. and good evening and welcome. i'm wenldy rieger sitting in for jim advantages. >> i'm doreen gentzler. there is shock, sadness, and anger over a weekend act of violence in afghanistan. a u.s. soldier there was accused of going door to door and gunning down afghan civilians. many of them were women and children. the incident is straining already troubled relations between u.s. and afghan leaders.

brian mohr has our story from capitol hill. doreen, u.s. officials call it cold-blooded murder but the afghans are calling it an act of terror. secretary of state clinton expressed the shock of the u.s. government. >> awful. i can't even imagine. >> reporter: and she promised an american soldier will answer for the weekend shooting rampage that claimed the lives of 16 afghan civilians. nine were children. some of the corpses were set ablaze. >> this is not who we are. and the united states is committed to seeing that those responsible are held accountable. >> reporter: the suspect, an army staff sergeant deployed from joint base lewis mccord in washington state, is in u.s. custody. but afghan leaders are demanding afghan justice. the taliban is calling for revenge, blood for blood. this threatens to reignite the violence that flared after the burning of muslim holy books at